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Maybe you’ve seen the video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose, or the headlines about whales washing ashore with stomachs full of plastic. With so much plastic pollution floating in the ocean, it’s too easy for wildlife to mistake it for food — and too often, they pay the price with their lives. The good news is that communities, states and companies can move away from the single-use plastics we don’t need. These decision makers will only put wildlife over waste if they hear loud and clear from young people that it’s time to move beyond single-use plastics.

After all, nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute our environment and threaten wildlife for hundreds of years.

Whether you’ve seen them breaching from a boat or just marveled at them in the movies, there are few sights more majestic than that of a whale. These gentle giants swim off shore, filter-feeding and playing a key role in our ocean ecosystems.

But today, two of Florida’s whales are at risk of extinction. There are only about 360 North Atlantic right whales left and less than 100 Rice's whales. North Atlantic right whales live off of Florida's north east coast, Rice's whales are found in the Gulf, primarily along Florida's "nature coast". Vessel strikes and fishing gear are two of the top causes for whale deaths in our state.

We can save North Atlantic right and Rice's whales. We can strengthen rules designed to prevent boat strikes and urge the use of new, ropeless fishing gear that eliminates most of the risk entanglement poses to whales. But to ensure that decision makers at the federal, state and corporate levels take steps to protect these endangered species, they need to hear from young people across the state. They need to know that we are invested in keeping these majestic creatures from extinction.

Ocean temperatures are rising earlier each year, putting many of the corals that make up the diverse underwater wilderness of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary at risk of bleaching and ultimately death. This reef tract is a gem of colorful fish, crustaceans and unique corals. It’s home to a variety of endangered species and native wildlife you can only find in these waters.

After the warmest summer ever recorded in Florida's history last year, working to protect our state’s imperiled coral reefs is a top priority. The coral loss due to high temperatures, disease outbreak and human activity was record breaking, devastating entire genotypes of sensitive coral and beds of seagrass at some sites. We can take steps to reduce our carbon emissions and support the work of conservationists in the Keys. We can also make sure our voices are advocating for the strongest protections possible for sensitive habitats like seagrass and mangroves within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

We often talk about the effects of climate change as future threats. But Florida sits at sea level, so we are ground zero for the impacts of climate change. Researchers and conservationists are already scrambling to react to the effects warming ocean temperatures and rising seas are having on our ecosystems. From losing our first species to sea level rise, to eroding sea turtle nests and bleaching corals, our coastal habitats are facing changes and challenges that they've never seen before.

That's why it is crucial that ocean advocates are aware of the latest challenges and make their voices heard now. Together we have the opportunity to make sure Florida citizens know that climate change is here. We need to encourage our state and local leaders to look for policy solutions instead of turning a blind eye to the effects of our warming climate. By letting them know that young voters won't allow them to deny the threats our wildlife is already facing, we can encourage them to develop policies to slow the warming trend and help conserve what we have left.