Monday, December 15, 2008

Save Sea Turtles by Saying, "No," to Plastic Bags on December 18

December 18 “Day without a Bag” Asks Shoppers to Give to the Environment
Volunteers Give Reusable Bags and Get Shoppers to Say No to Plastic Bags

For Immediate Release

Contact: Eli Saddler, Director of OceanHealth.Org, 415-342-7497, eli@oceanhealth.org
Wes Womack, President of San Francisco Surfrider , 510-717-7204, wesw@sfsurfrider.org

San Francisco, CA, December 18, 2008
– On Thursday, December 18, the San Francisco Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and OceanHealth.Org will be asking Christmas shoppers to participate in “A Day without a Bag.” “A Day without a Bag” is becoming a holiday tradition as environmental groups ask shoppers to say “no” when offered plastic bags and to remember to bring their own bags when shopping. To mark “A Day without a Bag,” volunteers will be handing out hundreds of reusable shopping bags to shoppers from noon until about 2 PM on Thursday, December 18, at Union Square in San Francisco. Volunteers will be distributing reusable bags donated by Surfrider and Whole Foods Markets as an alternative to single-use plastic bags.

“Many people remember reusable bags for grocery shopping, but this day is a reminder to holiday shoppers to bring bags when going to any store,” said Eli Saddler, Director of OceanHealth.Org and Surfrider volunteer. “Holiday shoppers can give back to the environment by saying, ‘no,’ when offered single-use plastic bags.”

Although San Francisco passed a plastic bag ban for grocery stores, more still needs to be done to educate consumers about reducing their consumption of single-use plastic bags. Worldwide, 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed annually, which means that a million plastic bags are being used each minute. Annually, a million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die globally due to ingestion of or entanglement in plastics.

“Bags and other plastic items clog our beaches with pollution and harm wildlife,” said chapter president, Wes Womack. “It is great that we live in a city that bans plastic bags on some level, but we can all do more to cut down on single-use plastic items to reduce pollution on our beaches and in our ocean.”

Surfrider will be holding its next monthly beach cleanup at Stairwell 17 on Ocean Beach this coming Sunday, December 21, from 10 AM until 12 PM. Volunteers can give back to the oceans by helping remove man-made debris from the beaches, some of which is currently be gathered for art projects. For more information on this and other monthly beach cleanups, people can visit Surfrider’s website (http://www.sfsurfrider.org/).

Surfrider and OceanHealth.Org are promoting “December 18 – A Day without a Bag” online, also (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=36865929853). In an effort to reach as many people as possible from around the world, the organizations hope that people will get the word and learn more about eliminating plastic bags and other items.

People can learn more about the event and its history at Heal the Bay's website (http://www.healthebay.org/nobagday/)



# # #

About the San Francisco Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation: SF Surfrider is a volunteer organization of surfers and ocean enthusiasts that promotes environmental quality of our beaches and oceans. The San Francisco Chapter is one of many local chapters of the international nonprofit organization, the Surfrider Foundation, based in San Clemente, CA. Surfrider Foundation’s San Francisco Chapter holds bi-monthly beach cleanups at Ocean Beach; cleanup times can be found on their website: http://www.sfsurfrider.org/

About OceanHealth.Org: OceanHealth.Org is a nonprofit organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which works to promote ocean conservation and public health protection through education, advocacy, and science. http://www.oceanhealth.org

Monday, December 8, 2008

Please sign the Surfrider petition to protect our coasts and wildlife from offshore oil drilling

Currently on Facebook, the Causes application has a petition from the Surfrider Foundation that asks President-Elect Obama and the new Congress to act to protect our coastlines from risky oil drilling schemes.

Please visit Honu.Org on our Causes page and sign the petition: http://www.causes.com/honu

While you're on Facebook, please also join Honu.Org's and OceanHealth.Org's other pages:

Honu.Org's Fan Page

Honu.Org's Group Page

OceanHealth.Org's Fan Page

OceanHealth.Org's Group Page

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Join Coastal Cleanup Day at Your Local Beach!

International Coastal Cleanup Day

Find a beach near you and give back to the ocean!


Date:
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Time:
9:00am - 12:00pm
Location:
Ocean Beach
Street:
Taraval St. and the Great Highway
City/Town:
San Francisco, CA






Sept. 20th will be International Coastal Cleanup Day around the world. If you're here in the Bay Area, please join me at the Taraval St. entrance to Ocean Beach (along the Great Highway).

If you're not in the Bay Area, please find a beach near you and do your part for cleaner oceans. Sea turtles and other wildlife are killed and injured by marine debris each year so you can help save sea turtles by removing potentially harmful trash.

