There are so many bigger issues, why worry so much about balloons?

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(This post has been re-published on the environmental blog, 1 Million Women).

For the past several years, the subject of balloons has occupied a large proportion of my thoughts. It started in 2014 when I was nearing the end of my masters degree. I was doing a study on micro bats and utilising CT scanning technology. My supervisor suggested that I think about doing a similar CT-related study as a PhD on “floater turtles” – a term I was not familiar with. He explained to me that when sea turtles consume plastic and other kinds of litter, they often acquire a condition known as float syndrome when gasses build around the foreign materials that they are unable to digest. It’s a painful, often deadly affliction leaving individuals unable to dive under the water for protection from predators and boats. I did some initial digging around into the issue and learned that a research team within my university had discovered that along with plastic, helium balloons also present a serious threat to sea turtles and that within the local area where I live, sea turtles actually appear to be consuming 2-3 times as many balloons as would be expected based on how common balloons are compared to other types of ocean garbage. It is believed that this is because balloons burst into bizarre jellyfish-looking shapes when they burst high in the sky where atmospheric pressure is low. All seven sea turtle species are known to consume jellyfish and are then vulnerable to balloon ingestion. Six of the seven sea turtle species are also endangered or critically endangered which makes the issue all the more alarming.

I originally planned to study this phenomenon through the PhD program my supervisor suggested but started to change my thinking when it became clear that science had actually already documented a lot of important information about this issue. However, people don’t know about it because the balloon industry has been muddying the water by creating a lot of propaganda claiming that balloons are biodegradable and safe to release into the environment.

[A balloon in the classic “Rubber Jellyfish” shape caused by bursting high in the earth’s atmosphere after being ‘released’.]

 

Google searches made it clear to me that the accurate scientific information was buried amongst the many articles and websites sponsored by balloon manufacturers and party stores preaching untruths, (like stating that balloons are the same as oak leaves!) Here is the number two item that comes up in a Google search for “are latex balloons biodegradable?” – it’s a good example of the kind of balloon-industry propaganda I am talking about. I decided to change course and instead of completing another scientific study that may or may not be adequately communicated to the public, to instead focus my efforts on a feature length documentary that could act as a powerful education and conservation tool.

[Balloon litter collected on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo courtesy of Christian Miller and Tangaroa Blue]

 

One of the more common questions I am asked is why am I focused so specifically on balloons when there are so many more prevalent (and it could be argued, worse) types of marine debris? For example, straws and cigarette butts are virtually everywhere but you could go weeks or months without finding a littered balloon. To this question, I have three answers.

Balloons don‘t biodegrade in salt water.I spoke with a researcher in Holland as part of Rubber Jellyfish filming who had studied the degradation of latex in ocean water and found that balloons actually increase in mass when immersed in the sea because they absorb salts from the water!This is pretty disturbing considering 70% of the Earth is made of ocean

Balloons fly .. Releasing a balloon into the air is a little different to tossing a plastic cup out the window (although equally disgusting).When a balloon is released, you have absolutely no idea where it is going to go.Balloons have been known to rise into jet streams and travel across entire continents like this one that traveled from the UK to Australia! Many of them land in the ocean and then travel in ocean currents, congregating in certain ‘hot spots’.One of these helium ballon ‘hot spots’ is actually the Great Barrier Reef, home to so many sensitive marine species.

But more than anything else, my number one inspiration for making this film was:

Most people have no idea they are doing anything wrong

It’s hard to do anything about certain litter issues like cigarette butts because people already know they aren’t doing the right thing – they know they are being a bit of a weasil. Apathy is a hard thing to deal with.The popularity of balloon release ceremonies is something totally different.I was shocked to learn that a lot of charities and not for profit groups perform balloon release ceremonies.These are amazing people trying raise awareness to important causes.I believe in my heart that this wouldn’t be happening if people understood the effects.There is a reason you don’t see charities performing ceremonial flicking of cigarettes – who would want to affiliate a good cause with this kind of inappropriate behaviour?

[An example of misleading, completely inaccurate information supplied by the balloon industry.]

 

Creating this documentary has an eye opening, profound, emotional, and at times upsetting and turbulent journey. I had worked on other wildlife-related film projects in the past but this is the first major film I have ever attempted. At times it has also been exhausting. As you would have noticed in the trailer, I had a baby in the process of creating this film. There were many sleep deprived days where I would place my baby in a carrier on my chest to let her nap while I sat at my computer to research the topic, set up interviews, and apply for grants. I would also continue working most nights after all the relentness daily tasks that are part and parcel with new motherhood were over and my partner had gone to bed. I am grateful to be in a relationship with a man who is happy to get up early with the baby so I can sleep off the late nights.

