Ready, set, 560 pounds to go...

Ok~ so I've been on mission information round up to find out what goes into rounding up 560 pounds of garbage out of the ocean. Step 1) Figure out how  to afford to do the amount of diving required to remove 560 pounds of garbage out of the ocean; Step 2) Figure out the problem areas are; Step 3) Develop safety skills (hello needles and toxic materials); Step 4) Figure out all the things that I don't know I need to know.

In case you are desiring a catch up: here is the video description of the project re: why I want to remove the garbage I am personally responsible for out of the ocean.



The most exciting news is that my beloved bay area dive shop, Bamboo Reef, is going to sponsor my local dives! So thank God for them for making this all possible. Also pretty grateful that master photographer and diver Enrique Aguirre is letting me tag along on one of his dives and teach me how to document and teach me a few safety considerations (hope he shows me a trick for how to avoid getting tangled in my own net....)

Logistics:

1. Tide Chart: There is plenty of local lore about how the convicts who tried to escape Alcatraz were pulled out to sea by the strong tides (and a startling amount of stories of people who are grabbed from the beaches and swept to sea) (extra big note to self: respect thy ocean). With that said, I'll be working with this bay area tide chart produced by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration to schedule my dives at the correct time.

2. Set up weekly "dive-ups". I'll be joining every local dive organization I can find in order to get the word out and find dive partners. For starters,  The Bay Area Underwater Divers Club, (I've asked for permission to join several other local yahoo dive groups...hope they let me in :).

3. Identify locations: While the initial vision is to reclaim garbage out of the open ocean and rid the ocean of the 5 garbage patches (why not dream big?), I have a lot to learn about the pollution patterns in my own bay (apparently most of the garbage created by San Fran ends up landing on the beaches of Hawaii). Karen from Bamboo Reef suggested the obvious: starting in my own back yard. The first two spots I'm eying for the first official dive are:

• McCovey Cove (this is actually right across the street from the Current HQs.)

• The Aquatic Part at Pier 39 (major tourist destination)

4. What to do with the garbage?

• Well based on all of the comments that have come in thus far, it would seem that there is a morbid fascination about what kind of garbage I will be removing. So by special request, I will be logging all of the garbage. Meanwhile, I'm researching what to do with the garbage so it doesn't end up back in the ocean. (You know I want your ideas on this one).

How to stay in touch?

Ok: So there are several ways to stay in touch and get updates.

I'll be posting all my updates on the Current Green Blog.

I'll send updates via our Current Green Facebook account.

And on Sarah Lane's recommendation I posted the first "dive-up" on Plancast.

This week's tip for keeping garbage out of the ocean:

Bring your own to-go containers when you go to restaurants. Of course any old yogurt container will work, or you can do it in style and reduce your fork print with To-go ware (shameless plug for a company worth loving).

Today's Inspiration for why it's time to take back our ocean:

The story of our local sea lion who was just rescued by the Marine Mammal Institute.

The sea lion was originally spotted at Pier 39 in San Francisco on the evening of Jan. 1, with fishing line around his face, making it hard for him to open his mouth. After nearly three weeks and 20 rescue attempts, he was rescued at Moss Landing Harbor by the Marine Mammal Center on Jan. 24.

The name given to him by the mammal center stems from his elusiveness; he was named for the 1960s con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie "Catch Me If You Can."

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"We knew that all of our options were running out and that this animal was getting weaker and that he might not live much longer," said Dr. Frances Gulland, director of veterinary science at the mammal center. "We had to do something to save this animal, especially since he was entangled in marine debris as a result of human carelessness."

Meanwhile, want to know your ocean IQ? You might get a kick out of this survey by the Marine Mammal Institute

And here is a short video of surfers against sewage:



Related Content:

What's the 1 green thing on your new year's resolution list?

I took the 1 Green Thing Challenge: I'll be removing 559 POUNDS of garbage out of the ocean

Attacking the king of the ocean: The sharks that can't fight back