along the beaches, and in the mountains of the UAE. Camels, sheep, goats and cattle, as well as the protected Arabian Onyx, the Sand Gazelles and other wildlife are dying after ingesting plastic – just like the albatross birds in the Midway Atoll.

As the images show, these animals are eating the plastic pollution left behind by visitors, travelers, dune and wadi bashers – and then choking on it, or starving to death because the plastic blocks their intestines. The pollution in the desert is already an outrage. The death of these innocent animals is inhumane, unnecessary and horrific.

His son, David, said his father has noticed an increase in the number of animal deaths due to plastic pollution. “My father took up this subject a few years ago, and since then has tirelessly advocated an awareness to stop the littering.”

The emirates are wealthy but developing nations. They have trash collection services, but the education of the population lags behind. “Most people’s attitude is “Just drop it, others are there to pick it up,”"said David. “The country as a whole has to start a major education program on this.”

These images are a heartbreaking reminder that plastic pollution is everywhere.

All images are copyright of Dr. Ulrich Wernery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

More information, telephone numbers and suggested actions are located here.

And here is some news coverage on the vote:

• BPA baby bottle ban fails in Assembly – ABC local coverage
• Lobbyist ‘fear tactics’ to fight BPA ban seem to be working – Consumer Watch

Your voice can make a real impact. Please make a quick phone call to your District’s Assemblymember with the following message: “I am a member of your district and urge you to support AB 1998, the plastic bag ban bill.”

To find your Assemblymember, click on this link and enter your 5-digit zip code.

The 2 minutes you take to call could help protect our environment for generations to come!

Please also visit the following link to send in a support letter.  More information about AB 1998 is available on the website of PPC member Heal The Bay.

Design Tom Adler. Artwork Dianna Cohen. Feel free to reproduce.

Join the movement and take the (S.U.P.E.R) HERO PLEDGE today!

Many of these artists no longer have plastic bottles of water backstage. They are also selling cool stainless steel reusable water bottles in addition to the traditional tour Tees and other merchandise to show how you can refuse disposable plastic. Small changes like this can really change the way people think and act.
Jack Johnson has invited the Plastic Pollution Coalition to be a part of his 2010 World Tour as a featured organization on his social action network site, All At Once. Check out All at Once—an entertaining and inspiring showcase for all that enviro-guru Johnson is passionate about. Mahalo!

R&B queen Bonnie Raitt is making PPC part of this summer’s Green Music Group Challenge. We will be creating a PSA for the site with Raitt. Also, Ben Harper and Jackson Browne are donating a portion of their summer concert ticket sales to support our work. More to come on this soon.

Visual artists are also contributing their work to raise funds for our efforts. Chris Jordan has donated three of his tragic yet powerfully beautiful Midway: Message from the Gyre photo sets. Raymond Pettibon has donated two original images and will also make a limited edition print for sale to raise funds and awareness for PPC.

Surfing legends Chris and Keith Malloy have spent years traveling around the world looking for the best undiscovered surfing spots. From Antarctica to Iceland, and from Galapagos to New Caledonia, no matter how remote the place was, plastic was already there.

The Malloys have spent years exploring uncharted waters around the Irish coast to find empty, world-class waves. They featured in the Irish section of the 2003 blockbuster surf film Step Into Liquid and then returned to Irish waters to film Waveriders.

How about you just make permanent, durable stuff outta plastic and not just for instant-trash, convenience-based throw-aways, huh? I mean, work with us here, eh? Instead, they want to dump the responsibility back to us through “increased rates of recovery and recycling of plastics”. On the fleeting bright side of this problem of plastic pollution, DOW suggests that, “the industrial sector has been guilty of “insufficient participation” in finding a solution”. Duh, dooood…(snore, snore…)

This is all in reaction to Mexico’s plastic bag ban, which the plastics industry claims is being poorly managed. Hey, bienvenidos a Mexico, Jorge – maybe planning to avoid the pollution situation that you’ve caused for an entire country should have been thought out before this breaking point, instead of after this “populist measure”, ya think? Get used to “populist measures”, we have them planned all over the globe.

Mexico is feeling the brunt of plastics pollution, and is responding with legislation – perhaps a last resort. But when dealing with an unneighborly adversary like the plastics people, ya gotta do whatcha gotta do…unfortunately, Mexico does not have the infrastructure to recycle (whilst whistling a happy tune, as the plastics industry thinks it happens) the volumes of plastic throw-aways that are foisted upon them by manufacturers, so are attempting to legislate the problem down to controllable levels. Buenas Suerte!

At Kehoe Beach, turning right to the north, we find the customary tangle of plastic and wrack. For variety we decide to head south across Kehoe Creek, flowing out through the sand, and onto Ten Mile Beach.

The beach is blissfully clean here; the big waves have carried much of the plastic back out to sea. It’s a great relief to walk and not feel the compulsion to focus down and sort through a bunch of junk. We walk for a few hundred yards and then our preoccupation with getting to work has us turning back north where there’s plenty to pick through. Our habitual lean is toward gleaning stuff to tell the plastic debris story. A kind of shopping. Today we decide to make a valentine for our ourselves and our friends. All that red was gathered in fifteen minutes. Happy Valentine’s y’all.

Artists Judith Selby and Richard Lang have been collecting plastic pollution from Kehoe Beach for 10 years and making art with it.  More information on their Website http://www.beachplastic.com/

Gorgeous Kehoe Beach is located 40 miles north of San Francisco in Point Reyes National Seashore . See Kehoe Beach on BlooSee satellite imagery here

The mission of the Breast Cancer Fund is closely related to the our mission. First, we share a concern about the carcinogenic properties of plastics. Carcinogenic chemicals are released throughout the entire life cycle of plastics from production, through use and disposal. In addition, we share the Breast Cancer Fund’s strategy to get to the root of the problem by eliminating carcinogens from our products through legislative action like the proposed federal ban on BPA in food and drink containers.

No more than 10 percent of breast cancers are genetic, and science points to toxic chemicals and radiation as factors in the sharp rise of breast cancer incidence. Through public education, policy initiatives, advocacy and innovative campaigns, the Breast Cancer Fund mobilizes the public to secure the changes needed to stop this disease before it starts.

The Breast Cancer Fund focuses on the potential impacts of toxic chemicals on breast cancer; however, the group is cognizant that reducing human exposure will also keep these chemicals out of our air, waterways, soils and ice caps to reduce exposure for all animals, including humans.

The Breast Cancer Fund has taken a lead in federal advocacy for elimination of carcinogens in plastics, and  includes excellent information on its website about the carcinogenic dangers of plastics.

Welcome on board!

This coming summer, Rock The Earth will be helping spread the word about  Plastic Pollution Coalition at concerts and festivals throughout the U.S.

“We’re really excited to be part of the Plastic Pollution Coalition,” says Rock The Earth President Marc Ross.  “Pollution from the creation, use and disposal of plastics is one of the most pressing consumer and environmental issues that we face.  We’re really glad that we’re able to join forces with so many talented activists and artists to take action on this important issue.”