Documentary review and opinion: Plastic Paradise

Hello once again people who read this blog! So this has been an interesting week of nothing but me getting mad at peoples stupidity. I'm looking at you when I say that plastic making companies. If you couldn't tell by now, this post is going to be about plastic. A few days ago mom and I sat down to watch a 1 hour documentary (although it felt like 3) called Plastic Paradise, which you can find on Netflix instant streaming. The show was basically about a woman who went to this island in the Pacific known as Midway. I'll put the rest below. Midway is an island sitting smack spot in the, well, middle of the Pacific ocean. It's in the wake of a massive gyre (a sea current) that collects trash from the Pacific coast of both America and Japan. That garbage then either floats around the gyre circle infinitely, degrading and clouding the water, or it ends up at Midway. Can you guess what 90% of that garbage is? Plastic. Everything from bottles, to baskets, to nets (which are disasters all in themselves), and even computer monitors. You can find everything here on this one little island. This island is also home to the worlds largest population of Albatrosses, a type of sea bird. And sense these birds mistake the colorful plastic for fish, they eat it. Then one of two things happens. 1, they die because they can't digest it. Or 2, they give it to their chicks and then THEY die. So it's a lose-lose situation. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, or the tip of the oceanic landfill. Plastic alone is an evil product. Now I'm not saying you my precious reader are evil for using plastic, because it's basically in every single item we use nowadays. But some items are more catastrophic then others. 2 of the most common being plastic bottles and plastic bags. Plastic bottles can end up in the ocean and animals could eat them, or they'll shrink down into particles over time and fish will get them stuck in their gills. Or, the fish will eat the plastic, and then we eat the fish that absorbed the plastic into their flesh. Bon apetite, no? No. Then there's plastic bags, which also can do a number of things. They can get caught on coral to prevent them from growing. They can leech toxins into the water which can poison the fish. But probably worst of all, though opinions vary, is turtles will eat the bags because they look just like jelly fish. In fact, Sea Turtles of all kinds die every day from 2 things. Nets and plastic bags. Nets are an even worse problem. Not only do fishing nets carry in tons of by-catch every year, but if a net is lost it will simple drift through the ocean killing things like a web of death. If they find a coral reef, they will even roll up into bigger and bigger balls and as they go they'll rip off coral with them. What really irks me about all this is plastic companies. I'm not going to say any names because I don't feel like getting sued, but you know who you are. And despite what you say you know darn well what plastic does to the environment. In this documentary, the woman goes to the leading plastic producer and starts asking them a ton of questions. Now, this woman has seen this stuff. She has video and photographic evidence. But yet these people still say she's either wrong, lying, or crazy. To make things even better, they then ask her to leave the building or else they'll arrest her. Do you know why? Because she's "threatening" business by asking a few questions. Oh no, boo hoo, you might lose a few customers. God forbid you lose 2 of your 2 trillion dollars! Such a tragedy! But she's not the first person they've threatened. There was once a man who spread the word of how devastating plastic was. So what did this company do? They sued him. For doing something small and raising some awareness, they sued him. To me that sounds like abusing your power. But kudos to the man because he got right back up and continued doing it! Like a genuine boss. I'm not going to go into much more detail because I might put you all to sleep. My point is guys we need to take care of our plastic. Not because its a blessing, which it arguably is, but because it's dangerous. Plastic doesn't go away, it just breaks down into smaller and smaller particles. They bottle you just threw away on the side of the road has a 90% chance of one day reaching the ocean. Even if it doesn't, it's not just the oceans under attack by plastic. Forests, deserts, mountains, rivers, the sky. All of them are being threatened. So think about that the next time you do something dumb. I'm not saying you do, but just think about it. When I go places with my friends I more often than not find myself cleaning up off of plastic and bags they throw around. If only they knew.

 Before I go, I would like to present you all with some links showing neat and crafty ways you can reuse plastic. http://www.boredpanda.com/plastic-bottle-recycling-ideas/http://www.care2.com/greenliving/plastic-bag-uses.html/2 http://purehomeandbody.com/personal-body-care/12-clever-ways-to-replace-plastic/ That's basically all I have to say. It's up to us to keep our planet clean and green, because if we push it too far it won't be able to strike back. If you agree with me, spread the word and tell your friends. Hopefully they'll listen, like I hope you listened to me. That's all for today guys, and have a great Earth Day tomorrow.