DID YOU KNOW?

When we protect the ocean, we are protecting an ecosystem that is home to over 94% of all life on Earth, gives us the oxygen we breathe, the food we eat and is critical in regulating climate. We should never forget that!

turtle underwater with fish

OCEAN FACTS

• Covering over 70% of the Earth’s surface, oceans feed us, regulate our climate, and generate 50%-80% of the oxygen we breathe. 

• The ocean is home to 94% of all life on Earth. Scientists estimate that about one million species of animals live in the ocean.

• The ocean is home to the largest living structure – the Great Barrier Reef. Coral reefs are home to almost a quarter of all ocean species.

• Approximately 8 million tons of plastic waste yearly end up in the world's oceans. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the
oceans than fish (by weight).

• “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, a remote part of the Pacific Ocean, about the size of Texas, is home to over 79,000 metric tons of floating plastics.

• 1 in 3 caught fish for human consumption contains plastic.

• 100,000 marine mammals, turtles, and 1 million sea birds are killed by marine plastics each year.

SIMPLE WAYS YOU CAN HELP PROTECT OUR OCEANS

• Support EARTHDAY.ORG

• Volunteer for beach cleanups

• Choose sustainably sourced seafood

• Recycle plastic containers

• Buy reef-safe sunscreen products

• Explore the oceans! It’s a whole lot easier to protect what you love

  • The Planet vs. Plastics campaign is a call to arms, a demand that we act now to end the scourge of plastics and safeguard the health of every living being upon our planet.”  

    Kathleen Rogers, EARTHDAY.ORG President

  • All this plastic was produced by a petrochemical industry with an abysmal record of toxic emissions, spills, and explosions.”

    Denis Hayes, EARTHDAY.ORG Chair Emeritus
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earthday.org

GLOBAL THEME FOR EARTH DAY 2024

PLANET VS. PLASTICS

60 X 40: EARTHDAY.ORG is commitment to ending plastics for the sake of human and planetary health, demanding a 60% reduction in the production of ALL plastics by 2040.

  • HEALTH AWARENESS: Plastics are a danger to humanity and all living creatures, disrupting the delicate balance of life on Earth.

  • DEMAND CHANGE: Rapidly phase out all single use plastics, urgently push for a strong UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, and call for an end to fast fashion.

  • INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS: Investing in innovative technologies and materials to build a plastic-free world.
LEARN MORE AT EARTHDAY.ORG

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