A sea animal's perspective of the problems of plastic in the oceans today and a plea for you to take notice.
ranked #1 November 30, 2018 #National Geographic
ranked #6 November 30, 2018 #PlantOrPlastic
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A river of dead bodies, miles long, from shore to shore. Bodies of every shape and size, no one spared, no matter the species. Suffocating waters, some still gasp for breath as they float to the surface but the river has run red, we are all dead.
It sounds like the start of some blockbuster horror film... coming soon, but this is real, this is now. This is my reality. This was once my home. I wonder how such mass extinction can go unnoticed by the land dwellers. Why those responsible won't be held accountable? Why no one will make them stop?
If we were human it would become a world affair, a world war possibly two would ensue. A sea of dead bodies would have them clamoring for change and retribution.
Your plastic ends up in my home, breaking down, causing havoc of the worst kind. The world, instead of taking heed, only produces more each year. The algae blooms, the red sea spreads, a sign of death, the end of worlds, just as it had been for the Pharaoh, biblically.
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You call them Dead Zones. 400 of them now exist around the world. I called them home. Places that were once teeming with life now deserted wastelands. A mass exodus, we have now become refugees of the sea.
Nutrient pollution, hypoxia, dead zones, a lot of big words you have created to explain what is happening but really it just spells out death for me and my kind.
Perhaps, I ask too much but what I want is hope. Hope of a chance. What I need is for you to care. My world is your world. Your home depends on the survival of mine. We need a voice. We need your voice. We need you to care.
Each Year...
• 500 billion plastic bags used
• 13 million tons of plastic leaks into the ocean
• 17 million barrels of oil used on plastic production
• 1 million plastic bottles bought every minute
• 100,000 marine animals killed by plastics
• 100 years for plastic to degrade in the environment
• 50% of consumer plastics are single-use
• 10% of all human-generated waste is plastic
So the next time you think of throwing your smoothie cup with the plastic straw down a sewer or can't be bothered cutting up the plastic rings before placing it in the trash or discard your plastic bag from your most recent purchase allowing it to blow in the wind, think of me, think of my friends, think of my family.
And then think, "What would you want someone to say if you had to be me today?"
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