Was dumping thousands of bits of plastic into the ocean such a great idea?
That's right - thousands of plastic ducks purposely dumped into the ocean this weekend. For a good cause, of course, but still. Patt Morrison makes the case against the Duck-a-thon in our fine animals blog, L.A. Unleashed:
It's for a very good cause -- a community clinic -- but not doing it is a very good cause, too. In our part of the Pacific Ocean, there's six times more plastic than plankton -- six times. Along the North Pacific shores, a hundred thousand sea mammals are killed every year from gobbling plastics that they thought were edible.
The plastic poisoning of the oceans isn't getting better, and the once-amusing spectacle of tides full of yellow rubber ducks isn't helping.
We're a smart country -- if we can stamp out crackers shaped like goldfish, someone can come up with an edible, floating, ocean-friendly food substance and make it look like a duck. Because otherwise, in this case, if it looks like a duck and floats like a duck and quacks like a duck -- it's deadly.
Seriously - why isn't dumping this much plastic into the ocean against the law?
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Community Care Health Centers
Just recently, I read that the amount of plastic substances floating in our oceans is immense. What is going on here. Where is the common sense gone. A good cause for whom? Now we celebrate a cause buy doing counter productive things our oceans?
Posted by: Gil Payne | May 19, 2008 at 01:56 PM
I'm writing from Maryland, home of the imperiled Chesapeake bay, I
read this article expecting the plastic ducks to have sensors in them to track ocean waste or something.
I'm blown away that this is being done at all, and could care less if it's for
" a good cause".
Somebody out there needs to put a stop to this misguided activity.
I thought Californians were more environmentally conscious than this.
Posted by: Tom | May 19, 2008 at 02:00 PM
That is just plain stupid. How did the city allow this to happen?!
Posted by: dre | May 19, 2008 at 02:04 PM
I went to Huntington Beach this Saturday and had no idea they were doing this. I helped grab a few from the water, but I really didn't understand the point of it. Should we really be poisoning our ocean even more? Couldn't they have dumped biodegradable ducks instead? It seems like a stupid idea for a charity event.
Posted by: Karen | May 19, 2008 at 02:21 PM
Hey Maryland, home of the imperiled Chesapeake bay,
What are you talking about us Californian's care...I just drove my HUGE SUV down to the beach to watch the little ducklings.. Parking was so bad at the parking structure that my car sat idle for 30 minutes while waiting for a parking spot..I went through 3 large "plastic bottles" of water,smoked a couple of cigarettes and ate some fast food with paper wrappings....Don't worry about us out here. You just worry about that gas powered snow plow machine you use 6 months out of the year....By the way it was about 90 degrees yesterday at the beach...,
Posted by: James | May 19, 2008 at 02:27 PM
Oh for Pete's Sake. Get a grip! It's called the TIDE. They dump on the north side of the pier, and they wash ASHORE. There isn't millions of rubber duckies floating to Hawaii for their next vacation... they wash ASHORE. Volunteers to pick up the little duckies when the exercise is complete. But for goodness gracious, don't EVER allow yourselves anything cute, or entertaining, because the freakin' baby harp seals might choke if they see you laugh or have a good time. Don't buy raffle tickets, they are made out of paper. In fact.. so is money.. you shouldn't have any money either.. it isn't earth friendly to print money.. I'm sure there is something against the ink used, or the amount of power needed to run the presses.....
Posted by: Gina | May 19, 2008 at 03:16 PM
Well, I will correct myself.
Apparently some of you in Ca. care ( I knew you did... )
And apparently you have some of the same wackjobs we have in Maryland.
Good luck with your coast and with the duckies!
Tom
Posted by: tom | May 19, 2008 at 05:09 PM
I'd like to complain. I'm a shark who just ate a plastic ducky and it didn't go down so well. Please dump real ducks.
Posted by: Mr. G. White | May 19, 2008 at 07:04 PM
Like Americans are so deprived of things cute and entertaining.
Posted by: Greg | May 20, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Each of the ducks are named and numbered and accounted for when picked up.
Volunteers stand at the shoreline, and along the pier with binoculars and watch the ducks as the tide/waves bring them in.
Thousands of beachgoers grab the ducks and toss them towards the shore as well.
Very, very few actually stay in the water for more than an hour.
We're not idiots trying to kill fish life.
Posted by: Duck-a-Thon Volunteer | June 17, 2008 at 07:31 AM