Birder’s Lounge

A few days ago, the state of California held its annual Coastal Cleanup Day. The artwork above is from the California Coastal Commission. Lets hope we never see this bird! Without even looking at a map, just about anyone could say with confidence that California alone lays claim to more oceanic shoreline than most other states. I looked it up - California has 1,120 miles of miles of shoreline.¹ Their initial report states that they picked up more than 742,000 pounds of debris, from just 70% of their sites reporting so far.

California participates in conjunction with the International Coastal Cleanup event organized by the Ocean Conservancy. The Ocean Conservancy began its volunteer event in South Padre Island, Texas in 1986. To see more about the evolution of the volunteer project that went worldwide, visit the Ocean Conservancy’s history of the event.

The garbage collected from our shores is largely attributed to inland sources. But what about pollution at sea? It happens. The result of dumping trash and abandoning fishing gear in our seas has been such a growing problem, that the US Congress requested a study by the National Research Council ². The findings are summarized in this four-page, easily understood and digested report. Please take a few moments to read it. If you don’t have time, at least read the opening paragraph. Skimming the first two pages would be great too. Bottom line - we are hurting ourselves, wildlife and our planet by treating the ocean as a huge dumpster.

BirdLife International tells us that our at-risk birds are declining, especially marine species.³ Is it any wonder, now that I (and now you) know more about the state of our oceans?

Today, Chris Mathews of MSNBC’s Hardball, tells us that Congressional Democrats have stated that they will lift the 26-year old ban on offshore drilling. I fear for the marine life affected by the inevitable pollution, and for all organisms dependent on them. That includes us.

As if all of this trash-on-our-shores news wasn’t bad enough, I then read about unconscionable acts of cruelty. I first learned of injured brown pelicans found on California’s shore  from the IBRRC, whose site I visit frequently, and support here at Birder’s Lounge. As reported in the LA Times, 11 juvenile brown pelicans (endangered) had their wings intentionally broken. Last report, one had survived.

Today, Galveston is allowing residents to return to their homes, or what is left of them. Hurricane Ike left its own brand of debris, ensuring recovery will take a lot of time and effort.

If you’re anything like me, you are probably feeling sad and frustrated about all of this. This is, of course, in addition to whatever other things may be going on in your life. My coping strategy? Action!

One of the reasons I blog is to share my love of birds and nature.  I am normally and purposefully upbeat. Today…I feel compelled to share these sobering bits of news because I have learned about them in a relatively short amount of time, and they all seem connected.

I’ll close with urging you to join me in continuing to be active stewards of our lands and wildlife. Keep learning, keep doing what you can to help, and keep caring!