Originally Posted by
JABIII
Two balloons were discovered in the digestive tract of this sea turtle along with the balloon string.
Balloon debris can be harmful for wildlife, which may ingest or get entangled in it. Here, a sea turtle was found after ingesting balloon debris, likely mistaking it for food.
A loggerhead sea turtle was trapped in balloon until a passerby freed it off the coast
NOVEMBER 15, 2013
CLEMSON’S MASS BALLOON LITTERING EVENTS
For over 30 years Clemson University has been trashing the Earth with balloons. It all started back in 1983 with their record-breaking release of 363,729 balloons. Proud of their “accomplishment,” they decided to make it a tradition to release balloons at every home football game, sending thousands of balloons to litter the world every time the players storm the field.
Over the years Clemson’s mass littering events have drawn much concern. The links included reveal the great lengths this South Carolina university has gone to defend and justify their school sanctioned littering.
Back in 2006, after receiving complaints, the president of CU asked for a report from Central Spirit. The report he received the following year was laden with balloon industry propaganda NS recited the balloon industry’s own bogus “study.” The 5-page report was said to have squashed the “litter controversy” and their balloons “pose no threat to the environment.” The administrative body approved the continuing release of the balloons.
In 2010, a group of Belton Elementary students proposed a bill to protect the state reptile: the loggerhead sea turtle. Some folks at Clemson were angered by the kids because the bill threatened to put an end to their celebratory pollution.
Then, the Creative Inquiry. Clemson would study distance traveled by balloons, their rate of degradation, the impact on animals from balloon consumption, and the public opinion of the balloon release.
Their 6-month study, completed in 2012, showed the balloons could travel hundreds of miles, they could take months to break down to a brittle stage and balloons submerged in water degraded more slowly, outlasting the study (the balloons in the river trial were lost after being “washed away”). Out of 5,600 tagged balloons, only 40 were found. 81% of the balloons retained their mass in large pieces, thus, “potentially posing a threat to wildlife.” The public opinion poll revealed balloon releases during pre-game were of less value to sports patrons than other aspects of the game day event NS 42% believed latex balloon releases are dangerous for the environment.
In 8 days, at the last game of the season, Clemson Athletics will commence with their mass littering events. We believe it is high time Clemson University stop contributing to this.
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