This is...beyond terrible

Never mind that it's one apple slice but labelled 'slices': it's a terrible way to pollute the Earth's oceans.

McDonald’s sparks outrage with new ‘The Little Mermaid’ food packaging: ‘Surprised nobody has sued them’

The original post: "One apple slice in this plastic baggie, advertising a movie about the ocean..."

--sjdjenen

These apple slice packs are standard in Happy Meals. McDonald’s sells 4.1 million Happy Meals a day. Imagine 4.1 million of these wrappers in a pile.”

--Outside_the_Walls

I'm glad this had a happy ending

Arabian show horse rescued after swimming three miles into the ocean

William, a 7-year-old grey stallion, had been part of a photo shoot with other horses. Frightened, he bolted into the surf.

He started to swim. And swim. And swim until he was nearly three miles offshore, headed for oil rigs.

On land, a team of four from the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol, Carpenteria-Summerland Fire Water Rescue, and California State Parks set out to find the horse, whose official name is Air of Temptation. His owner, Mindy Peters, told Huffington Post that he had never been swimming in his life.

I think he's had enough swimming for a lifetime. Poor thing. This caught my eye this morning when I was reading the news. This is one lucky horse. Granted, horses can swim, but not normally for such long distances. I wonder if he horse-paddled? [Sorry, couldn't resist.]

There are times

I think humans are a virus upon the planet. Not all the time, mind you, but I do find stories like this somewhat troubling--that we've become so widespread, so numerous, and so adept at affecting our environment (one of our main adaptations that led us to the supposed exalted position we enjoy today) that there is no region left of the sea that has not been touched by humans.

No Pristine Oceans Left, New Map Shows