Plastic paradise The great Pacific garbage patch

TV sportscaster and journalist Sun's award-winning film about our plastic conundrum begins with irony: plastics are sophisticated, durable chemical products that are often meant to be discarded. She travels to tropical Midway atoll to see the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This remote gyre is where a lot of toxic plastic debris from Asia and North America winds up, doing untold injury to ocean creatures. Environmentalists make the point that most types of plastic can't truly be recycled. The oceanic garbage patches are impossible to clean up, so Sun tries to interrogate the sources. U.S. manufacturers produce more than 100 billion pounds of the compounds from petro-chemicals each year. Unable to obtain interviews, Sun sneaks into a plastics processing conference, where smug attendees deflect her questions about trash and toxins. Meanwhile, manufacturers are said to be suing an activist who calls for a ban on disposable shopping bags. VERDICT The visual impact of the Midway dump and of sea birds and animals killed by swallowing bits of plastic is powerful. Sun's investigations should help make students and adults more aware of our casual overuse of plastic and its consequences.-David R. Conn, formerly with Surrey Libs., BC © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 7 Up-After seeing this documentary, viewers will not think of plastic in the same way again and will likely be inspired to make some personal changes, such as carrying reusable bags. Journalist Angela Sun's journey to find the so-called drifting plastic island takes her to the remote Midway Atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There plastic debris from the waters of the United States and Asia concentrate in a kind of whirlpool of junk. As a result, the massive Great Pacific Garbage Patch is responsible for destroying wildlife and coral reefs. Graphically filmed, the bellies of the dead albatrosses on the island are cut open and the lethal junk inside is revealed. How plastics consumed by sea animals affect the people who eat them is not completely known, but the chemicals in plastics are known to have hormone-disrupting effects. Sun speaks with scientists, including marine biologists and environmental advocates, who stress that the health of the ocean is essential for human survival. She goes undercover at the International Marine Debris Conference, sponsored by the American Chemistry Council and attended by plastics giants, including Dow, DuPont, and Exxon. She interviews several representatives from the industry and exposes their lack of knowledge of the environmental consequences of manufacturing plastics-before she's asked firmly to leave the premises. VERDICT Throughout, Sun delivers a succinct and attention-getting message in this excellent, chilling film that will both support science curricula and appeal to popular interest.-Constance Dickerson, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, OH © Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.