From the category archives:

Pollution & Trash

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Creative Commons and the Ripple Effect

July 7, 2010 Pelicans

The Creative Commons license is sometimes a contentious designation in the world of art and creation. The type of Creative Commons license applied to a work further complicates the issue of copyright, fair use and commercial exploitation. For various reasons, I’ve retained the Attribution license on most of my Flickr photos . . . despite [...]

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Graphic Video: Heavily Oiled Birds

June 4, 2010 Disasters

I truncated this post to give you the option to view or not view the graphic images in this video. Although I hope everyone sees and is moved to action by these nightmarish depictions of oiled birds, I understand how a sensitive soul might be affected by the suffering here. There’s a reason I’m up [...]

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Coming to Terms With the Gulf Oil Disaster

May 20, 2010 Pollution & Trash

The truth is, I can’t. I cannot reconcile what’s happening in the Gulf right now when I read the reports . . . when I consider the gusher of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and moving into the loop current . . . and when I understand personally what clean up and wildlife [...]

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Wildlife Rescue in Gulf Oil Spill

April 30, 2010 Featured Post

Wildlife oil spill experts are on the scene in Louisiana, setting up emergency centers and assessing the damage from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

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Plastic Bag: A Low-Density Resin Love Story

March 24, 2010 Pollution & Trash

In the short film below, Ramin Bahrani and narrator Werner Herzog anthropomorphize a plastic bag. But it’s more than that…

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[Not Quite] Deja Vu – Oil Spill on San Francisco Bay

November 1, 2009 Pollution & Trash

Almost two years to the day after the Cosco Busan spill, hundreds of gallons of bunker fuel leaked into San Francisco Bay on Friday morning. As with Cosco Busan, details changed as the day went on, with reports ranging from five gallons to 100 gallons. Today’s news reports don’t add any clarity, although the best [...]

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Bay & Beach Flotsam #4: Hayward Shoreline

October 20, 2009 Bay Flotsam

Capturing the flotsam tossed around on San Francisco Bay — this episode shot in a small beach cove at Hayward Shoreline. Check out Bay & Beach Flotsam #3 for more info on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

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Bay & Beach Flotsam #3: Why Coastal Cleanup Days Are Critical

August 28, 2009 Bay Flotsam

It was the best of the beach and the not-so-best of the beach. The best — luminous in color and texture, with Brown Pelicans, porpoises and whales gliding parallel to the shore. The not-so-best, well — that was the inspiration for Bay & Beach Flotsam, Episode 3. We had just found two dead sea lions [...]

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Bay & Beach Flotsam #2

July 26, 2009 Bay Flotsam


Part two in my series of documenting the flotsam floating and landing on the beaches around the Bay.

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Dawn Cleans Oiled Birds

July 11, 2009 Pollution & Trash

This post relates to the oiled bird photos and info below. Dawn launched a new campaign that will contribute up to $500,000.00 to IBRRC (International Bird Rescue Research Center) and the Marine Mammal Center. For each bottle of Dawn Special Edition dishwashing liquid sold, $1 will be donated to the cause (up to the 500k [...]

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The “Three U” Rule of Hazardous Materials

July 9, 2009 Pollution & Trash

Hugh and I just got our initial Hazwoper certification — a Federal OSHA requirement if we want to assist with bird rescue in oil spill areas. That, combined with a wildlife rescue training course we took back in March, will at least put us on the volunteer list during catastrophic wildlife events. During the Cosco [...]

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Iron Eyes Cody – Time to Recycle & Reuse This PSA?

July 2, 2009 Pollution & Trash

Iron Eyes Cody, also referred to as “The Crying Indian” formed my earliest environmental understanding in this 1971 Keep America Beautiful ad: People Start Pollution, People Can Stop It. According to the Ad Council, the full Keep America Beautiful campaign helped to reduce litter by as much as 88% in 300 communities, 38 states, and [...]

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Bay & Beach Flotsam – Episode #1

June 21, 2009 Bay Flotsam


San Francisco Bay trash and pollution: I’ve seen: four-foot, mangy teddy bears nested in cord grass at high tide; an endangered Clapper Rail preening in a pile plastic bottles and corn chip bags; helium balloons tangled in seaweed, 100 yards out in the bog of low tide; plovers foraging around cigarette butts; fishing line and plastic loops just waiting to entangle the next curious gull.

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