With World Environment Day having just passed, I will take a closer look at pollution in our oceans for World Oceans Day as well (Evon, 2018). It was a week of focusing on our oceans and National Geographic set the tone with their plastic bag iceberg magazine cover for World Environment Day (Evon, 2018). We all know that plastic pollution is a problem for the oceans. But most of us don´t see the catastrophic effects or truely understand just how extreme the status quo is (Evon, 2018).

Single-use plastic is a problem and we have grown accustomed to it in our culture, making it hard to live without. This convenience has serious adverse consequences (Evon, 2018). According to Plastic Oceans, more than 8 million tons of plastic make their way into our ocean each year. The statistics on plastic bags alone are jaw dropping. Worldwide, 1 million bags are used every minute. Plastic bag becomes waste only after 1000 years of decomposition (Evon, 2018).

Keeping plastic pollution awareness in the public eye is very imperative in the fight to reduce our waste (Evon, 2018). Greenpeace Philippines has launched a 15.24 m sculpture of a dead whale made out of plastic waste in a campaign to raise awareness about the effects of dumping rubbish in the ocean. The publish art installation called Dead Whale is hard to ignore (Evon, 2018). It is an upsetting reminder of the damage we inflict on the oceans and other living beings. The organization built a replica of a dead whale carcass that looks as though it has washed up on the shore. The body was shaped out of plastic pollution and the creature is filled with bottles, containers, and all the other plastic objects that make objects that make its way into our oceans (Evon, 2018).

The whale was positioned along the shore of Manila Bay for 5 days. At first glance, people didn´t recognize that sea creature was a fake. Based on real events, 30 beached whales we found on the shore of Europe last year alone (Evon, 2018). One of them that was found in the Philippines was a 11.58 m long sperm whale (Evon, 2018). It ingested fish-nest, hooks, ropes, and steel (Evon, 2018).

Art makes a better statement, seeing the dangers that are happening to our environment through a dramatic visualisation urges people more to act (Evon, 2018).

Although the dead whale is disturbing to look at, shocking the viewer in the best way to create a lasting impression. Listen to the dead whale´s wake-up call, look closer and see what plastic pollution does to the ocean. I hope this installation encourages people to #RefusePlastic (Evon, 2018)!

Reference:

 Evon,. D. 2018. Did the sperm whale die after swallowing 29 Kg of plastic debris. [Online]. Available: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sperm-whale-die-swallowing-64-pounds-plastic-debris/. April 12, 2018. Accessed: June 11, 2018. (and cover picture)