Support LA County's Ordinance to Ban Plastic Bags

History will be made November 16^th. Please join Heal the Bay to support our Board of Supervisors as they vote to ban plastic bags in unincorporated Los Angeles County. With a population of over a million people this will be the largest municipality in the country to ban the use of plastic bags.  

When: November 16th The Board can postpone any agenda item at their discretion.  We will provide any updated information on our website.  Please RSVP and we’ll keep you updated on any changes.
Where: 383 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Time: Our Bag Ban Rally will begin at 8:30am-9:15am on the steps outside the hall. The meeting will begin at 9:30am

Successful Ban the Plastic Bag March!

   Santa Monica Daily Press
Team Marine and Heal the Bay Surfrider Club collaborated this past Tuesday (Oct. 26th) in a peaceful march. We demonstrated throughout downtown Santa Monica, with over 60 participating marchers, ending at Santa Monica City Hall. At city hall, all of the march's participants sat down in a townhall-style room, where we were told that on Nov. 23rd, 2010, the council will decide to ban the plastic bag or not. The two teams reached thousands of people during our peaceful protest, through the march itself and associated media, including three film crews and various photographers. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us!

Join Team Marine's 6th Annual Ban the Bag March!

On Tuesday October 26, 2010, Team Marine and the Heal The Bay Surfrider Club students will stage their 6th friendly community march to raise awareness about the dangers of plastic bag pollution and the reusable bag solution. The Santa Monica City Council has been trying to bag the plastic bag for two years now! Unfortunately, they haven't been able to without the risk of being sued by the plastic bag industry, due to the lack of an environmental impact report. The march will begin and end at Santa Monica High School and continue into downtown Santa Monica between 4-7pm.  All are welcome to join!

No on Proposition 23

Team Marine members have done their research, and concluded that the team is opposed to Proposition 23. Prop. 23 aims to "temporarily" suspend Assembly Bill 32 until unemployment falls below 5.5% for four consecutive quarters. The unemployment rate is currently over 12%. AB 32, known as the CA Global Warming Solutions Act, requires the state of California to reduce annual emissions of greenhouse gases (ex. CH4 or CO2) to 1990 levels by 2020. The act has stimulated the massive growth of the green industry, where environmentally friendly jobs, products, and decisions are made. With the suspension of this bill, California's green industry will suffer, and we will continue to think in the present rather than for the future. On November 2nd, 2010, please vote no on Proposition 23, a proposition funded in the millions by oil giants Tesoro and Valero, among others.

ReEducate yourselves: Yes and No on Proposition 23 views

Brown/Newsom Rally

    (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom held a political rally at UCLA's Dickson Court on Friday October 25, 2010, which was attended by over 4,000 supporters. Team Marine member Aidan Nathanson was lucky enough to attend this event, after participating in a phone banking session. Team Marine is endorsing Jerry Brown for Governor and Gavin Newsom for Lt. Governor for their support of expanding green jobs and a green economy, as well as their opposition to Proposition 23. Team Marine will talk a little more about Prop. 23 and AB32 in a later post. Brown and Newsom were accompanied by former President Bill Clinton, who supported their green efforts and choice to "consistently choose the future over the present".

KLOS Radio

On Wednesday October 13th 2010, Team Marine went to the KLOS studios to be interviewed by Cynthia Fox. The interview was pre-recorded and will be aired on Sunday October 17th on 95.5 KLOS between 6:30-7 AM. In addition to their radio spot, Kou, Jessica, and Michelle got a tour of the studio and met the executives of the radio station. The memorable occasion allowed the team members to learn the basics of how radio works. A giant thank you to Cynthia Fox and the KLOS team for inviting Team Marine be on the station.

First Flush

Team Marine was struck with great distress as news of the first flush came to our attention. For the first time since last winter, significant rains hit the Santa Monica area. The water (and trash) collected by the city's storm drains broke the sand barrier at the Pico-Kenter storm drain and flowed into the ocean on October 5th-6th, 2010. Team Marine had an emergency meeting, and immediately walked to the storm drain site to document and clean the beach. We picked up hundreds of pounds of trash in a short amount of time, but unfortunately thousands of pounds of trash still flowed into our Santa Monica Bay.

Santa Monica Alternative Car Expo

The 2010 Santa Monica AltCar Expo was Saturday, October 2nd. We got a huge group to attend the event, where our members learned about plug-in hybrids and EVs, hydrogen cell and biodiesel, etc. At Team Marine, we are all in love with eco-friendly cars, motorcycles, and trucks like these, especially the zero-emission vehicles. Kudos to Mr. Kay for signing up to purchase the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf is a zero emission car, and was a hit at the show. Thank you to Mary Nichols of the Air Resources Board, City of Santa Monica, and the car companies who have decided to partially stray from America's addiction to oil.

QuikSCience at the IMAX

On Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 Team Marine was invited to speak at a QuikSCience event at the IMAX theater. Other student leaders in the eco-world also spoke of their experiences, and the audience was very enthusiastic about creating eco-groups of their own. Jessica, Kou, and Aidan presented a powerpoint presentation before the main event: a free viewing of The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D with Kelly Slater. It was an amazingly awesome movie, and we are very thankful to Quiksilver, USC Wrigley Institute, and QuikSCience for providing us with this great opportunity.

Day of Peace

Looking back at Roots and Shoots' Day of Peace, all I can think is WOW! It was such a fun, educational event at the Santa Monica Pier. Numerous booths who had the common goal of saving the world were there, and everyone learned new things. We won the Best Outreach Booth, participated in the Peace Dove Parade, and spread the eco-love. We hope to continue attending Day of Peace for many years to come! Special thanks to Roots and Shoots for allowing us to be a big part of this event.

Dirt! at the Pier

The City of Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and the Environment played Dirt! The Movie at the Santa Monica Pier on Friday September 24th. New Team Marine members were there to educate themselves on the importance of dirt in cultures all over the world. A giant thank you to the OSE for having this free event!

Koodooz Event

The Santa Monica Main Library got a massive helping of Team Marine on Saturday September 25th, 2010. Koodooz put on a great event with a group of speakers including Julia Brownley (we love her!), Mr. Kay, Ethan Burke of ACE, among other important figures in the Eco-World. Team Marine brought its entire REthink mural, and other types of eco-art projects. Overall, it was a very informative event, and the entire team had an amazing time.

Coastal Cleanup Day

On September 25th, 2010, Team Marine participated in Heal the Bay's Coastal Cleanup Day, which takes place the 3rd Saturday of September every year. We picked up trash for three around Station 27 at the Santa Monica Beach. Some members even entered the Pico-Kenter storm drain to pick up debris. Beach cleanups are one of Team Marine's favorite events. If you are interested in participating in beach cleanups in your area, contact your local California Coastal Commission office.

Team Marine at the IMAX theater!

The team will be presenting a Powerpoint at a QuikScience event at the California Science Center IMAX theater. Come check us out!