A car filled with bottlecaps

Do you have any idea what over 50,000 bottle caps

look like?  Right now, after a winter's worth of

collecting, there are 17 large, clear trash bags filled

with bottle caps filling my Honda Element.  We

counted the caps in 1 bag and realized that there

were about 3,000.  The 50,000 or so caps

in my car are going to "meet up" with the collections

of others.  I'm excited, afraid, and a bit disgusted when

I try to imagine just how many caps I'll see all in 1 place.

Clean Ocean Action is a New Jersey based non-profit that

for decades has been doing great work.  COA and it's members

have labored long and hard to educate, lobby, protest, and help

bring light on the issues related to "our mother ocean".  Today

they are having a big beach party to help further fund the good

work they do.  One of the highlights of the event will be the

gathering of the bottle caps.  I hope this overwhelming collection

can serve to illustrate the nature of our impact, the thoughtlessness

of our actions, the needlessness of our country's plastic addiction.

Everything you and I do has a significant impact on our oceans and

our planet.  Please stop thoughtlessly using plastic.  Check out the

Rise Above Plastics web site, look at the movie Synthetic Sea, lobby

your local and state officials.  We all must act to stop the insanity

that is our use of plastics. 

Next time you go to the beach look around at the plastic on

the beach.  Next time you surf look at the plastic in the water.

Next time you snorkel look at the mess we have made.  We made

this mess, we can stop messing up and take steps to clean it up.