A few clips from the last day in Australia.
Even when it’s tiny and onshore, there’s still nothing quite like surfing at home. The familiarity of colors, textures, sandbars and skylines make it irresistibly welcoming. As I’m off for another surfing adventure in the southern hemisphere, I bit adieu to my lovely homeland for a spell. For now, time with whales and explorations of ancient cultures will have to suffice. More soon.
This from a surf report from Walton County in Northwest Florida:
“WARNING: I, along with several others that surfed last week’s Alex swell, were sick over the weekend. I felt like I had the flu, while others were throwing up. Water and shoreline appear clean, but I think it’s what you can’t see that’s going to hurt you. Surf at your own risk.”
From www.waltonsurf.com
We spent an hour or so on hands and knees picking up bits and slabs of tar that washed up from an unknown source today. While some have said that they’ve seen this happen before, the result of passing ships dumping waste, I’ve not experienced the saddening sight of black tar littering my most treasured place, my homebreak. I’ve been spending considerable amounts of time at this beach for the past 15 years or so and have never witnessed this quantity of tar on the beach. The news reports and local agencies are saying that it’s definitely not related to the Gulf spill, that the tar is totally harmless and that it’s old tar that no longer contains petroleum. Interestingly enough, they still advise people NOT to touch it (thus implying not to aid in cleaning up the beach).
Some have speculated that the tar balls are the result of oil dispersants sending tar balls deep underwater where they are rendered nearly impossible to track. Testing is underway to determine the origin of the oil.
As you may or may not have noticed, 31 Days/ 31 Ways got a little sidetracked with all of the distractions that come with travel. Anyway, here is another short glimpse into the experience with Californian golden boy Chris Del Moro.
More soon,
Lauren
Mexico City bans stores from distributing plastic bags
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) — Mexico City’s thousands of stores went green Wednesday, as amended ordinances on solid waste now outlaw businesses from giving out thin plastic bags that are not biodegradable.
Mexico City stores, such as this supermarket, can no longer give out non-biodegradable plastic bags.
The law affects all stores, production facilities and service providers within the Federal District, which encompasses the city limits. Nearly 9 million people live inside the district and another 10 million reside in surrounding communities that make up greater Mexico City.
Mexico City becomes the second large metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere to outlaw the bags. San Francisco in March 2007 enacted an ordinance that gave supermarkets six months and large chain pharmacies about a year to phase out the bags. Los Angeles is set to impose a ban if the state of California does not enact a statewide 25-cent fee per bag by July.
About 90 percent of the bags used in the United States are not recycled.
Bans and other restrictions on plastic bags are in place in several countries.
China has adopted a strict limit, reducing litter and eliminating the use of 40 billion bags, the World Watch Institute said, citing government estimates. Although compliance has been spotty, violation of the law carries a possible fine of 10,000 yuan ($1,463), World Watch said.
In Tanzania, selling the bags carries a maximum six-month jail sentence and a fine of 1.5 million shilling ($1,137).
Mumbai, India, outlawed the bags in 2000 and cities in Australia, Italy, South Africa and Taiwan have imposed bans or surcharges. Ireland reported cutting use of the bags by 90 percent after imposing a fee on each one.
Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, says plastic bags are the second-most-common form of litter, behind cigarette butts. The bags are the greatest form of litter on the globe’s oceans, the U.N. agency said in a recent report.
The bags are also a major threat to ocean wildlife, causing the deaths of 100,000 sea turtles and other marine animals that mistake them for food.
“Thin-film, single-use plastic bags, which choke marine life, should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere,” Steiner said in June. “There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere.”
Mexico City, which has had some of the worst air pollution in the world, also is looking at improving its environment in other ways. The municipal government announced this month it will place more than 1,100 bicycles at 84 stations throughout the city for residents to use. Officials said they hope to increase bicycle use as a form of transportation to 5 percent, up from the current 1.2 percent.