Marty and I continue towards the boat.
“I don’t know about this Marty” I said.
“It’s fine!” exclaims Marty.
“How do we get up there?” I ask.
“Follow me” Marty said. We swim up to the surface and try to grab the sailors attention. Marty screeches and  swim in circles. The sailors look at us and grab tools.
“They’re going to bring us in” Marty says. The sailors pick up a spear and sent it whirling at us. I hear the swoosh as it barely avoids hitting me. SPLASH! Two scuba divers speed down into the water as if they were missiles. They rush towards we try to escape but I am confused due to panic. Marty escapes. They grab with an iron like grip and bring me up. I am brought on board. My mother warned me about these humans. She used to tell me about articles she read, she would say that according to “Shark Education” several million sharks get killed due to humans every year. If only they realized how important sharks are, infact  Anderson once said that in North Carolina several top predators like the tiger, bull, and scalloped hammerhead sharks had a 93% population decline between 1970 and 2005. This happened near the eastern North Carolina coast. These sharks fed on rays, skates, and other sharks. As the population of these top predators lower, the populations of the rays and skates increased. The rays now with much higher numbers still had to eat, and what they ate were bivalves. They ate so much that the basically ended the scallop industry of North Carolina. We prey on the weak, sick, and old making sure only the best make it. This keeps the populations of marine animals healthy by stopping disease spread and making sure only the good traits get passed on (Anderson). This also lets the population be able to adapt to change. We are much more important than they get credit for. I am whisked away from my flashback as the sailors approach me. They drag me next to the other sharks, the waves are rough and the splashing of water on board keeps me alive. They grab a shark and take out a knife. I realize these sailors are apart of the shark finning trade. The fins go to a popular Chinese dish called shark fin soup (Fairclough.) This dish was served to emperors and their guests, due to the believed health benefits of this dish. This dish is still very popular. They grab the shark and chop off the fins. The shark gets thrown back into the ocean, still alive and bleeding, unable to swim the shark will eventually die. In total they keep 1-5% of the sharks weight (Fairclough). They don’t want to take up space that could be used for more shark fins (Fairclough). The sailors grab another shark and continue with the process. People think us sharks are evil, but you have a 1 in 11,500,000 chance of being attacked. You are more likely to be hit by lightning. They throw another shark overboard and the salty sea spray splashes, soaking sharks and sailors. It starts to rain and I feel the cold droplets splash against my back. The deck becomes a slippery slide. The sailors try to continue but it is hard due to the roaring rain. I heard a squawk and a roar and look up to see a toucan flapping around the sailors.
“Go!” the toucan shouts. I wiggle my way away from the others and due to the rain am able to slide down, going under the railing and landing right in the ocean. I swim away like a spaceship, trying to avoid being caught again. I see some rocks and hide behind them.
“Hey there!” I turn around in a panic to see a sea turtle with a shimmering shell.
“Who are you?” I ask.
“I am Thomas the turtle” he responds.
“Well what are you doing here?” I ask.
“I live here.” he replies, “Want a snack?”
“Sure” I reply. He hands me a dirty, dingy, and smudged plastic bag.
“Here, it’s a jellyfish” he said.
“That is not a jellyfish Thomas, it’s a plastic bag.” I said.
“Oh! I must have mistaken it.” He said in shock.
I wonder how plastic got this far down I think to myself.
“Hey there’s a jellyfish!” He says as he takes off. He bites and feels the unappetizing flavor.
“That’s a plastic bag as well” I shout. He swims back.
“Why do people just throw their plastic all willy nilly?” Thomas said
“I don’t know.” I responded.
“You know I have been reading and "Information About Sea Turtles: Threats from Marine Debris." says to plastic debris kill over 100 million marine animals yearly. Did you know there is around 100,000,000 tons(200,000,000,000,00lbs) of plastic in the oceans. This plastic is coming from us being washed out from our streets and highways. What happens when it hits the ocean? Well it could be mistaken for a jellyfish by a sea turtle just like me, and we will eat the debris only to die later. Several turtles have been found to have plastic bags and other debris in their stomachs. I don’t know about you but I wasn’t made to eat plastic and I can’t throw it up due to how my spine is positioned. That plastic messes with us turtle's ability to swallow food. Some turtles suffer from gas that is produced by the decomposition of the debris in the turtle. These gases being produced cause the turtle to float making than easy prey. I really this wasn’t the case for us sea creatures. Infact my father died due to consuming plastic. I would do anything to have him back.” Thomas said.
