“You Made The Plastic, Now We’re All Drowning In It”: Oceans Appeal To Humanity In This Open Letter
Representational Image: The Zero Waste Project

“You Made The Plastic, Now We’re All Drowning In It”: Ocean's Appeal To Humanity In This Open Letter

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Fast forward to 2030. Imagine you with your friends and family visiting an ocean-side to have a good time. Except, that it’s not really an “ocean”-side but just a large body of floating plastic. As far-fetched as it may sound now, this could be the reality if we continue with the ill-treatment we are meting out to our oceans by dumping plastic in it, continuously and unapologetically.

We were shown a little peek into the future when we came face to face with the result of our own sins when a pilot whale was found dead in Thailand with 8-kg of plastic in its stomach. And not just this pilot whale, many other fishes, turtles and other aquatic life forms are choking on the “monster” that we created for our own benefit – Plastic.

It cannot be reiterated enough that even a tiny piece of plastic can prove disastrous for the marine life. In a serious appeal to humankind, the oceans write the following letter to us:


LETTER FROM THE OCEAN

Let me tell you a story.

A story about life, about vitality and kindness, and a story about greed and apathy.

I am the ocean.

This is my story. It’s yours too.

And you get to decide the end.

Science and myths will both tell you, that you came from me. Emerged from my depths and evolved on my banks. Bit by human bit. And now, it’s you that ruin me, clogging my soul. Bit by plastic bit.

It is time you all see the reality of your throwaway plastic culture.

Plastic is a design disaster. It never biodegrades. So when you throw it away – there is no “away” because the material lasts for eternity. It is ubiquitous. From the air you breathe to the water you drink to the clothes you wear. IT IS EVERYWHERE.

Though some sources are larger than others, there is no one single culprit. Each one of you is part of the problem, and I am crying to each one of you to be part of the solution.

But you’re a species that needs facts and figures, right? One that only pays attention to trends and takes an issue seriously only if it’s ‘cool’.

How about this –

Every second of the day, over 20,000 single-use plastic bottles are sold over the world. That’s a million every single minute and a staggering 480 billion each year.

Our fish and sea organisms die from getting stuck in nets to eating plastic that they think is food – our families worldwide are dying from the material you and your families make, use and throw.

I give you life, you feed me plastic.

And at the rate you are currently going, by 2050, there will be more plastic in me than fish.

Yeah, let that sink in. And then maybe you’ll realise it’s cool to care about the very survival of the planet you live on. Or be cool with living on a planet with just .. garbage.

YOU MADE PLASTIC. YOU DEPEND ON IT. NOW WE’RE ALL DROWNING IN IT.

When will all of this biodegrade? 450 years from now if we’re lucky. Or never. And yet, this is not considered a looming catastrophe. One enough to get a place next to climate change and air pollution in the list of pressing environmental concerns that make it to global meeting rooms.

Why? All these years most of your focus has been towards land – land animals, resources, forests and fossil fuels. I get it, you live on land, you care about land. But WE account for 90% of ALL habitable space on earth. And not only absorb almost 50% of the carbon you emit but produce nearly 50% of Earth’s oxygen.

And you express your gratitude by irretrievably turning us into a thin soup of plastic.

IF WE DIE, YOU DIE.

Do you have the courage to face the realities of your time?

This isn’t a problem where you don’t know what the solution is. Better recycling may not end plastic pollution, but changing how you see waste can.

There IS a way out. And it does not take a lot. From carrying a reusable bag to using non-plastic straws to switching to glass water bottles. Some of you have already started cleaning me up. Brands are AVOIDING, INTERCEPTING and REDESIGNING plastic waste into sports shoes, apparel and a whole lot of other materials. The revolution has begun.

Anyone can do it. Everyone SHOULD do it.

And if you can’t reuse it, refuse it.

History is in your hands now. The rest of the story starts today.


The ocean said what it had to say, it is now up to us. Do we care about not only our oceans but also our future generations? Or we don’t mind it perishing as a result of our own wrongdoings?

adidas and Parley have started their journey to clean and save our oceans. Are you starting your journey now? Or is more convincing still needed!!

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Editor : The Logical Indian