Editor:
I am concerned with the use of balloons in outdoor advertising by the Prime Motor Group and Lee Auto Mall car dealerships on Route 1 in Saco.  The balloons break loose frequently; birds and marine life ingest and/or become entangled in the pieces of balloons, partially deflated balloaons and balloon strings, and they die.  The Ocean Conservancy estimates that over a million birds and 100,000 sea mammals die every year from ingestion and entanglement in beach and ocean debris. 
Volunteers collect tons of beach debris every September on International Beach Cleanup Day.  In 2007, Maine volunteers cleaned up 8,338 pounds of debris from only 109.3 miles of beach. In that debris were 391 balloons!  Worldwide, balloons accounted for the second highest type of debris found – 482,542 items. (See www.oceanconservancy.org, www.longwood.edu/cleanva/balloons.htm, and www.cleanoceanaction.org/uploads/Media/BalloonsandEntanglements.pdf for more information).
I have written Mr. Doane of Lee Auto, have written, and spoken with Mr. Rosenberg of Prime Motor Group, asking them to consider an alternative to balloons. They continue to use the balloons. 
Acting in environmentally and ecologically responsible ways toward these creatures is not hard to do. Dealerships can stop using balloons in their outdoor advertising, substituting flags or pennants instead. If they continue using balloons, they can ensure they use a twine that does not break off in the winds of Maine. 
Please urge them to act responsibly toward these creatures. How much better to help rather than hurt our ecosystems.
Karen R. Johnson
Scarborough