Letter from World Oceans Day Canada Re: WORLD OCEANS DAY June 8
Letter requesting Council recognition and support for World Oceans Day on June 8 to promote watershed protection.
WORLD OCEANS DAY CANADA
May 15, 2017 Honorable City Mayor or Reeve and Council
Re: WORLD OCEANS DAY June 8
Dear Honorable Mayor or Reeve and Council;
As you know, your city or town is near or on an important watershed with all creeks, rivers and lakes flowing to an ocean.
June 8 is World Oceans Day around the world. Our oceans need our help, each of us can help. Oceans generate 80% of our oxygen and give us food, medicine and jobs yet oceans are plugged with plastics and carbon.
This year we are not asking you to prepare a Proclaimation. This year we are respectfully asking you to take action, simple small steps towards protecting our water, waterways, oceans and marine life.
We ask you to include an announcement in your council meeting stating your city recognizes and supports the need to protect our water, waterways and oceans for the life they give us. We ask you to help educate.
Cigarette Butts kill fish and diminish water quality:
Cigarette butts are not biodegradable. Does your city or town provide enough cigarette butt containers and are local citizens aware of the long term damage a single cigarette butt can do?
San Diego State University completed a study regarding the long term negative effects of cigarette butts: “The study revealed that a single cigarette butt soaked in a liter of water for one day resulted in vastly diminished water quality and the death of 50 percent of the fish therein.”
http://naturalsociety.com/cigarette-butt-water-kill-fish-four-days/
Tops on garbage cans?
Does your city or town have tops on all garbage containers, especially those near the water? The wind blows styrofoam and plastics out of containers if there is no lid. Fish and birds eat the styrofoam and plastics which kills them. Local citizens and visitors may be trying to pick up and dispose of waste at your beaches and parks but if there is no top the wind or birds will spread the styrofoam and plastics around. If your city already has tops on all garbage cans please let us know and we will give you two stars on our website.
http://www.worldoceansday.ca/in-action1/cities-towns-in-action
Every country is contributing to plastics in our oceans. All oceans are plugged with plastics. In Canada we can do better, we can reduce plastics in rivers and lakes all of which flow to an ocean.
http://www.worldoceansday.ca/education-resources/6-plastic-garbage-patches-in-oceans
Bottle Water is NOT regulated by any government department.
Consumers really do not know what is in bottled water. It is safer to drink tap water. Put tap water in the fridge overnight for a tasty healthy beverage if they do not like the taste of fluoride or natural minerals. Carry tap water in a reusable bottle, one more step to reduce plastics and save money at the same time.
Education tips for local citizens:
Solutions to help our oceans: http://www.worldoceansday.ca/education-resources/15-solutions-to-help-our-oceans
Consider an environmental event, here are some examples:
Surrey BC has environmental activities from Earth Day in April until World Oceans Day in June http://www.worldoceansday.ca/events/british-columbia http://www.surrey.ca/culture-recreation/533.aspx
Calgary Alberta Mayor hosts an Environment Expo http://www.worldoceansday.ca/events/alberta http://www.calgary.ca/UEP/ESM/Pages/Mayors-Environment-Expo/Mayors-Environment-Expo.aspx
Kamloops BC offers free household hazardous waste dropoff http://www.worldoceansday.ca/events/british-columbia
Event Ideas:
http://www.worldoceansday.ca/events/event-ideas
We will list any events in your city or town, just let us know please as we have a page for each province and territory.
We respectfully thank you for taking action to protect our water, waterways and oceans for the life they give us.
Sincerely, Debbie White Founding Board Member www.WorldOceansDay.ca Debbie@WorldOceansDay.ca