Starfishing in Atlantic

Why is it that folks who drink a beverage labled SMART WATER leave their bottles on the sidewalk? Perhaps the water is not working.

Here are the white plastic pipes I found on the sidewalk. It seems odd to think that in a movie in 1967, the word plastics was uttered in the same hushed tones we quote Warren Buffet today. Plastics were a new kid on the block in 1967. Now, they are all over the block and being blown into our ocean by the mega-ton. Single-use plastics are a major culprit One plastic bottle might take 450 years to decompose. and according to Sierra Club we use about a trillion every year. Today I picked up five of them on the sidewalk. The Plasticene advances.

I know the 1960's hit was "Running Bear" who adored Little White Dove but the relationship was doomed. The bare I am referring to is the foot of the person who lost one black flip flop on the side of third ave. Oh well, my today's catch weighed in over two pounds. That brings the total removed from possible ocean immersion 4 lbs. Just 71 more to go to get to 75 lbs.

I understand the beautiful vermillion snapper are feeding  around 100 feet offshore right now. Having read Gone With the Wind at the impressionable age of 12, I have always loved words that indicate red in any form:Mitchell's scarlet, Hemingway's carmine, and now-----vermillion. On my anti-Plasticene walk this morn, I picked up over two pounds of heavy stray plastic . It looked like rod holders that had been ditched on the roadside. I wonder if the owners of these were out after vermillion snapper? The Washington Post October 26,2019  carried a lengthy article on legislation that is designed to deal with plastic pollution. The article was terrifying as it detail the problem with microplastics which are now being found in most fish....perhaps even vermillion snapper.

I realize Bob Dylan’s classic did nor refer to plastic lids and straws. Still , the idea that we are covering wahoo water with wind born plastic seems to fit with “eyes that do not see.” yes, I know the wahoo are way out near the Gulf Stream, but sadly plastic pollution travels. This 9 oz. “catch’ was blowing down the sidewalk heading toward the Atlantic.

Princeton professor W. Weber just nailed it. Research has found when the human brain feels overwhelmed, it looks for a quick fix. Individuals develop a single action bias. They buy Led bulbs, drive less or go meatless once a week. I am trying to broaden my personal bias. For eons I looked only for the plastic straws that were going up turtle's noses, now I am trying to pick up all plastic that appears before me on sidewalks and streets during my morning bike ride's return trip. Today's "Catch" image is hopeful. I found one large blue disk and two straws. Picking these items up does not stop global warming, but perhaps one bit of plastic won't make it into the ocean.

Still reveling in the previous day's clean sidewalk ride. Obviously a mistake. Today was 14oz. of bright yellow plastic. (Yes, I've started weighing the days "catch.") Understand a woman in Oregon is creating artistic installations   out of the plastic that washes up on her coast. Anything that raises awareness is to be applauded.

Four miles at dawn. The wind is out of the Northwest at 15-17, enough to shake the bike. I expect a plastic tsunami because it is garbage day . SHOCK, there is one piece of rogue styrofoam, one straw and one lid. In other words, it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Not funny. Author Laura Trethewey in her book The Imperiled Ocean cites a 2019 report that "the average person ate a credit-card-card-sized amount of plastic each day." And I don't think we have a choice as to the final product of our ingestion. We do have a choice on how much plastic we let blow into our ocean. We can pick up the plastic bags,cups and lids that will blow onto our beloved beach and then into our piece of the Atlantic. Today's Catch of the Day is  Black Friday themed. Lots of other pieces of Styrofoam went into the recycling bin. How sad that we now are living in an era called the Plasticene.