Save Our Oceans: Meet the Plastiki

How much oil has to spill and how much of the ocean’s ecosystem do we have to kill before we can all agree that we must end our addiction to oil?

We shake our heads in disgust at the oil spilling into the Gulf but we're quick to jump into our gas powered cars, buy water in single use plastic bottles (plastic is made from oil), and use single use plastic bags every time we buy anything. We are responsible for the Gulf mess. Our continued dependency on oil is the reason why big oil companies can profit off of drilling in places too far out of reach to be plugged with something goes wrong.

We need to own up to our responsibility and dependency. This is not simply about finding a solution to the oil leak, but to start rethinking the way we live. We have been talking about conservation for a long time, but we have done very little about it. This crisis is an opportunity for our leaders to explain to the public why environmental action is needed now and for the public to understanding the benefits of being kind to Mother Earth.

Sign Oceana's petition to Stop Offshore Drilling and Demand a Clean Energy Future

Before the Gulf oil spill, David de Rothchild built an entire boat out of plastic bottles, The Plastiki, and set sail from San Francisco to Sydney in March 2010. The Plastiki expedition is not a fantasy adventure, its a statement meant to bring attention our urgent need to save our oceans NOW.

It’s about a better understanding of the lifecycle’s and materials used in our everyday lives. It’s about being curious and open, being prepared to let go of assumptions in order to undertake a new ‘Planet 2.0’ way of thinking and acting. It’s about acknowledging that we don’t have all the answers and that nobody is as smart as everybody. It’s about being collaborative and curious so to engage multiple perspectives, skills, opinions and organizations. It’s about constantly learning, unlearning and re-learning. It’s about re-integrating back into the web of life by recognizing and reducing our human fingerprints on the natural world. It’s about moving on from just articulating the problems and inspiring action of the solutions. It’s about encouraging the world to reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink more of the planets natural resources.

For updates on The Plastiki Expedition visit: www.plastiki.com.