Heal the Bay Blog

Category: Venice Beach

TEDx Tackles Marine Debris

11.11.2010 | Heal the Bay

Last weekend the Plastic Pollution Coalition hosted a TEDx event in Santa Monica on the Not So Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The gathering was well attended by celebrities (Jackson Browne, Ben Lear, Daphne Zuniga and Ed Begley Jr.), explorers (Dr. Sylvia Earle, Charlie Moore, Fabien Cousteau and David De Rothschild) and numerous other environmental leaders fighting against the scourge of plastic pollution. The well-produced evening beamed via webcast globally and included a blend of dramatic footage from plastic contaminated gyres (including a short film from the 5 Gyres expeditions from Marcus Ericsen and Anna Cummins), performances from Lear, Browne and others, and solutions-oriented talks from such Heal the Bay friends as Long Beach Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, Lisa Boyle and Leslie Tamminen.

Attendees also saw the unveiling of an ad campaign from Leo Burnett that asks people to become citizens of the Crapola Islands (also known as the Pacific Garbage Patch) – the only nation we want to disappear. Two speakers presented potential solutions that won’t have a positive impact on the global marine debris crisis. Patrick Kenney of Green Harvest Technologies spoke about a green future with bioplastics. Although there are many eco-advantages to bioplastics, especially in areas with effective composting programs, solving the plastic pollution problems in our oceans is not one of them.

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Tougher Limits on Trash in S.M. Bay

11.05.2010 | Heal the Bay

Malibu / Pacific Palisades Marina del Rey / Playa del Rey Palos Verdes Peninsula Santa Monica South Bay Venice Beach

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board voted 4-1 Thursday, November 4, to approve tough, new marine debris limits for Santa Monica Bay. The limits, based on 11 similar trash Total Maximum Daily Loads in the Los Angeles region, give Santa Monica Bay watershed cities, Los Angeles County and land management agencies like State Parks, eight years to reduce the amount of trash going into the Bay to zero. Compliance can be met by installing full capture mechanisms like trash screens and inserts or other state-approved devices. All devices must be adequately designed, operated and maintained to meet state requirements. Full adherence is mandated within eight years.

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Split Vote for the Environment

11.03.2010 | Heal the Bay

Venice Beach

Election races outside of California yesterday either ignored environmental issues or focused on the scary specter of regulating greenhouse gases. In California, the oil industry’s efforts to overturn AB 32 failed in a landslide as voters embraced the potential of a green economy and bristled at the thought of Big Oil reversing environmental law.

Unfortunately, the environment suffered two big losses yesterday…

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Consumption Warning on Crustaceans

10.29.2010 | Dana Murray

Venice Beach

The California Department of Fish and Game just released a warning to people who consume California rock crab and spiny lobster. People who eat spiny lobster should restrict what they eat to tail meat only. Elevated levels of domoic acid have been found in the internal organs of lobster sampled from waters by the northern Channel Islands. Elevated levels have also been found in rock crab. The meat of the lobster and crab isn’t affected by domoic acid, but all internal organs, including the roe, should not be eaten.

Domoic acid poisoning can cause symptoms within a half hour to a full day after eating toxic seafood. Symptoms include nausea or diarrhea, cramps, headache and dizziness. Severe symptoms can be life-threatening.

According to the Department of Fish and Game, there have been no known cases to date of domoic acid poisoning.

How does it get into your seafood? The acid is actually a naturally occurring toxin that can be found in tiny marine algae. Small fish, clams and mussels eat the algae and concentrate the toxin in their organs.

When the toxin is no longer detected in samples, Fish and Game will put out another news release.

For more information on how to stay healthy at the beach, visit our Staying Healthy page.

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Vacuum That Trash!

10.27.2010 | Heal the Bay

Venice Beach

How cool is this? This vacuum cleaner (an Electrolux, in case you were wondering) has a surface covered entirely with bits of plastic trash picked up from beaches. There are actually 5 of them, each made of plastic from a different ocean (Pacific, Mediterranean, Baltic, North Sea, and the Indian Ocean). The company worked with local groups who were already picking up trash, and is using the vacuums to continue the dialogue on plastic trash. The coolest part is how different each vacuum looks. Like the Pacific Ocean vacuum doesn’t have any red or orange, because those pieces of trash were mostly eaten by sea birds before they could be picked up. The only bad news is that the vacuums aren’t for sale… for right now they’re just art. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39870080/ns/world_news-world_environment/

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Food Truck Fundraising

09.14.2010 | Heal the Bay

Coastal Cleanup Day Events More Ways to Give Venice Beach

Got plans the 25th? Work up an appetite cleaning the beach in celebration of International Coastal Cleanup Day and then head over to The Beach Gives Back: A Food Truck Festival for Heal the Bay at Latitude 33 on 330 Washington BLVD. in Marina del Rey to reward yourself with everything from dim sum to ice cream. Heal the Bay gets rewarded too, 10% of proceeds from truck sales as well as attendee donations go to us and the International Bird Rescue Research Center. The event will be covered This is just one of our many varied Coastal Cleanup Day events to check out this year. Others include a craft beer crawl, a Pourtal happy hour and even yoga on the beach.

Food for thought-some of the most commonly found beach trash items are bits of styrofoam, plastic straws and plastic bottle caps. So, after you’re done gorging for the sake of the Bay, make sure your trash makes it in the approprate place. Want to check out other Heal the Bay cleanup trash stats? Visit our trash database.

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