But The Oceans Are Big Enough, Right?

If you're like me and you've ever been out on a sailboat, a cruise ship, a motor boat, whale watch, or any sea transportation, you know that it's hard not to feel tiny out there on the vast oceans. So that means that anything tossed into the ocean will just "disappear" off into the dark depths of water, right? And it probably won't gather somewhere in a large mass of garbage, or make its way into an animal's digestive system? Sadly, this is far from the truth.

Kimberly Amaral writes about this in her article, "Plastics in Our Oceans." The plastic debris that finds its way into our oceans is extremely dangerous to ocean life. The first thing that many people do not realize is that the garbage actually does end up in large floating masses. The ocean has currents which concentrate trash in certain areas. One of these areas is called the North Pacific Gyre, where some of these currents meet. This led to the buildup of the Eastern Garbage Patch, a dense mass of plastic debris floating west of the United States that is over twice the size of Texas. Plastic bottles are a huge portion of this garbage patch. Even worse, the caps from plastic bottles are very deadly to animals, as they resemble food. Mother animals think they are doing a good thing by feeding them to their young, but the plastic bottle caps are ruining their digestive systems.

I love using my glass eco jar! It carries hot and cold drinks :)

I was so appalled when I read about this, that humans have created such a big mess in the environment. Since the plastic bottles seem to be one of the biggest contributors to this, I have set myself the goal of not purchasing any drinks in plastic bottles. Instead, I carry around a reusable water bottle with me which I can fill up with my own drinks. I will work towards not making any waste from buying drinks. At Dunkin' Donuts, I brought a reusable mug and the store gave me a five cent discount. As a nation, we could have such an immense positive impact if everyone simply began using reusable cups more often. It's not a difficult habit to get into, plus I have a glass container that I also use, and I swear drinks taste better in glass! Eliminating waste from plastic bottles can be a huge step towards saving our oceans, the marine life, and keeping our beaches beautiful places to visit.