A view from the California Coast

Litterbugs are strange creatures, they come from all cultures and backgrounds, can be male or female, young or old. They are for the most part just like me and you, they also look just like me and you. If you walked past a litterbug in the street you would not be able to tell them apart from any other person on that street, they look pretty normal. They like to eat food, drink soda and smoke cigarettes. They go to work, like walks in the park, bike rides and sunny days on the beach.

Litterbugs share many things with regular everyday people, that is until they are required to perform one very specific function. This seemingly simple task exposes the litterbug for what they really are. What is it you ask? What is this task? Why are you singling out the litterbug for attack?

Listen, litterbugs are very different from me and you, let me explain how and why. Let’s start by classifying the different types of litterbug. I’m going to concentrate today on a [Read more →]

Location: Grey Whale Cove. Time 12.00-2.00pm. Please turn up to help clean this much neglected but stunningly beautiful beach. The guys from Surfrider do a fantastic job, please support them, I think they are giving away free Tshirts as well!

California Coastal Cleanup Day is the premier volunteer event focused on the marine environment in the country. In 2009, more than 80,600 volunteers worked together to collect more than 1,300,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes, and waterways. California Coastal Cleanup Day has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as “the largest garbage collection” (1993). Since the program started in 1985, over 800,000 Californians have removed more than 14 million pounds of debris from our state’s shorelines and coast. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year.

Coastal Cleanup Day is the highlight of the California Coastal Commission’s year ’round Adopt-A-Beach program and takes place every year on the third Saturday of September, from 9 a.m. to Noon. (The 2010 Cleanup will take place on the fourth Saturday of September so as not to conflict with Yom Kippur.) Coming at the end of the summer beach season and right near the start of the school year, Coastal Cleanup Day is a great way for families, students, service groups, and neighbors to join together, take care of our fragile marine environment, show community support for our shared natural resources, learn about the impacts of marine debris and how we can prevent them, and to have fun! Coastal Cleanup Day is also the kick-off event for Coastweeks—three weeks of coastal and water-related events for the whole family.

Participating in Coastal Cleanup Day is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Pre-register with your local Coordinator, simply show up at any of the drop-in sites, or find your nearest site here.

Montara’s Clean up crew will meet as usual in the Northern dirt parking lot at 9.00am on Saturday September 25th, see you there! More details on the Montara Beach Coalition website.

The San Mateo County chapter of Surfrider is holding a beach cleanup on Saturday, July 10, 2010 from 12:00PM – 2:00PM at Montara beach. Please help if you can. Full details can be found on the Surfrider web site

We had a fantastic turn out for the event! Over 75 people gathered at Montara Beach to join the 900 global locations to say NO to off shore drilling, and YES to cleaner energy sources. Thanks to everyone for joining us and a big shout out also to Lynn Adams of the Pacifica Beach Coalition, Paul Hobi of the Ocean Conservancy, April Vargas and the guys from ‘below the surface’ who paddled up from Mavericks to join us!

This event takes place this Saturday June 26th at multiple locations across the plant. You can join in by being at Montara State Beach at 11.00am, at midday we will join hands to form a protest line in the sand to say NO to off shore drilling, and YES to clean energy. Wear black to represent the tar balls on the beaches in the Gulf. You can get full details at the Montara Beach Coalition web site or the official ‘Hands Across the Sand’ site. See you there, bring your friends

At the end of Birch Street is a new nursery that has opened its doors for business in Montara. My wife and I paid them a visit today and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and variety of plants for sale. The other advantage with buying plants from a few blocks away is that they are more than likely already acclimatized to the Montara climate. The people are really nice and I wish them all the best in their new venture. Drop by and check them out, maybe buy a plant or two and support your local businesses.

Enric Sala shares glorious images — and surprising insights and data — from some of the most pristine areas of the ocean. He shows how we can restore more of our oceans to this healthy, balanced state, and the powerful ecological and economic benefits of doing so. Enric Sala searches for the last pristine marine environments on Earth — and brings back data to help governments protect them.

On Sunday, May 23rd, coastal counties throughout California are sponsoring “Save the Whale Day” to raise awareness regarding a U.S. proposed compromise agreement that would legalize some forms of commercial whaling for the first time since the international ban on whaling was approved in 1986. PACIFICA WILL HOST SAN MATEO COUNTY’S “SAVE THE WHALE DAY” ACTION When:  Sunday May 23, Program Begins at 10am and Concludes around 11:30am Where:  Sharp Park Beach Promenade/Pacifica Pier, Speakers Include:  Elizabeth Cataldo, President of the American Cetacean Society, SF Bay Chapter  –  Shari Bookstaff, Biology Professor, Skyline College; Former President ACS, SFBC   – Leland Yee     –  Assemblyman Jerry Hill     –   April Vargas Music performed by:    Dave Crimmen The Pacifica Beach Coalition is partnering with the Western Alliance for Nature, organizers of the event, to collect signatures on a petition that will be sent to the Obama Administration requesting campaign promises to support conservation be kept and a final halt to commercial whaling be committed to through the continuation of the moratorium.   Fourteen other events will be held simultaneously, from San Diego to Humboldt. What you can do:  [Read more →]

Bottled water is healthy water — or so marketers would have us believe. Just look at the labels or the bottled water ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks; healthy, active people gulping down icy bottled water between biking in the park and a trip to the yoga studio. In reality, bottled water is just water. That fact isn’t stopping people from buying a lot of it. Estimates variously place worldwide bottled water sales at between $50 and $100 billion each year, with the market expanding at the startling annual rate of 7 percent. Bottled water is big business. But in terms of sustainability, bottled water is a dry well. It’s costly, wasteful and distracts from the brass ring of public health: the construction and maintenance of safe municipal water systems. Want some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit? We’ve rounded up five to get you started.

