I wanted to take a break from writing about distance learning to talk about other things I am passionate about: the ocean. As many of you know, I live in San Diego. I enjoy going to the beach, swimming and SCUBA diving in the Pacific Ocean, and playing sand beach volleyball.
A few years back, I was playing beach volleyball at Coronado. After my games, I walked to the water to cool off. As I approached the shore, I noticed tiny pieces of trash every where. From microplastics to tumbled tooth brushes, bottle caps, sandwich bags, and candy wrappers. I was shocked. I really hadn't noticed how much plastic and trash was on our beaches.
What I have learned since then is that there is tons of trash on our beaches and in our oceans. I know this is something people can easily research to learn more about, but the issue is more real when it is under your feet while walking on the hot sand or floating by while you swim in the La Jolla Cove.
I believe in the Starfish story. I believe one person can make a difference, even if it is a small difference.
Let me explain.
I took my daughter, Reese, to the San Diego Bay yesterday. There was so much trash on the beach. Some of it was left by visitors, some blew in from the adjacent park, and other pieces of trash were deposited by the ocean. It doesn't matter where it came from; it will all end up in the ocean.
People didn't seem to mind. Most visitors were playing among piles of trash, and siting in their chairs next to soiled diapers and empty mini bottles of Fireball. I guess I understand. We have become accustom to seeing trash at the beach. We are unmoved.
But we don't have to be. We individually and collectively can make a difference. When I left, I picked up five pieces of trash and threw them into one of the many available city trash cans. There were over 200 people at that one beach. What if everyone committed to picking up 5 pieces of trash as they headed out to their cars? The numbers and overall tonnage adds up quickly. Those 200 people could have removed 1,000 pieces of trash from the beach. That would equal 7,000 pieces a week and an amazing 14,000 pieces each month. If we continue with these numbers over a year, people would successfully remove 168,000 pieces of trash from just that one beach. All we need to do is take 5 pieces of trash out of the sand or water and throw them away. If everyone did that, we would begin to see a much healthier ocean.
I understand why people wouldn't want to pick up trash. It's dirty. And who wants to touch a soiled diaper. But there are sanitary ways to pick up trash if washing your hands after touching the trash isn't good enough. And you can always leave the diaper for someone who has the proper equipment to handle trash like that. There are plenty of plastic bottles, bottle caps, candy wrappers, and broken down plastics to remove.
Last year, 35 million people visited San Diego beaches. If everyone committed to taking 5 pieces of trash off of the beach, our beaches would have 175,000,000 fewer pieces of trash.
Take 5. It's a simple mission. It is easy to remember and even easier to do. My goal is to make our San Diego beaches cleaner, one trip to the ocean at a time.
If you like this idea, start by removing five pieces of trash when you visit local beaches and tell others about how they too can make a difference.
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