We’re now at a point in the film journey where we could really do with some extra financial support to finish. We have launched an Indiegogo campaign (ending April 9th) to accept contributions in exchange for fun perks including Balloons Blow stickers, art work, t shirts, jewelry, beeswax wraps, and of course the film itself! Tax deductible donations can also be made directly to our program through the Documentary Australia Foundation .

You can follow the project via the website at www.rubberjellyfishmovie.com, Facebook and Instagram. You can also follow my personal accounts on both Facebook and Twitter (@carlycreature).

Can my friend and I dress in only 33 things for 3 months?

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(This post has also been published on 1 Million Women).

For years I have been interested in minimalism and the concept of pairing down one’s physical possessions and filling the vacant spaces they leave behind with meaningful life experiences.  I am also attracted to one of the major side benefits of minimalism whereby where one owns less, one wastes less.  Minimalism is usually not intended to be an environmental philosophy but it often is, by accident.  Over time, the quantity of my belongings has yo-yo’d up and down somewhat but I have consistently aimed to avoid worshipping ‘things’ and instead place my focus on the careful crafting of a meaningful life.

Some of you may remember several years ago when I challenged myself to a one month ‘buy nothing’ challenge.  Around the same time I also wrote about my awe of the uniquely Parisian ability to possess very few clothes while at the same time being incredibly stylish.

I was recently re-inspired to examine my wardrobe after learning about something called Project 333.

Project 333 is well known in minimalist circles but was unfamiliar to me.  I investigated it after learning about it in the incredible film “Minimalism” which is available worldwide on Netflix.  With a little research I learned that Project 333 originally launched five years ago as founder Courtney Carver’s personal fashion challenge and has since been taken up by people all around the world.  The challenge is to create a set of clothes, or “capsule wardrobe” as it is often called, that you will live out of for three months consisting of only 33 items.  Included in the 33 items are all of your basic clothing items including shoes and accessories.  Not included is underwear, pyjamas, lounge clothes you only wear in the house, gym wear (so long as you aren’t wearing your yoga pants to do your grocery shopping), or sentimental jewellery that you never take off like your wedding ring.  Everything else is boxed away until the end of the challenge.  Every three months you put together a new capsule, swapping out seasonal clothing from your boxed up collection, and/or purchasing new items if necessary.  The idea is for all 33 items to be things that fit, that you feel good in, and that you enjoy wearing.  Everything else is removed to make mornings easier, cleaning easier, and to help you to feel more confident as you embrace your day.

Everything Stacey donated to charity before starting Project 333, Wow!!

One of my good friends, Stacey, lives in Los Angeles and is a textile designer and former costume designer.  I emailed her to ask if she had ever heard of this challenge and she told me that she had actually also just learned about it through watching “The Minimalists” on Netflix and had started making a list of the 33 items she would choose if she were to do the challenge!  That blew us both away and we decided to take on the challenge together.  This past week, we both whittled our closets down to 33 items each and started the three month challenge on May 1st!

I thought it would be fun to blog about our journey as we go so here are a few thoughts from the both of us on our third day of the challenge.

 

“What inspired you to take on this challenge?”

My ‘capsule wardrobe’ of 33 items

Carly:  After hearing about Project 333 through “The Minimalists” I realised that I, like almost all women of the western world, had a ton of clothes.  I should have looked great every day for how much clothing I had but I didn’t at all.  So often I’d catch a glimpse of myself in a store window or the mirror in an elevator and be disappointed with how I had put myself together.  Project 333 and the concept of designing a wardrobe with intention really struck a chord.

Stacey: After watching the documentary “Minimalism” and learning about Project 333 I immediately started cleaning out my closet. I began getting rid of things I didn’t like anymore, things that didn’t fit right, things I just don’t feel good in, or things that I hadn’t worn in over a year. At first I thought 33 items was far too few, but it seemed like a fun challenge, so I decided to give it a shot. After going through my closet I realised this is totally doable for me, and may even be a great chance to flex my creative muscles. I also thought it might help prevent me from buying things I don’t need. In this culture of “fast fashion”, we often make impulse buys that in the moment we think we have to have, but then once we get home we realise we don’t have a lot to go with them, so we end up buying more stuff just to go with the other stuff we just bought. I’ve definitely been guilty of this, so I thought narrowing down my wardrobe to 33 items might help stop me from buying frivolous garments I don’t need.

