Palms Students Organize Beach Clean Up

Last Saturday, students from Palms Elementary teamed up with Heal the Bay to organize a beach clean-up for their service learning project this season. The kids took a bus from school and spent the morning walking along the beach and picking up trash at Dockweiler Beach. Heal the Bay provided trash bags and gloves, and the kids provided the time. The kids had a blast while making a difference.

One the biggest problems that LA's beaches face is pollution from urban runoff. Urban runoff is the result of rain water washing pollutants like motor oil, gasoline, pesticides, and litter into the ocean via storm drains. According to Santa Monica Baykeeper, an organization dedicated to protecting LA's beaches, many local industries have significantly "reduced their input," however, pollution from urban runoff is continuing to increase.

Here are nine simple things everyone can do to protect the bay:

1. Cover outdoor trashcans at home and work so that litter doesn't blow into storm drains
2. Recycle at home and work as much as possible
3. Pick up after pets, and encourage others to do so also.
4. Do not release balloons into the air: they can injure marine animals who think they are food
5. Do not rake or blow leaves into the storm drains, bacteria grow on this organic matter.
6. Do not use pesticides on lawns and gardens
7. Maintain the family car so that it doesn't drip oil into the streets or release excess air pollution.
8. Do not wash your car on impervious services such as driveways, which allow runoff to streets.
9. Do not hose down gutters or drive ways - sweep up and put debris in the trash.

Source: Santa Monica Baykeeper.

Plastic Bottle Boat Sets Sail

So you've heard of a ship-in-a-bottle, but what about a ship made of bottles? This past Saturday, a sail boat made out of 12,000 recycled plastic bottles and other recycled materials set sail for a 3 month voyage across the Pacific. The Plastiki, as it is cleverly named, will sail from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia to call attention to environmental issues such as pollution and global warming, and their effects on our oceans.

David de Rothschild and his 5-person crew will man the vessel through regions of the Pacific Ocean that have been negatively affected by pollution. One such area being the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating mound of trash that is estimated to be twice the size of Texas.

The Plastiki is made buoyant by 12,000 plastic bottles filled with carbon dioxide. The mast is made from a used irrigation pipe, and the sail was fashioned from recycled PET plastic. Solar panels and wind energy are used to power the boat, along with an exercise bike connected to a generator. In addition, the crew will use rain water to take showers and a vertical garden to grow some of their food.

You can track the boat's progress, learn more about how it was made, or check out pictures on the Plastiki Website.