"Seals Don't Smoke"
MY PROCESS
Imagine your dream day at the beach: it most likely consists of perfectly sunny weather, warm zenful sand, and beautiful ocean views. But, our views of glistening sand and deep blue water are quickly being replaced with sights of trash left behind by those around us.
It is estimated that a whopping 14 billion pounds of trash are dumped into our oceans on an annual basis - and that doesn’t include the trash that remains on shore. But as many environmentalists focus on the abundance of plastics that are left behind, people often fail to recognize another detrimental source of beach litter: cigarette butts. Because of their small size and the norms that surround cigarette disposal, a majority of smoking beach-goers toss their cigarette butts into the sand without a second thought. This seems like a harmless decision, and also a very common one. After all, tossing an inch-long cigarette butt into the sand - just as everyone else is doing - can't
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be that bad. In reality, these butts are causing immense amounts of harm to our beaches and the animals that live there.
More than 3 million cigarette butts were collected from beach shores in 2009, and the numbers have only gone up. In fact, the Ocean Conservancy consistently named cigarette butts as their most collected beach trash item over the past few years. Each one of these cigarettes contains a variety of chemicals, all of which prove to be extremely dangerous to the animals that end up ingesting them. In addition, while many people think cigarettes are made of biodegradable paper, they actually contain small plastic filters, which take decades to break down, and never completely biodegrade. These filters are especially harmful to the creatures that come in contact with them. Cigarette butts on shore may also be blown into oceans, where their chemicals mix with the ocean and contaminate the water. In turn, the aquatic animals are damaged as well.
While many animals are affected by beach trash, one group of aquatic animals being greatly affected are seals. Thus, this project encompasses not only a component of beach litter, but also a marine mammal that is continuously being affected by it. If we aren’t careful, our careless cigarette disposals and plastic droppings are going to catch up to both us and our animal friends. It’s so easy to get involved in helping to create positive change, whether that be attending beach cleanups or simply paying closer attention to what we leave behind at the beach. Help to be a part of it!
My seal in the spotlight!
"Seals Don't Smoke" winning "Best in Show" at the Broward Art Guild's annual Youth Art Competition!
