Nearly 300 manatees dead this year. Please don’t look away.

This is a tragedy, Friend. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, nearly 300 manatees have DIED since January alone. YOUNG MANATEES ARE STARVING TO DEATH [YOUR GIFT WILL GO TWICE AS FAR TO PROTECT OUR OCEANS, PEOPLE AND OUR PLANET]( [MATCH MY GIFT]( This is a tragedy, Friend. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, nearly 300 manatees have DIED since January alone. And 81 of these gentle sea cows didn’t even see their first birthday! Why are we seeing so many devastating young manatee deaths? Well, famine and starvation are a huge contributor. And this isn’t natural selection – reckless cruise companies are contributing to the DESTRUCTION of seagrass that manatees eat to survive! As a result, manatee mothers are starving, barely able to produce enough milk for their young. And the entire manatee population is being robbed of vital nutrition. Weak and malnourished sea cows can’t survive like this much longer. That’s why I had to reach out to you today and ask you to take urgent action. In honor of our fiscal year ending, a group of our generous donors agreed to match EVERY gift we receive up to $50,000 – but only until MIDNIGHT tomorrow. That means that your contribution today will go TWICE as far to protect suffering marine wildlife, our oceans, and our planet. The clock is ticking: please, don’t waste this opportunity: [MATCH MY GIFT]( Manatees don’t have to struggle this way. But the cruise industry is getting away with reckless dumping and habitat destruction. Cruise ships can LEGALLY dump contaminated wastewater and toxic, acidic runoff into our oceans, damaging manatees' coastal waters. This harmful pollution feeds destructive algae blooms that kill critical seagrass meadows – pushing manatees towards starvation and death! The scariest part? Cruise ships NEVER stop running – they are constantly releasing huge quantities of air pollution even when docked. Just one mid-sized cruise ship can emit as much pollution as 1 MILLION CARS. While our oceans overheat from Big Cruise’s greenhouse gas emissions, coastal communities bear the brunt of the damage and suffer higher rates of respiratory diseases like asthma. This can’t go on, Friend. Cruise companies and other Big Polluters are driving baby manatees to starvation, forcing pollution and disease onto communities and worsening the climate crisis that threatens our entire planet. That’s why Friends of the Earth is fighting to hold these corporations accountable. We need your support to keep our work going, and that starts with setting the pace to help us meet our Fiscal Year End goal. Each dollar towards our $50,000 goal will be MATCHED – but this opportunity expires at midnight tomorrow, and we’re counting on your help to fight for oceans and our planet. Please, before our midnight deadline tomorrow, will you set the pace and make a membership gift of $10 or more while it will go TWICE as far to fight back against corporate greed and protect our oceans, people and the only Earth we’ll ever get? If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $10 immediately]( [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $50 immediately]( [Donate another amount]( The problem with the cruise industry is bigger than you think. Pandemic cruise restrictions are now GONE, and the cruise business is booming more than ever. That means EVEN MORE and EVEN BIGGER cruise ships are speeding through coastal waters and spewing toxic pollution in their path. The dramatic growth of the cruise industry means governments have struggled to regulate it. Greedy cruise companies have taken advantage of lax enforcement, getting away with huge quantities of legal and illegal dumping. And as coastal communities fight for their right to health and a safe environment, some cruise companies have SUED to stop them from fighting back! No company should be able to take away our right to protect our health and the health of our neighbors. Big Cruise has crossed the line – and we must stop its selfish attacks on our rights, our health and our planet before it’s too late! Friends of the Earth is committed to protecting our planet and taking on any industry that puts profits over human lives, helpless wildlife and the priceless ecosystems on our planet. We are working tirelessly to implement stronger regulations for the cruise industry, hold it accountable for its massive pollution footprint, and ensure that no one can get away with illegal, toxic dumping. But we can’t keep up this planet-saving work without support from people like you who understand how high the stakes are. That’s why we’re counting on you to make your early matched gift before our fiscal year ends at MIDNIGHT tomorrow! Precious manatees are withering away, and we can’t let Big Cruise wreak havoc on our oceans and communities any longer. So please: Will you make your membership gift of $10 – while $10 becomes $20 – to help Friends of the Earth hit our crucial $50,000 goal, hold Big Polluters accountable and protect our oceans, people and planet for generations to come? If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $10 immediately]( [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $50 immediately]( [Donate another amount]( Thank you for your urgent support, Marcie Keever Oceans and Vessels Program Director Friends of the Earth Contact Us: Friends of the Earth U.S. Washington, D.C. | Berkeley, CA PO Box 7010 Merrifield, VA 22116-7010 1-877-843-8687 [Contact us](foe.org/about-us/contact/) Email Preferences: [Click here to unsubscribe]( Learn more: www.foe.org/news www.foe.org/about-us www.foeaction.org Connect: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Flickr]( © 2024, Friends of the Earth. All Rights Reserved. [supporter]