Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Rise Above Plastics - update 1












FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ICE SCULPTURE INSTALLATIONS ENCOURAGE THE COMMUNITY OF PROVIDENCE TO RISE ABOVE PLASTICS.

PROVIDENCE, RI (February 17, 2010) —As Providence is currently stepping up its sustainability efforts, the Surfrider Foundation Rhode Island Chapter is bringing their national Rise Above Plastics campaign to the city, in the form of ice sculptures. These sculptures will depict various native species of shore birds and frozen within the sculptures will be an assortment of plastics. The plastics that were used in these sculptures were collected from local beaches. The Ice sculptures will be on display starting Monday, February 22nd throughout Providence in outdoor areas such as Grants Block on the corner of Union and Westminster St.

The sculptures, crafted by Art In Ice, will be part of an integrated campaign, aimed to draw attention to our society's addiction to single use plastics and the negative effect they have on our earth’s environment as a whole, as well as our local community. In more literal form these ice sculptures will represent the direct effect mindless use of plastics has on wildlife. One million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die globally each year due to ingestion of or entanglement in plastics. As the sculptures melt the plastics will be revealed and eventually will be all that remains. Sadly these sculptures are far from just a metaphor. Plastic is forever, with virtually every piece of petroleum based plastic ever made still in existence. That's why it's so critical to our oceans and beaches that we dramatically reduce our use of plastics, especially single-use plastics.

The Rise Above Plastics campaign will strive to raise awareness for these issues surrounding plastics as well as change bad habits by encouraging the community to embrace reusable items. “You don’t need to live near a beach to keep our state clean. The plastics that we use in our every day lives, easily find their way to the ocean and impact local wildlife. As The Ocean State, we have a chance to make a real difference,” adds Chapter Chair, David Prescott.

There will be a chance to interact with the Rise Above Plastics campaign and win eco-friendly prizes using twitter. Those who “twitpic” one of the ice sculptures to the Rhode Island Chapter's twitter account, SurfriderRI, will be qualified to win.

ONLINE MEDIA RESCOURCES:

Facebook > Search > Surfrider Foundation – Rhode Island Chapter >

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Surfrider-Foundation-Rhode-Island-Chapter/199649434480?ref=ts

Twitter > search > SurfriderRI > www.twitter.com/surfriderri

Surfrider Foundation Website > www.surfrider.org

Rise Above Plastics Website > www.riseaboveplastics.org

Rise Above Plastics Blog > www.riseaboveplastics.blogspot.com

The Surfrider Foundation is an International non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves, and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research, and education. We take these ideals and apply them close to home, here in the great Ocean State of Rhode Island. For more info on the RI Chapter, please email us at info@risurfrider.org or call 401.322.9747.

PRESS CONTACTS

Victoria Deetz

Campaign Director

Surfrider Foundation Rhode Island Chapter

774 248- 5506 or vdeetz@gmail.com

David Prescott

Rhode Island Chapter Chair

Surfrider Foundation Rhode Island Chapter

dave@risurfrider.org

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