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We Must Stop The Plague Of Plastic Pollution Before It Stops
Us.
How extreme is the plastic pollution issue?
While plastic is an important part of our daily lives, a
recent study found six times more plastic than plankton in the
ocean off the California coast. A United Nations Environment
Program report entitled: Marine Litter: Trash that Kills,
estimates that more than 5.76 million tons of plastic will end
up in our oceans in 2006. To put that number in perspective,
that’s enough to cover 2/3rds of California with plastic.
And, at the current plastic usage acceleration rate of 5% per
year (according to The Resin Review, published by the
American Plastics Council), we could cover the entire state of
California in plastic by the end of next year, the entire U.S.
by 2014, and every landmass on earth by the year 2042! That
amounts to 573 million square miles of plastic trash in the
oceans in just 37 years. Is "extreme" an adequate enough
word?
Recycling
is more commonplace than ever, but only 3.5% of plastic is
actually recycled. The rest may take centuries to decompose.
One of the goals of California Paddle 2007
is to promote stricter recycling policies and increased use of
biodegradable and renewable materials.
California Paddle 2007
will also aid California (and the rest of the nation) by
expanding existing research via the collection of samples from
areas inaccessible to most marine research vessels. Marine
researchers will analyze the samples and release their
findings in late 2007.
Through a major public relations campaign,
California Paddle 2007
will educate, motivate and inspire people to respect and
restore the ocean. The event will have a special focus on
educating young people, the key to changing the behaviors and
mindsets that turned our ocean and beaches into a waste dump.
Using classroom visits, beach clean-ups, and a youth oriented
web site.
California Paddle 2007
will teach students the results of failing to protect and
preserve our marine environments. Tom Jones is a proud
husband and father, who is helping to ensure that his children
and future generations are able to enjoy the ocean. Tom hopes
that
California Paddle 2007
will inspire others to push their limits to make the world a
better place, and show kids that anything is possible with
passion and dedication.
The Mission Inn
in Santa Cruz was more than gracious to Tom during his recent
stay at their beautiful establishment while training for the
California Paddle 2007. We'd like to thank the entire
staff and management for their support.
Training in Santa
Cruz, Ca for the California Paddle 2007
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