This special bulletin is to announce that on Thursday, September 24, 2020, Heal the Ocean has elected Tom White to its Board of Directors.

Tom White is well-known in Santa Barbara as the owner, with his son, Adam, of the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, the Boat House (at Hendry’s Beach); the FisHouse Restaurant on Cabrillo, and Casa Blanca Restaurant on lower State Street.

He’s been involved with the ocean for many years – as a fisherman, surfer, sailor. When Heal the Ocean formed in 1998, Tom commissioned a thick glass backboard to the Oyster Bar at the FisHouse…

COVID-19 forced grocery stores and other markets to use single-use plastic bags to reduce the spread of the virus to store workers handling personal reusable bags. As a result, tons of single-use plastic bags have gone out of stores and into the waste stream.

GOOD NEWS! There are stores that have reinstalled plastic bag bins, where you can take your bags, for recycling. Heal the Ocean researched, and called, to verify that the following stores have instated their recycling bins/programs for your single-use plastic bags! Please patronize these stores, and use their bins…

Today, Monday, June 8, 2020, is World Oceans Day, and this year it comes with a call to world leaders to protect 30% of our blue planet by 2030. With recent world troubles that are very serious, we have become more aware than ever how connected we all are, from one end of the planet to the other, all people and continents are connected by the ocean. . .Everyone can give back to our ocean, so, on this World Oceans Day, please consider taking one or more of the following actions:

Heal the Ocean stands in solidarity with those speaking out against the racial injustices facing our Black Community and Communities of Color.The fight to protect the environment is interconnected to social justice issues, and environmental goals cannot be achieved without fighting for social justice for marginalized communities. The term intersectional environmentalism describes what exists, and it is important to understand this phenomenon as we move forward solving environmental problems.

• TODAY'S THE DAY! Last Call for #GivingTuesdayNow for HTO! And, Happy Cinco de Mayo, too!

• COVID-19 in the Ocean? Join City of Santa Barbara's Creek Division for a Webinar on this Issue

• "Flushable" Wipes are NOT Always Flushable - take action to help stop clogs!

Last week HTO shared two E-Letters with our subscribers regarding a recent LA Times article discussing the possibility of COVID-19 in the ocean. The below E-Letter is COVID-19 in the Ocean? Part II.

The public response to our E-Letters was fantastic. However, we do have a correction to make. We previously said in COVID-19 in the Ocean? Part II: “As an atmospheric chemist, Prather’s work is focused on aerosol transport of the COVID-19 virus, people to people, including beach-goers. She was never studying the possibility of the virus getting into the ocean and becoming airborne in wave action for surfers and ocean-swimmers to breathe.”. . .

A week ago today (Thursday, April 2, 2020) the Los Angeles Times ran a story, “Coronavirus at beaches? Surfers, swimmers should stay away, scientist says.” Written by a reporter Rosanna Xia, the article described the work of celebrated Scripps Institution scientist Kim Prather finding that the COVID-19 virus can make its way to the ocean through wastewater and/or land-based runoff, then becoming churned by an ocean wave into a “giant sneeze” that surfers and ocean swimmers could inhale. . .

We came across this video (four minutes, in Italian, with subtitles) which you can view by clicking on the image of Earth below. Please click Full Screen at the start.

There is nothing positive to say about death, economic devastation, and sorrow brought to the world by the Coronavirus pandemic - but it has forced us all to stop. This presentation makes us wonder if, when this terribleness is over, can humankind, with our ultra-high science, technology, and innovation, put our activities and commerce back together again in a better way. . .

I hope this finds you all happy and healthy and that taking care of things isn’t too difficult during these unsettling times.
Following the recommendations of state and local authorities and the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department to slow the progression of the COVID-19 virus, Heal the Ocean has closed our office, and we are all working remotely.
Our work does not slow down, however. . .

A Global Marine barge carrying oil cleanup equipment pulled up to Summerland Beach Tuesday afternoon, February 18, 2020, bringing contractors to begin exploratory excavation on a leaking well, “North Star,” on Summerland Beach. State Lands Commission officials are conducting the excavation project as part of their plan to cap up to three wells in June/July 2020 – two on the beach and the including the notorious Treadwell #10 offshore.

Heal the Ocean has just had the biggest year in our history – both in support and program success. We thank you ALL for making this possible!

We suspect the enthusiastic support we’re getting has much to do with HTO initiating a Styrofoam Recycling program with MarBorg Industries – where Styrofoam is being repurposed into usable items. We are being asked for advice from other communities in California, and we’re giving it freely.