Although single-use plastics are widely recognized as one of the largest threats to our oceans, plastic pollution is even more nefarious than what washes up on our beaches daily.

Our wilderness is vanishing. In 1956 there were 450,000 lions; today only 20,000 remain. Why are most people unaware of this? What will raise collective awareness of our vanishing wilderness?

What happens when we sense that we are surrounded by death -- when we recognize that we are living in an age characterized by unprecedented levels of death and destruction in our natural world?

Surely you are already aware of the dreadful reality of plastic debris poisoning our oceans, toxifying our precious environment and causing serious harm to our delicate minds and bodies.

Last year, artist Chris Jordan journeyed to Midway Atoll, one of the most remote wildlife refuges on earth to document plastic pollution and it's affects on wildlife. What he found was disturbing.

The Save My Oceans blog series celebrates artists who are refashioning plastic trash into art. Be inspired by these creative people to turn our seemingly useless waste into something useful.

Thanks the work of artists like Chris Jordan and many, many others, images are starting to circulate that are making consumers think twice about their plastic consumption.

We humans have been in a comfortable denial, enjoying the convenience of throwaway items with no thought to the consequences. Now we face a planet despoiled by toxic plastic.