“Sorry to hear that.” I said somberly.
“It’s okay, I have tried to spread the word, but some people don’t like to take responsibility.” Said Thomas.
“Is that the only thing that threatens turtles?” I asked.
“No, infact an article I read called "Information About Sea Turtles: Threats from Illegal Shell Trade.” Talks about how us sea turtles, especially hawksbills like me, due to being hunted for the production of fine luxury items such as jewelry. It is estimated that our population has decreased by 90% in the past 100 years. To combat these terrible things an agreement was reached by 173 governments(CITES) that prohibited the trade of our shells; however, the trade still continues of the black market. Especially due to the shells playing in important part in Japanese wedding dresses. With education hopefully more people will make a change to stop supporting the trade of sea turtles.” Thomas informed me.
“That’s terrible! We sharks are threatened by the shark fin trade. People will cut off our fins and throw us back into the ocean still alive. Infact when you found me I had just escaped from a boat where they were doing this. This trade has a devastating impact and an article titled "Stop Shark Finning" informed me that since the 70s the population of some of our populations have been killed by over 95% and some of us are keystone species so we are keeping the populations in check and without us the ecosystem will get all out of whack. Why? Because if we are gone those who are lower than us on the food chain will have a population boom and eat those below them which will decimate the population of the lower species. But people fear sharks because of things like the movie Jaws.” I told Thomas.
“Excuse me, do you happen to have any krill?” A voice asks.
“No. Who are you?” asks Thomas.
“I am Bethany the blue whale.” The voice responds.
“Sorry, we don’t have any krill, only plastic bags.” I said.
“Dang it, I am starving and I am sure you know why do to an article published by Mangaliman.” Bethany said.
“I know nothing about that, please explain.” I comment.
“Mangaliman says that human caused climate change is hurting the blue whale’s food supply. The climate change is causing heated temperatures in the ocean; however krill(our favorite food) survives better in cold waters. The krill which are sensitive to a change end up declining in population size. Without this food we have to change our patterns to find a food source. Mangaliman also writes that humans being in the ocean are also affecting the us whales.. When the we go up to the surface they are vulnerable to being hit by ships and the places we prefer to be in the ocean end up being in the way of shipping lanes. The whales that do get hit are found with severe injuries. Also when we are swimming we can accidently get caught in nets (Mangaliman, Biagini). If humans haven’t done enough damage already ship sonar and other transmissions are impacting how the we communicate with each other. We depend on sending and receiving sonar calls to communicate with other whales. Evidence is starting to show that ship sonar and other sonar signals from humans are interfering with the communication patterns of blue whales  (Mangaliman, Biagini).” Bethany told us.
“That is terrible to hear that! I wish I could help” I said.
“It’s okay, I am trying my best to adapt to these intrusive practices by humans.” Bethany said.
“Solomon where have you been?” A voice exclaims. It is my mother.
“I have been learning about the impact humans are having on us sea creatures.” I respond. My mom and I head home and I reflect on what I have learned. Believe it or not things can change, it just takes more effort by everyone, for example if everyone recycled more. Hopefully cruel practices such as shark finning stop and I recommend you don’t order it. “Water and air the two essential fluids on which all life depends have become global garbage cans.” ~Jacques Cousteau.

1.2 trillion gallons of sewage gets dumped in my home from the United States of America. Yes, I live in the water. I am a manatee that lives in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. My friends call me Marty because it is my name, obviously. I am a victim with millions of other animals that live in the water. Our waters get polluted with all this human trash and waste every day for as long as we have been alive. The ocean health index says that 60-80% of all the debris in the water is plastic. We aren’t the smartest creatures but a lot of that stuff gets mistaken as food and we float on over to eat it. Once you do that you find out the hard way that it wasn’t food. Most die or get a disease. It leads to choking and OHI says in blocks our digestive system. I haven’t had this happen to me yet and I hope it doesn’t. Ocean waters used to be clean and pure without all this trash in them like today. According to CEF, my friends and I are 5 times more likely to go extinct than those animals above sea level. That’s not even the most surprising thing I’ve heard. Some say that out in the Pacific Ocean there is a piece of land made out of trash. They call it the size of Texas; we have never seen Texas before. My old man went out there once but he never came back. It hasn’t been overly long. I tried to go once with my friend Solomon. We went to the boats to hitch a ride across the vast stretch of ocean. Once we arrive close enough to get on spears fly through the water like bullets; two divers jumped in the water behind us and grabbed him. Solomon was taken to the surface as I fled the scene. After he was taken I was to mortified to go back home. I just kept swimming until I decided to go find the Great Garbage Patch.
