California, Ban the Foam!

What’s this all about?

California Senate Bill (SB) 568, introduced to help prevent foam litter in the marine environment, passed the CA State Senate in May and is headed to the State Assembly soon! Surfrider Foundation is a co-sponsor of this bill along with Clean Water Action and a big reason that this bill was able to make it through the State Senate was because of grassroots efforts from volunteers and supporters just like you!

What’s It Do?

SB 568 would prohibit a food vendor or restaurant from dispensing prepared food to a customer in a polystyrene foam food container starting in 2015. The compliance date for public schools would be one year later. The bill would also allow a city or school district that has a verifiable recycling program and recycles more than 60% of its foam foodware to continue to dispense food in foam after the ban goes in effect.

Why does it matter?

Expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) is pervasive in the marine environment and like most plastics, polystyrene is lightweight and floats. When littered, it can be carried from streets and through storm drains out to the ocean. 60-80 percent of all marine debris and 90 percent of floating debris are plastic. In the environment, the containers break down into smaller and smaller pieces and are easily mistaken for food by marine animals. On top of the plastic pollution issues, styrene was recently added to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services list of substances anticipated to cause cancer in humans.

How you can help:

1) Sign Surfrider’s online action alert which is updated for the State Assembly now.
2) Print out the petition and get signatures to help show support in your local community.
3) Follow Yes on SB 568 on facebook and suggest it to your friends!
4) Documenting foam litter that you see. More evidence is always helpful, you can email photos and stories to Surfrider Humboldt.

Cleaning Up Old Town, Saturday!

Clean Streets = Happy Oceans!

In an effort to promote community enhancement and encourage awareness of environmental issues, the City of Eureka will be sponsoring the City’s 5th Annual Mayday Community Clean Up Event.

Meet at the foot of C Street of Eureka on Saturday, May 7th at 1:00 P.M. Tobacco Free Humboldt will have a table where we will gather and plan our clean-up strategy. Volunteers will be picking up litter at Halvorson Park, Old Town, PALCO Marsh and Elk River Wildlife Sanctuary.

All necessary supplies will be provided. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own re-usable gloves in an effort to reduce waste.

Let’s Team Up to Clean Up!

http://www.maydaycleanup.com

Happy Earth Day!

Be good to your Mama and her oceans!

Check out our Upcoming Events (to the right) to help us keep our lands beautiful!

Highway Clean-up, Saturday!!

Time to clean-up our adopted stretch of the road!

Meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 23rd at the northbound 101 rest stop (a few of miles north of Trinidad, but before Patrick’s Point off-ramp). We’ll provide the gear. Must be 16 or over.

See the blog post for a map.

Contact Adrien if you have questions.

Adopt-A-Highway Clean-up, April 23rd

Feel like doing more than just looking at trash and wishing it would go away?  Well, here’s an easy way to get involved and do something about the problem.  Join Humboldt Surfrider volunteers with our Adopt-A-Highway clean-up!  It might not be a beach cleanup, but most trash finds its way into the oceans eventually.  We’ll be meeting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 23rd at the northbound 101 rest stop (a few of miles north of Trinidad, but before Patrick’s Point off-ramp). We’ll provide the gear. Must be 16 or over.

View Larger Map

Update: new T-shirts, projects and more!

Happy Fall! Hope everyone’s enjoying the sunshine this week!

And when you’re out and about in the lovely days… or in a lovely daze, depending… don’t forget to represent! Currently at Greenhouse, we have the 2010 Matt Beard edition Ts and hoodies, with the 2011 Shawn Griggs version Ts on their way.

(We sure are lucky to have so many fine artists donating their work to Humboldt Surfrider – a shout out to 2009 artist Matt O’Brien, too, of course!)

In other news,

efforts to repair the pipeline to the Jetty shower are underway,

slow progress is being made on improvements at Moonstone and Camel Rock,

our Rise Above Plastics campaign is hitting back hard after California failed to ban single-use plastic bags,

we’re looking to partner with the Tobacco Education Network to end cigarette butt litter

and, of course, we continue to hold monthly film nights,

plus regular beach and highway clean-ups,

as well as pursue the best protection for our local ocean, beaches and waves.

