Combining stunning scenery with insightful commentary on the state of river conservation from Senator Tom Udall, Ted Roosevelt IV, American Rivers President Bob Irvin, Rio Grande Riverkeeper Jen Pelz, river guide Austin Torios and others, this film is a powerful call to action for protecting our country's remaining wild rivers for future generations.
The film was shot earlier this year by filmmaker Ben Masters during a trip on the Wild and Scenic Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. A New Yorker story, published in May, captures some "behind the scenes" of the film shoot and details the issues facing the river.
It was an honor to have Senator Udall from New Mexico with us on the trip. In the film, he talks about his his father Stewart Udall, who was secretary of the interior under President Johnson, and integral to creating the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Ted Roosevelt IV, whose great-grandfather was the 26th president of the U.S., shares his perspective on our nation's conservation history and advice for today's river advocates.
We want this film to broaden awareness about the importance of protecting wild rivers, and spark positive action: viewers can visit www.5000miles.org to sign a petition supporting protection of 5,000 new miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers nationwide.
There are a million reasons why we need more Wild and Scenic Rivers. To see some examples, read through the personal stories shared on the 5,000 Miles of Wild site, then share your own.
"We need to be doing more, not less, to protect the rivers that give us clean drinking water, unsurpassed recreation opportunities, fish and wildlife habitat, and connections to culture and our shared heritage," said David Moryc, senior director of river protection for American Rivers.
"Together with our partners and supporters, we are advancing vision for the next 50 years of river protection in our country."
The official anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is Oct. 2, 2018.
For Native Americans, a River Is Sacred https://t.co/YXQawDP518 @foodandwater @Waterkeeper @billmckibben @foe_us @IENearth @MarkRuffalo @350— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1507567731.0
1. Cigarette Butts
Cigarette butts weigh one gram or less, but they account for 30 percent of all litter in the U.S. They are the single worst offender in spite of their small size (food packaging makes up a larger percentage of litter but includes more than just one item, like straws, takeout containers, snack wrappers, etc.). This means that more than one trillion cigarettes are discarded each year, weighing over two billion pounds … or the equivalent of 42 Titanics stacked together!
2. Plastic Bottles and Bottle Caps
More than 22 billion plastic water bottles are thrown away yearly, meaning only about one in every six water bottles purchased in the U.S. ends up being recycled. An average water bottle weighs about 12.7 grams, so the amount of water bottles wasted each year weighs over half a billion pounds. That's almost as heavy as the Empire State Building! Plastic bottles and bottle caps aren't biodegradable, but they do photodegrade. That means that this plastic breaks down into small parts in the sun, and releases chemicals into the environment as they disintegrate. The worst part? They continue breaking down for 500 to 1,000 years!
3. Food Packaging
Food packaging is the largest category of waste on this list, as it includes household packaging (i.e. milk jugs, juice boxes and snack packaging) as well as fast food packaging (i.e. paper, Styrofoam, paperboard wrappings, coffee cups and drink cups). Almost half of the litter in the U.S. is food packaging. While some of these items could be recycled, most are not, and often these are found weighing down shorelines and waterways. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that fast food chains and consumer brand manufacturers relying on single-use packaging waste over $11 billion a year, enough to fund ¼ of the U.S. Energy and Environment budget.
4. Plastic Bags
Plastic bags are so common in the U.S. that over 100 billion bags are used each year. Over three times more bags end up as litter in our forests and waterways than are recycled annually. Plastic bags only weigh about eight grams each, but enough are littered annually to weigh as much as 176 adult blue whales! Plastic bags take almost as long to degrade as plastic bottles, leach chemicals into the environment, and inhibit natural water flows.
5. Aluminum Cans
Almost 100 billion aluminum cans are used in the U.S. annually, and only about half of these cans are recycled. The rest go to landfills or into the environment. Beverage containers account for 50 percent of roadside litter (though this statistic includes plastic containers), and much of that is washed into our waterways. Every aluminum can weighs about 14.9 grams, which means that even if only 1 percent of the aluminum cans used each year were littered, there would be enough waste to equal the weight of 2,500 African bush elephants, and enough cans to circle the equator almost two and a half times.
