Would You Save A Life?

Would you save a life?

Would you rush into a burning building to retrieve another?

Would you dive into a pool to pull someone from the bottom?

Would you give a stranger CPR or break a window to gain entry into an overheated car to rescue a pet left inside?

Would you bend over to pick up trash left by another to reduce the risk of strangulation or drowning of sea animals?

Every year, over a million animals die after becoming entrapped in or ingesting litter. The most common killer, single use plastic. Every year, more than 100,000 dolphins, fish, whales, and turtles drown after becoming entangled or eating plastic.

The above number does not include the one million birds who die from eating the stuff. A long term study done in Australia revealed that only 5% of seabirds had ingested plastic in 1960. That number had grown to 80% by 1980. Estimates say by 2050, 99% of seabirds’ species will have plastic in their stomachs.

Sea turtles have graced this planet since the time of dinosaurs. Now, all seven species are at risk of disappearing and three of the species are listed as critically endangered. It is the actions of man that has placed these graceful creatures in such peril. Loss of nesting habitat, being caught in fishing nets, poaching the turtles themselves or their eggs have resulted in such a decline that we may lose this barometer of the health of our waters. Laws have been passed to protect the turtles and fishing nets have been modified to provide a way for them to escape when they become tangled. Areas of land are now protected or set aside for the nesting of the turtles. Yet, common use plastic still takes a horrible toll on them. The turtles see the common plastic bag floating in the water and think it is a jellyfish, part of the diet to many of the species. The plastic is eaten and the turtle dies.

We can do better. We can be better stewards of the planet.

Genesis 1 verse 26, is quoted to say, “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

While dominion places man at the pinnacle of all life forms, it does not give man the latitude to wantonly kill, destroy, wreck, wipeout, or cause to go extinct the species that share this planet with us. It does not allow our greed, or desire for power or money, or even our laziness, ignorance, or simply the lack of caring to justify the decimating of other life forms, be they animal or plant. Of all the species, only man is selfish. We can be better. We must do better.

Don’t our children and our children’s children deserve the opportunity to see these marvelous creatures? They won’t, unless we take action ourselves and demand action of our elected officials. Listed are some steps in the right direction:

· Reduce, Reuse and Recycle plastics; cut down your purchase of single use bottles – buy large containers of water, use them to fill and refill refillable your personal water bottle.

· Use reusable cloth bags instead of plastic bags when shopping.

· Support local, regional and nationwide bans on plastic grocery bags.

· Don’t litter. Instead, volunteer at local beach, or local park or community clean-up events.

· Make sure to properly secure your garbage to prevent any fly-away plastics.

· Don’t release balloons into the air. They travel far and end up in our oceans being consumed by sea turtles that mistake them for food.

Become involved.

Take a stand.

Be an example to friends and family.

Would you bend over to pick up trash left by another to reduce the risk of strangulation or drowning of sea animals?