350 Day on the Beach. Where in the World is Beth?
350.org has released this fantastic video showing actions all over the world that took place on October 24.
So where was I?
The best-laid plans sometimes go awry when unknown locations and strange parking fee machines are involved. By the time I got to the beach in Santa Monica for the 350 Day Blogger Beach Cleanup, the event had already begun. Not to miss out, filmmaker Jan Vozenilek and I ran across the sand as fast as we could toward what we thought was our group. (Click images to see larger size on 350.org website.)
We arrived huffing and panting to a beautiful sand sculpture on Santa Monica Beach, only to realize we were at the wrong event! Who cares? This group was fabulous.
So I hung out on the beach for a while with Jan (who just returned from filming dead albatross chicks on Midway with photographer Chris Jordan) and enthusiastic plastic pollution activist Sarah Kornfeld,
took pictures of my own boobs (in a “Plastic Is Washed Up” T-shirt),
and finally made it to the Blogger Beach Cleanup Happy Hour, after most of the bloggers had gone home. Here I am with Siel Ju, one of the organizers, just to prove that I really was there!
All mishaps and joking aside, the day really was powerful. What I didn’t mention is that all this craziness happened later in the day, after an afternoon spent in Malibu with members and friends of the new Plastic Pollution Coalition where we experienced the beautiful, heartbreaking albatross photos of Chris Jordan (birds starved with bellies full of plastic) and powerful poetry of Victoria Sloan Jordan.
The morning was filled with stories and strategies for ways to bring the world’s attention to the problems of plastic pollution and get the message out despite the plastics industry’s multi-million dollar campaign to promote the benefits of plastic.
To make the connection between plastic pollution and global warming, the entire group marched down to the beach and took our own 350 Day photo:
If you have not yet checked out the newly redesigned website of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, please do so now and take the pledge. This site is only the beginning, so check back often.
And please visit 350.org to see some beautiful photos of actions that took place all over the world.
That is so great to see so many people passionate about reducing plastic waste!! I’m going to check out both site you referenced at the end of your post. Thanks for sharing.
So, what did the trash look like? Lots of empty sunscreen bottles and broken Olsen twin sunglasses?
I’ve heard about the Girls Gone Wild videos but I don’t think even they take shots of their own boobs. Once again, you’ve broken the boundaries!
Thinking about the ocean plastic pollution, I bet almost all of it is coming from waterfront areas and ships. Here in the midwest, I doubt that our bottle caps and junk makes it to the sea. If I were a coastal dweller I would sure concentrate my litter collection efforts at the waterfront.