Not a member yet? JOIN! (Link goes to current Iron Surfer promotion page.)

Already a member? A volunteer? A donor? A supporter? Any of all of the above – THANK YOU!

As always, email humboldt@surfrider.org with any questions or to get more involved.

See you at the beach!

A Seagull’s Dream

Arcata Elementary School students celebrated World Oceans Day in 2010 by constructing an art project to symbolize the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, otherwise known as the North Pacific Gyre. This film documents their project and the celebration, and was shown at September’s Ocean Night at the Arcata Theater Lounge.

The Absynth Quintet (finally) plays for Humboldt Surfrider

Who's excited to play Ocean Night?

Those banjo players are quick, but the stand-up bass and Tofu’s drum kit weighed down the Absynth Quintet boys just long enough for us to catch up to them, grab’em by an ear and say, “Play for us, darn you!” Knowing what was good for them, they put on their smilingest faces and promised to show up at Arcata Theatre Lounge for our August 5 Ocean Night. Now that we’ve corralled them, please make it worth everyone’s while by coming out to support great music and important causes.

As always, Ocean Night is sponsored by Humboldt Surfrider, Humboldt Baykeeper and Ocean Conservancy. It’s all ages and we’re asking a $3-$10 donation – a bit more than usual, but it’s an extra-special and slightly more expensive night – clearly, a total bargain! (Also seeking business sponsorships – email humboldt@surfrider.org.)

Films for the Thursday, Aug. 5 event are:

Can you break the habit?

Bag It – Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Shelter, from the Moonshine Conspiracy:

We’re also featuring a video from Team Marine and some cool underwater freediving footage from locals Andrew Weltz and Kirby Morejohn.

Portland Mayor Sam Adams pledges ban on plastic grocery bags

Updated: Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 8:13 PM
Janie Har, The Oregonian Follow

Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian
From left to right in Portland City Council chambers are: Charlie Plybon, Ryan Cruse, Gregg Hayward, Matt Spencer. Each “bag monster” sports 500 bags, about the number an average American goes through in one year.

Facing five “bag monsters” and a sea of “ban the bag” T-shirts, Portland Mayor Sam Adams pledged Wednesday to eliminate ubiquitous slippery plastic bags from the city.

He declined to say when a prohibition on plastic grocery bags might start, but promised details in a draft ordinance to be released Friday.

Adams has talked for years about ridding the city of disposable shopping bags, but put it off, citing a down economy. His announcement Wednesday comes as state legislators in Salem say they have a deal with grocers for a statewide ban in 2011 that would take effect in 2012.

“We all know that single-use shopping bags are used for just a few minutes, but the negative impact on the environment lasts forever,” Adams said at a boisterous noon rally outside City Hall sponsored by Environment Oregon and the Portland chapter of Surfrider Foundation.

Ocean news: Shark riding, whale killing, environmental oversight (or lack of), endless oil

From the Honolulu Advertiser, a wild shark tale (no surfers injured in this one, although a board sustained serious damage).

While on the shark’s back, he decided it would probably be a good idea to detach himself from the board, which was still in the shark’s mouth, he said.

L.A. Times evaluates the IWC’s plan to allow commercial whaling.

It says in essence that all a nation has to do to escape the commission’s official disapproval is refuse to cooperate long and hard enough.

NPR reports Gulf oil spill much worse than previously disclosed (with audio/video).

The amount of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico may be at least 10 times the size of official estimates, according to an exclusive analysis conducted for N

From the Washington Post, news that the Mineral Management Services agency reform is in the works per Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

He planned to split the section that ensures energy companies comply with federal safety and environmental laws from the part that reaps billions in drilling royalties each year. [emphasis ours]

They’re doing their part to look environmental, but they need you to meet them halfway and believe they’re environmental.