Today, NBC and Oceana debuted a new public service announcement (PSA) featuring actor, activist, and longtime Oceana Board Member Ted Danson asking viewers to call for policy change to ditch plastic pollution and make the world’s oceans a better place for us all.
Danson stars as the fictional mayor of Los Angeles in the new NBC original comedy “Mr. Mayor” which airs Thursday nights on NBC.
“The plastics being dumped into our oceans are harming sea turtles, whales, birds, and other marine life. I think we can all agree that saving these amazing animals is worth ditching plastics,” Danson said in the PSA. “Go to Oceana.org to find out how you and your local government can help make the world’s oceans a better place for us all.”
In a recent report, Oceana revealed for the first time the available data on marine mammals and sea turtles swallowing or becoming entangled in plastic in U.S. waters. After surveying dozens of government agencies, organizations, and institutions that collect data on the impact of plastic on marine animals, Oceana found evidence of nearly 1,800 animals from 40 different species swallowing or becoming entangled in plastic since 2009. Of those animals, a staggering 88% were from species listed as endangered or threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act. The animals reflected in this report are likely far fewer than the true number of sea turtles and marine mammals that consume or become entangled in plastic in U.S. waters.
“Plastic pollution is a human-created problem with a human-powered solution. We must turn off the tap on the deluge of throwaway plastic being produced and polluting our oceans, and that’s exactly what Oceana’s campaigns are doing,” said Andrew Sharpless, CEO of Oceana. “In the last year alone, municipalities like Tampa, Florida and Montgomery County, Maryland and the state of New York passed Oceana-supported reductions in single-use plastics. In the U.S. Congress, first-of-its-kind legislation was introduced, which would shift the burden of plastic pollution away from consumers like you and me and onto plastic producers. Together, with our allies and grassroots supporters, Oceana is winning policies that reduce plastic pollution at its source.”
Scientists now estimate that 15 million metric tons of plastic floods into the ocean every year. That equates to about two garbage trucks’ worth of plastic entering the ocean every minute. The U.S. plays a significant role in this global problem, generating more plastic waste than any other country, according to a 2020 study. Plastic has been found in every corner of the world’s oceans, floating on the surface to its deepest depth in the Mariana Trench. With plastic production growing at a rapid rate, increasing amounts of plastic can be expected to flood our blue planet with devastating consequences.
Oceana is addressing this crisis by encouraging companies to take action to reduce plastic production and offer plastic-free choices, and by winning legislation that will reduce single-use plastics in strategic coastal countries around the world. To learn more about Oceana’s campaign to stop plastic pollution and how you can help, visit oceana.org/plastics.
“Mr. Mayor” airs 8 p.m. ET/PT Thursdays on NBC.
The PSA is available at oceana.org/mr-mayor-star-ted-danson-calls-communities-help-stop-plastic-pollution.
