Fish go belly up for rubber worms

AFS tipped me off to the the trouble with rubber worms. It may surprise you that rubber worms are indigestible, despite their shiny colors and delectable smells. After finding a dead fish with three worms in its belly, Bill Gagnon, of Warren, Maine, started a campaign to get them out of the state's waters. He's pushing for biodegradable bait and asking manufacturers to start selling alternatives. Considering the inventiveness of fishermen, I imagine it won't take long to find the next Velveeta, especially if Cabela's started offering a few prizes for new bass bait. Gagnon would like the transition out of the rubber worm era to be peaceful and voluntary, but he's not ruling out legislation:

"If you see them in the water, for God’s sake get rid of them," said Gagnon. "It is not illegal to use them. Anyone who feels right has all the right in the world to use them. But I’m not going to guarantee that things aren’t going to change."

Here's to Bill for taking on the problem of the garbage patches of the Northeast, and to fish with rubber-free bellies.

BassAssassin's Electric Chicken goes down easy...

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Kill the Ocean Garbage Monster

Imagine you had an aching gut, and your doctor told you that you're gonna die because you ate too much plastic and your stomach and intestine were clogged and split open. Ugh, what a way to go, from eating little bits of plastic mixed in with your food, and the occasional super-realistic plastic steak or burger.

It's not a horror story, it's a tragic reality for too many ocean animals because of the scary new Ocean Garbage Monster. That's an ugly mess that our foremothers and forefathers never had to worry about.

Ocean animals eat plastic accidentally, either mixed with their real food or sometimes because it looks just like their real food. To a sea turtle, a floating plastic bag can look just like a yummy jellyfish.

Fortunately, something is being done, and you can help. The Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup removed 6 million pounds of trash from our oceans and beaches, through the combined efforts of 378,000 people in 76 countries worldwide and 45 US states. Join us for the next cleanup on Sep. 20, 2008.

It's the largest ocean cleanup event in the world, and now it's time to start a sea change by making it a lifestyle instead of just a one day event. "Live Blue" by resolving to limit your impact on the ocean, starting with your personal trash footprint.

Wanna know what trash items are most often found on beaches and in the ocean? The ICC report will tell you, so you know what items to worry about. Did you know that straws are in the top ten list of ocean and beach trash?

Join the fun, and you'll be smarter, sexier and richer.

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Hope for ending the plastic bag plague

Guess what environmental hero is taking a giant step towards eliminating the plastic bag trash that is choking our oceans?

Germany? Greenpeace? No, it's much-maligned China that's banning plastic bags!

If they can do it, why can't we?

China is banning the flimsy disposable one-use plastic bag, just in time for the summer Olympics. Go China.

Now if only the foot-dragging US would follow China's leadership, then we'd really be making progress.

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