Here’s an email letter I received from an org I support – and one you all should know about. They are doing great things to save marine wildlife off the coast of LA. – Andrea Metz

Dear Ocean Defender’s Alliance Supporters and Fellow Ocean Lovers:

It’s been an interesting and dramatic year and decade for ODA, our nation, and the world on a whole. The start of the 21st Century marks the birth decade for ODA and the wonderful accomplishments to date in the water and onshore – all of which we could not do without your generous help and support!

Despite the widely acknowledged and increasing negative impacts the human population is having on our small planet, as you know there are many smart individuals and organizations fighting for a healthy and sustainable environment on various fronts, some for decades, surely making a positive and lasting difference.  Several of you work for these critical causes, and we thank you for your tenacity, trailblazing, and grace.

However, the year and decade ahead holds new challenges for the environmental movement and the entire human race, not to mention our struggling animal friends in the dwindling wild.  For the first time in history, far-reaching climate and ocean issues are forefront on most educated peoples’ minds.  Perhaps more importantly, our elected officials, authorities, and major corporate lobbies are finally reacting to the urgent messages from scientists and independent NGO/NPO’s, and seem to be working towards diplomatic solutions, such as the MLPA here in California.  We can only hope they are not too late to the table on regional and international concerns, and adopt the appropriate policy and action based on sound science.

Over the past decade, ODA has made significant progress towards enlightening Californians about the unseen habitat and wildlife destruction caused by abandoned commercial fishing gear, and taking direct grassroots action to correct this growing problem.

In the beginning of 2009, the LA Times sent staff to report on ODA’s 14-diver coalition formed to begin mitigating the Infidel, a fishing boat wreck featuring a monster-sized net accidentally sunk in 150-feet of water just off Catalina Island.  This story led to a significant flurry of similar news articles including some major national coverage.  Although we made a lot of progress in 2009 at the Infidel and have greatly reduced the fishing net’s deadly threat to marine wildlife, we still have nearly half the net to waiting to be removed in early 2010 and can’t wait to finish the project.

ODA is very proud to have almost completely removed all the sunken commercial nets off the wrecks of the Olympic and Georgia Straits, as well as significant progress at Old Marine Land and the challenging deep water Caissons. On recent check-up dives to the mitigated wreck sites, we were thrilled to see large fish using the artificial habitat that were not witnessed while covered with nets (sshhhh….don’t tell the fishermen!).  Moreover, we’ve made great strides with repairing and outfitting our 38-foot flagship, the “Clearwater”, and appreciate all those who have helped us at the dock.

While 2009 has been our best year in terms of mission success, public awareness, and vital basic funding, we look forward to a great start for 2010, and there are numerous new commercial fishing debris-contaminated sites we plan to fully mitigate in the months and years ahead.

With that said, we hope you and yours have a joyful Holiday Season, and take time to reflect on the decade behind while you plan accordingly for the year and decade coming up soon.  Please visit our website (www.oceandefenders.org) for the latest information, calendar, and unique ways to help support ODA in enduring our life-saving mission.

Happy Holidays!

Kurt Lieber
President and Founder

Scott Sheckman
Executive Director

And All Your Friends at ODA

WWW.OCEANDEFENDERS.ORG

PS:  SAVE THE DATE – SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010 – ODA’s first major fundraising event at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Tentatively featuring fascinating presentations by Captain Paul Watson and Helicopter Pilot Chris Aultman of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (featured extensively on Animal Planet’s popular “Whale Wars” series). Also great food and entertainment. Tickets will go on sale soon!

Ocean Defenders Alliance is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law – please consult your tax adviser.

1. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) – Used in soft drink, juice, water, beer, mouthwash, peanut butter, salad dressing, detergent, and cleaner containers. Leaches antimony trioxide and (2ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP).
2. DEHP is an endocrine disruptor that mimics the female hormone estrogen. It has been strongly linked to asthma and allergies in children. It may cause certain types of cancer and it has been linked to negative effects on the liver, kidney, spleen, bone formation, and body weight. In Europe, DEHP has been banned since 1999 from use in plastic toys for children under the age of three.
3. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) – Used in opaque milk, water, and juice containers, bleach, detergent and shampoo bottles, garbage bags, yogurt and margarine tubs, and cereal box liners. Considered a safer plastic. Research on risks associated with this type of plastic is ongoing.
4. Polyvinyl chloride (V or Vinyl or PVC) – Used in toys, clear food and non-food packaging (e.g., cling wrap), some squeeze bottles, shampoo bottles, cooking oil and peanut butter jars, detergent and window cleaner bottles, shower curtains, medical tubing, and numerous construction products (e.g., pipes, siding). PVC has been described as one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created. Leaches di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) or butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), depending on which is used as the plasticizer or softener (usually DEHP). DEHP and BBzP are endocrine disruptors mimicking the female hormone estrogen; have been strongly linked to asthma and allergic symptoms in children; may cause certain types of cancer; and linked to negative effects on the liver, kidney, spleen, bone formation, and body weight. In Europe, DEHP, BBzP, and other dangerous phthalates have been banned from use in plastic toys for children under three since 1999. Not so elsewhere, including Canada and the United States.

   Dioxins are unintentionally, but unavoidably, produced during the manufacture of materials containing chlorine, including PVC and other chlorinated plastic feedstocks. Dioxin is a known human carcinogen and the most potent synthetic carcinogen ever tested in laboratory animals. A characterization by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of cancer causing potential evaluated dioxin as over 10,000 times more potent than the next highest chemical (diethanol amine), half a million times more than arsenic, and a million or more times greater than all others.

Alexander Parkes created the first man-made plastic and publicly demonstrated it at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London. The material, called parkesine, was an organic material derived from cellulose that, once heated, could be molded and retained its shape when cooled.

A day of gratitude, we all have much to be thankful for.

namaste’

In the Pacific Ocean, a floating garbage dump exists between Hawaii and California that is hundreds of thousands square miles wide and has been estimated to contain approximately 3.5 million tons of debris.