Earth Day brings us to Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, where this fuzzy Laysan albatross chick is taking in its surroundings. The chick’s home, unfortunately, has a plastic problem. Midway Atoll is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, not far from the giant gyre of marine debris known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s been estimated that some 100 pounds of plastic wash up on Midway Atoll each week, and most of the albatross population has ingested it (they confuse the brightly colored pieces with marine life). For chicks, eating the plastic often proves fatal. But one resilient Laysan albatross named Wisdom has become a symbol of hope. At 68 years old, Wisdom is the oldest known wild bird in the world–and as of 2018 she was still laying eggs. Sounds like a perfect Earth Day mascot.
Meet our fuzzy Earth Day mascot
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Yellow-eyed penguins, Moeraki, New Zealand
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Nature Photography Day
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Shark Awareness Day
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Siblings Day
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World Art Day
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National Park Week: Everglades National Park
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Cousins Day
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Black Fell in England s Lake District
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Casting a vote for women s history
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Hut, hut, hike!
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Pegadung Rock, Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia
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The most wonderful day of the year. Period.
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World Migratory Bird Day
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Sands of time
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Festival of British Archaeology
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Light show at the skatepark
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Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
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Flocking together in the Antarctic
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International Day of the Tropics
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Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica
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Daylight saving time
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National Park Week begins
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A timeless view of the night sky
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Global commerce in motion
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Aýna, Albacete, Spain
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In praise of the old…the very old
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Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
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Red squirrel
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On the hunt
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Patriot Day