Our lives on land are interconnected with the lives of our friends in the ocean. More than 8 million metric tons of plastic waste make their way into the ocean each year, causing marine animals to either swallow large amounts or become entangled in our man-made trash. This leads to the deaths of millions of sea creatures by starvation or severe injury. The rest of the plastic waste then breaks down into even smaller pieces and absorbs toxic chemicals that kill off coral reefs and other ecosystems in the ocean. We each must do our part to protect the ocean and its creatures. Just as their lives are tied to us, our lives are tied to their survival as well.