Sunday is Earth Day, Time to Kick Butts

Earth Day really is just that, Earth Day. Not only do we celebrate our planet and increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth's natural environment, but it is celebrated all over the earth in more than 175 countries. In celebration, I have decided to make my stand. The number one most littered item every year on U.S. roadways and beaches is cigarette butts. Although, it seems harmless, cigarette butt liter has become a major problem. Now it's time to kick those butts! 

Last year, according to 2011 The Tax Burden on Tobacco report, Americans purchased more than 287 billion cigarettes. That means, even though smoking doesn't seem like an epidemic anymore, there are still a lot of smokers. And, even though I don't smoke, I don't have a problem with a person who does. My problem, lazy smokers who can't dispose of their butts properly. Cigarette butts contain heavy metals that can leach into waterways, posing a lethal threat to aquatic life. They are costly to local communities to clean up and dispose of as well.

Legacy, a public health non-profit, is working to raise awareness about the negative impact cigarette filters and discarded cigarette butts have on the environment. They did a little research to bring light to this problem. According to environmental cleanup reports:

· Nearly 2 million cigarettes or cigarette filters/butts were picked up internationally from beaches and inland waterways as part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) in 2010, including more than one million from the United States alone.

· Cigarette butts account for more than three times the number of any other item found over the past 25 years of ICC cleanups.

· Research shows that cigarette butts have potentially toxic effects on ecosystems. In one laboratory test, one cigarette butt soaked in a liter of water was lethal to half of the fish exposed.

· Cigarette butts are made mostly of plastic, which can take years to decompose in the marine environment and down into smaller pieces. While 78% of those surveyed know that cigarette butts are not typically biodegradable and 89% recognize their toxicity, tobacco products are still the most prevalent type of litter collected along U.S. roadways and on beaches.

· 73% of those surveyed believe that smokers should be responsible for cleaning up and disposing of cigarette butts after they smoke.

Find out more at www.legacyforhealth.org/environment.