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…
See this? This is unique. This is beauty. This photo perfectly illustrates why I love my Glass Dharma straws so very much. Each straw has its own personality. At first glance, they appear to look exactly the same. But take a closer look. Each one has its own teeny tiny, beautiful curves and rounded edges….
Sometime in the not-too-distant past, I watched a clip from the documentary “Earthlings”. I never got to the whole movie, mostly because after watching the trailer, I had seen enough. I felt sick, disgusted, sad, angry, light-headed… it was pretty bad. I’m by no means a fanatic, but it’s hard not to get upset when…
Back in January, when 2013 was still a brand new year, all shiny and fresh, I was driving to Pawling Central School, to give my first post-Midway talk about plastic. Readers of this blog will recall that in my last post, I wrote briefly about Skyping with a couple of 7th grade science classes from…