California has long been the frontrunner in this country when it comes to getting rid of plastic shopping bags. And now, as bill AB 1998 (which would essentially ban plastic shopping bags statewide) moves through the California Senate, the non-profit environmental organization Heal the Bay wants to make sure the bill gets passed. To bring attention to this important legislation, the organization has created a mockumentary which follows a plastic bag through its life cycle and migration to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, shot and edited in the style of a wildlife documentary.
The video follows the plastic bag as it travels through a park (encountering its natural enemies: a dog and park clean up crew), gets caught in tree branches, makes its way into a river, and finally enters the ocean where sea animals get trapped in and eat it (more peril for the film’s hero!). The film has exceptionally high production values and is narrated by Jeremy Irons.
It is embedded below:
The video is hilarious, but brings to light the very serious problem of plastics in our oceans. Heal the Bay hopes that after viewing the video Californians will call or write a letter to their state senator urging them to support AB 1998. Voting on the bill is expected to happen at the end of August and hopefully California will set a new precedent that the rest of the country will follow.
Image via polandeze
