Balloons Blow. What goes up must come down.

  

Balloons Blow!

What goes up...

must come down.

 Look Up!                

What beautiful colors floating by. Not just the fall foliage but the occasional large hot air balloons silently traversing just over the crimson red, crisp yellows, October orange, and resistant summer green leaves.


 A swishing sound gives away its stealthy approach as the operator feeds the flame to keep the basket and passengers       
along with the balloon, afloat.

Unfortunately, the much smaller and much more numerous relatives, the Mylar and Latex balloons do not have controlled landings and often end up as litter across our landscape and waterways. Whether these smaller unmanned balloons burst or slowly deflate, they all fall back down to earth creating not only the eyesore of litter but also endangering wildlife on land and in streams, ponds, lakes, rivers, and oceans.

Even biodegradable balloons may take six months or more to deteriorate. 

Meanwhile when mistaken for food, ingested balloons can block the intestinal tract and cause the animal to starve to death. According to Clean Virginia Waterways, an organization that operates out of Longwood University in Farmville, Va., an infant sperm whale was killed in 1985 as a result of ingesting an inflated balloon that had not decomposed. 

Ribbons tied to the balloons are also detrimental, becoming snares to birds and even larger wildlife like seals and turtles.

Released with joy and celebration the balloons end up bringing doom and despair finishing their journey as a death trap for fish and other wildlife.  Balloon releases blow. The litter from a balloon release can travel hundreds of miles before falling from the sky to become trash and an enticement to some animal, risking its life.

Create a memorial for a loved one in a way that gives life, not takes life. Bring awareness to your cause with self-renewing and sustainable natural displays. Instead of letting balloons go, consider other ways to celebrate such as flying kites or ribbon dancers, blowing bubbles, planting trees or flowers, or a butterfly garden.

Unlike their reusable big brethren, single use released balloons go up once, and then fall to the ground as litter or death mongers. Help keep Vermont Green and Clean. Single use balloons blow…Do Not let them go.

Litter Picking is an All Season Sport.

For more info about ballon releases: http://balloonsblow.org/

Other essay postings:

      Ø  Why are we tolerant of trash?: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-are-we-tolerant-of-trash.html

Ø  If roads could talk: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2011/05/carry-it-with-you.html

Ø  Tell me why: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2011/07/tell-me-why.html

Ø  Green Economy-does it include you?: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2012/02/green-economy-does-it-include-you.html

Ø  Sleuthing-Detective work: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2010/07/sleuthing.html

Ø  Dog days of summer: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2010/08/dog-days-of-summer-our-dogs-are-great.html

Ø  Who is responsible for this mess? http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2010/09/who-is-responsible-for-this-mess.html

Ø  The Power in numbers: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2010/10/power-in-numbers.html

Ø  Mark Your Territory (dogs): http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2010/12/mark-your-territory.html

Ø  Let’s not disappoint them: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2011/10/lets-not-disappoint-them.html

Ø  What goes up must come down: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2012/10/look-up.html

Ø  The story of my blog: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2012/10/dont-just-be-change-make-change.html

Ø  Blog measureable outcomes: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-measurable-outcomes-desired.html

Ø  What’s your story?: http://litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2013/01/whats-your-story.html