 

“What was it like it pairing down to 33 items?”

Stacey’s ‘capsule wardrobe’ of 33 items

Carly:  At first, I was pretty daunted by the whole thing but I read an article about 33 things to eliminate from your closet and discovered that I had a habit of hanging onto sentimental items – think, old running t shirts from high school – and sparkly things that rarely, if ever, actually made it onto my body.   Giving myself permission to let go of these things was really a big breakthrough for me and helped get the ball rolling on my journey down to 33 things.  Now that I have finalised my 33 items I feel like I can breathe easier when I walk into my bedroom and getting dressed in the morning is unbelievably easier.  Pairing down my wardrobe has also inspired me to let go in other areas.  I have gone a little de-clutter crazy this past week, selling lots of things and donating others.  My home now feels much lighter and is easier to keep tidy.  It’s a great feeling.  I must admit, though – the day after officially pairing down my closet to 33 items, I did have a small freak out.  My closet

My only shoes, scarf, and belt for the next three months

looked so bare and I wondered if this was all a big mistake!  It didn’t take much to reassure myself, though, that if there really was some kind of fashion emergency, clothing is never hard to come by and I still had that box of clothing in the other room.

Stacey: So far, it’s been fun! I hate clutter, and nothing makes me feel better than having a well-organised, clean space. Now that my closet is organised and de-cluttered, I feel like I can think more clearly when I go to choose my outfit for the day. The beauty of the challenge is you don’t have to get rid of anything you don’t want to. You can just pack it away for a few months and then bring it out in your next rotation. There have been a few beloved tops of mine that

didn’t make the cut this time, but I know in 3 months I’ll be so excited to swap something out for them.

 

“What did you struggle with most as you paired down your items?

The measly two necklaces I will be wearing for the next 3 months

Carly:  Jewellery!  I have well over 33 pieces of jewellery alone and I really enjoy wearing it so this is a hard one for me.  It’s been interesting, though, because often I don’t wear any jewellery.  I used to wear lots of jewellery every day but when I started working with wild parrots, that stopped.  I also have so much jewellery that I think it stops me from wearing it in a weird way.  At the start of the challenge I had a hand-shaped ring holder overflowing with rings and bracelets and two little bowls of random earrings and pendants next to it that were right in front of my jewellery box, blocking access to it.  Often, it was easier not to wear anything than to sort through the collection.  I think that after the 3 month experiment is over, I

will continue dressing in a 33 item seasonal wardrobe but may allow myself to still keep a jewellery collection – albeit a paired down one.

Stacey: I think the biggest challenge for me is finding a balance between having pieces I can mix and match, without creating a bland and boring wardrobe. I love textiles, and am obsessed with prints, color and texture. However, those things often create statement pieces that don’t mix and match well. I’ve found I have to be very careful not to incorporate too many statement pieces into my 33, or I won’t be able to creatively mix and match pieces as well. On the flipside, I also don’t want to have a boring mix of solids and neutral colors, so there need to be a few pieces in there to kick things up a notch.
“Did you purchase anything new for your capsule?”

3 of Stacey’s 33 items

Carly:  Courtney Carver, the founder of Project 333 recommends that you don’t buy anything new for your first 3 months.  She says that building your first ‘capsule wardrobe’ using what you already own will help you work out what you really want and need.  For that reason, I didn’t buy anything new for the first capsule but I was very tempted to!

Stacey: Not this time around. I think part of the fun of this challenge is not buying anything new for a while. I think it will really help change my perspective on when and why I buy clothes.

 

“What are you looking forward to most in doing this challenge?”

Carly:  Quite simply, I’m looking forward to dressing like a grown up for once in my life and finally learning how to put an outfit together properly.  I know I am going to learn a lot from doing this challenge with Stacey – she is so much better than me at the whole fashion thing!  It’s funny that what it took for me to finally get interested in clothing was to get rid of most of it!  I’m also looking forward to contributing far less to the culture of fast fashion by learning how to dress in quality staple pieces that can be mixed and matched, tend not to go out of style, and don’t often need replacing.

Stacey: I’m looking forward to coming up with new and creative outfit combinations. I think it will be really fun and will help me get out of the pattern of just wearing the same pairings over and over again. I’m also looking forward to sharing my outfit pics with Carly, and seeing what she comes up with! She’s very creative herself, so I’m sure I’ll be stealing some of her ideas from time to time.

These pants were in the donate pile because despite how much I love them, I rarely wear them.

Late one night I decided to re-purpose them instead.  Goodbye pants, hello pillow cases!

