These heartbreaking photos of pollution are very hard to look at; in fact they will likely make you want to cry. As an animal lover I hate to even post photos that are so disturbing but the only way to spark change is to show people the truth.
Thanks to all of the trash produced by humans everyday wildlife is suffering in many unrealized ways. Turtles with plastic soda can dividers trapped around their torsos are unable to grow, birds are eating enough plastic to kill them, and that’s only the beginning.
In most Western countries each person generates an estimated 4.31 pounds of trash every single day, that’s an increase from 2.7 pounds in 1960. Not only is the amount of trash we produce increasing, but so too are the number of people producing the trash. With the current population growth rate near 1.1%, there will be 15 billion people living on planet Earth in 64-years.
So how can we make sure that humans and wild animals both flourish? For one, don’t litter. It’s so important to recycle, and properly dispose of all trash. You can also make a conscious effort to decrease the amount of trash you produce in the first place. If the following photos tug at your heartstrings, as they should anyone with feelings, it’s time to do something about the mess we have made.
1. Koala Doesn’t Know What To Do After Losing Her Home To Deforestation
Trees are cut down every day to simply produce more trash.
Photo Credit: theguardian.com
2. Stork Tragically Trapped In Plastic
Photo Credit: unknown
3. Tortoise Trapped In Plastic
Photo Credit: unknown
4. This Is What Happens To Birds During An Oil Spill
Photo Credit: Charlie Riedel
5. Another Tortoise Trapped in Plastic Waste Unable To Properly Grow
Photo Credit: unknown
6. Surfer Rides Through A Wave Full Of Trash In Java (Indonesia), The Most Populated Island In The World
Photo Credit: populationspeakout.org
7. Seal’s Face Trapped In Plastic Waste
Photo Credit: unknown
8. Dead Albatross Found In North Pacific With Excessive Amounts Of Plastic Inside Of Stomach
Photo Credit: populationspeakout.org
9. Landscape In Bangladesh Is Full Of Trash
If we don’t make changes now the whole world will look like this someday…
Photo Credit: populationspeakout.org
10. Seal Suffering Due To Pollution
Photo Credit: Ares Caius
11. This Young Boy Spends His Mornings Searching Through Pollution For Recyclable Plastics His Family Can Sell For 35 Cents Per Kilo
Photo Credit: George Steinmetz
12. Ken River Oil Field Located in California (USA) Has Been Exploited Since 1899
Photo Credit: populationspeakout.org
13. Poor Penguins Covered In Oil
Photo Credit: John Hrusa
14. A Bald Sunbear In Borneo Is One Of Many Threatened By Deforestation In Regards To Health And Habitat
Photo Credit: Heather Ogden
15. Pollution In Hong Kong Is So Bad They Have A Fake Skyline For Tourists To Take Pictures With
Photo Credit: Molly Smith
23 Shocking Photos Reveal How Bad China’s Pollution Problem Really Is
16. Bird Harmed By Oil Spill
Photo Credit: unknown
17. Landfill In Accra (Ghana). We Pay Developing Countries To Take Our Toxic Electrical Garbage
Photo Credit: populationspeakout.org
18. A Mute Swan Builds A Nest Out Of Garbage
Photo Credit: wikipedia.org
19. Young Boy In India Swims In Polluted Waters
Photo Credit: greenatom.net
20. Young Raccoon Has A Fishing Lure Painfully Caught On Lip
Photo Credit: Peggy White
21. Dry ‘River’ In Northern Bali, When It Rains Mass Amounts Of Plastic Wash Out To Sea
Photo Credit: Katie Pip
22. Child Drinks From Polluted Stream In Fuyuan, County, Yunnan Province
Photo Credit: Reuters
23. Man Walks By Pipe Pouring Waste Water Into Yangtze River
Photo Credit: William Hong
