Earth Day 2018 Takes on Plastic
Pictured is Earth Day Santa Barbara where the movement began in 1970 after a 1969 oil spill along the coast outraged Senator Gaylord Nelson. He went back to work and helped pass a bill designating April 22 as a national day to celebrate the earth. Today more than 1 billion people in 192 countries take part in what’s become the largest civic-focused day of action in the world. In 2018 the Earth Day theme is: End Plastic Pollution.
Do you ever wonder how sea life can survive knowing that there are five massive patches of plastic in the oceans around the world? The one between California and Hawaii is the size of the state of Texas!
A sperm whale that washed up on a beach in Spain this week had 64 pounds of plastic debris in its stomach, causing its digestive system to rupture. This story sadly points to a trend. People, animals and sea life are ingesting plastic in alarming amounts.
Plastic Pollution
- Every minute, one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our oceans.
- The amount of plastic in the ocean is set to increase tenfold by 2020
- By 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish (by weight).
- Marine organisms can’t distinguish common plastic items from food.
- There is more plastic than natural prey at the sea surface of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Sea turtles around the patch can have up to 74% of their diets composed of ocean plastics.
- For Earth Day events in your area, do a search or check out our list from last year to help you find web links and resources to get started.
