Heal the Ocean

Like the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, the fabled poop fairy has been the stuff of legend. Flying undetected in parks and beaches, she was said to follow close behind dogs and their owners picking up what the dog left behind. A widespread belief that she existed seemed to reassure some that cleaning up after one’s dog was sort of ... optional. Sadly there is no poop fairy. As a part of our mission to keep toxic pollutants out of water sources, HTO continues to provide dog b...ags to local parks and beaches to encourage dog owners to cleanup after their furry friends. Here are some facts as to why cleaning up after your dog is important for the health of everyone: In addition to being unable to biodegrade, dog poop contains toxic bacteria and parasites that can cause health problems for you and your pet. Bacteria in dog waste can harm water quality in creeks and rivers, and alter the ecosystems of these stream corridors. Humans who come with creek water can also face health hazards. Thank you to all of our sponsors who have allowed HTO's doggy bag program to continue. To learn more about how you can contribute click below: https://www.healtheocean.org/dog-bag

Cloudy days are finally here! While we are celebrating that rain has arrived in Santa Barbara, the influx of water makes it easier for trash found on the ground to enter storm drains and reach the seas. Make sure to safely pick up any debris you may come across, the ocean will thank you! Of course, remember to wash your hands and maintain safety precautions while doing so. To be featured by Heal the Ocean, send us a message or tag us in a picture of you and what you have found on your cleanup! #firstflush #santabarbara #healtheocean

President Joe Biden is going full bore on his promises to the American public about taking immediate action with Executive Orders to reverse damaging policies of the Trump Administration - which include those that threaten the environment. Included in President Biden's Executive Order are the following actions: Immediately reviewing agency actions taken between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021;... Restoring National Monuments and reviewing monument boundaries and conditions; Placing a temporary moratorium on the Federal Government's implementation of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Accounting for the benefits of reducing climate pollution; Revoking the March 2019 permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline; Rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, the largest international effort to halt global warming. Heal the Ocean will keep our members informed about the new Administration's actions to benefit the environment, sanitation issues, and other items we have been working on. View our E-letter below for more details

The ferocious King Tide that rolled along the Santa Barbara coastline on December 13, 2020, shows the potential future of Santa Barbara as a result of sea level rise. The photos speak for themselves. All these areas are at risk of flooding - even in a high tide event. Years ago, as climate change symposiums and plans and analyses began, HTO made strong input about Adaptation to Sea Level Rise. Years ago, we recognized how much of our infrastructure is in flood zones and smack... in the path of an incoming ocean. We maintained then, and emphasize now, that we must act before it is too late. Thank you Harry Rabin/On the Wave Productions for capturing these images of Miramar Beach, Sandyland Salt Marsh, and the Santa Barbara Harbor. #sealevelrise #KingTides #santabarbara

Happy Monday! This week we are starting a new series where we highlight our beloved dog owning supporters and local sponsors who have contributed to our Doggy Bag Program! In 2010, when HTO learned that dog dispensers would no longer be stocked by Santa Barbara County due to a sweeping budget cut, we stepped forward to offer our help. We established a partnership with the County wherein Heal the Ocean would help raise funds to restock dog bag dispensers at beaches and park...s from Rincon to Goleta. Thank you Mojo and Rascal for helping us keep our ocean and water ways free from contaminants! Stay tuned for more dog pictures! To learn about how to participate visit here: https://www.healtheocean.org/dog-bags

One of the most important Elections in U.S. history is here. Heal the Ocean urges you to vote if you have not done so yet! 1. Find your polling place here, and please wear a mask and practice social distancing while you are at the polls (https://countyofsb.org/care/elections/voting/lookup.sbc) 2. If you mailed your ballot or dropped it off at an official County Ballot Drop Box, click here to check the status of your ballot. (https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/)... 3. Remember that it is not too late to register to vote in California! You can go to your local polling place and ask for a provisional ballot. Your vote is your voice. Make sure you are heard this election and vote today!

