HOW MARINE LIFE IS IMPACTED

     Marine life is effected on the daily due to all of the trash that is collected in the oceans. According to Natural History Museum, "between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year." All of this plastic waste is impacting marine life and their habitats directly. This plastic kills many species, including turtles, fish, and even birds. Due to the giant impacts that these plastics have, entire species can be wiped out. According to the National Academy of Sciences, over 1 million sea birds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed each year due to pollution. There are several trash islands around the world. Trash gets blown around in the ocean, and marine life is eating it because they think it's food. There is enough plastic polluting the ocean that it can circle the world 425 times. The even worse part is, that amount of trash is rapidly increasing.

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     We know that from a local standpoint, we aren't able to eliminate trash islands altogether. However, we can work to make our community more sustainable and help marine life. Every time we use or throw away a plastic water bottle, plastic straw, plastic bag, and even more everyday items, we should think about the impacts that we are having on marine life, even from hundreds of miles away.

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Click down below to learn about taking action:

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