The Plastic Plague

Image from BBC

Is there a more relaxing place on earth than the beach? For some the answer is yes, but for many, a trip to the beach is the epitome of a vacation. Now, most beaches that people go to that are a hot tourist destination, are groomed and cleaned, removing the litter, out of sight out of mind as they say. But unfortunately that is not an option to many that are off the beaten path. Many of those such beaches, beaches marine animals like sea turtles and endangered species of shore birds need to survive, look like the beach at the top of the page, filthy and covered in trash. This image is making a clear argument that plastic pollution is out of control and needs to have something done about it. If all beaches looked like this people would demand action as no-one wants to relax in a place that looks like a land fill, The same goes for animals, they don’t want to live in an environment that looks like this either, but for them there is no choice.

This is an unattractive image and it brings about a sense of revulsion to the mind as when one looks at this, there can only be one culprit capable of destroying an ecosystem such a manner, humans. Ironically, the same beings that created the mess in the first place are the only ones with the capacity to restore the ecosystem to its former glory. This is what the image is trying to accomplish, by instilling a sense of revulsion in to the people who view the image, it provides that small spark of anger and it is a broadly accepted idea that they best way to motivate people to do something is to make them angry or feel guilty. This image is able to do both simultaneously and is thusly a perfect tool to attempt to restore some semblance of cleanliness to this man made mess.

The fact that this is such a normal looking beach, one that would look familiar to anyone who has gone to a beach along the Atlantic coast on the United States and not some beach in Thailand, Laos, or Cambodia makes the image have a more direct impact on many people with the means, in a monetary sense, to do something about it. The plastic epidemic plaguing our worlds oceans, slowly killing them like the toxic side effect of a parasite needs an antidote before it gets to the point where no amount of restoration will have an effect. That antidote is small contributions by every person. This picture is showing you what happens when you toss your plastic water bottle, Walmart bag, or in this case a cooler, into the river and watch it float away, and it is urging you not to do that by displaying the consequences.