Plastic and Animals

To begin, this blog post will contain images that some might consider graphic. Sadly, this is the truth of our world now and as uncomfortable as it might be to see, we should take these images head on so we can prevent this from continuing. Like it or not, plastic is a part of our daily life. We use it nearly everyday and there is not really a way to escape it sometimes. From plastic wraps around products to that 24 pack of bottled water in your refrigerator, we live in a world of plastic. Plastic can be a useful and helpful thing to make our lives easier, but that comes at a cost to our environment. Our ocean and beaches have become living landfills for our garbage, and plastic is one of the most dangerous components. Due to the nature of plastic, it takes up to 1000 years to decompose, but when it decomposes it leaves behind dangerous micro-plastics which can cause cancers and other defects in humans and animals.

Image source: new.MIT.edu

This is a picture of an albatross. An ocean bird that live across many of the beaches and areas on our continents. They can be found in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and more. The albatross is a bird that will travel across the ocean to breed and back home again when breeding season is done, so they spend a lot of time on the water. Unfortunately, like many other animals, albatross often mistake plastic for food. It has become so bad that nearly 90% of all baby albatross are being fed plastic in some capacity as chicks. Across the beaches of the world albatross are found dead with hundreds of pieces of plastic inside of their decomposing bodies.

Image Source: Chris Jordan dailymail.co.uk

Above is an image of an albatross and inside of it you can see bottle caps, bits of plastics, lighters, and more. This is what our littering and polluting is doing to our animals. They don’t have the ability to decipher the difference between a colorful piece of plastic and something that is food. Plastic bags in the oceans are often mistake for jellyfish and are eaten by sea turtles and other animals. For many animals, one piece of plastic can be fatal. We need to confront this problem, if you are a person who uses plastics, take the time to properly dispose of what you use and recycle what you can. If you are shopping and one of the options is a package without plastic – speak with your wallet and take plastic free options.