Kudos

While we seek results we applaud progress. Even with our best intentions and awareness of things like the Texas-sized Pacific garbage patch it remains hard to eliminate our single-use plastic water bottle habit. They’re convenient and relatively cheap, though they cost more than double the cost of a gallon of gas and 2,000 times more than tap water. Historically the whole bottled water craze where people pay for filtered water in a plastic bottle with a fancy label started only 30 years ago. It’s hard to remember what we did before, but it’s not so long that it should be hard to quit. 

We want to recognize folks who are helping us all make the break. Richmond Yacht Club is one that’s taken steps to make it more convenient to refill your reusable water bottles, which will save oceans and money.

These efforts to prevent adding to the waste stream are running concurrent to the many efforts to clean up what is already cluttering the oceans. We’ve written about large-scale projects such as the Ocean Cleanup Project, which will deploy its first system to the Pacific from Alameda in the next few months, while clubs such as California YC in Southern California help with events like the Balloon Fishing Challenge.

We know many other clubs, fleets and organizations are taking initiatives to make progress. If you have a success story you’d like to share let us know. As Confucius said, a journey of a thousand miles starts with hauling up the anchor.