I got an interesting email from Jim Moriarty this morning and couldn’t help but sign the pledge afterwards. I’d like you to check it out for yourself and, if you feel compelled to do so, head on over to the Surfrider Foundation to take “The Plastics Pledge.”
Here’s the email…
Did you know that an estimated 100 million tons of plastic debris have accumulated in two areas of the Pacific Ocean that together are larger than the continental United States? (These areas are aptly called the Eastern and Western Garbage Patches.) There is so much plastic, that it outnumbers the zooplankton six to one.
Plastic, like diamonds, are forever.
It doesn’t biodegrade and no naturally occurring organisms can break it down. Plastic photo-degrades, which means that sunlight breaks it down into smaller and smaller pieces. Those small pieces drift in the ocean and are mistaken for food by fish and birds.
Seabirds are often found dead with innards full of plastic. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for food and are often found dead with their intestines clogged by plastic bags. Sadly, 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year due to ingestion of or entanglement in plastics.
The scope of the problem is astounding, but the Surfrider Foundation is working, through our Rise Above Plastics Campaign, to discourage the use of single-use plastics and encourage everyone to reduce, reuse and recycle.
On a more personal level, I have committed to using cloth shopping bags and reusable drink containers. I’m asking you to do the same and make a pledge to Rise Above Plastics. It’s a simple pledge to:
- Use reusable bottles for water and other drinks.
- Use cloth bags for groceries and other purchases.
- Recycle the plastic bags and bottles you already have.
I know that you, as a Surfrider Foundation member, are especially concerned about the effects of plastic on our oceans, waves and beaches. You and I both know that the best solution to the plastics problem is to reduce, reuse and recycle – a simple solution that is easy to commit to!
If you think that your pledge won’t make much of a difference, think again. For each reusable bag you use, another 400 plastic bags will be kept from being used. Every reusable water bottle will keep another 167 plastic bottles from entering the environment.
Simply click here and pledge to Rise Above Plastics.
Thank you for making a difference for our world’s oceans, waves and beaches.
Sincerely,
Jim Moriarty
CEO
