DO NOT EVER USE PLASTIC BAGS: one example why - turtles

Plastic Found in 1/3 of Leatherback Turtles, According to Study
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada
04. 9.09

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/plastic-bags-found-in-leatherback-turtles.php?dcitc=weekly_nl

"Leatherback turtles are ancient creatures with a modern problem: Plastic."
A new study has looked at "necropsy reports of more than 400 leatherback" turtles and found that about 1/3 of them had plastic in their digestive system. They're not saying it was the immediate cause of death, but as Mike James, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, says: "Eating something that is plastic can't be good for you, whether it leads to death or not." By saying no to plastic bags, you might be indirectly helping turtles...

leatherback turtle beach photo
A leatherback turtle laying her eggs. Photo: Flickr, CC

From Discovery News:

Leatherback turtles are critically endangered and highly charismatic creatures. They are big, weighing 1,000 pounds or more, with shells that can measure more than 6 feet across. These peaceful creatures have had the same basic body plan for 150 million years.

Leatherbacks are also popular for what they eat: namely, large quantities of jellyfish. The problem is that plastic bags look a lot like jellyfish, and plastic often ends up in the oceans, piling up in areas where currents -- and turtles -- converge. That led James to wonder how much often the turtles were swallowing plastic in their hunt for yummy jellyfish.

To read the full article: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/plastic-bags-found-in-leatherback-turtles.php?dcitc=weekly_nl