Throughout this first class, we
watched
Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific
Garbage Patch, a documentary directed by Angela Sun, starring the
environmental issues caused by the consumption of plastic by the human kind.
Although I was aware that our consumption of plastic was affecting our
environment, this documentary opened my eyes on what is truly happening to the
environment around the world and its damaging impact on the wild life. I knew a
little bit about the topic before I saw the documentary, but it did not make it
any less upsetting to watch the data and information given by Angela. Before
the viewing of this movie I had heard that plastic nets could harm wild animals
but was never fully aware of the consequences that it was bringing upon the wildlife. My
knowledge of this particular issue was limited and I had never heard of the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch before today. After watching this movie I now know
that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is in fact a mix of plastic debris from
all around the world as well as bird feathers and bones, located in the middle
of the pacific.
The thing that struck me the most
throughout this documentary was the reaction of one of the men she interviewed
in regards to the harm that plastic was causing to wild animals. While showing
a picture of a dead albatross who had eaten a plastic nets, the man exclaimed
“what a stupid bird.” This statement made me speechless and question the true
interest of business managers that create plastic materials. It seems like a no
brainer that birds are not able to distinguish the difference between a plastic
bottle cap and food but this individual rather ignore the consequences of
plastic materials that his company is making and blame this particular issue on
the intelligence of the animals.
Needless to say that after watching
this documentary, my behavior will be changing in regards to my use of plastic.
A good example would be avoiding putting
our groceries into plastic bags and using a refillable containers instead of
grabbing plastic water bottles, which could have a positive impact in the right
direction. Not only will I make a bigger effort in finding recycling bins
rather than throwing my plastic containers into the garbage, but I will also be
using reusable bags to carry my groceries from now on. I believe that it is a great
thing that more and more people are willing to expose the truth about the harm
that plastic is causing to our environment. If people can be sensitized about
their plastic consumption and the harm that it caused to our environment, then
things might change. But how can someone change their habits that have been surrounding
them for years? It is a little scary to think that what we throw away does not
in fact really disappear and it is also scary to think that something as small
as a bottle cap can create damages to our environment, the wild life, and come
back to harm ourselves.
