Balloon Release

There was an article in the newspaper about a local funeral home releasing hundreds of balloons into the air to remember those who have died, seemingly a great idea. However, I cannot believe they thought this ceremony through very carefully. I'm sure they didn't think of the environmental consequences of what will happen when all those balloons come back down to earth. They have to land somewhere, and a lot of them will fall into Lake Erie.

The fish and birds that depend on Lake Erie will come across these balloons and could either get tangled in the strings attached or try to eat them. Either way, the consequences will be deadly. I'm not sure how far out we could extrapolate this outcome, but I sit here wondering if the kingfishers we enjoy watching will be effected, or even the eagle that appears to have made its home along the south shore of the lake.

I do believe that there are fewer of these balloon releases as more people realize what damage they can do in the long run. Can bubbles released into the air be a substitute? I don't know if there are any long term dangerous or harmful results from this practice, but I'm sure someone out there could tell me.