Plastic dresses inspired by the ocean? What will those crazy fashion-designing kids think up next? Last week was New York Fashion Week in NY City. I know this because I watch Project Runway, the only reality show I can admit to watching without embarrassment because it’s all about talent and creativity. And in fact, last […]
I know. You’re probably wondering why I would consider a plastic lighter instead of a match. I’m not! I’m not! Don’t worry. After seeing photos like these of baby albatross chicks who’ve ingested plastic lighters, I would never buy another one of those things. Detail of photo from the series Midway: Message from the Gyre […]
Have you ever written a letter to the editor? It’s something each of us could do, and with the Internet, it’s easier than ever.  So why was last month the first time I ever tried it? Oh sure, I leave comments on blogs and online newspaper web sites, but I had never sent a letter […]
I’ve been meeting just the trashiest people in the last couple of weeks. Um… trashy in a good way. Trashy Beachkeeper I met Sara Bayles after the Blogger Beach Cleanup on October 24. You know, the one I missed. Sara’s blog, The Daily Ocean, tracks her goal of collecting trash on the beach in Santa […]
Inspired by Captain Charles Moore’s tireless efforts to bring attention to the issue of plastic in the ocean, several new organizations and projects have sprung up recently to investigate the Pacific Garbage Patch and to try and find solutions. One of these is Project Kaisei, which conducted an expedition to the North Pacific Gyre last […]
What the heck do I know about teaching kids? What if they won’t listen? What if I say the wrong things? Those were the worries I had after agreeing to join Water Education Specialist Sue Alfeld in a Bay Area classroom to discuss my journey to cut back on plastic. Organized by The Bay Nature […]
Remember last year when I blogged about my difficulties filling up my Klean Kanteen at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival? If you haven’t read the post, be sure and check it out. It’s pretty outrageous. Well, this year, Outside Lands is supposedly making a big change. They’ve announced they will provide water refill stations […]
I’m here in Waikiki with my family. The purpose of the trip: helping my parents. The reality of the first few days: recreation. Much needed. Walking on the beach. Climbing Diamond Head. Playing games and eating ice cream. But one thing I notice everywhere I turn: plastic. Plastic bottles and plastic trash lying on the […]
I’ve bragged about how green we are here in the Bay Area before, right? Well, leave it to Marin County to host what it called “The Greenest County Fair On Earth” this past weekend. Powered by solar and biodiesel, providing compostable containers and flatware as well as recycling and compost stations to collect them, offering […]
Captain Charles Moore is one of my personal heroes and the man whose work discovering, studying, and bringing the world’s attention to plastics in the oceans changed my own life completely two years ago. So you can bet that when I was invited to attend his presentation at Google in Mountain View last week, I […]