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Given What We Know

I’d like to say thank you to the good Samaritans having a graduation party last Friday at their West Lake beach off Shore Road. These people saw a large mass (more than 20) of blue and white balloons blow onto the lake, and then decided to interrupt their party to go retrieve them in a boat. I was swimming at the time, and managed to swim down three of four of the remaining balloons they missed. I fear a turtle may have gotten the fourth. Another five balloons flew off to the west.

It is illegal in Connecticut to release more than 10 balloons at once; this was made law in the 1990s. It is kind of hard to believe that someone would intentionally release any balloons at all given what we know about the environmental impacts. We have all seen many pictures of marine animals and birds dying from becoming entangled or eating these balloons that can look like food.

Now in the graduation and Fourth of July season, balloons are ubiquitous. If you must buy them, please enjoy them responsibly and then dispose of them. And if you see one on the ground or in a body of water, clean it up like the good citizens of West Lake.

Kameron Shahid

Guilford