731 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington DC 20510

     Every year I go to Florida, I love it so much there. I make so many good memories there especially when I go to Florida for my birthday. I bet you like coastal areas too! But what if all of the coastal areas were destroyed? That would be terrible! This is why we need to conserve the oceans from plastic pollution, and this is why you need to write legislation to stop plastic pollution.

     One-use plastic is a huge problem for our oceans. One use of plastic is “This kind of plastic that’s used only once before being thrown away is called single-use plastic, and it makes up more than 40 percent of all plastic trash,” (Plastic Pollution). One-use plastic is a huge part of plastic pollution. People use plastic every day and it's killing our Marine animals. For example, “ ‘And all this plastic ends up killing a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals like that one pilot whale that was in Thailand,’ “ (In Thailand, 17 Pounds of Plastic Kills Whale, Highlighting Ocean Pollution). This means that whatever type of plastic we are using can affect the animals. Also, it’s hurting our oceans. Another effect of plastic pollution is “And because plastic trash is different from other types of waste — it doesn’t decompose back into nature like an apple core or a piece of paper — it stays in the ocean forever. That means discarded fishing nets and six-pack rings can entangle animals; harmful straws and grocery bags can be mistaken as food,” (Plastic Pollution). Plastic Pollution is killing animals again and again. What if this plastic comes to Michigan and our lakes get filled with plastic? The fishermen would lose jobs and we would lose tourists. This is why you should write legislation to stop one from using plastic. 

     This is why you should write legislation that makes us switch from plastic to a more sustainable material like metal. We should, “Skip the plastic bags, including zippered ones used for foods. Invest in reusable water bottles and lunch containers. And say no to straws,“ (Tiny Plastic, Big Problem). Additionally, this can save the lakes and the earth we live on. We need to write legislation like how “Prime Minister Theresa May has called for legislation banning straws and other single-use plastics. In Canada, plastic straws have already been banned in Vancouver, and similar efforts are underway in Scotland, Taiwan, and Malibu, Calif,”(In Thailand, 17 Pounds of Plastic Kills Whale, Highlighting Ocean Pollution). This could be really great to write legislation against single-use plastic. Imagine if everyone stopped using plastic! Marine life could be happy swimming in a clean habitat and people wouldn’t have to be using an abundance of money on single-use plastic. We don’t need plastic, and we don’t need a polluted ocean.

     Senator Stabenow, I know you love coastal areas and the water as much as I do. We love the great lakes. So help keep the oceans clean by writing legislation to stop one use of plastic and change us to more sustainable materials. You can help save the lakes and oceans for future families.

Sincerely,

Madison Slade