Grand gestures are all well and good — until they end up polluting the ocean.
Balloon releases are the perfect example of this, as boat captain Will Ting (@offthegridofficial) and his daughter Kiana (@cartierting) showed on Instagram.
"My family and I picked up almost 40 balloons floating in the ocean the other day," Kiana posted. "PLEASE STOP RELEASING BALLOONS!! THEY WILL FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO THE OCEAN!"
No one knows the prevalence of polluted marine habitats better than those out at sea.
How did balloons end up there in the first place, you might ask? When balloons are released into the air, perhaps to honor a loved one or raise awareness for a cause, the masses of colorful polka dots soaring through the sky one moment become deflated heaps of plastic the next. And in coastal regions, the floating wonders will often complete their crash landing right into the ocean, adding fuel to the fire that is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Indeed, plastics of all kinds are making their way into natural resources around the world. Rivers collect them too, and eventually dump everything out to sea, where they pose a risk to marine life.
Plus, larger plastics like balloons break down into even smaller plastics, called microplastics, which are being found to have untold impacts on human health.
So, the next time there's cause for a balloon flight, consider taking a cue from the 1986 Balloonfest in Cleveland, Ohio, and look for other ways to hit the pensive, climactic note of watching something float up to the sky. Your health and the environment will thank you for it.
Spreading awareness is also an important positive step, as the comments on Kiana's post show.
🗣️ Do you think America has a plastic waste problem?
🔘 Definitely 👍
🔘 Only in some areas 🫤
🔘 Not really 👎
🔘 I'm not sure 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"I'd volunteer to help clean up the ocean with y'all!" one viewer wrote.
"It's so sad the amount of trash in the ocean. Thanks for doing what you can," another said.
"Heal the ocean," a third added.
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