Plastic Paradise is an eye-opening documentary about
the ever-growing issue of plastic usage in the world. The documentary explores
how the plastic industry has boomed since its introduction in the 1930’s, and
how it has grown to become one of the most heavily used products since.
The
problem with plastic is that it’s not biodegradable, and this has taken a heavy
toll on the oceans as seen in the movie. The film shows how there is a large
cluster of floating plastic debris that has accumulated in the central Pacific
Ocean. This cluster of debris ranges in size from roughly the size of Texas all
the way up to the size of the continental U.S. This is disturbing to hear and I
had no idea that it was such a large amount of debris. It was also troubling to
hear how this has interrupted the fragile ecosystem, especially the breed of albatross
that breed on Midway Island. Another portion of the documentary that pissed me
off was when Angela Sun went to a large gathering for plastic companies and
conducted interviews. The people she interviewed were not only ignorant, but
plain stupid as well. One of the company heads interviewed was asked how he
felt about the many species of birds that are swallowing plastic and dying; his
response was priceless. He stated that any bird that would swallow plastic must
be dumb. It was no surprise that these companies would be on the defense over
their products, but you would expect slightly more intelligent responses to the
many issues surrounding single-use plastic products. The sheds light on many
other things; some of which include the estrogen like chemicals found in
plastic, the potentially life threatening effects of plastic usage, and the
ways in which we can reduce our usage. The fact that the largest U.S. export to
China is plastic waste should be disturbing enough to people to motivate
change.
The
issues associated with continued plastic usage are many, but talking about
these issues and not taking action is pointless. Unless we all take the
initiative and take action, instead of waiting for others to do it first; then
we will surely kill this planet.
