This week, people around the world are doing their part to show their appreciation of the ocean in honor of World Ocean Day (which was yesterday). Informational lectures, boat trips, exhibits and shore cleanups are being held all over the country to encourage folks to conserve and protect water. I love how days like this get like-minded people together to help protect something so important to us all. How great that this cause (like so many other environmental causes) has mobilized a mass of people!

It got me thinking that hosting and organizing a shore cleanup (or any other sort of cleanup) couldn't be that hard. I usually see groups of people picking up garbage together in my local park, and it wouldn't take much to get a group together to do the same. Whenever I notice garbage in my park, I do bend down to pick it up, so imagine if these efforts were practiced by a group of 10 people? We'd get a lot cleaned up!

Have you ever hosted or taken part in a cleanup? What was it like? How did it make you feel?

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I often wonder why cigarette butts seem to be exempt from the litter category. Some of my smoking friends seem to be stewards of the environment in many ways, but when they finish their cigarettes they thoughtlessly flick the butt onto the street. This always baffles me. When we were growing up we learned that littering was bad - in fact, it was drilled into our heads. I am shocked to see some of the people I grew up with litter.

How can someone who shudders at the thought of (more...)