July 1-7 is Clean Beaches Week in the USA, an entire week to celebrate our beautiful beaches and ensure they stay clean, safe, and lovely for generations to come. Clean Beaches Week combines the spirit of Earth Day with the fun of the Independence Day and focuses on fun for an entire week - hundreds of events are organized locally on beaches around the USA and include beach clean ups, art fairs, seafood festivals and other educational events aiming to raise awareness about respecting the beach and surrounding environment.
July 4 is the most popular beach day of the entire year, but it also results in the most litter on our shores! Clean Beaches Week is a way to educate beach-goers on proper beach behavior before the big day!
Did you know.....?
Each year 180 million Americans make 2 billion trips to the beach
The Earth has over 372,000 miles of coastline, and each mile is special in its own way
Most white sandy beaches are produced by the excretion of the parrotfish. Yep - pooped out by a fish that feeds on coral.
The longest beach in the world is Praia Do Cassino Beach, Rio Grande in Brazil - 212 km long
Hawaii has black beaches made of volcanic rock and green beaches made from a dense local mineral called olivine
The coalition has set 7 simple reminders for those using the beach which they hope will assist the preservation of the beaches as well as protect people from the natural hazards that can occur at the shore.
Leave no trace (what you carry in, carry out)
Move your body (walk, run or swim)
Don’t tread the dunes (use a walkover or walk-thru)
Know your limits (swim, surf and boat safely)
You are what you eat (eat healthy seafood)
Feed your mind. (read a book)
Respect the Ocean (riptides, storms, natural resources)
About Clean Beaches Council CBC is the lead organization for this national public awareness campaign. For nearly a decade, CBC has successfully delivered its message promoting clean beaches to over 100 million Americans through television, radio, and print media coverage. CBC has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Parade Magazine, Organic Style, Fox News, C-SPAN, The Weather Channel, CBS Radio, ABC Radio, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and National Public Radio to name a few.
Finally, please remember beaches are fragile environments that require protection from pollution and damage. Pesticides, fertilizers, garbage and other pollution that gets washed onto beaches during storms damages wildlife habitats and introduces toxins into the sea, poisoning living organisms and making swimming unsafe. People trampling over rocky beaches and collecting crabs, mollusks and other organisms also damages beach environments. Always examine beach creatures gently and put them back where you found them. Don't take animals home with you -- they're unlikely to survive -- and don't remove beach materials.
Comments