The Clean Oceans Campaign is committed to keeping the oceans clean and cleaning up the mess that is already there. The Clean Oceans, Clean Gutters campaign is not the ultimate answer to the problem of ocean pollution, but it should be part of a comprehensive plan to deal with this issue on an international level. Usually the best way to solve societal problems is with a combination of education and legislation, and that is certainly the case here as well. Our educational system is seriously lacking in environmental education, especially at the lower levels up through high school. The legislation needed to deal with most environmental problems is seriously lacking in many areas. This is due in large part to our broken political system which has the polluters sponsoring the same group of politicians that is supposed to be protecting us from the polluters. Keeping all this in mind, here are a few ideas that we have come up with.

1. Why don't we get all those homeless people (you know, the ones you see on the street corners holding up signs saying "will work for food"?) to register with the City and agree to clean up the area that they are using for solicitation. Most people would probably be more likely to give these people money if they saw they were doing something productive. We could give them an official T shirt and put out a sign where they are soliciting-working letting people know they are part of an official movement.

2. Perhaps it is time to increase the fines for littering to the point where it would actually pay for the hiring of undercover officers whose main job it would be to write tickets to litterbugs.

3. Legislators should consider putting a tax on everything that comes packaged in plastic. The proceeds from this tax would pay for a whole new wave of creek clean up people to pull this stuff out of the creeks before it reaches the ocean. If the tax was large enough, it might actually pay for a fleet of sailboats to start collecting the garbage that makes it to the ocean before it breaks down to the point where it is impossible to collect.

4. We at the Clean Oceans Campaign would like to come to your business and rate your company (not for media purposes) and show you ways to not only have your business be more ocean friendly but land friendly and sky friendly as well.