eckerd college student researchers share why our oceans are such a vital part of our environment, and why it is important to keep our oceans plastic-free. shannon grace-day, a research assistant at eckerd college discusses the microplastics found in manatee specimens from tampa bay and how critical the situation is becoming.

funding for the research behind this project was provided by the tampa bay environmental restoration fund.

washington –  for congolese honorary park ranger adams cassinga, there is nothing quite like observing an elephant in its natural habitat.

“it is a feeling of peace. it is a feeling of amazement,” he said. “it’s such a huge animal. if you have seen it on television, you cannot imagine how large that animal is.”

but cassinga also has witnessed the dangers that both elephants and park rangers face due to illegal poaching. speaking at a rally saturday in front of the white house, he said the ivory trade continues to endanger elephants and those who try to protect them. the rally was one of numerous events held worldwide from nepal to canada in honor of world elephant day, which aims to raise awareness of the plight of asian and african elephants due to habitat loss and poaching.

“initially a ranger was conceived to be a herder, but in this age, facing a gruesome reality of poaching and illicit trade of tusks and other wildlife body parts, we have become soldiers,” cassinga said. “poaching remains a chronic, significant problem in parts of africa, especially where wildlife management authorities are still underfunded.”

it’s estimated that less than 50,000 asian elephants are still in existence, down from 100,000 at the start of the 20th century, according to the world wildlife foundation. meanwhile, african elephants have dropped from upwards of 3 million to around 415,000, and are particularly vulnerable to poaching for ivory.

chanting “e is for elephant, not extinction,” the demonstrators urged additional restrictions on the global ivory trade. while a federal ban implemented by then-president barack obama in 2016 largely prohibits the interstate trading of ivory, selling ivory within state boundaries is still unregulated in the majority of states and d.c.

“people are killing elephants for these trinkets, these tiny little things for your bedside table. what is the point of that?” said caroline hopkins, who attended the march with her sister. “a whole entire elephant has to be killed just so you can have a little trinket sitting on your shelf. i think that’s absolutely ridiculous.”

there are few people alive today who can remember a time without antibiotics. ever since alexander fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, we’ve relied on antibiotics to save us from all sorts of dangerous bacterial infections. a professor at the milken institute school of public health at the george washington university with a ph.d. in environmental health sciences from johns hopkins university, price warns that we might be losing the power of these life-saving drugs.

we’re already seeing the ramifications of antibiotic resistance. the centers for disease control reports that every year at least 2 million people in the united states become sick with infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria — infections that kill 23,000 americans each year.

this is a problem. and according to price, the solution is on your plate.

antibiotics are used in food animals for three different reasons: to treat sick animals (therapeutic use), to prevent the spread of infections (preventive or control use), and to promote growth and production in food animals. few people argue against therapeutic use; even price agrees that drugs are needed to treat infections. but as much as 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the united states end up going to healthy animals.

defenders of large-scale antibiotic use in food animals say that restricting the use of antibiotics in the agricultural industry would make it harder for veterinarians and farmers to do their jobs. it could limit veterinarians’ ability to treat sick animals, and make it harder for food distributor’s to ensure food safety in the meat we feed to our families.

thankfully, consumers have the ability to make their own decisions about antibiotic use in food production, and act on these decisions in their daily lives.

consumers can make a difference. we’re already seeing the power of supply and demand first hand; walmart, the icon of big food business, began offering organic food at affordable prices when the retailer teamed up with wild oats earlier this year.

here’s what concerned consumers can do:

• look for “organic” and “antibiotic free” labels in the grocery store.
• talk to distributors at your local farmers market. ask how they use antibiotics on their farm.
• don’t be afraid to ask restaurants where their food comes from. restaurants are in the service industry — let suppliers know that there is a demand for sustainable food.
• use the hashtag #stopsuperbugs to join the conversation on social media.