Environmental Impact

·  Hundreds of thousands of marine and land mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food. Since the plastic never goes away this problem continues when they die and the plastic particles are ingested by other animals.

 

·  Globally, over 1 million and 100 thousand marine mammals and turtles die every year from entanglement or ingestion of plastic. (LAIST. 1997)

 

·  Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studies show they often wrap around living corals quickly "suffocating" and killing them. The ocean is especially susceptible to plastic pollution because it takes longer for the sun to break apart plastic in the ocean than on land due to the oceans’ cooling capacity (Algalita Marine Research Foundation)

 

·  The North Pacific Gyre: This vast expanse of ocean debris is held in place by swirling underwater currents. It stretches from about 500 nautical miles. The collection of plastic and liter is growing at an alarming rate. As recently as 2008 it's estimated to be twice the size of the continental United States.

 

·  Worldwide animal pollinators such as the honey bee are disappearing at an alarming rate due to Colony Collapse Disorder. CCD is a phenomenon in which worker bees from a beehive or Western honey bee colony abruptly disappear. It is believed that the bee's are losing their sense of direction to return to their hive. The term Colony Collapse Disorder was first applied to a drastic rise in the number of disappearances of Western honey bee colonies in North America and Europe in late 2006. The cause or causes of the syndrome are not yet fully understood, but it is believed to be attributed to environmental influences such as pesticide use, global warming, disease or malnutrition.