As our name implies, we don’t like to be the bearer of bad news. But sometimes we feel it’s important to bring about some more unfortunate news in order to motivate better decisions regarding our planet. In this case, new research has found that balloons are the number one marine debris risk of death for seabirds. That’s right, the balloons we buy for a few moments of temporary happiness are raising havoc for birds, as well as turtles and other sea creatures. While most of the debris ingested by seabirds is hard plastic, researchers say it is far less likely to kill than soft plastics such as balloons. And with 40 to 50 million balloons being sold in California alone each year, we are not doing birds any favors. Sure, the party might feel a bit incomplete without balloons, but rather than continuing to buy balloons and turning the planet into a potentially inhospitable place, we should embrace the fact that we have the knowledge to correct our course here. And then celebrate it…without balloons.
Why you should stop buying birthday balloons
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