Save our Oceans
A Flash Memoir by: Natalie Astill
When I was seven years old I always imagined myself as a super hero with many powers that would someday save the world. After putting on my costume, cape, and mask I flew across the city looking for danger. As I looked around I saw no physical disturbances and stated, it will be a lovely day, and I continued to have lovely days for years and years.
Thinking back to my childhood I remember the days when I thought I was a superhero protecting the city from danger. I not only realize I was looking for the wrong people, but I was also looking in the wrong places. I was uneducated on plastic; I didn’t realize the harm it caused. Those using plastic, including myself, are the danger; the sum of thrown out plastic is hidden under the surface of the ocean so it’s typically not visible unless you’re in the midst of it (Draggan, Sydney). Most of the plastic produced ends up in the world’s oceans (Drowning in Plastic); 100,000 marine animals and one million sea birds are killed every year because people improperly dispose their garbage. One plastic bag can kill hundreds of animals since it can take up to 1,000 years to break down. It’s believed there are 46,000 pieces of plastic every square mile in the ocean (Plastic Statistics) and recycling is the only way to lessen these statistics. After educating myself I realized no one needs super powers to save the world you just need to be someone who cares.
Works Cited
Draggan, Sydney. "Layers of the Ocean." The Encyclopedia of Earth. NOAA, 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 21
Jan. 2016. <http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/154192/>.
"Drowning in Plastic: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Twice the Size of France." The Telegraph.
Telegraph Media Group, 24 Apr. 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
"Plastic Statistics." Ocean Crusaders. N.p., 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
<http://oceancrusaders.org/plastic-crusades/plastic-statistics/>.
When I was thirteen I went to the beach with my family. I watched people sun bathing, eating, and lathering lotion all over their bodies. I decided to go swimming in the cool, blue ocean, but as I ran down the beach I stepped on something sharp and fell to the ground, my foot was throbbing with pain. I had stepped on a broken piece of plastic from an old toy shovel; nevertheless, I pulled myself together and carried on to the welcoming waves. At last I had reached the water and began swimming around, until something unfamiliar wrapped around my hand and I threw it up in fear that it might be a jelly fish. Alas, it was only plastic rings that held canned soda together. As I continued to swim, just a short distance away I saw something floating in the water. I swam vigorously towards it and started calling my family to aid me. With help, an abandoned fishing net was pulled to shore. How could someone be so careless? After this, I looked around the beach a second time with a different perspective. I hadn’t realized it before, but now I could see it, I could see all of the garbage people were leaving behind; empty bottles of lotions and drinks, plastic bags blowing through the wind, pieces of toys that were left behind, and plastic pens and marker caps that have been long forgotten by their owners.