For the past several weeks, our team at Plastic Oceans Canada has done a stellar job of pulling together a great resource for those interested in fighting for a healthier planet. It’s a collection of blog posts that provides a virtual tour of organizations working to end plastic pollution and/or advocating for healthier oceans, lakes, and rivers across The Great White North.
Welcome to the Campeche Turtle Project Mid-Season Report. Plastic Oceans International has been extremely privileged to be a part of this amazing community-based program during the 2020 nesting season. It’s been an honor to put our resources to work in protecting the critically endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle, in the Gulf of Mexico, supporting the amazing efforts of two local NGOs: Yuumtsil Káak Náab and Ninth Wave Mexico.
Plastic Free July is a global movement that started in 2011 in order to reduce plastic pollution. Throughout the month, millions of people around the world take steps toward cutting down on their plastic waste by implementing small changes in their lifestyle. These changes range from buying a reusable water bottle, to refusing single-use plastic bags and straws. However, transitioning towards a zero-waste lifestyle isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s a journey of patience and effort, as I discovered myself two years ago.
Sea turtles have been traveling our oceans since the time of dinosaurs, but they are dying. Fast. Their migratory patterns, long lives, and eating practices have earned them the status of bioindicators for the health of our oceans, and the picture scientists are gradually developing is far from optimistic.
A cigarette butt in the floor, a candy wrapper dumped on the street, the plastic cutlery that you received with your fast food, in the trash… actions that happen in seconds, but their history doesn’t end there. That quick decision that you took will stay in the environment for hundreds of years. But everything can change if you believe in the power of your actions. In this blog I share with you information and thoughts that lead me to make a change, and I hope to encourage you to do it!
During these challenging times I think many of us have had a moment to think about the choices we have made the last few years to end up where we are right now. The career we chose, the family we have, the house (and country) where we live and also, what will we will be doing once this is all over. How many times have I read and heard “I can’t wait for things to get back to normal”….well “normal” was a climate and environmental crisis, so I’d rather not return to that.
What animal wears an 89cm long shell with overlapping plates, nests approximately 120 eggs at any one time, and lives life with only one eye?
A Hawksbill Sea Turtle known as Blindy.
Collectively, small changes that we make as individuals can lead to a big impact in the fight against plastic pollution. In honor Plastic Free July, we have updated our plastic pollution infographic offering tips on how you can be part of the solution. It’s certainly not inclusive of all options out there, but it’s a starting point, especially for those that are new to recognizing the issue and aren’t sure about what they can do.
As consumers’ interest in green ethics grows worldwide, marketeers have found a new way to exploit this recent trend by trying to make people believe they can continue consuming the way they do without impacting the environment, as long as its ‘eco-friendly’. Greenwashing, as it’s known, is becoming more and more prevalent across the globe, further increased by a lack of industry regulations making it unclear which claims are allowed to make and which aren’t. Read More
My nephew did this. His name is Noah, and he’ll be 7-years old later this month. What a powerful message, especially from a child. It’s amazing how much more aware youth are than most adults nowadays. Perhaps they should be the ones teaching us.