With the majority of Earth being covered by the ocean, you would think that people would go the extra mile to protect marine organisms and to keep the oceans clean. But no, why would anyone ever do anything to help the ocean when it would be easier for them to just keep polluting the ocean and make it dirtier with each passing day?
Recently, a whale was found on the coast of Italy with more than 48 pounds of plastic in its stomach. According to the New York Times, “This was the latest in a grim international collection of whale carcasses burdened by dozens of pounds of plastic trash. Last month, a whale was found dead on a Philippine beach with 88 pounds of plastic in its body. More than 1,000 assorted pieces of plastic were discovered inside a decomposing whale in Indonesia in November. A sperm whale died in Spain last year after being unable to digest more than 60 pounds of plastic trash.”
Plastic waste in the ocean poses a major threat to marine organisms. The European Union voted on measures to ban single use plastics, but these measures will not be implemented until 2021. If things are to get better for the environment then changes to how we use plastics need to be made and implemented quickly. While NSU tried to “skip the straw” and make efforts to protect marine life, more still needs to be done on both a local and international level to work towards making and maintaining a clean and healthy environment.
