Yesterday I went to a meeting and as we sat down water was offered just like it is at almost every meeting I attend, yet today there was a turning point in awareness of how the water was presented.  The host reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a plastic bottle of water, looked at me and questioned, "I can pour it into a glass?"  We both laughed and I declined the bottle of water as the other women took theirs and sheepishly apologized to me for drinking water out of plastic water bottles.  This opened a conversation and the first step in changing behavior is bringing awareness to a problem so we can work together on solutions.  The most ironic part about bottled water is that many of the companies who are bottling the water are simply filtering tap water and putting it into a bottle.  Nearly forty years ago in 1969 the first Evian PVC bottle was launched.  I still remember the first time I saw a bottle of Evian because I realized it was Naïve spelled backwards.  This is how I continue to feel about bottled water. Read More

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I believe our environment is a reflection of who we are as people.  During the past month we have been sorting through our photos and video of the SEAPLEX expedition and realize the need to get the real story out about the history of The Garbage Patch and the North Pacific Gyre.  We are working with the scientists from each of the Project Kaisei funded expeditions, Kaisei and SEAPLEX.  We are shocked at how much misinformation there is on the internet and want to be a reputable source of information that people can turn too.
 
In addition, Dive Into Your Imagination will be partnering with Oceanic Defense to build a new site specifically on this issue, bringing first awareness to the issues and then ways to make changes in our lives to help the health of our ocean.  If you know of any plastic issues, experts on marine debris or environmental heroes, we want to know about them!  You see we, all of us, have been inadvertently affecting our environment in a negative way for years and the difference between now and then is that we now know what we should be doing and what we should not be doing.  In "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying," Sogyal Rinpoche says,  "Modern people have developed no long-term vision.  So there is nothing to restrain them from plundering the planet for their own immediate ends and from living in a selfish way that could prove fatal for the future.  How many more warnings do we need?"  I do not need another warning.  After seeing the North Pacific Gyre coated in a layer of confetti plastic was enough of a wake-up call for me. Read More!

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The past month has been a whirlwind of activity. The day I returned from the north pacific gyre, (read the latest article here) I boarded the Vision, a Truth Aquatics vessel headed out to the Southern Channel Islands off the coast here in California. We were headed to dive in kelp forests, with black sea bass, play with sea lions, dolphins plus more. Switching roles from being with scientists studying the Ocean to being with scuba divers who loved the ocean because they simply wanted to take pictures, video and explore her magnificence was interesting. I woke up on August 23 in a dream state. I had prepped my cameras the night before and I was able to slip in and become one with the Ocean. Only about 1% of the population scuba dives. My first breath underwater changed my life. There was something about the silence, the bubbles, the feeling of being free, and the water against every pore of my body. Every one of my senses was engaged. So as I slipped into the kelp forest off the coast of San Clemente island, I felt as if I was home. For me scuba diving is not dangerous, it brings me to a meditative state. You don't think about how you have to drive a car, you just drive it. I don't think about how I have to scuba dive, I just do it. Read More

Gratitude. During the SEAPLEX cruise with Scripps and Project Kaisei, we worked round the clock. As both the photographer and filmmaker on the expedition, I worked 20 hours a day for nearly three weeks and I am still recovering. I made a vow to myself on the first night to appreciate every moment of the experience and that I would have my moment of solitude every evening as the sun dropped down under the horizon. As the New Horizon headed due west to the North Pacific Gyre via the California Current, I headed up to the bow for the golden hour. Scientist Andrew Titmus captured this image of me on our first night together in what would soon become the place for many visual observations of plastic. During the next several weeks we are going to be writing news articles and blogs about the SEAPLEX experience and you will be able to link to videos on our youtube channel and flickr photo stream. Subscribe to our sites here as we switched from hosting our own videos to youtube.com because we are hoping to create a broader audience and need your help. Dive Into Your Imagination is committed to changing the way we view our Ocean and after three weeks in what the news media has termed, The Garbage Patch, we know it is our destiny. Please give the gift of the Ocean today by visiting our store and sharing one of our award winning DVDS with a child in your life because it is very clear to me, everything we do now to help clean up our planet is not for us, it is for our children and grandchildren.

