Sometimes it seems that making green changes are more hype than help for the planet. However by choosing reusable bags over plastic bags at the store not only are you keeping plastics out of landfills, you are protecting critically endangered sea turtles. The leatherback sea turtle's favorite meal is jellyfish. When plastic bags and balloons are floating on the ocean's surface they are easily confused for jellyfish by the turtles. A study of over 400 necropsy reports of leatherback turtles found plastic in the digestive system of a 1/3 of the turtles. While researchers aren't saying the plastic is the immediate cause of death, Mike James, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, says: "Eating something that is plastic can't be good for you, whether it leads to death or not."
What can you do to help sea turtles...
1. Choose reusable bags over plastic bags when shopping.
2. Do not release balloons into the air at celebrations.
3. When you visit the beach, pick up any plastics you find on the beach and dispose of them properly.
4. Support organizations that educate the public about sea turtles like the Caribbean Conservation Corporation www.cccturtle.org
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