Big thank you to our Dream Team sponsors for supporting our mission to end ocean pollution. Please don’t miss out on HTO’s Imaginary Gala 2020, which closes today Friday, October 30, 2020. All who donate will be recognized in the Santa Barbara Independent and the Montecito Journal as our way of shouting out a public Thank You! HTO is a citizen’s action group dedicated to ending ocean pollution since 1998. Your donation helps Heal the Ocean: Cap two more abandoned oil w...ells off Summerland Beach - Fall 2020 Warning systems of communities for COVID-19 outbreaks Fending off the disaster of Sea Level Rise Cleaning up Groundwater Coordinating Styrofoam Recycling, Funding trash services and More! Watch the short video featuring some of HTO’s Board Members and visit our GoFundMe Campaign here: https://charity.gofundme.com//heal-the-oceans-2020-imagina

The response to the HTO Imaginary Gala 2020 has been tremendous for the Party that Never Was and Never Will Be but which has been so successful because of our wonderful Sponsors and Supporters. Please don’t miss this non-Event, which closes Friday, October 30, 2020! All who donate will be recognized in the Santa Barbara Independent and the Montecito Journal as our way of shouting out a public Thank You! Big gratitude once again, too, to Julia Louis-Dreyfus for being our F...antasy Chair! Please visit our GoFundMe page to learn more and to support the Imaginary Gala, and please watch our short video filmed by HTO Board Member/Event Manager Heather Hudson. We appreciate your support - thank you for joining us on this fantastical ride! #nonprofitorganization #healtheocean #environmentalnonprofit

Heal the Ocean’s teamwork is helping to clear the way for the California State Lands Commission to start during the first week in November on well re-abandonment of two leaking wells immediately offshore Summerland Beach. At issue: Lobster season, which opened October 15, 2020, has fishermen working in the area, their lobster traps set, and when the Curtin Maritime derrick barge comes in, together with the Danny C dive vessel, the fishermen have to clear out for the approxima...te 2 weeks of well-capping operations (now set to start November 4, 2020). Heal the Ocean thanks our Board member Thomas Dabney, a lobster fisherman himself (as well as an active realtor), Advisory Board member Harry Rabin, who has been working with SLC consultants InterAct, and Danny Castagnola, owner/captain of the Danny C workboat, for establishing peaceful communication with the fishermen, so the way can be cleared for well abandonment work. The SLC Public Notice for Summerland NorthStar 815 and Treadwell 10 Well Re-Abandonment went out in October, for temporary use of the Lookout Park Parking Lot and Beach Area for construction crews to set up for work. Stay tuned! Check out our newest E-letter here https://mailchi.mp/healtheocean/october-e-letter-2

Plastic recycling is not what you think it is... Big Oil is promoting plastic recycling to encourage the buying of more plastic, which is made from oil, while plastic is no longer recycled in the U.S. for the most part, and instead, goes into a landfill. An expose by National Public Radio (NPR), exposed the awful news that almost all of the plastic we gather into our recycling bins goes into the landfill. Since China quit buying our recycled plastics, that purchasing source i...s gone, says the report, and China was a large purchaser. NPR reported that the oil industry spends millions telling people to recycle, because, as one former top industry insider told NPR, selling recycling sold plastic, even if it wasn't true. "If the public thinks that recycling is working, then they are not going to be as concerned about the environment," Larry Thomas, former president of the Society of the Plastics Industry, known today as the Plastics Industry Association and one of the industry's most powerful trade groups in Washington, D.C., told NPR. The Answer? Don't buy anything in plastic! Heal the Ocean recently chirped the news that certain grocery stores in Santa Barbara had re-installed plastic bag recycling bins outside their stores, and we gave out a list of names and addresses of these stores. We have been lovingly corrected by Kathi King of Community Environmental Council (CEC), who has told us the bags in those recycling bins go into the landfill what a bummer! CEC advises all bags as well as unsoiled wrappers, cleaner’s bags, (clean) bread bags, etc. be taken to Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners, 14 W. Gutierrez Street, Santa Barbara, which collects these items to send to a manufacturer of products made of these materials, products that resemble hardwood. Click here (http://www.ablitts.com/filmplastic) to sign up for the next film-plastic recycling event! Thank you, Ablitts! PC: (1) Laura Sulliven/NPR (2) Ablitts #healtheocean #santabarbara #filmplasticrecycling

