If you’re a Crest toothpaste fan, and especially if your paste of choice comes in that blue-gel form with itty bitty dots of who-knows-what in it, listen up! Those dots? They’re microbeads. Guess what they’re made of? Yep…plastic! Argh! Not only have microbeads infiltrated facial cleansing products, they’re being swished around our mouths every time…
After my Midway adventures, I hopped over to the Big Island to help process data for the US Geological Survey. While I was out there, Thanksgiving happened and since I couldn’t afford to fly home, I went to Kauai and spent the holiday with my Midway volunteer amiga! It was…amazing. Here’s a sampling of what…
Science is awesome. If you need some proof, or just want something to break up your morning, check out the video footage below of a Colossal Squid dissection. Why is this so cool?! Let’s count the ways… Generally speaking, dissections of marine organisms are pretty neat: they allow scientists to observe an organism close-up and get…
Readers! I have exciting news. The organization I work for, COSEE-OS (or, Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence – Ocean Systems) is hosting a webinar series at the end of this month. Guess what we’re talking about? Yes, that’s right: marine debris!! Here are two reasons why you might consider signing up: This webinar will feature…
I started this blog after realizing that what I was really interested in was learning more about plastic pollution, and sharing that knowledge with whoever wanted to read it. The reason I got interested in plastic pollution was because I decided to give up a summer in between sophomore and junior year to take part…
I’ll be honest and admit that before today, I didn’t know who Pete Seeger was*. Sure, I’d probably heard his tunes in the background of various TV shows (Weeds, anyone?) but I never knew that he was so forward thinking and all about big issues like women’s rights, civil rights, and…yep, environmental stewardship. Folk singers,…
Dear Pilot, You tell me to “simply write” and so, I proceed. As someone who is environmentally minded and very much into “eco-friendly” products, I really want to believe your “Bottle 2 Pen” campaign is a step in the right direction, but after pondering it a bit more, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s…
What happens when you eat ice cream too late in the evening? Well…blogging happens. This post is just shy of a month overdue, so I guess it was high-time for a sugar-fueled session. Here we go… Recently, I joined up with the Surfrider Foundation, but more specifically, the Maine Chapter. Surfrider has many campaigns aimed…
Hi readers, While I have some fun updates and posts in the works (among others: banning expanded polystyrene foam food packaging in Portland, Maine, say what?!) I have to take a second, step back and realize that holy cow…it’s been a year. A year since, um…what? Today, September 27, marks the day I left Midway Atoll,…
OK, readers, I’m back to it. That plastic thing: walking, talking, doing the plastic-free lifestyle. There have been some bumps in the road and a few detours in the past few months but no worries! Here we are, mid-August and things are great. So let’s dive in! Let’s talk about teaching. No, let’s not talk…
Hey folks! Time for a plastic confession. I’ve had this blog for 3 years now, am a staunch opponent of single-use plastics and yet…I’ve never done a “show your plastic trash” challenge. Weird, right? I find that weird. Well, I was puttering around Instagram a couple of weeks ago and noticed a photo advertising something…
The Internet is amazing. Need proof? Have a look at this photo: OK…what’s the big deal? Last summer, while on Midway, fellow FWS volunteer Liz was walking through our usual albatross plots, checking to see who was still there. We banded a number of fledgling Laysan Albatross and continued to check their nest sites to…