We are not expendable.

What quote am I vibing? "We are not expendable. We are not flowers offered at the altar of profit and power. We are dancing flames committed to conquering darkness and challenging those who threaten the planet, and the magic and mystery of life." Rashida Bee

Pounds of Trash Removed from the Wild since Last Post: 56

Pounds of Trash Removed from the Wild in 2020: 245

All-Time Pounds of Trash Removed from the Wild: 769

Rashida Bee is a survivor of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. If you are not familiar with this tragedy - neither was I. This was a catastrophic leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas in 1984 at Union Carbide Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. An estimated 8,000 people died within weeks of this leak from exposure - they died experiencing coughing, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. Over 500,000 were exposed and experienced symptoms.

Rashida Bee is an activist fighting for justice for the victims of this disaster. She said the above quote when she was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2004.

In the United States and all around the world, people of color, marginalized communities, and people without a choice are located near the most toxic chemical and industrial plants on Earth. They suffer from poor nutrition, polluted air and water, and the constant stress of imminent disaster.

Environmental racism is real. The abuse of this planet and the people on it are real.

I pick up trash because it makes me feel like I'm doing something for the Earth that desperately needs us to care. About it and about each other.

Here's what I picked up in the last few weeks. My actions have done nothing to stop racism. They have done nothing to reduce pollution. I only pray that when people see my buckets of trash that they are inspired as well. Inspired to care. When we all care - when we all choose to change the way we treat the planet and our fellow man - we will all be safer. Healthier. Happier. More alive.

Please love each other. Please love the turtle you see below. Please love the Earth.

I'll keep loving you.

Our US Tragedy of Environmental Racism

June 9. Kanner Highway. 6 pounds.

June 23. Kanner Highway. 8 pounds.

June 23, Part 2. Santa Lucea Beach. 1 pound.

June 24. Central Parkway. 6 pounds.

June 27. Bathtub Reef Beach. 7 pounds.

The stunning Loggerhead mother turtle I saw come ashore on June 27. This was a false crawl - she came ashore and looped back to the Ocean, having not been comfortable enough to nest.

June 28. Bathtub Reef Beach with Brian. 21 pounds.

June 29. Bathtub Reef Beach. 5 pounds.

July 1. Kanner Highway. 2 pounds.