Show Our Oceans Some Earth Day Love!

Why should Cat Ladies be concerned about our oceans, other than the fact that tuna is probably one of your favorite feline's favorite treats?

Because, according to the Nature Conservancy, half of the oxygen in the air is produced by plants in the sea and oceans absorb about one-third of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.

As Earth Day approaches, here is another Featured Action suggested by the Nature Conservancy: switch to re-usable bags and re-usable water bottles.

Writer Cara Byington recently saw the effects of cast-off plastic first-hand: a sperm whale that died from plastic ingestion whose skeleton is now on display in the Bahamas’ Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. She reports:

"Thousands of animals — especially marine mammals and sea turtles — die every year from ingesting plastic they mistake for food.

• Last December, seven sperm whales washed up on an Italian beach — all of them dead from plastic (and, let’s be fair, other debris like rope, tin cans and other containers) in their stomachs.
  
• In 2008, it was a dead sperm whale near Point Reyes, California. Its stomach contents? An astonishing 450 pounds of fishing net, some kind of mesh, braided rope, plastic bags and one plastic comb.
  
• In 2006, scientists reviewed 371 sea turtle necropsies (an autopsy of an animal) since 1968 and discovered that one-third of the turtles had likely died from eating plastic."

"I can’t change what was, but I can help change what will be. The reusable shopping bag is such a little thing, but it matters. And every one of us who bring our own bags can know — from this day forward — that none of the plastic shopping bags that find their way to the ocean ever, belonged to us."

Read more of her article here: Crisis in the Checkout Line

Please check out my re-usable cotton tote bags and water bottles--I have dozens of designs available for Feline Fanatics and Nature Lovers in both of my Cafepress Shops: Susan Faye Originals and Susan Faye for Nature Lovers. Click on each image for more information...