I’m not the bravest manatee, but something made me feel like I could do this. Not far into this trek I got a strange sensation. It may be my multicolor skin or that fact it changes constantly, but I sense that someone is watching me swim from afar. My body twists 360 degrees. Nothing but open water. To add to that my stomach makes a gurgling sound so loud it reminds me of thunder. Calling it a night was an easy decision after that. I found a cave and pulled out my goldfish I was saving for later. I’m feel the urge to go back home where there is a nice warm house with lots of food in it. This may not be the easy choice, but I chose it and I will go on with it.
Swimming isn’t very tedious for a manatee. I’ve been doing it for a while and know I’m getting closer because of the increase in floating trash. An awkward amass of amazingly awful articles appeared. This darken the water below for miles. The shadows made the day look like night. No such light was seen as I continued onward. SCREECH! My head flips around to the sight of a manatee flailing in the water. My body glides effortlessly through the water to the frightened creature. The poor manatee has a flipper caught in the garbage. A school of fish swim by and I call them over. We try to untangle him several times. It is not working, but a fish decides to call up his friend. After waiting a few short moments a shadow with an odd shape materializes. It’s a swordfish! He uses his long sharp nose to cut the manatee free. The manatee thanks us all. Soon after the fact I paddle over to see him.
I ask, “Do you know my dad?”
The mysterious manatee replies, “Does you dad happen to be Marcus?”
“YES!” I shout back.
“Marty, I’m happy to see you again.” And the journey back home began.
It has been a couple weeks since my mission took place. I saw what the ocean looked like out there. It isn’t too pretty, but that doesn’t mean it can’t change. Simple fixes in human’s daily life can help us. Making the ocean better is a benefits to everyone. Saving lives, habitats, and even ocean views can all be accomplished. Imagine a world where you never see a piece of trash in the ocean, beach, or even on your walk around the neighborhood. The world will all get something good out of this. Life may seem livable for now until a few more years happen. I can’t stop this alone because I am just a manatee. Together the world can make a difference.

A tree falls down in the forest. There goes a squirrel and a bird's home the saddest thing is, is that that's just one out of the thousands of trees being cut down right now. Im tucker the toucan, I live in Rio and i’m here to talk to you about deforestation and how you can help save not just my home, but multiple animals’ homes. According to "Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information” 30% of the world's land is covered in forests and in 100 years trees could be completely gone. You may ask “why are they cutting down these trees?” well, the obvious reason is to make money and produce paper for people, but what people might look beyond is farmers. Farmers want more land to grow more crops to make more money. Funny that the reasons we cut down trees all have something to do with money. WHUMP!!! Another tree falls down, there goes some homes and with it an animal's source of food. Luckily humans aren’t always to blame, a lot of trees can fall from forest fires and animals overgrazing. Overgrazing also prevents younger trees from growing. You may think that trees are being cut down but animals aren’t getting harmed, but "Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information” shows that 70% of land animals live in forests. CRACK!!! The tree that I call home has fallen, I now have no shelter from harmful weather.
I start off on a mini-adventure searching for a new home. This habitat will be different to me and it’ll take me a while to get use to the area. I will need to have my best survival skills with me because animals that are forced to move to a different habitat tend to be lower on the food chain until they get use to the area. They also could be lower on the food chain if this habitat is nothing like the one they use to live in. Hopefully this new habitat won’t have trees being cut down. If there are trees being cut down, this will cut the amount of total photosynthesis happening around the world according to “BSA’s Classroom”. If trees keep getting cut down, the amount of oxygen produced might not be enough to sustain the earth. “BSA’s Classroom” also says that less photosynthesis will mean more dirty air. In this dirty air, harmful airborne diseases will thrive easier. I won’t be moving to the Amazon Rain Forest that's for sure because “Effects of Deforestation” says that most of the world's deforestation happens in the Amazon Rain Forest. The sad part is, deforestation was mild back in the days when hunters and gatherers turned into an agricultural society and became considered an epidemic in the modern era. I definitely think humans could have kept it away from being labeled as an epidemic.