1) Bottled water isn’t a good value

Take, for instance, Pepsi’s Aquafina or Coca-Cola’s Dasani bottled water. Both are sold in 20 ounce sizes and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price. Assuming you can find a $1 machine, that works out to 5 cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than 1 cent per gallon. Now consider another widely sold liquid: gasoline. It has to be pumped out of the ground in the form of crude oil, shipped to a refinery (often halfway across the world), and shipped again to your local filling station. In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $3. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at a fraction over 2 cents an ounce. And that’s why there’s no shortage of companies that want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame. [Read more →]

West Seattle: But no sign debris caused death, researcher says

A gray whale that washed ashore in West Seattle last week had an unusually large amount of man-made debris in its stomach, marine mammal researchers announced Monday.

The 37-foot-long whale had more than 50 gallons of undigested stomach contents, including more than 20 plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, sweatpants, duct tape, pieces of plastic and a golf ball, according to John Calambokidis of the Olympia-based Cascadia Research Collective.

“It’s not a very good testament to our stewardship of the marine environment,” Calambokidis said.

The debris, while abundant, represented about 1 percent to 2 percent of the stomach contents, which consisted mostly of algae, he said. There is no sign that it caused the whale’s death.

But it clearly indicates that the whale had tried to feed in urban waterways where it was exposed to debris and contaminants, he said.

Gray whales are filter feeders that feed on the bottom and suck in sediment from shallow waters to strain out small organisms that live there. This feeding process can lead to ingestion of rocks, wood debris and human litter.
Read more from the original News Tribune post:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/04/20/1155343/dead-whale-had-plastic-sweatpants.html#ixzz0lgxVMwZ7

Enjoying a not too shabby picnic at the Rochioli Winery. ©Kstokes2010.

Ah, California Wine, so young as far as the history of wine making is concerned but so mature in it’s quality and reputation. Living on the coast we are so lucky to be close to wine country. We had our Spring allocation of the excellent  Williams Selyem wines to collect from the Russian River region so we decided to make a day of it, have a picnic and take in a few other wineries. Travelling with our good friends Richard and Nancy we endure a 7.30am start in order to hit the busy Farmer’s Market on the way out of San Francisco and acquire some fresh organic produce for lunch (oh, and a couple of tasty breakfast sandwiches). The wine pick up at Williams Selyem was well organized and painless, considering the amount of people turning up on the day. This wine is only available [Read more →]

Though nearly 7 years of existence the Montara Beach web site has undergone several design changes. It’s just morphed again, this time taking on a more blog/magazine type feel. It’s easier to read and browse than the last version while retaining it’s environmental tilt. Check it out at montarabeach.com.

I took these shots on Winterton Beach in Norfolk, England last week, even though they are 6000 miles from California they feel strangely familiar. To my mind a spell is cast wherever sea or ocean meets land.

The San Mateo County chapter of Surfrider is holding a beach cleanup on Saturday, July 10, 2010 from 12:00PM – 2:00PM at Montara beach.

Sorry for the radio silence over the past two weeks but I have been in the UK visiting my family. I love to go back to London, still one of my favorite cities, and I love the English countryside. I miss my family terribly and it was great to see my Mother and surprise on her 70th birthday, and to see my sister who shares her birthday with Mum. After leaving a cold grey rainy London and returning home to a sunny warm California day, I must say that I did leave my heart in San Francisco.

I took this video on Sunday morning, extremely high tide, many sneaker waves washing in. Several people nearly got washed out while trying to take photos. Note the amount of sand moved on the beach, the stairs and life ring station are half buried under sand.

The new web site I designed for Liz Anah.

Liz Anah escaped from New Jersey at a young age, never looking back. Her spare, smoky vocal style and simple but unforgettable songs grew out of a journey that included stops in Michigan for school, a pilgrimage to an Ashram in India, and serious hard time teaching in the Oakland public schools. Liz Anah’s music has a kind of gritty innocence. Her songs are direct, potent stories of real-life heartache and shattered love, powered by an indomitable optimism that demands attention. (Excerpt from her website bio).

Liz's new CD realease 'Fade to Black' Photography by K.Stokes

I met Liz Anah through other local coastside musicians, namely Montara locals and good buddies Mark and Mike (The Fourth Street Experience). One night at Cafe Lucca open mike, Liz and I got talking after her set, she knew that I designed Mike McCalls CD ‘The Lone Cypress’ and worked with him on several photo-shoots. She told me that she had a new CD nearly ready for release and that she needed a design for the cover. We took it from there and agreed that I would shoot her for some promo shots and her CD cover and re-design her website to fit in with her new look. I’m really pleased with the result (so is Liz)! Visit the website www.lizanah.com it features several shots from the photo session taken one very cold day around the HMB boat yards. Liz wanted a gritty urban look, but also wanted to retain a feminine feel, I think we achieved what she was looking for. The final CD cover image was taken toward the end of the session in the afternoon light. ‘Fade to Black’ is Liz’s first CD release and you can get hold of a copy on her web site by clicking this link.

Coastal Cuisine. Gone.

Coming home from work last week hungry and too burnt to cook I decided to swing by The Mavericks Roadhouse and pick up one of their tasty burgers for me and the missus. Imagine my disappointment and frustration to find the place shut, or as the website puts it ‘Gone to the beach’ for the season (in this weather?). WTF? Why? This just says to me that they don’t give a monkeys ass about the local trade, tourists are all they care about. The main road sign has even been pasted over with another sign directing any hungry customers to the mothership HMB brewery. So I now have to wait for Spring for the place to reopen, maybe I’ll go to La Costanera instead, wait, it’s Monday they are shut to. Argh!