Why set balloons loose?

@raydene (9871)
United States
May 4, 2011 11:38am CST
I live near a park that is beautiful. Many times a year people gather to remember a cause or person or animal.. They let balloons go up into the sky. It's pretty and they mean well.... BUT.... they don't stay up there! They come down to litter... to be ingested in unsuspecting wildlife.. to injure and kill many... especially marine animals. I didn't used to give it a thought until I read a discover mag article about it. I'm not buying them anymore.. How do you feel about balloons? oxox
1 person likes this
4 responses
savypat
@savypat (20216)
• United States
4 May 11
I have know about this for many years, whay puzzles me is why a GREEN baloon has not been put on the market. If one could be made with a life of 3 or 4 hours or one that falls apart at a certian altitude this delightfull custom could be resumed.
1 person likes this
bounce58
@bounce58 (17385)
• Canada
4 May 11
Great idea! I'm sure there'd be great minds already trying to manufacture this kind of balloon. And there would be marketing geniuses out there that would try to make money out of this. All in all, not bad. Just a way to preserve a custom, and making a product which is better.
1 person likes this
Stephannie
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
4 May 11
I like balloons but I do not let them go outside, up in the air. I keep them in the house and when I am done with them, I let the air out and discard them.
1 person likes this
Barb
@abbey19 (3106)
• Gold Coast, Australia
5 May 11
I never used to give it a thought either - it's fun, and a nice thing to do. Then I read an article about the havoc they cause to our waterways and every living thing in our river systems, and to our wildlife. It made me realize how much damage we are doing to our environment by releasing them into the air. Logical when you think about it. I still buy baloons, but dispose of them responsibly - and never let them go into the air.
bounce58
@bounce58 (17385)
• Canada
4 May 11
Everything that goes up, must come down. I think some people get lost in the idea of doing a great act, as letting a balloon go without thinking of consequences. And maybe the fact that when these balloons do go down, they don't come to the same area, that make people brush this reality from their mind. From the response above, I agree that there should be green balloons available.