We are now producing nearly 300 million tons of plastic every year, half of which is for single use.
More than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year.
Everyone should be aware by this point that we humans are slowly, but steadily destroying our planet. We are polluting the air and filling the sea with artificially created products, most of it is plastic.
When plastic was created in 1907, by Leo Hendrik Baekeland nobody could have prophesied that this discovery would be a leading cause for the biggest challenge humanity faces today. The death of our home.
We have two homes when we come to this planet, our earth and our bodies. However, the one-time use of plastic and insufficient recycling of it, is indirectly harming our bodies too! Chemicals in heavily polluted waters can make their way back to us and cause serious health issues like: reproductive problems hormonal difficulties, kidney damage and nervous system damage. Therefore plastic pollution will not only harms the various different living organisms we share out planet with but also out own health, yet we are too lazy to use and reuse it mindfully.
The responsibility of taking care of our planet is not only towards all the other species that we share our planet with but also for the future generations. Every year 100,000 marine creatures die from plastic entanglement and these are only the ones found! Humans are the only species producing plastic! We talk about Zoos and animal testing being wrong, but what about the birds and the fish that we brutally murder without second thought?
You might think the plastic floating around in the oceans has nothing to do with you, because you don’t own factories or throw things into rivers. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t contributing to the problem in some way! Everyone has an influence on the situation and with that influence comes a responsibility to use it for the good. It is always easy to blame governments or companies for our dying planet, but when are you going to do something about it? Even little changes to your lifestyle can make an impact on the planet. If everyone cuts out a ecologically unfriendly habit it will improve the sea bit by bit.
Join out campaign from the 8th-12th April. I will be be awarding ocean themed bake goods at the end of the week as prizes for the people who successfully changed one of their unsustainable habits. These can range from: cutting down on the usage of the plastic bottles, separating and recycling your trash or using re-usable shopping bags. There will also be an art installation on the first floor at the library foyer raising awareness about plastic pollution, check it out if you have time! And remember…You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. You can never achieve anything unless you make sacrifices, sacrifice your usage of plastic to keep our planet alive.
By Ishikaa and Laura
