{"id":598535,"date":"2024-05-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/?p=598535"},"modified":"2024-08-16T12:00:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T16:00:06","slug":"your-next-mission-more-plastic-more-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/all\/your-next-mission-more-plastic-more-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Next Mission: More Plastic, More Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hey Earth Rangers! We have a big problem and we\u2019re going to need all the creative minds we can gather to tackle it. That problem is plastic in the ocean!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/turtle-ocean-pollution.jpg\" alt=\"turtle-with-plastic-pollution\" class=\"wp-image-46607\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>On land, plastic can be very useful; in fact, it\u2019s in almost everything we use! The trouble starts when we aren\u2019t careful about what we buy or how we dispose of things when we\u2019re done with them. If we don\u2019t reuse or recycle our plastic properly and it ends up in a landfill or as litter on the ground, it can easily be blown into rivers or streams. From there, it will likely end up in an ocean, where it becomes a big problem!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/fish-speech-bubble-oh-no.jpg\" alt=\"fish-speech-bubble-oh-no\" class=\"wp-image-46606\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s so bad about having plastic in our oceans?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides animals getting tangled in big plastic items, sea creatures can also mistake it for food. When eaten, plastic takes up room in an animal\u2019s belly that should be filled with food. This means they miss out on the nutrients they need to stay healthy. The problem doesn\u2019t end there. If a small fish eats some plastic and then is eaten by a larger fish and so on, the entire food chain is contaminated. It can even end up in the seafood we eat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Your Mission: Cut single-use plastics out of your life!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Straws, plastic bags, and other single-use plastics (SUPs) are a big problem for our planet. Not only do they take lots of resources to make, they also contribute to climate change and can really hurt animals if they end up in nature. So let\u2019s help our planet and cut single-use plastics from our lives!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How can you help?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Recycle whenever you can, and never litter: <\/strong>Practicing the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) is always a good idea. Reusing or reducing what you buy is even better than recycling!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Think before you buy<\/strong>: Pick items that aren&#8217;t wrapped in plastic, like loose fruit, and try to choose products with less plastic packaging.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Go prepared: <\/strong>Take your own reusable shopping bag instead of using plastic ones from the store.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Host a community cleanup: <\/strong>Gather your friends and family to help clean up a nearby park, your town, or even a beach before the trash finds its way into the ocean.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Speak up:<\/strong> Spread the word, ask shops and businesses to use less plastic. You can also write letters or draw pictures to share with Earth Rangers or your local leaders. Your voice can spark change!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Say NO to single-use plastics whenever you can:<\/strong> These are plastics meant to be used once before being thrown out, like cups, cutlery, water bottles, straws or bags. Cut them out of your life and join the \u201cMore Plastic, More Problems\u201d Mission today!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"550\" src=\"\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/mpmp-logo-medallion.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54105\" style=\"width:300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/mpmp-logo-medallion.png 650w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/mpmp-logo-medallion-496x420.png 496w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/mpmp-logo-medallion-300x254.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/more-plastic-more-problems\"><\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>To complete this Mission, you must:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2013 Read through the Mission Brief to learn about the problems with single-use plastics.<br>\u2013 Compete with your family in the Cut the SUP Challenge to see who can use the least single-use plastics.<br>\u2013 Sign the pledge to say goodbye to single-use plastics in your life.<br>\u2013 When you\u2019re done, come back and let us know how you did. We\u2019d love to see videos of you reciting the pledge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em><strong><strong>Look for More Plastic, More Problems in the Mission section of the Earth Rangers App!<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"209\" src=\"\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate-1024x209.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-598536\" style=\"width:693px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate-1024x209.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate-300x61.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate-768x156.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate-1536x313.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate-150x31.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate-696x142.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate-1068x218.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-content\/uploads\/wdc_partnershipplate.jpg 1669w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hey Earth Rangers! We have a big problem and we\u2019re going to need all the creative minds we can gather to tackle it. That problem is plastic in the ocean! On land, plastic can be very useful; in fact, it\u2019s in almost everything we use! The trouble starts when we aren\u2019t careful about what we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136598,"featured_media":595512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[931],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-598535","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":598537,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598535\/revisions\/598537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}