Dear Future President,

There is at least 250 billion pieces of plastic in the ocean each year . The amount of trash and litter in the world oceans and number of animals being harmed by the trash needs to change. I think that there is too much trash in the ocean and that it is harming sea life and animals. Animals are being injured and killed because of trash in the ocean and on beaches.

I read an article on the Humane society that states “there is 3.7 million pounds of trash in the ocean each year. I feel strongly about this because it is affecting all of sea life. The reason that there is so much trash is that people dump their garbage into the ocean and on the beaches. They believe that once they are thrown in the water it isn't their problem anymore. A kind of way of people saying “out of sight out of mind”(no author listed).

I also read a article on the PETA website that reports that “every piece of trash no matter how small and harmless it may seem it will negatively affect all of the creatures in the ocean and on the beaches”(no Author listed). This is important because so many people put garbage in the water and no matter what they throw in the water it could hurt or even kill a creature in the ocean. When people Throw a can or a styrofoam cup they think it is just a harmless cup but animals in the ocean will eat in and choke on it and could die.

An article on the RSPCA web page points out that “there are more than 100,000 sea animals that are injured and even killed each year due to garbage and litter alone”(no Author listed). This is important because more than 100,000 animals are dying and that's a huge number. Just imagine it was your pet that died along with 100,000 other pets. The reason the number is so high is because people throw all sorts of stuff in the water like plastic pop rings and fishing nets. Animals swim threw those and get tangled up in the net and can't swim to get away and they drown and suffocate to death.

A second article i read in the RSPCA website reports that “the RSPCA receives more than 7,000 calls a year about trash on the beaches and injured or dead animals that need help”(no author listed). In Los Angeles a 44.3 foot long humpback whale has washed ashore. The whale was struggling to survive after efforts from the RSPCA and bystanders failed and the whale had died they had dissected the whale to see how the whale had died and they found large amounts of plastic inside the whale's stomach. The reason this is important is because it was such a big animal killed by trash floating in the ocean that was accidentally swallowed by the whale. The whale dying affected so many people not only the hundreds of people that were there at the beach trying hard to keep the whale alive.

Mr./mrs. president all of the things above are all reasons that there are too much trash in the ocean and that there are too many animals being injured and even killed we need to do something about this to save the lives of the 100,000 animals each year.

Sincerely,

Dylan

Grade 10

Mendota Heights, MN