Author Archives
Reporter, journalist and author who has owned and operated a bookstore, a pool and spa full service business, an apple farm, and is now committed to environmental issues.
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Conquering Marine Debris
Thousands upon thousands of volunteers combed coastal regions and waterways on International Coastal Cleanup Day for trash and waste removal. These photos by Charmaine Coimbra were taken at Estero Bluffs State Park, with volunteers from the Cayucos Land Conservancy in cooperation with the local coordinating agency, ECOSLO.
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Join the World In Coastal Clean-Up Sat., Sept. 16
The first California coast cleanup began in the mid 1970s when an Arcata recycler operated beach cleanups in search of recyclables. Oregon, however, was the first state to organize a state-wide volunteer beach cleanup in 1984, called the “Plague of Plastics.”
The California Coastal Commission began the California Coastal Cleanup in 1985. From 1985 through 2016, 23,054,067 pounds of trash and recyclables were removed and properly disposed or recycled by 1,437, 549 volunteers, the commission reports. -
Palm Oil Spill Adds to Consistant Oil Spills Near Hong Kong
A total of 13 beaches in Hong Kong have been shut down by a palm oil spill from a ship collision that happened in the Pearl River estuary in mainland Chinese waters last Thursday. Several government departments have worked together… Read More ›
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U.S. Senate Passes Save Our Seas Act
There is nothing like a bit of good news to start off the work week. In a heartening display of bipartisan unity, the Senate just passed the Save Our Seas Act, a small but significant piece of legislation. This is… Read More ›
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Acidification Impacts Puget Sound’s Oyster Farms
It’s a calamity that threatens Washington state’s $270-million-a-year shellfish industry. And it has the Taylors — after a century-plus producing shellfish in the Evergreen State — exploring every potential angle to steel their mollusks against the corrosive effects of ocean acidification.
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6 Ways to Teach Kids about Single-Use Plastic
by Laura Parker Roerden You are probably asking: How are single-use plastic and children’s resiliency related? Is there some new study that shows plastic effects children’s brains and their resiliency? No, there is not. But there are plenty of studies that show that children’s… Read More ›
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Elephant Seals Contaminated with Mercury
Researchers at Ano Nuevo found the mercury level in the water during the molting season 17 times higher than what it is at other times of the year. That led them to look at where the mercury was coming from: the seals themselves. The molted skin takes with it some of the mercury that the seals have accumulated from the prey they eat in the ocean. Their blood and muscles have higher concentrations of mercury than would damage the nervous system of a human.
