The ocean is earth’s largest ecosystem and our life support system, producing a sixth of the protein we consume. At the moment, it contains 97% of the world’s water and 50% of oxygen is produced by phytoplankton, kelp, and algal plankton in the ocean. Because they produce oxygen they also absorb the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which can reduce the impacts of climate change.
    Every year 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans. The biggest issue with the growing plastic population is endangers marine life. Animal especially turtles become entangled and sometimes ingest the plastic, which can cause a multitude of issues. This includes ‘bubble butt’ condition which is caused by plastic ingested by turtles and causes trapped gas, trouble feeding, vunerability to bat strikes, prediation and entanglement.
    The major issue with straws is that it is one the largest consumed plastic item in the United States and it also happens to get trapped in sea turtles’ noses making it hard for them to breathe.