I was sitting in Greek class, drawing in my notebook until there was knocking on the door. Our teacher answered it and it was Swaggy the sea turtle, he interrupted our class and told us all about his family and how his sister almost got lost in a big pile of trash in the ocean. “She tried to swim out of the plastic netting but her head got stuck!!” Swaggy complained “I had to bite it off of her.” Everyone in the class was shocked about the news and then stunned that a sea turtle was talking on land. Soon whispers were spreading all across the room and my friend said “I feel bad for her, but what can we fifth graders do to help such a big problem that's been here for years?” Soon the class went silent. She spoke again but in more of a bossy manner. “Why should we help, not like we will get a reward for it and what are even the major problems that are happening?”
I sat and thought about all the problems such as littering and the effect it has on the ocean. I then remembered what Swaggy said about his sister almost dying because of it. This problem is much bigger than I thought. This plastic, rubber and trash that we are throwing into the ocean can cause harm and maybe even death to these animals in the ocean. The plastic called six pack rings can cause the sea turtle’s shell to deform if the holes in it get stuck on the turtle’s shell. Turtles also can eat plastic straws thinking it is seagrass or seaweed and then end up choking. These problems can be solved easily but sadly not many people know how to. Fishermen can also cause harm to the sea. Sometimes when they go fishing for bait they use a big net but the net can end up snapping and falling into the sea. The fishing net has many effects on marine life and their environment. Jellyfish get stuck into the net and may not know how to get out. Or small fish can get stuck into the holes and get stuck, when they grow older and the fishnet is still there it can make them get sliced in half or it can cause organs to mush around. This net also harms their homes. It gets stuck onto coral reefs and can crush then and make them unable to enter.This plastic and trash can ruin the ocean but the worst problem is, it takes divers to clean the underwater trash, plus the trash can get smaller and smaller so it's much harder to spot in the water, they also use many machines to get trash floating over the water. This problem may not be the only major one but it for sure is one of the worst.
Swaggy the turtle soon got onto the topic about how his father was swimming to get some food for them until he saw the water start turning black and it was oil. Oil is another big problem to the ocean. It happens when a oil machine in the sea malfunctions so it spills into the ocean or oil near the ocean spills into the ocean, this problem doesn’t only harm the marine life but also the land animals that live near the water, seagulls and pelicans can dive into the water to catch fish to eat but dive into the water. It makes the oil go all over the birds. These birds can turn blind and their feathers will be damaged if an animal rescue team doesn’t come in time. The sea life is much harder to find and help because they are in the water and clean. These spills also make the government lose millions of dollars. All the lost oil is very hard to gain back. Over all these problems harm everyone including the animals' habitat.
My same friend that acted out asked the same question again “ So how can we help, not like we can do anything to help the government gain back that money. Some of us don’t even have 100 bucks.” she said as she rolled her eyes. Swaggy then said “ Oh but you don’t need money to help, just clean up after yourself. Recycle and pick up trash on the floor. The best way you can help is encourage your friends and family to clean up too! Create fundraisers for ways to help the harmed animals on land and in water.” That's when I made a statement, “Can we also make a fundraiser for the willow project?” Swaggy started to smile “yes of course, the willow project is horrible and should be stopped” soon a kid said “But why should we?” Swaggy started talking about how important it is to keep the fish alive, in some cultures fish is the only kind of meat you can eat, but without helping there will be no fish and no fish no bird no birds no lions and big cats etc without them there will be fewer meat and soon more animals would be extinct. All wildlife is important without certain animals means the food chain would be all messed up and ruined. I think we should save all wildlife and in the end when you do something right you always feel better and even if it’s something small, before you litter you should imagine what harm you have on the earth.
Overall we should take care of our planet before it is too late, before no more clean water, no more animals, no more anything. We only have one planet and we have to take care of it for more generations to come.