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I am exhausted.  I just finished editing a short story on Josh Jones, one of the researchers aboard the vessel.  You can check it out at: www.ProjectKaisei.org and go to the Voyage Tracker to view the video.  Although we have satellite, it costs $11 per megabyte and we are compressing the videos as small as possible for the upload but want to make sure you have an idea of what life is like aboard the New Horizon.  Once we hit land we will be putting together more videos on the expedition and releasing them in high definition format, but for now you are getting snippets of our expedition. Read More

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Hey there! My name is Lauren and I'm the Research Leader here at Dive Into Your Imagination. I will be corresponding for the website while Annie is out on her plastic-ocean adventure! We are all really excited to hear about what they find and possibly hear about a solution to this major problem. In the midst of our journey into plastic-land is SHARK WEEK! I have to admit, sharks are possibly my favorite ocean-animal, but they just have such a bad rep! Since our mission is to change the way you view the ocean, today I want to help change the way you view sharks! They are definitely the misunderstood children of the sea. At the aquarium I volunteer at every week, I regularly handle sharks for the public to see and even touch! I think this hands-on experience is really important because by actually touching a shark, this creates a memorable, positive shark experience for that person. Read More

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About six months ago I came across a website while I was researching plastic, www.ProjectKaisei.organd in the banner was a quote from Jacques Cousteau which read, "The impossible missions are the only ones that succeed." And I proceeded to read all about how the people who founded this organization wanted to take on the task of finding the solutions for our Plastic Ocean. And as I read about the expedition, a little voice inside of my head said, you will be on the expedition. I promise you that I did nothing except listen to the quiet voice and as the world turns, in less than six hours I will be upon the vessel New Horizon, one of two vessels Project Kaisei is funding this summer with scientists heading out to the North Pacific Gyre seeking the science of the Pacific Garbage Patch to help find solutions! Read More

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"Even after all this time the sun never says to the Earth, "You owe me." Look what happens with a love like that. It lights up the whole sky."
-    Hafiz

And so I can say about the Ocean.  Even after all this time the Ocean never says to us, "You owe me."  Look what happens with a love like that, it gives life to Earth, to all living creatures upon it including us.  Even though the Ocean has never asked anything of us, I have this burning desire to give back to the Ocean because of all she has given to me, I feel like I owe the Ocean and I owe it to everyone to help spread the word about what she is responsible for. Everything we do on land affects the Ocean and we need to give the gift of the Ocean to everyone by speaking about her and never forgetting what she gives to us.  The Ocean is responsible for 70% of the oxygen our planet needs and holds 98% of all of our water.  As terrestrial beings, we have been fascinated by the Ocean for years, but we have lived a life of myths and fears, and continue to do so.  We need to think beyond what is good for us and ask ourselves a simple question, "What have you done for the Ocean today?" Read More

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Experience California with Dive Into Your Imagination!  This summer I am really excited because I am running a ten-year anniversary trip to celebrate the first time I dived in California.  I hope you will join us as we will have our production team aboard, Richard Salas as our Photo Pro and many other surprises!  Water has always been a part of me.  There are stories about me jumping off a diving board at the local park when I was two.  Later, I joined swim team and spent 14

hours a day at the local pool.  My hair has turned green more than a few times through the years because of the chlorine and chemicals in various pools I lived in.  Lake Michigan was my Ocean because I knew no other.  Years later I walked past a sign that said, learn to Scuba Dive.  I walked into the shop and signed up that very day for lessons.  I had stopped swimming as sport but knew I needed to get my soul back to water.  When I put the regulator into my mouth and breathed underwater for the first time my life changed forever. Read More.

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How to Survive in 2009?  Be Thankful!
Every morning when I wake up the very first thought that pops into my head is, thank you God.  I used to roll over and hit snooze, but now I meditate for three minutes, give gratitude and open myself up to receiving.  Three minutes, that is all it takes for me to start my day.  Just think about your morning routine for a minute.  What do you do?  Do you hit snooze and wish for more sleep or jump right out fully charged?  I have heard that "coincidences are just God's way of remaining anonymous," and after meeting Jeff at the last Les Brown Platinum Speaker training, I believe.  Meeting Jeff has changed the way I think of my life every single morning.  He is an unsung hero walking our planet dedicated to living a healthy life.  In his heart, mind, body and soul Jeff wants to spread the word that we must take care of ourselves from the inside out.  "Without your health Annie, you have absolutely nothing." Read More.

***Come visit Annie this weekend at Booth #130 at Our World Underwater in Chicago! Cubs. Bears. Bulls. Blackhawks. Was I in a zoo?

Nope, I was in Sweet Home Chicago and simply reading the t-shirts and sweatshirts of all the people in my audience. You would think that sports were the favorite past time, but after my motivational talks, I know that sports (and Pretty Kitty) have nothing compared to their new found love for our Ocean. The 5th and 6th graders in Downers Grove were more Ocean Literate than the marine biology students at Columbia College and The Art Institute. Read More.