“If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth.” ~Chief Seattle
A friend recently passed along a link to me--it’s a trailer for a documentary that is scheduled to come out later this year. The film explores the devastating effects trash has on wildlife, in particular a large sea bird called Laysan Albatross.
I encourage you to watch the trailer, less than four minutes long. While it’s a little disturbing, it’s also reality--and will open your eyes to a problem that deserves far greater attention.
Click here to watch the trailer.
After watching this, and exploring online, I found some startling statistics that I thought were worth sharing.
*Every square mile of the ocean has about 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in it.
*10% of the plastic produced every year worldwide ends up in the ocean. 70% of which finds its way to the ocean floor, where it will likely never degrade.
*Marine animals and sea birds mistake plastic refuge as food, which can result in deadly consequences.
That same day, after doing this research, I took a walk around my neighborhood, and was horrified by how much trash I found along the side of the road during my 20 minute stroll. How do we fix this problem? Is it so difficult to properly dispose of trash--and furthermore, recycle items such as plastic bags and bottles?
Something to think about...something certainly needs to change.
Until next time...
Namaste