Bonus: What Will Stay in Your River the Longest? Microplastics
Microplastics can come from larger plastic items when they break down, or in the form of products like microbeads. Most microplastics float into the ocean, but a lot will sink to the bottoms of riverbeds and mix in with the sediment there. This effects oxygen levels in the water as well as harms animals that depend on these ecosystems for their livelihoods. Because plastic takes so long to break down, microplastics are so small, and these items are located along the bottom of rivers, they can stay in the rivers for potentially up to 1,000 years.
These numbers are certainly overwhelming, but they don't need to stay that way! There are many things you can do on your own or with your community to reduce the amount of waste in rivers:
- Organize a cleanup with National River Cleanup, or sign up for an existing cleanup near you.
- Learn more about recycling with our National River Cleanup recycling guide.
- Take our River Cleanup Pledge to pick up trash and help us fill our virtual landfill.
Brothers Paddle Two of America’s Most Toxic Waterways: Watch the Series #BroCleanBKLN https://t.co/fmBZnuvZvE… https://t.co/1FLo92cExy— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1512867905.0
Chelsea Alley is the January 2018 National River Cleanup intern at American Rivers.
Eye-Catching Designs Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
The company sells a range of eco-friendly items like leggings, rash guards, and board shorts that are made using recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. There are currently 16 causes represented by distinct marine-life patterns, from whale shark research and invasive lionfish removal to sockeye salmon monitoring and abalone restoration.
One such organization is Get Inspired, a nonprofit that specializes in ocean restoration and environmental education. Get Inspired founder, marine biologist Nancy Caruso, says supporting on-the-ground efforts is one thing that sets Waterlust apart, like their apparel line that supports Get Inspired abalone restoration programs.
"All of us [conservation partners] are doing something," Caruso said. "We're not putting up exhibits and talking about it — although that is important — we're in the field."
Waterlust not only helps its conservation partners financially so they can continue their important work. It also helps them get the word out about what they're doing, whether that's through social media spotlights, photo and video projects, or the informative note card that comes with each piece of apparel.
"They're doing their part for sure, pushing the information out across all of their channels, and I think that's what makes them so interesting," Caruso said.
And then there are the clothes, which speak for themselves.
Advocate Apparel to Start Conversations About Conservation
Waterlust's concept of "advocate apparel" encourages people to see getting dressed every day as an opportunity to not only express their individuality and style, but also to advance the conversation around marine science. By infusing science into clothing, people can visually represent species and ecosystems in need of advocacy — something that, more often than not, leads to a teaching moment.
"When people wear Waterlust gear, it's just a matter of time before somebody asks them about the bright, funky designs," said Waterlust's CEO, Patrick Rynne. "That moment is incredibly special, because it creates an intimate opportunity for the wearer to share what they've learned with another."
The idea for the company came to Rynne when he was a Ph.D. student in marine science.
"I was surrounded by incredible people that were discovering fascinating things but noticed that often their work wasn't reaching the general public in creative and engaging ways," he said. "That seemed like a missed opportunity with big implications."
Waterlust initially focused on conventional media, like film and photography, to promote ocean science, but the team quickly realized engagement on social media didn't translate to action or even knowledge sharing offscreen.
Rynne also saw the "in one ear, out the other" issue in the classroom — if students didn't repeatedly engage with the topics they learned, they'd quickly forget them.
"We decided that if we truly wanted to achieve our goal of bringing science into people's lives and have it stick, it would need to be through a process that is frequently repeated, fun, and functional," Rynne said. "That's when we thought about clothing."
Support Marine Research and Sustainability in Style
To date, Waterlust has sold tens of thousands of pieces of apparel in over 100 countries, and the interactions its products have sparked have had clear implications for furthering science communication.
For Caruso alone, it's led to opportunities to share her abalone restoration methods with communities far and wide.
"It moves my small little world of what I'm doing here in Orange County, California, across the entire globe," she said. "That's one of the beautiful things about our partnership."
Check out all of the different eco-conscious apparel options available from Waterlust to help promote ocean conservation.
Melissa Smith is an avid writer, scuba diver, backpacker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and sustainable studies. Before joining EcoWatch, Melissa worked as the managing editor of Scuba Diving magazine and the communications manager of The Ocean Agency, a non-profit that's featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Coral.