Ever since we were little kids, we have been innocently releasing balloons into what we thought would be an infinite sky, floating on to Neverland.
The real fact of the matter is, instead of our parents telling us, "3, 2, 1, let go!," they should have been telling us, "Never ever let go because you will be killing sea animals."
It may have started out with a smile, but it sure as hell didn't end with one.
Turtles don't celebrate with balloons, and neither do birds. In fact, balloons are responsible for killing most of the marine food chain, including sea turtles, dolphins, whales, birds and any other curious animal.
Statistics show that nearly all balloons released in Florida will end up in the ocean or any other large body of water.
Marine life activists protest against balloons for the same reason they protest against plastic bags - they look like jellyfish to sea turtles.
Sea turtles mistakenly see balloons as jellyfish and end up lugging them around in their gut for an entire lifetime.
If they mistakenly eat multiple balloons, they can eventually die from choking or from having intestinal blockage.
Birds, on the other hand, see a shiny object on the water's surface and end up either choking or getting tangled up trying to catch what they think is going to be an interesting lunch.
We are all culprits to this sea-life crime, and most of us are never even aware of it.
Luckily, though, some state and local governments have already addressed this issue and banned the releasing of balloons from their cities and states as a litter crime.
In the city of Gainesville, without such laws, we need to take the initiative and stop the death of wildlife associated with balloons on our own accord.
I'm not necessarily trying to provoke the idea to ban balloons, but I am pushing you to change the way you celebrate.
A simple behavioral change to promote a healthy marine world could be, the next time you celebrate, trying to have everyone pop balloons instead of releasing them at the same time.
Other ideas would be to just blow bubbles, maybe make a wish or simply use balloons that are very securely tied down and make sure proper disposal techniques are used in cleanup.
The opportunities to avoid the releasing of balloons are endless; sadly, there is not a world infinite with sea life.
Don't release balloons into the environment, and if you see one, pick it up. Please help conserve our wildlife.
Eddie Roqueta is a wildlife ecology and conservation senior at UF.
