January 28, 2024

Hi and welcome to the OneBeautifulPlanet.org newsletter #32! This message goes to my 159 subscribers, with a big Thank you for signing up. If you have just subscribed, feel free to check out the weekly Newsletter archive. I wrote the first issue in June 2023, and an overview of the weekly effort at the 100 subscriber milestone.

Chad Pregracke

I start every newsletter with a person, animal, or plant that inspired or intrigued me. It is a moment of reflection and gratitude, meant to find lessons and nurture curiosity. Last week I featured Scott Harrison, while prior weeks included animals like the axolotl, the albatross, and luminaries such as Buckminster Fuller and Sylvia Earle.

When I first learned about Chad Pregracke several months ago, I was blown away. I was shocked I did not know about him already. Everyone knows about Greta Thunberg, but not about Chad Pregracke?! I thought that soon had to change. He has had so much positive impact on our environment, that he is a true inspiration for anyone considering any sort of environmental action. Chad is increasingly recognized for his efforts to clean up America's waterways: he and his staff of 13 at Living Lands & Waters clean up about 500,000 - 700,000 lbs. of trash from America’s rivers every year. Read on to find out how he does it and how he built the only industrial-size river cleanup operation in the United States:

Born on February 10, 1975, in East Moline, Illinois, Chad was drawn to the Mississippi River from a young age, finding solace and joy in its waters. Working as a commercial shell diver in his late teens, he noticed the rising amount of pollution and garbage in this iconic American river, notified authorities, and asked for it to be remedied. But after years of getting told “no” (apparently there is no government agency responsible for cleaning up rivers), in 1997 Chad decided that he was going to clean up the Mississippi himself.

He started regular cleanups and his first year he removed 45,000 lbs. of refuse, mostly from the Quad Cities area (Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois). Armed with determination and a singular vision, he launched Living Lands & Waters, an organization dedicated to river conservation. What started as a one-man mission quickly grew into a collective endeavor as Chad rallied volunteers and communities to join him in his adventure.

Now Chad and his team traverse the nation's waterways aboard a fleet of barges, removing tons of debris – from plastic bottles and tires to abandoned appliances – that blight America’s riverbanks. They have worked with more than 180,000 volunteers, and performed more than 1,400 cleanups on 25 rivers, in 21 states. Indeed, Chad is relentlessly tracking results: here is the mind-blowing breakdown of the 13 million lbs. of trash removed from rivers by Chad and his team since he began doing his work:

Chad Pregracke's impact extends far beyond his cleanup campaigns. With an annual budget just over $3mm, and assets of $5mm, Living Lands & Waters punches way above its weight. And through cleanup efforts, Chad and his team not only remove pollutants from waterways but also raise awareness about the significance of preserving our water resources. Their educational outreach programs engage schools, businesses, and communities, spreading the importance of environmental stewardship and promoting a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between rivers and our daily lives.

Through workshops, presentations, and hands-on activities, Living Lands & Waters ignites a passion for conservation in people of all ages. And recognition of Chad's extraordinary contributions has garnered numerous accolades, including the CNN Hero of the Year award, which brought international attention to his work.

Chad Pregracke's story and relentless hard work embody the power of one person's determination to drive transformative change. He serves as proof to the idea that a single individual, driven by passion and a sense of purpose, can galvanize communities and make a profound difference in the world. Through his humble, yet visionary leadership, he shows how grassroots initiatives can create a ripple effect of positive change, nudging all of us to be better stewards our planet's natural resources.

Sources:

• “Consequence of Habit” Podcast - Episode 52, Chad Pregracke

• www.livinglandsandwaters.org - Annual Report 2022

Mindset

“’There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

Edith Wharton

In the Works

On the action front, I returned to the scene of the crime of a few weeks ago, at Fairmount Park - Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia. I am referring to the mid-December clean-up when I had my car broken into while volunteering at the horribly trashed Route 76 W Exit leading up to the park. This time I did not leave my car out of sight, and in about 45 minutes I collected about 15 lbs. of mostly food packaging, broken glass, plastic, and other beverage containers. It was good to have my RMS Featherweight Original Reacher with me, as it has a magnetic tip which helped in the collection of metal bottle caps.

There is lots more to do at this location, so I may return to it in the coming weeks. It is surprising and disappointing that an otherwise beautiful and popular park, with nice views of the Philadelphia skyline, gets so trashed and seems poorly maintained. And if you are wondering why I do all this, I am linking below my article on the many benefits of picking up litter in our communities!

Speaking of litter grabbers, I am continually updating my litters grabber reviews, which now cover nine such tools. I just added three more to my collection (the Ettore Trash Picker Nabber, the Vive Suction Cup Reacher, and the EZPik Folding Grabber Reacher) which I will use and review in the coming weeks. Amazingly, the article ranks in top 10 results on Google in searches of “litter grabber reviews”. My goal is for it to be the most informative (and inspiring) article on litter grabbing tools on the internet, so if you find any other litter grabbers, please let me know!

On the gaining knowledge front, I graduated from the Terra.do Learning For Action program on combatting climate change. It’s been an amazing twelve weeks of online learning, and getting a chance to connect with like-minded, environmentally-conscious individuals from all over the world. The alumni community and life-long access to the excellent Terra.do curriculum are probably the best features of the program.

If you found this newsletter helpful or interesting, please share with your friends, contacts, and anyone you know who may benefit from following my journey. Let’s gain some knowledge, and take action toward a cleaner, healthier world!

Thank you.

Razvan