Mylar Balloons

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

I've blogged about the persistence of mylar balloons in the environment. In fact, the most-viewed post on my blog in 2011 was about mylar balloons I found while hiking around Lake Michigan.

This winter I had the pleasure of taking some long hikes along the Atlantic coast on North Carolina's gorgeous beaches. 

Caswell Beach, NC

Mylar balloons also accumulate here. The photo below shows 4 balloons I picked up along 

Caswell Beach.

Four weathered mylar balloons

Mylar balloons are even more harmful when in the ocean because they resemble jelly fish. Many creatures who feed on the jellies will ingest the balloons and other plastic items because they resemble the jellies. The final photo shows some of the other plastic items I found on this stretch of beach.