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Waves of Plastic

With the decrease of marine life and increase of pollution in our Ocean's, here are some tips to eliminate our Carbon Footprint.

By Shanz R. SmithPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Waves of Plastic
Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

The stress and chaos of everyday life can be overwhelming. For some, a vacation is just what they need to de-stress and take a break from reality. My vacation would consist of sitting on the soft silky sand on a beach in Maine, watching the ocean waves crash against the rocks and flow up on the shore, washing over my feet with a margarita in hand. However, with the amount of pollution that is taking over our Oceans, soon they will be just another landfill if we don’t do something.

By the year 2050, it is estimated that there will be more plastic and trash filling our majestic oceans than marine life. Over 1 million marine mammals including Sharks, Dolphins, Whales, Sea Turtles, and so many more are killed each year by plastic debris that is discarded into Earth’s oceans.

Another estimate states that there are over 100 million tons of plastic floating in our Oceans all over the world. That adds up to over 1000 species of marine mammals that are impacted by human trash and waste each year, with 500 locations marked as “Dead Zones” where no marine life is capable of existing.

8.3 million tons of plastic and trash are carelessly discarded into the Oceans every year; of that, 750,000 tons of this is found to be discarded fishing nets.

So, what is it I plan do to help the ever-growing number of trash and pollution to keep the Ocean habitable for the marine life?

First things first; Stop buying single use plastic containers. Marine mammals cannot differentiate between their food and plastic. Plastic clogs the stomach which in turn causes the mammal to starve to death. I couldn’t imagine that kind of death, especially for a voiceless creature who cannot tell you they’re hungry and starving. I plan to stop buying single use plastic containers and switch to reusable.

The old adage comes to mind; Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Reduce your use of disposable plastic, switch from plastic spoons and forks to regular silverware. You can store them in your kitchen drawer out of the way until you’re ready to use them and you can find cheap sets that will save you in the long run. A set of silverware at some of the major retailers cost less than $5 a set, compared to plastic utensils at $5 a box each time you purchase one. Not only does this cover reducing but reusing as well.

Recycle; paper plastic and aluminum, anything that can be recycled and turned into something else for use helps reduce the carbon footprint that we leave on this Earth.

Those are just a few examples of some of the things I plan to do. Volunteering at the next beach cleanup and picking up trash that’s lying around while you’re walking down the road. It may not seem like much if there’s only 1 person doing such things, but, if 7.5 billion people around the world took just 1 small step to eliminate the plastics that are destroying our Oceans, we could eliminate pollution in the Oceans by 2050 instead of killing the marine life that live in them and making them uninhabitable. It’s like someone coming into your home, leaving their trash lying all over and not bothering to pick up their mess.

The Ocean’s are the home of the Sea life that we are destroying. By going into their home and throwing our trash all around, it shows a complete lack of respect and disregard for the mammals that have no voice. It’s their Ocean, and they allow us to be a part of that beauty. Be a solution and quit adding to the problem.

Remember to reduce your purchases and uses of harmful, single use plastics. Reuse anything that can be reused, and recycle everything to help build a better future.

Sustainability
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About the Creator

Shanz R. Smith

I am a Wife, Mother, Grandmother and Witch. I have been writing all my life. I have won several awards throughout my educational years, including poetry in various collections. Soon my debut Novel will be available.

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