港澳天下彩

Chex the sea turtle had a peculiar problem.

At just under 3 pounds, the wild juvenile green sea turtle was buoyant and struggling to dive or swim

It was a crisp spring day in March 2017 when Chex was found floating helplessly near Redington Pier.

Researchers at Clearwater Marine Aquarium brought Chex to their facility, where they did bloodwork, gave him vitamins and took X-rays. All seemed fine, but still, Chex couldn鈥檛 swim right.

It wasn鈥檛 until 19 days after the rescue that researchers discovered the problem: Chex began defecating a balloon and ribbon three times the length of his body. He had mistaken a balloon for food, and it nearly killed him.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

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Courtesy

Chex is one of many wild Florida animals harmed by the estimated 33 billion pounds of plastic, including balloons, entering Earth鈥檚 oceans each year. What goes up must come down, and when a balloon is released, it can travel hundreds of miles before finally falling back to earth.

The ballooning problem is not exclusive to the sea: The debris also harms animals on land, as the deflated trash threatens creatures such as cattle that can mistake balloons for food.

This environmental hazard is one of the main reasons why a bill introduced by a St. Pete Beach lawmaker is floating its way through the legislative session this year. The measure would make it illegal to intentionally release a balloon, and perpetrators could be hit with a fine of up to $150 if they鈥檙e caught. Under current law, within a 24-hour period.

If the bill became law, balloons would be considered litter, according to the bill鈥檚 house sponsor, Rep. Linda Chaney, a Republican representing southern Pinellas County.

鈥淏alloons don鈥檛 go to heaven,鈥� Chaney said in an interview. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no good reason to release a balloon, and there鈥檚 a lot of reasons not to release a balloon. They鈥檙e harmful.鈥�

This is Chaney鈥檚 second attempt to get the bill passed after an initial version died in its first committee stop last year. There are a few key differences with this year鈥檚 bill: For one, penalties would be allowed under Florida littering laws. Second, the bill removes a loophole that allows the release of biodegradable balloons, which can still cause harm to the environment, Chaney said.

The senate sponsor is Sen. Nick DiCeglie, a St. Petersburg Republican.

Pilar Marin/Oceana

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Courtesy

Chaney referred to her legislation as a 鈥淧R鈥� or public relations bill 鈥� in other words, she said, it鈥檚 less about actually fining people, and more about changing behavior.

鈥淚 see this bill as an opportunity to educate the community, change the culture, and hopefully, in a broader sense, stop people from littering,鈥� she said.

Environmental advocates who support the measure say a balloon ban would ignite those conversations while also protecting Florida wildlife.

鈥淚鈥檝e talked to offshore charter fishermen that are constantly scooping balloons out of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. And I鈥檝e even talked to duck hunters who take folks out to ranches in the middle of our state that are pulling balloons out of our environment,鈥� said Hunter Miller, the field campaigns manager for Oceana, an ocean conservation nonprofit.

鈥淭o me, this is a commonsense bill that says we shouldn鈥檛 be intentionally littering,鈥� Miller said.

The list of lobbyists for Chaney鈥檚 bill spans several industries, from ranching to tourism, including the Florida Cattlemen鈥檚 Association, the Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Airports Council. Nonprofit groups including the Sierra Club, the Humane Society and the Surfrider Foundation are advocating for the bill, according to lobbyist disclosure forms.

Florida faces a surge of environmental threats, from pollution spewing into waterways to biodiversity loss from human development. While those issues also need to be addressed, the groups supporting Chaney鈥檚 bill agree banning balloon releases is a simple change that could make a quick impact.

Chaney said she visited the veterinarian school at the University of Florida, where employees told her they do surgeries on livestock 鈥渙n a regular basis鈥� to remove balloons from the animals鈥� intestines. A spokesperson for the school could not immediately provide data about the scope of the problem.

But anecdotal evidence of balloons鈥� harm to wildlife isn鈥檛 hard to find, particularly in Florida. An image from the state鈥檚 wildlife agency shows a sea turtle hatchling swimming next to two deflated balloons and their tangle of ribbon.

The image, which has been used for years to communicate how balloons threaten wildlife, was taken on a state research vessel about 40 miles off Sarasota in 2009, according to spokesperson Kelly Richmond.

Dr. Blair Witherington/Florida

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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Alternative solutions to balloon releases

Up and down the shorelines of Florida鈥檚 Gulf Coast, balloon releases are used in memorials to honor loved ones.

Instead of releasing balloons to honor the memory of somebody鈥檚 life, advocacy groups suggest more sustainable options like planting a native tree or flower garden. A that advocates for environmentally friendly alternatives also suggests using kites, colorful streamers, flags or banners during a memorial event in lieu of a balloon release.

The group said other options like paper lantern releases or releasing a dove can have unintentional environmental consequences, and those methods should be avoided.

Though people have historically used balloons to express their love for others, a memorial like planting a tree will not only help the planet but it will also endure for years, Miller said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something that鈥檚 permanent, something that鈥檚 going to be there for generations to come,鈥� he said. 鈥淪omething you can revisit.鈥�

This story was produced in partnership with the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a multi-newsroom initiative founded by the Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, 港澳天下彩Public Media and the Tampa Bay Times.