 

.. Is there anyone out there that would like to join us in this challenge?  Let’s do it together!

Is it worth continuing to try?

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Coming to terms with the health of the Great Barrier Reef

(This post has also been published by 1 Million Women under the alternate title, “Why I Won’t Give Up Fighting For Our Great Barrier Reef”)

Do you ever find yourself avoiding environmental reality? For months – years – I had been tuning out to a lot of the updates about the health of the Great Barrier Reef. I always supported the efforts to help it and advocated a sustainable and plastic-free lifestyle, but the facts were sometimes too much to handle and I chose to stay largely in the dark.

Then suddenly, recently, while scrolling through Facebook I started coming across the reports that the reef has succumbed to another major bleaching event. This, again, after last year’s major bleaching event which killed two-thirds of the reef’s precious corals. Some authorities have pronounced the reef dead, while others say that is in critical condition. Either way, this second bleaching event is another devastating blow and not a situation that is forecasted to improve.

I have an eighteen-month-old daughter who is just learning to talk. Every morning she takes me by hand to the baby-proofed drawer that holds her swimsuits and pajamas. She points to it and says “beach?” We live in a beachside neighbourhood so a play at the beach is a part of our normal morning routine.

This morning, while she took off her sandals to jump into the warm, sparkling, bright-white Australian sand, my heart broke. For decades, environmentalists have been warning us to change our ways, or we will lose our natural wonders. Somehow, I don’t think most people really understood the warning or comprehended what it would really mean – and how it would feel – to lose something as magnificent as the Great Barrier Reef.

Will I have to explain what the reef was like to my daughter the way that her teachers will describe the dinosaurs? Is there no possibility of showing it to her in person?

Sitting on our bath towel while my daughter played with shells, I wondered if it is worth continuing in my environmental pursuits. For all our efforts, the reef is dying or maybe has already died. The tropical rainforests of Indonesia and Brazil also continue to be decimated, and the planet continues to warm.

Is it worth trying so hard to get my partner to stop bringing home plastic bags? Is it worth posting photos of my plastic free shampoo bars to Instagram in hope of inspiring one or two more people to do the same? Can the meaningful small efforts of those of us who care really make a dent in the overwhelming issues that seem to be snowballing and suffocating our delicate Earth?

I really am not sure of the answer to these questions but despite my haunting sadness, I feel that if we were to stop trying to help, our souls would die along with the reef. I know that for me, at least, the answer is to keep going.

 

Note: for anyone local to the Gold Coast, please support my friend Mollie’s initiative to project the Great Barrier Reef. She is holding a beach cleanup and event to support the reef this Sunday, the 30th of April.

Eat pizza for turtles

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Hey guys!

Well after a two year labour of love, we have finally almost finished production on the marine wildlife documentary Rubber Jellyfish. As most of you know, Rubber Jellyfish explores the effects of balloon release ceremonies on the environment and the lengths to which the international balloon industry has gone to mislead consumers about the safety of their products.

In the time that we have been creating this film, we have heard about so many balloon releases that have happened all around the world and some of our friends have even witnessed large groups of people releasing balloons while literally standing on the beach. People clearly aren’t aware that balloons are damaging to the environment, it’s precious wildlife, and even to us (the US product safety commission reports that balloons cause more child fatalities than any other toy).

It’s definitely time for the film to wrap so that we can get this message out into the world!

Click here to RSVP to the Facebook invite
pizza

We hope that you will join us at this fund raising dinner. Tiffany Lee of Australian Seabird Rescue and Turtle Hospital in Ballina will be speaking about the effects of marine debris on Australian sea turtles and other marine species. She will be joined by Dr Marcia Bergamini, a marine wildlife vet from Brazil. Carly will also be speaking about her journey in creating this documentary and will reveal our brand new, professionally constructed trailer!

Tickets are $25 p.p. or $15 for kids. That includes your choice of a small pizza or nachos (FYI Mandala is a vegan restaurant but it is still considered delicious by omnavores). If your kiddo is small enough to not need their own meal, then they are free! Drinks are not included in the ticket price but can be purchased at the venue.
Bring along your spare change – we will be raffling off some awesome items and will also have a wishing well for anyone who wants to make a more sizeable (and tax deductable) offering to the film.

All proceeds will go directly toward finishing costs associated with the project (editing, purchasing stock images, acquiring permission to republish newspaper articles, paying a lawyer to review all of our paper work, and hiring a graphic artist to create a poster).

Carly and her partner have shouldered most of the financial burden so far but now that we are heading into the expensive end of things, we are reaching out the community for support.