Happy Earth Day!

Have a wonderful Earth Day 2013!

How can you help sea turtles?

1. Give up unsustainable seafood. 
• If you don't know where it comes from and how it was caught, then don't eat it. Simple, right? 
• Shrimp, for example, often are fished in unsustainable ways that drown or harm sea turtles. 
• That tuna sushi that you love might have come from a fishing boat using longline fishing, which kills lots of wildlife. And if you're eating bluefin tuna, you might be eating an endangered species!
2. Give up single-use plastic.
• Bring your own reusable bag when shopping and say no to plastic bags.
• Bring your own water bottle instead of buying bottled water.
• Skip the straw or bring your own instead of using plastic straws.
3. Drive less.
• Really? Yes, the less you drive or do other things that generate carbon pollution, the more that you help reduce the problem of climate change, which is a serious threat to our oceans and sea turtles.
• As an alternative, relax on public transportation, walk, or enjoy a fun bike ride to your destination.
4. Enjoy sea turtles from a distance.
• If you're lucky enough to see a sea turtle in the wild, then don't bother it. Just enjoy it from a distance and let it enjoy its day.

Don't forget that World Oceans Day is coming on June 8!

Mahalo Nui Loa from Honu.Org

Donate $10 for Turtles to reach our $2010 goal!

Aloha!

We are wrapping up the year and asking you to please help us make 2010 a success. Please click the link below and donate $10 or more to Honu.Org by January 20, 2010.

Please make our $10 for Turtles in 2010 campaign a success by sharing this link with your friends and family. We need your help to raise $2010 that will support expansion of our sea turtle education and advocacy efforts.

Please help us if you can spare $10 for turtles!

Mahalo nui loa!

Help Our Ten for Turtles Campaign - Donate $10 Through Twitter by May 23

Aloha to all our supporters!

Please join the Honu.Org 'Ohana and help us continue to support sea turtle conservation by participating in our Ten for Turtles campaign.

Between now and May 23 World Turtle Day, please go to http://honu.org and click on the link at the top. If you are a Twitter user, simply click on the link with your Twitter ID, then click through to make a donation of $10 or any amount that you can afford. It is a safe and secure way to help our work and support our cause. Will you become a member of the Honu 'Ohana (sea turtle family)?

If you are not already following us on Twitter, please find us at http://www.twitter.com/honu and read our updates of sea turtle news and actions that you can take.

Not on Twitter? You can also make donations through Paypal.

Mahalo nui loa! Thank you very much! We could not do our work without your support.

Show your love for sea turtles on Valentine's Day

Love sea turtles? Pledge to use your reusable shopping bag on Valentine's Day http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=42931894006

Check out what plastic pollution is doing to your seafood on this report by ABC Good Morning America: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/JustOneThing/story?id=6797599

In addition to bringing pollution to your plate, ocean plastics harm sea turtles, birds, and other wildlife that depend on our oceans.

Show your love for that special someone in your life and the ocean on this Valentine's Day.

Love the Ocean, Use Less Plastic:

1. Bring your reusable bag when you go shopping and/or say "no" when offered a plastic bag.

2. Pick a non-plastic gift to show your love. Really, is plastic the way to say, "I love you"?

3. How about wrapping your gift in a reusable shopping bag?

4. If you live near the ocean, take the time to visit and have a romantic walk on the beach, go surfing, go wildlife watching, or just to watch the sun set. Maybe even take a couple of minutes to pick up some marine debris while you're there or to even join a beach cleanup that weekend (check your local Surfrider for info: www.surfrider.org).

5. If you go out to dinner, remember to order only sustainable seafood (if you order it at all) and bring your own container for leftovers.

6. Consider donating on behalf of your love to the ocean charity of your choice.

7. Share this event with your friends all over the world to spread the word.

The ocean thanks you and loves you back. ;-)

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

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

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 8^th 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.

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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!