Everytime a balloon is released into the air in memory of.., in celebration of.., or to recognize something.., that balloon travels and eventually pops miles away. It lands in oceans, forests, rivers, and other natural environments. Animals mistake this balloon for food or get caught in it and end up dead. Many of them endangered species! Now if you throw a piece of plastic on the street you get a ticket for littering, so why should realeasing a piece of rubber into the sky not be the same?