United Nations World Oceans Day 2021

Last week on June 8 and on that same date each year going forward, UNITED NATIONS WORLD OCEANS DAY examines the health of our oceans. The rain forest and trees have long been classified as “the lungs of the Earth.” Our oceans are equally as critical to the health of our planet, “producing at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen” (un.org).

Three years ago, alarmed by pictures of piles of floating plastic flotsam, tortoises with plastic straws up their nostrils, and birds wearing plastic beverage-ring collars or plastic bag coats, I began a search for The Facts and The Solutions.

National Geographic framed the challenge in three words:

                        “PLASTIC OR PLANET?”

I added: Convenience or Caretakers?

 “PLASTIC OR PLANET?”

Buried in it. Rethink our need for it.

The plastic straw.

Used by millions of Americans every day.

Probable resting place.

The ocean.

The ocean.

A mighty and vast grinding machine

That produces MICROPLASTICS,

A threat to marine life and to human life.

The fish ingest the MICROPLASTICS.

We eat the seafood.

HOPE from twelve-year-old Anna Du, now fifteen.

Inventor of a device to detect MICROPLASTICS

 in bodies of water.

A Rachel Carson for our times.

“PLASTIC OR PLANET?”