Heal the Ocean's Fantasy Chair Julia Louis-Dreyfus invites you to the Heal the Ocean Imaginary Gala 2020. Help us reach our Imaginary (but real) Goal of at least $5,000. Your donation gets you a ticket to the best, funnest, sky is the limit, "non-event" event! HTO is a citizen’s action group dedicated to ending ocean pollution since 1998. Your donation helps Heal the Ocean: Cap two more abandoned oil wells off Summerland Beach - Fall 2020... Warning systems of communities for COVID-19 outbreaks Fending off the disaster of Sea Level Rise Cleaning up Groundwater Coordinating styrofoam recycling, Funding trash services and More! All supporters who donate by October 30, 2020 will be recognized in the Santa Barbara Independent and the Montecito Journal as our way of shouting out a public Thank You! Watch the short video featuring some of HTO’s Board Members and visit our GoFundMe Campaign here: https://charity.gofundme.com//heal-the-oceans-2020-imagina

We are back with another Marine Spotlight! Carnivorous hammerhead sharks can live up to 30 years old and spend their lifetime swimming along temperate and tropical waters across the world. Their uniquely shaped head gives them a great advantage when it comes to finding food. Having wide set eyes and the ability to detect electrical fields of other animals allows them to find their favorite meal - stingray! Some species such as the Great Hammerhead and the Scalloped Hammerhead are critically endangered due to commercial fishing and fishing net entanglements. To help protect hammerhead sharks please visit www.marineconservation.org : @ken_kiefer_underwater via Instagram

Today is the last day to register to vote by mail! The first step to make your voice heard is to ensure you are ready to go for the election! Check your voter registration here: https://registertovote.ca.gov/ Find official ballot drop boxes and your polling place in Santa Barbara here: https://www.noozhawk.com/election/election_map Track your Mail-In Ballot here: https://www.noozhawk.com/election/election_map

Heal the Ocean's 2020 Newsletter is officially out!! Click below for the interactive newsletter including a message from HTO, details of what we have been up to all year, and more! https://cdn.flipsnack.com/widget/v2/widget.html For a printable version visit: https://www.healtheocean.org/

Please cut the ear loops of your disposable masks before putting them in the trash! Heal the Ocean got the news from the U.K., that hundreds of tangled animals had to be rescued during the lockdown. While face masks have become part of our everyday lives, for animals they are a potential death trap. HTO called Santa Barbara’s Wildlife Care Network (SBWCN) to check our local situation, and from Claire Gervais SBWCN Director of Communications we have learned that the problem ha...sn’t developed to a large degree yet but that (SBWCN) certainly recommends snipping the ear loops of disposable masks to prevent these injuries. Gervais says her organization receives many animals that get tangled up in string, netting, hair, and fishing line. These injuries are very debilitating and can result in unusable digits, tears in webbing, and deep wounds in legs. Anything an animal can get caught in should be snipped to prevent entanglement and properly disposed of, Gervais says. p.s. Click here to join in on HTO's Imaginary Gala. Big thanks to all our supporters! https://mailchi.mp/healtheocean/imaginary-gala-2020 #healtheocean #healtheoceanfromhome #cutthestrings #facemask #COVID

Hope all HTO supporters are having a great day! After a day of gardening, our dear Executive Director and lifelong classical pianist, Hillary Hauser, felt compelled to share her rendition of "America the Beautiful." Click below to take a listen: #healtheoceanfromhome #healtheocean #americathebeautiful

Crazy times call for creative solutions! Join us at the best party you NEVER went to Please donate, every bit helps.

COME FLY WITH HEAL THE OCEAN, SANTA BARBARA! Heal the Ocean's Fantasy Chair Julia Louis-Dreyfus invites you to the Heal the Ocean Imaginary Gala 2020. It is guaranteed to be the "best party you never went to!" Heal the Ocean inaugurated the Imaginary Event in 2011, and it instantly sold out. It is a benefit that everyone can participate in and that includes you!... Help us reach our Imaginary (but real) Goal of at least $5,000. Your donation gets you a ticket to the best, most fun, sky-is-the limit, "non-event" event! All supporters who donate by October 30, 2020, will be recognized in the Santa Barbara Independent and the Montecito Journal as our way of shouting out a public Thank You! Watch the short video including some of HTO's Board Members and be inspired to join us on this fantastical ride! HTO is a citizen's action group dedicated to ending ocean pollution. Your donation goes directly to our cause. Visit our GoFundMe Campaign here: https://charity.gofundme.com//heal-the-oceans-2020-imagina