It’s been an interesting few weeks. UN meetings, talks with major film and television networks about filming my nonprofit’s expeditions as we sail around the world studying plastic in our oceans. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with the concept of global pollution in terms of scale. The scale of problems is often so big that the numbers cease to have meaning for the vast majority of people because they’re incomprehensibly large. So how do you do? Well, the answer is, you geek out. You run statistics and you do the math. So that’s what I did all weekend.

It’s no secret by now that I’m all about reducing synthetics in our lives. I try like hell to avoid plastics, even when I travel where water is sketchy. I’ll be reporting on a portable water radiating device I’ve obtained for my surf trip to Mexico in a few weeks – yup, I’m going to attempt to drink tap water to avoid plastic bottles – but why? Why are you so pathologically devoted to plastic pollution Stiv? Well, we all know there is garbage in the ocean that collects in places, and stays there forever. But we don’t know how much, because the amount is hard to noodle on. Here’s a an attempt to paint a picture for you.

The Scale of Global Plastic Pollution

Sailing across North Atlantic taught me something that all oceanographers know, but don’t necessarily say: the ocean is big and running the numbers on how much garbage is out there, proves to be a difficult task.

According to one prominent ocean scientist, SEA’s Giora Proskurowski, plastic is extremely diffuse and calculating its density isn’t very easy. Giora’s data states that concentration in The Atlantic gyre is about 50,000 .1g pieces per square kilometer on the surface. If we apply big math to that simply for the sake of getting an idea of scale, we get five kilograms per square kilometer or roughly 11-pounds per square kilometer on the surface. There are 316 million square kilometers of ocean surface. This makes for about 3.5-billion pounds of degraded plastic fragments fewer than 5mm in length on the surface of the ocean worldwide. Again, this is an extremely conservative estimate, extrapolating from a local data set to show the scale in the world. Giora’s work, for example, shows that plastic doesn’t just exist on the surface, it gets stratified within the water column, close to 90-feet down (not to mention all the types of plastic that sink, too, which is about half of the types manufactured). This estimate doesn’t include all the big pieces you find in various garbage patches within the gyres, but we’ll leave that weight out for now.

So, for the purposes of argument, let’s say that for each of those 90-feet of stratification, there is roughly the same weight per foot. Now we’re up to 315 billion pounds in the ocean. For comparison, The Gulf Spill is spewing roughly 2.5-million pounds of oil per day.

Cost of Cleanup, Hypothetical

A supertanker’s dead weight (amount of weight it can carry) is 500 million pounds. That would mean that to clean the ocean, you’d need to fill 630 oil supertankers to the brim at a cost of about $56,000 per each a day to charter (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). Therefore, to cleanup the gyres (assuming there is actually technology out there to do it which as of today, nothing has been proven to work) we’re looking at a cost of at least about $35 million a day or roughly $13 billion a year. And about 17 percent of all the oil tankers in service in the world would have to be full-time devoted to cleaning it up.

Now let’s talk about the scale of waste. As of 1992, the world (5.5 billion people, which today has grown to seven billion) dumped 14 billion pounds of garbage in the ocean each year, with over half (at the very least) being synthetics. If we apply this statistic over 40 years – the plastics era in the limelight – we get a very similar number to the 315 billion pound number stated before of overall plastics in the ocean. Worldwide, we’re looking at one to three percent recycling rates on plastic, a number based on an industry that is governed by supply and demand. The plastics industry produces 250 billion pounds of virgin raw plastic pellets per year. Okay, so now we at least have an ‘some idea’ of what we’re dealing with.

Great! Now that I feel sick to my stomach, what can I do?

One American’s ‘garbage in the ocean’ footprint is about 600 (as of 1992) pounds annually. If you want to know precisely what your plastics in the ocean footprint is do a simple experiment: throw all your waste in the same bin for a week. Separate organic materials and synthetics. Determine the percentage of synthetics and apply that percentage to that 600 pound number, and you’ll know roughly how much damage your lifestyle causes on the ocean in terms of weight. Now, take some action. Look at your own waste stream and see which items you can avoid all together or replace with reusable alternatives. I promise you, you’ll be surprised at how much difference you can personally make. Now go to it!

The post Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death: YOUR Plastic Footprint appeared first on EcoSalon.

When Liz Clark was nine years old, she started a piggy bank with a sign taped to it that read, “sailing around the world fund.” From that day forward, she set in motion a plan to follow the route sailed by Robin Lee Graham, who circumnavigated the world at age 16 and wrote a memoir of his travels entitled, Dove. 

Throughout college, Liz studied environmental policy and surfed on the University of California, Santa Barbara women’s team. Her skill as a surfer was noticed by sponsors and it was assumed that she would join the women’s pro tour, traveling the world to surf and compete on the global stage. But that wasn’t quite in the tea leaves for Liz.

