A World Without a Clean Ocean
Parrys Raines is on a mission to save the ocean
Imagine beaches covered with plastic waste, and fish being rare. Beaches not allowing people to swim there, this would be the result of too much plastic use. Parrys Raines loves the ocean, but, not all things are going smoothly for the ocean. People are using the ocean as if it were a waste dump. Because of this, uncountable amounts of sea creatures die every year. Parrys is on a mission to lower plastic use, and save the ocean.
Life Before Decisions
One moment, when Parrys was 6, she asked her parents why she had to wear sunscreen all the time. They told her that the Earth is going through changes, and her skin needs to be protected. Another time, was when Parrys was 11, she had been ice climbing in New Zealand, and she had spotted some red on the ice. She had asked what it was and had been told that it was red dust that had blown from Australia.
At age 14, Parrys had created her environmental education website called Climate Girl, in 2009. With this website, Parrys hoped to inspire people to use less plastic and care for our planet. She wants to do this because of her love for the beautiful ocean.
A Path to Saving the Ocean
According to Parrys, “the ocean represents life.” Parrys lived by an ocean while she grew up, and she loved it. Her favorite part of the ocean is the waves, how each is different, just like the beach. This is why Parrys wants to remove plastic from the ocean, and because it helps us breathe. Sadly, the ocean that she loves is not in a good condition. As the ocean gets more mucky, the more sad creatures there are. The ocean is the home to billions of sea creatures, and some of those give us food.
In the future, Parrys plans to educate youth, to inspire them to help to get rid of the plastic problem. She is doing this for a healthy future for everyone, and for a healthy planet. Another thing that Parrys wants to do, is become a world leader in Environmental Law. Parrys has already spoken to 3 different schools that have banned plastic water bottles.
The Plastic in the Ocean
About 165 million tons of plastic are in the ocean. The ocean is not humanity's enormous garbage can. 14 billion pounds of garbage, more than half of that is plastic, are tossed into the ocean. Plastic items that are thrown in the ocean, kill 1 million sea creatures a year. This can simply be stopped, but it might take a while, just reduce the use of plastic and try to get some out of the ocean. Currently, 30% of all plastic water bottles are recycled, and it takes half the amount of energy to recycle something, than to throw it away.
After 450 years, one plastic bottle will break down. Nearly every plastic item that has ever been made, probably still exists today. To make a liter water bottle, it takes seven liters of water. Plastic water bottles are not even worth it. You can get 1,000 gallons of bottled water for $1,000, and 1,000 gallons of tap water for $10.
80% of plastic bag usage is from western Europe and North America. To use less plastic, 45% of those people have bought a reusable bag- only 12% actually use them. Every year, 17.5 billion plastic bags are given to customers at supermarkets. An average of 300 plastic bags are used by each adult every year.
Overall, Parrys Raines is on a mission to use less plastic to get rid of ocean pollution. That is why her motto is, “habits made today will help life tomorrow,” because not buying plastic water bottle, or using less plastic bags, can become an easy habit.
Bibliography
Raines, Parrys. “Parrys Raines.” Aim for the Stars. Aim for the Stars
Foundation, 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015
Raines, Parrys. “‘Climate Girl’ Parrys Raines tells about her mission to rid
the oceans of plastic water bottles.” Living Ocean. Weebly, 25/10/2011.
Web. 16 Dec. 2015