There are many ways you human can save trees. Things such as using paper alternatives like bamboo. “Paper Alternatives” says bamboo grows slow, but there is a mass supply across the world. Why cut down a ton of trees for paper when we can use other things? If you need paper this bad, why not combine the two so we cut down less of both? “Paper Alternatives” goes on to say that simply using Post-Consumer waste can help too. If you only need one sheet of paper, you can use the back of a homework assignment instead of getting another sheet, it might not seem like much, but over time it can add up. “Paper Alternatives” says the average office employee uses approximately 10,000 sheets of paper a year, creating a stack almost four feet high. That's ridiculous and it’s a number that can be reduced greatly by using paper alternatives. You can also spread the word about saving paper and about recycling, this can help save paper and trees also. You could also get a group of people to plant trees annually.  I’ve finally arrived in my new habitat, on my way I met a shark who was in danger. I saved him by smacking the people with my wing. The people had appeared to be cutting him. This shark's name was solomon.
“Solomon, you alright?” I ask.
“Yes! Thank you for helping me!” He replies.
“Why are you on this boat?” I say.
“I was caught by people who want to cut off my fin and sell it for money” he says.
“I'm sorry to hear that. Will you be alright?” I ask.
“Yes I’ll be fine, thank you for your help” he says.
“No problem, now go!” I say.
Solomon squirmed like a fish on land and ended up in the water. When he made contact with the water, he swam away as fast as a rocket. But he wasn't the only person I met on my way to this new habitat. I heard a loud SCREEEEECH! As I say a group of manatee swimming by. One of the manatees names was Marty. So I made a new friend. Pretty crazy right? Anyways I have arrived in my new habitat which doesn’t appear to have signs of deforestation which I am very happy about. This new habitat holds promise for finding a secure home with plenty of food and water that I can live off of. When I first arrive, I am as hungry as a starved slave and feast on fruit that night. I go to sleep that night knowing I am safe from bad weather and my house being torn down. That I am safe from humans cutting down trees for money. I am also safe from the problems cutting down trees, like dirtier air, temperature changes, and climate change. I am safe from all these things, until they come to take this forest down.

Works Cited (Chapter 1)

Anderson, Dr. Kelli. "Tiger Sharks - the Keystone." My Marine Connection. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May
2016.
Fairclough, Caty. "Shark Finning: Sharks Turned Prey." Ocean Portal. Smithsonian, n.d. Web.2016.
"Information About Sea Turtles: Threats from Illegal Shell Trade." SEA TURTLE CONSERVANCY.
N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2016.
"Information About Sea Turtles: Threats from Marine Debris." SEA TURTLE CONSERVANCY. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 01 May 2016.
Mangaliman, James, and Lucas Biagini. "Blue Whale Endangered." : Human Impacts. N.p., n.d.
Web. 02 May 2016.
"Shark Education." SHARKWATER. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
"Stop Shark Finning." Stop Shark Finning. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2016.
"The Truth About Sharks - Operation Requiem." Operation Requiem. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2016.
Works Cited (Chapter 2)
"10 Ways to Reduce Plastic Pollution." NRDC. 05 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"40 Facts About Water Pollution - Conserve Energy Future."ConserveEnergyFuture. 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 28
Apr. 2016.
"Trash Pollution." Ocean Health Index. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Works Cited (Chapter 3)
"BSA's Classroom "Plant Talking Points"" Trees, YOU and CO2. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
"Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information, Effects of Deforestation - National Geographic."
National Geographic. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.
"Effects of Deforestation | The Pachamama Alliance." Effects of Deforestation. Web. 29 Apr.
2016.
"Paper Alternatives." Paper Alternatives. N.p., 12 Jan. 2008. Web. 02 May 2016.