Dead turtle entangled in a net By Gigi Veve
Islas Secas, Panama and those islands surrounding along with the main
land are an incredibly majestic and special place in the world. The
only thing that takes away from its astounding beauty is the immensity
of garbage seen everywhere. Over the past few weeks we have seen an
assortment of items such as plastics, metals, fabrics, shoes, you name
it and most likely we saw it floating in the ocean. Studies have shown
that the majority of these items are not getting dumped from boats,
but are drifting from land, which is frustrating but means that we
have the power to make the difference. We have witnessed a floating
fishing net with an entangled sea turtle that unfortunately was dead,
plastic bottles surrounding the whales and dolphins we are conducting
surveys on, large plastic sacks wrapped around dolphins flukes, and
this is a small region in comparison to what is going on in the rest
our worlds oceans. Latin America and the Caribbean alone produce 160
million tons of unwanted trash per year, with per capita values
ranging from 0.1 to 14kg/capita/day. The highest per capita solid
waste generation rates are found in the islands of the Caribbean,
which includes the Caribbean coast of Panama (1). We need to take
these matters into our own hands and take responsibility for our
species impacts on the world. It is out of control right now and we
need to do something about it rather than turn our shoulders from it.
We can’t keep having the mentality that it will not have an affect on
us, so pick up a piece of garbage because every piece counts. Lets
maintain an optimistic attitude and make a difference together,
because whether we like to believe it or not this is impacting us.
1. "Waste Generation." URBAN DEVELOPMENT SERIES – KNOWLEDGE PAPERS
Waste Generation (n.d.): 9. Web.
Islas Secas, Panama and those islands surrounding along with the main
land are an incredibly majestic and special place in the world. The
only thing that takes away from its astounding beauty is the immensity
of garbage seen everywhere. Over the past few weeks we have seen an
assortment of items such as plastics, metals, fabrics, shoes, you name
it and most likely we saw it floating in the ocean. Studies have shown
that the majority of these items are not getting dumped from boats,
but are drifting from land, which is frustrating but means that we
have the power to make the difference. We have witnessed a floating
fishing net with an entangled sea turtle that unfortunately was dead,
plastic bottles surrounding the whales and dolphins we are conducting
surveys on, large plastic sacks wrapped around dolphins flukes, and
this is a small region in comparison to what is going on in the rest
our worlds oceans. Latin America and the Caribbean alone produce 160
million tons of unwanted trash per year, with per capita values
ranging from 0.1 to 14kg/capita/day. The highest per capita solid
waste generation rates are found in the islands of the Caribbean,
which includes the Caribbean coast of Panama (1). We need to take
these matters into our own hands and take responsibility for our
species impacts on the world. It is out of control right now and we
need to do something about it rather than turn our shoulders from it.
We can’t keep having the mentality that it will not have an affect on
us, so pick up a piece of garbage because every piece counts. Lets
maintain an optimistic attitude and make a difference together,
because whether we like to believe it or not this is impacting us.
1. "Waste Generation." URBAN DEVELOPMENT SERIES – KNOWLEDGE PAPERS
Waste Generation (n.d.): 9. Web.
Bottlenose dolphin dragging a plastic sack
Bottlenose dolphin surfacing near a plastic bottle
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