Sign The Petition: Poor baby harp seal washed ashore lifeless with deadly plastic in its tummy

URGENT ACTION NEEDED: A young and lifeless harp seal recently washed up ashore, and marine experts who performed the autopsy suspect that plastic was the culprit of the poor seal’s early demise. URGENT ACTION NEEDED: A young and lifeless harp seal recently washed up ashore, and marine experts who performed the autopsy suspect that plastic was the culprit of the poor seal’s early demise. [Take action now to fight against plastic pollution >>]( Upon locating an inconspicuously small piece of plastic — no longer than 6cm — lodged inside the deceased animal’s tiny stomach, researchers believe that the plastic clogged the harp seal’s stomach, blocking food from passing into his intestines, and likely resulted in a prolonged, agonizing death. Sadly, more and more scientific studies are being released about the serious danger that rampant plastic pollution is posing for seals and other pinnipeds. Pinnipeds are a group of semiaquatic mammals that have front and rear flippers, including several species of beloved animals like seals, sea lions, and walruses. Like the young harp seal in the tragic true story above, many marine animals mistake harmful plastics for food. In addition to plastic ingestion, an estimated 67% of all pinnipeds are at risk of plastic entanglement. Animals get trapped in plastic fishing nets, bags, or other waste, usually resulting in slow painful deaths by strangulation, suffocation, or starvation from being stuck. Vulnerable baby marine animals like seal pups and sea turtle hatchlings are most susceptible to dying from plastic pollution in the ocean. Even if a creature doesn’t directly come in contact with plastic, when they feed on smaller prey that has been contaminated by plastic, they themselves can be poisoned by the plastic’s toxic chemicals! Plastic pollution isn’t just destroying our oceans and killing precious marine animals like seals — but it’s wreaking havoc on our environment, threatening our planet’s fragile ecosystems, and infiltrating every aspect of our lives. We MUST rally together right away and build a united coalition of grassroots environmentalists to DEMAND concrete federal solutions to address the plastic crisis IMMEDIATELY before the PLASTIC APOCALYPSE decimates our Earth! [SIGN NOW: Tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement effective government strategies to curb plastic pollution NOW! >>]( [SIGN THE PETITION]( Globally, over 817 different species of animals are affected by ocean pollution, representing a 23% increase from just 5 years ago. This includes endangered animals like Pacific loggerhead turtles, Steller sea lions and Hawaiian monk seals. But this loss of valuable biodiversity is only ONE of the negative impacts of Big Plastic’s environmental destruction. The health of our oceans is critical to the health of our planet. The widespread, worsening, and poorly controlled problem of ocean pollution directly affects our human health and our ecosystem health. Additional ripple effects driven by reckless plastic pollution include disruption of food chains and chemical contamination: the pollution of the oceans is killing and contaminating the fish that feed 3 billion people. Coastal pollution spreads life-threatening infection and other health risks, which fall most heavily on low-wealth communities, people on small island nations, indigenous populations, and people in the high Arctic. These populations rely on the oceans for food, economy, livelihood, and culture: their wellness and survival depend on the health of the seas. Both plastic pollution as well as plastic production, which burns through massive amounts of climate-warming fossil fuels, are a serious threat to people and the planet — and we must do something to hold Big Plastic accountable NOW before more irreparable damage is done. Friend, the plastic crisis affects ALL of us, so we ALL play an important role in reducing the suffering caused by plastic pollution. It’s urgent and critical that we do more to combat Big Plastic and Big Oil’s corporate greed, protect marginalized people and coastal communities, support sustainable and healthy ecosystems, and conserve our planet’s biodiversity. [Your voice today will have a critical impact in the fight to achieve climate justice for our Earth and all its living beings. Can we count on you to step up right now and add your name to defend our planet from plastics immediately?]( [SIGN THE PETITION]( Thanks for doing your part in protecting our oceans and our planet from plastic pollution. We can’t do this without you. Sincerely, Marcie Keever Oceans & Vessels Program Director Friends of the Earth Contact Us: Friends of the Earth U.S. Washington, D.C. | Berkeley, CA PO Box 7010 Merrifield, VA 22116-7010 1-877-843-8687 [Contact us](foe.org/about-us/contact/) Email Preferences: [Click here to unsubscribe]( Learn more: www.foe.org/news www.foe.org/about-us www.foeaction.org Connect: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Flickr]( © 2024, Friends of the Earth. All Rights Reserved. [supporter]