After university, Liz lived on a sailboat that her father kept in Santa Barbara harbor. Living rent free, she saved for several years to eventually purchase her own ship, Swell. Then, with the help of several sailing friends, Liz completely overhauled the 1976 Cal 40 sloop that now serves as her home. At a scant 110 pounds, she redesigned the systems aboard Swell to be run by a woman of her size.

Now, she’s three years out to sea, currently somewhere near Tahiti in the South Pacific. Her surfing has improved to a level on par with some of the best in the world, and she’s now regularly riding one of the most dangerous waves in the world, Teahupoo – a deep water shelf in Tahiti that throws one of the heaviest walls of water on earth, so naturally Teahupoo surfers are in a very elite club.

Even on a slow boat, it doesn’t take three years to sail from San Diego to Tahiti. But Liz is in no hurry. She never understood the concept of sailing as fast as one can to circumnavigate. If she pulls up to a spot and the surf is on, she’ll hang for weeks or months, breathing the local culture, doing odd jobs, even learning to pearl dive.

I was lucky to have the chance to sail with Liz in Mexico a few years back. Though I’ve sailed my whole life, I hadn’t done any serious offshore sailing at that point and I was a bit nervous. I remember a story that demonstrates the beauty of Liz’s nature; everyone aboard was asleep and I was on watch at night, looking for ships that may cross our path. Captain Liz had instructed me to wake her up if I saw anything alarming. She was a little ill, so I wanted to make sure that she got rest. On the horizon, a light was emerging and it was becoming brighter and brighter. Soon, I was convinced that some massive freighter was heading for us and I yelled down for Liz to wake up. She sprung into action and the second she got on deck, a full moon broke the horizon. I felt like an idiot. But what did Liz say? “Ah Stiv, thanks for waking me up to watch the moonrise, it’s so beautiful.” Yeah Liz, the beauty in that moment wasn’t the moon. Thanks for letting me live a part of year dream.

You can keep up with Liz’s travels at her blog, The Voyage of Swell.

Image: Photos courtesy of Mackenzie Clark

The post Living the Dream Through Surfing and Sailing appeared first on EcoSalon.

Considering that the average American now consumes over 28 gallons of bottled water each year, all packaged in single-use plastic, it’s a good thing that many companies are now incorporating recycled PET (the stuff those bottles are made out of) into their lines.

Yes, recycled PET has made its way onto the mainstream runway along with a bevvy of other smart eco-friendly materials. But it’s not just about innovative technology or drool-worthy duds from the likes of Linda Loudermilk. Stylish picks in eco-friendly materials are well-suited to daily life – everything from yoga to yardwork. Check out some of our favorites:

Outerwear

A longtime household brand in the sailing and yachting community, Henri Lloyd has also made its way onto fashion lists. Now the company known for its all-weather sporty yet fashionable jackets is another big name to join the list of brands that use recycled PET.

Henri Lloyd has teamed up with Japanese textile factory Tejin Fibers Ltd. (a factory that also works with brands like Patagonia and Nau) to launch the first program worldwide for the collection and recycling of used marine apparel, as well as incorporation of Eco Storm recyclable, waterproof fabric made from recycled polyester fibers. Henri Lloyd’s 2010 Blue Eco Range of sailing wear will feature the new material, and we’re hoping it spreads to more of the brand!

Workout

Yoga-based apparel company prAna has an extensive line of workout gear, perfect for your morning asanas, that uses recycled polyester fibers. Favorites include the Lolita Pant and the Bella Sport top.

Beyond recycled PET, prAna is a sound and environmentally conscious company. In 2005 prAna launched the Natural Power Initiative to raise awareness about renewable energy amongst customers, retailers and the outdoor industry. This year, the Natural Power Initiative is expected to prevent the emissions of 17,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases.

Footwear

Ok, so I’ll go ahead and admit that these shoes aren’t made with recycled PET, but they’re too distinctive and eco-friendly to go unmentioned. Although it might not save any plastic bottles, El Naturalista’s Recyclus line does use recycled rubber and footbeds. In fact, the line is built on the idea that the entire shoe should be recyclable at its end of life.

“The name will be Recyclus; you will only need to pull a thread, and the sole, the in-sole, the leather, and the laces will separate into independent pieces to be deposited in special recycling bins that we will offer to stores.”

Bag

Hopefully your new year is going to be filled with lots of plans for intriguing adventures, which means you’ll need a sleek bag that can still carry a lot. Welcome the Motil Ped by Nau. The shell, lining and shoulder webbing are made of 100% recycled polyester. With a laptop pocket and ample zipper pockets inside, this can be your go-to back for any occasion, be it casual or fashionable.

For the home

Complete your sustainable wardrobe by adding a few key items around the house. As always, consuming less means more, but if you’re home is in need of a little freshening up, the Teppas stackable containers (made, natch, with recycled PET) from IKEA are a fun way to kick off a more organized lifestyle in the new year.

Main image: Adria Richards

The post From Yoga to Yardwork, 5 Great Picks for the Eco-Material Girl appeared first on EcoSalon.