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News and Media

News and Media

By Founder and President Kurt Lieber

Our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams course through our lives like the blood in our veins. 

Who hasn't had great memories of time spent in or on these waters? Sadly, it's become increasingly hard to go to these areas anymore and not be confronted by all the plastics that are in and on the beaches and river banks.

We, at ODA, have been removing plastics wherever we see it. Pictured here is garbage— including all kinds of plastic bags, cups, and other debris—collected within just a few hours of cleanup work in a wetlands area in Southern California.

ODA Volunteers with pile of trash they collected

The New Plastic Documentary

I attended the 5th International Marine Debris conference that was held in Hawaii back in 2011. I was there with Dr. Bill Cooper and Bonnie Monteleone, who are both on our ODA Board of Directors. They introduced me to Jo Ruxton, who a few years before had begun producing a documentary called A Plastic Ocean.

ODA Director Bill Cooper, Jo Ruxton, ODA Director Bonnie Monteleone, and Kurt LieberODA Director Bill Cooper, Jo Ruxton, ODA Director Bonnie Monteleone, and Kurt Lieber
Recently: Kurt Lieber and Jo RuxtonRecently: Kurt Lieber and Jo Ruxton

I also ran into Jo at the IUCN Conference I had attended last year. She was very excited about having completed the film and was preparing for its release.

ODA’s Board Member Featured

Kurt Lieber and Bonnie MonteleoneODA is extra excited about this educational documentary because our very own Bonnie Monteleone is one of the scientists featured in the film. She and the other scientists in the film are described as “the world’s foremost experts in health, science, toxicology and oceanography.”

Bonnie lends her expertise on the subject of plastic distribution in the ocean. [Visit Bonnie’s page on the ODA website to learn more about this great ocean defender!]

Back to the Film

I can't wait to see it.  Hope you all feel the same.  We can't just stick our heads in the sand and pretend this problem is going to go away. In fact, if we stick our heads in the sand, there will be tiny plastic debris pellets going up our nose!

We need to do all we can to stop this plastic plague that is not only killing our oceans, but in turn ourselves.

Ocean Defenders Alliance is committed to removing debris of ALL kinds, and we’ve recently outfitted a small boat to remove surface debris (which is mainly plastic!) out of harbors and waters close to shore.

ODA Volunteer on small boat outfitted for surface cleanup ODA volunteer cleans survace waters Debris removed from surface

If you would like to be part of our ongoing effort to clean our precious and life-giving oceans, please give us a shout! Well, an email would be better, really. Please check out our volunteer pages and then email us at the address provided.