7M pounds of trash pulled from waterways
Jun. 7, 2007

Smokers are littering shorelines and waterways worldwide with millions of cigarettes, and their filters topped the list of trash items culled during last year's annual international coastal cleanup, according to a new report. More than 350,000 volunteers removed about 7 million pounds of debris from 34,500 miles of coastlines and waterways, along with ocean, river and lake bottoms, The Ocean Conservancy said in the report, released Thursday. Sixty-eight countries participated in the daylong cleanup last September. This year's cleanup is set for Sept. 15. Of the 7.7 million items of debris collected worldwide in 2006, cigarettes and cigarette butts accounted for roughly 1.9 million, the sixth consecutive year they have topped the list. Coming in second at about 768,000 items were food wrappers and containers that can be extremely dangerous to wildlife. "A plastic sandwich bag floating in the ocean may look like a jellyfish, a favorite food of sea turtles," said Sonya Besteiro, the cleanup project manager. "If a sea turtle ingests a plastic bag it may feel full and stop eating, which results in starvation. Or the bag could block the animal's digestive system and cause death." During the 2006 cleanup, volunteers found 1,074 animals entangled in debris, including fishing line and nets. Only one of those animals survived — a female seal found in Hobe Sound.

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Media Release
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Media Release
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Media Release
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Virgin America causing massive scare among incumbent US Airlines
Media Release
Start-up U.S. air carrier Virgin America Inc. has not flown a plane or even gotten a license to operate, but it is already creating turbulence in the U.S. airline industry.
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Media Release
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United Airlines has sparked a round of fare cuts for leisure travel among leading U.S. airlines this week
Media Release
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