Check out the following link to learn about the fascinating scientific voyage just completed by our friends at the Sea Education Association. Their team drilled deeper into the ever more serious threats of plastics in the ocean environment.

http://www.sea.edu/plastics

A new study published in Neuroendocrinology, a peer-reviewed journal, measures the impact of low doses of Bisphenol-A, better known as BPA. The study will be devastating for the chemical industry which has long defended the use of BPA in plastics and many other products. It should also be an embarrassment for the FDA which has played along for far too long.

This new study can be read in its entirety on the following link: (http://www.nsfepigenetics.com/sites/nsfepigenetics.com/files/nsfepigenet...)

This BBC video shows just one example of a scenario duplicated at hundreds of smaller and even larger waste dumps around the world – many even in the US. This environmental disaster could be turned into an economic benefit for every region in which it occurs (see post below).

Much of the world could be cleaned up with an investment smaller than the Facebook IPO.

Virtually all of the garbage you see in the Maldives video in post above, or any other dump in the world, can be recycled into useful products or used to create electricity.

Here is a link to a page that lists 82 links to videos about reducing waste. Most of these are not about plastic. Some methods and suggestions are practical enough to be adopted at home. Others are about technology. Some just try to make a point – perhaps not always a useful or practical one. Some are entertaining.

9/18/2011 Surf City USA – Victory Koredry and Hinano Tahiti put on a new kind of SUP race. The thrills and spills format of the Hinano Surf Race to Victory had racers paddling out and back through the surf on an M-shaped, buoy-marked course set up alongside the world famous Huntington Beach Pier. The new SUP Boarder Cross format had competitors sporting helmets, jerseys, and big fast SUP boards. Overall waterman skills were tested as competitors raced through shore break to the end of the pier, then in and out of the surf again, before running up the beach to the finish. "It was definitely the most fun event of the season," said elite SUP competitor, Brandi Baksic.

Building on its commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, global port operator DP World has become the lead corporate sponsor of Plastic Free Ocean.

Serving the world’s shipping needs from locations in 31 countries and growing, DP World is one of the largest marine terminal operators with 50 terminals, including some of the world’s largest and busiest ports, and has 11 new facilities and major expansions currently under development. DP World’s team of nearly 30,000 people serves customers in many of the most dynamic economies in the world.

Tom Jones’ world-record finish was big indeed with coverage by New York metro area media and especially by great stories aired nationally by FOX NEWS. Tom successfully completed one of the most grueling ultra-endurance events ever undertaken. Now, we are asking you to join us in a task of huge importance. To date, we have raised 1/3 of the $500,000 needed to create a model program for cleaning up the world’s oceans and tidal zones. We are now getting the national news coverage that this story deserves and it is making a difference, but your contribution is needed to make the Plastic Free Ocean mission a reality.

A number of organizations continue to study the scope and composition of plastic that is accumulating in the five ocean gyres. This is valuable from a scientific standpoint, but it is not directly addressing what we now know is the largest killer of marine wildlife, and the single most insidious and pervasive human health threat.

The time has come for aggressive action. Plastic Free Ocean has gathered the critical information and identified the necessary technology. In the simplest and most abbreviated form, here is what your contribution can do.

If you are a SUP enthusiast who can be in the New York City area on Thursday August 12th, you can paddle into New York City with Tom Jones as he sets a new World Record. To find out how you can participate, read on ...

Tom Jones is generously offering the 14’ and 11’ boards that he has used to paddle from Key West to New York City, and also the paddle that saw all 1500 miles of water, for a silent auction to benefit Plastic Free Ocean. These boards and this paddle have seen Tom through one of the most grueling ultra-endurance events ever undertaken in any sport.