Don't live near a beach? Why not do your part that day to avoid purchasing any plastic goods - especially plastic bags - and do your part to reduce waste.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

San Francisco Celebrates June 8 World Ocean Day at Ocean Beach


Mayor Declares June 8 as World Ocean Day in San Francisco

Volunteers Celebrate with Beach Cleanup at Ocean Beach

For Immediate Release

Contact: Eli Saddler, Director of OceanHealth.Org, cell 415-342-7497, eli@oceanhealth.org

What: June 8 is World Ocean Day and hundreds of volunteers will be heading to Ocean Beach to clean the beach in celebration of our oceans.

Who: OceanHealth.Org (http://www.oceanhealth.org) and the San Francisco Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation (http://www.sfsurfrider.org).

When: Sunday, June 8, 2008, 10AM to 12PM Ocean Beach cleanup.

Where: Santiago St. and Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 94116

Why: Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation declaring June 8th as “World Ocean Day” in San Francisco. This is the second annual event of OceanHealth.Org and Surfrider in San Francisco (http://www.oceandaysf.org).

Our world ocean covers approximately 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, contains 97 percent of the Earth’s water, and represents 95 percent of the livable space on our planet, but is facing an incredible crisis that needs attention. Oil spills, plastic marine debris, overfishing, and global climate change are culminating in increasing problems for our oceans. In 2048, some scientists predict that important commercial fisheries will begin to collapse. The public is encouraged to learn more and take action for the oceans.

In 2007, the importance of our ocean was highlighted when thousands of volunteers responded to the Cosco Busan oil spill. In that spirit, volunteers will be on the beaches and removing trash that kills wildlife and is contributing to Texas-sized island of marine debris in the Pacific Ocean.

"World Ocean Day" was first proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit of the United Nations in Rio de Janeiro as an annual opportunity to celebrate our oceans, their importance to humanity, and the need for marine conservation.

Five Actions for the Oceans:

1. Learn more about our world ocean crisis.

2. Reduce or eliminate your use of plastic, especially plastic bags.

3. Reduce or eliminate your consumption of harmful seafood, including tuna, swordfish, shark, and shrimp. You’ll help the oceans and your health.

4. Reduce your greenhouse gases: Drive less and using bikes, buses, or BART more. Replace light bulbs and appliances with energy efficient ones.

5. Show your appreciation for the ocean by keeping it clean and visiting often.

###

Monday, June 2, 2008

World Ocean Day June 8 San Francisco Beach Cleanup


World Ocean Day, June 8!

Please join us to celebrate World Ocean Day with OceanHealth.Org and the San Francisco Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation this Sunday. We will be meeting at the Santiago St. and Great Highway entrance to Ocean Beach for a clean up from 10 AM – 12 PM.

For more information, please visit www.oceandaysf.org or email Eli Saddler, eli@oceanhealth.org.

To learn more about World Ocean Day, please visit www.worldoceanday.org.

To learn more about San Francisco Surfrider, please visit www.sfsurfrider.org.

LOCATION:

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&q=Great+Hwy+%26+Santiago+St,+San+Francisco,+CA+94116,+USA&ll=37.744996,-122.507215&spn=0.007652,0.020084&z=16&iwloc=addr




Friday, March 28, 2008

Lights Out for Sea Turtles, Saturday, March 29, 8 to 9 pm

Celebrate Earth Hour and do something about climate change and global warming that is harming our ocean ecoystems and the sea turtles that live there.

Learn more at www.earthhour.org

Saving energy means slowing climate change and helping our oceans be healthy for all living creatures!

I'm sure you can find something to do with your hour in the dark...

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Please donate $10 to www.seaturtle.org by January 31!

Hola from the International Sea Turtle Symposium in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico!

Please visit the great free website - www.seaturtle.org - and, if you can, help by donating $10 before January 31.  SeaTurtle.Org is competing for a $50,000 prize to keep up its great work.  You can help move them ahead in the competition if you donate today.

While you're there, check out all the great sea turtle resources available on SeaTurtle.Org.  

Muchas gracias!

Monday, January 7, 2008

Grupo Tortguero and International Sea Turtle Symposium in Baja this month

Once again, I am heading down to Loreto in Baja California Sur, Mexico, for the annual Grupo Tortuguero meeting from January 19-20, 2008. I will be participating at the conference through the great people at ProPeninsula, which is based in San Diego and does amazing work in Baja for sea turtles and other community-based conservation efforts (Consider supporting them with a sea turtle adoption - it's a fun gift).

Following the 10th annual meeting of Grupo Tortuguero, I'll be attending the 28th International Sea Turtle Society Symposium held January 21-26 of 2008.

www.zazzle.com/oceanhealth