Life as we know it is at stake. The threat? Plastic. In the documentary A Plastic Ocean, released in 2016, we are shown the numerous impacts that plastic has on not only the ocean but all life. Craig Leeson, the director and one of the main cast members takes us on a journey throughout the Pacific Ocean. Inspired by what he sees when looking for whales, Leeson shows us in this environmental documentary the impact that plastic has on oceans, rivers, land, and living creatures. Winner of the best documentary in 2017 at the Sedona International Film Festival, A Plastic Ocean shows just how much harm the tiniest piece of plastic can do to an entire ecosystem. Leeson's goal with A Plastic Ocean is to make a change in the world. As a viewer, seeing life lost due to plastic, it makes you want to adjust how you live your life. Craig Leeson successfully made a beautiful documentary about an entire ecosystem, while simultaneously making you feel accountable for the destruction happening to it.

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In A Plastic Ocean, we are shown the journey of Craig Leeson and how he goes all throughout the Pacific Ocean to see the negative impact plastic has on ecosystems, animals, and human life. We hear from many different kinds of people and how plastic affects them. We see firsthand how devastating plastic is to living creatures. He captures the lasting effects and shows how change must be made soon.

One thing that Leeson does a good job of bringing to light in A Plastic Ocean is that plastic affects everyone and everything. One specific type of plastic that does significant harm are microplastics. “Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that result from both commercial product development and the breakdown of larger plastics” (National). In A Plastic Ocean, Leeson heavily emphasizes the effects of microplastics on the food chain. “When sampling blue mussels at six locations along the coastlines of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, microplastics were present in every single organism examined” (Streeter). These mussels are mussels consumed by humans and other ocean life. This means that not only are animals in the oceans consuming plastic but so are humans. 

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Consumption of plastic not only means that you’re eating plastic, but you’re also eating the toxins that the plastic absorbs. “When animals use the stored fat, the toxins circulate around the body interfering with reproduction, metabolism, growth, kidney and liver function” (Streeter). These toxins are affecting the lives of these animals, which humans end up eating. We have those toxins and plastic inside us, negatively affecting our health as well.

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After viewing A Plastic Ocean, it is clear to me that some type of action needs to be taken. One suggestion made in the documentary is a process called pyrolysis. “Pyrolysis, the chemical decomposition of organic (carbon-based) materials through the application of heat” (Boslaugh). In simpler terms, you can use heat to convert plastic into diesel which can then be used as gas for cars. While this is a good way to change excess plastic into something that can be used again, it also brings about the problem of air pollution. Liz Hollaway, a project assistant for the Sustainable Ocean Initiative, suggests that people adopt greener chemistry practices, along with using greener materials. “Developing new materials...such as true biodegradables could prevent plastics from causing as much harm if they do enter the ocean” (Hollaway). Not only are these biodegradables safer in the sense that they don’t last forever as plastic does, but it also means that they won’t absorb the toxins that plastic does.

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A solution that might provide fewer issues rather than more is to simply reduce the use of plastic. Use reusable ziplock bags for your chips, use a reusable bottle for your drinks, use paper straws that can be disposed of in a better way or metal straws that can be reused. We simply need to stop making plastic. While plastic is convenient, it’s not very difficult to make the switch to reusable items that will have a positive impact on the environment, the food chain, and ourselves. Start out small. Try using a reusable water bottle over a plastic one. You can wash it, you can put whatever you want in it, and you’re reducing your use of plastic in this one simple way. We all play a part in this fight. Hopefully, after viewing A Plastic Ocean you’ll feel the same way.

 

 

10/13 Draft

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Life as we know it is at stake. The threat? Plastic. In the documentary A Plastic Ocean, released in 2016, we are shown the numerous impacts that plastic has on not only the ocean but all life. Craig Leeson, the director and one of the main cast members takes us on a journey throughout the Pacific Ocean. Inspired by what he sees when looking for whales, Leeson shows us in this environmental documentary the impact that plastic has on oceans, rivers, land, and living creatures. Winner of the best documentary in 2017 at the Sedona International Film Festival, A Plastic Ocean shows just how much harm the tiniest piece of plastic can do to an entire ecosystem. Leeson's goal with A Plastic Ocean is to make a change in the world. As a viewer, seeing life lost due to plastic, it makes you want to adjust how you live your life. Craig Leeson successfully made a beautiful documentary about an entire ecosystem, while simultaneously making you feel accountable for the destruction happening to it.

​

​

In A Plastic Ocean, we are shown the journey of Craig Leeson and how he goes all throughout the Pacific Ocean to see the negative impact plastic has on ecosystems, animals, and human life. We hear from many different kinds of people and how plastic affects them. We see firsthand how devastating plastic is to living creatures. He captures the lasting effects and shows how change must be made soon.

One thing that Leeson does a good job of bringing to light in A Plastic Ocean is that plastic affects everyone and everything. One specific type of plastic that does significant harm are microplastics. “Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that result from both commercial product development and the breakdown of larger plastics” (National). In A Plastic Ocean, Leeson heavily emphasizes the effects of microplastics on the food chain. “When sampling blue mussels at six locations along the coastlines of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, microplastics were present in every single organism examined” (Streeter). These mussels are mussels consumed by humans and other ocean life. This means that not only are animals in the oceans consuming plastic but so are humans. 

​

​

Consumption of plastic not only means that you’re eating plastic, but you’re also eating the toxins that the plastic absorbs. “When animals use the stored fat, the toxins circulate around the body interfering with reproduction, metabolism, growth, kidney and liver function” (Streeter). These toxins are affecting the lives of these animals, which humans end up eating. We have those toxins and plastic inside us, negatively affecting our health as well.

​

​

After viewing A Plastic Ocean, it is clear to me that some type of action needs to be taken. One suggestion made in the documentary is a process called pyrolysis. “Pyrolysis, the chemical decomposition of organic (carbon-based) materials through the application of heat” (Boslaugh). In simpler terms, you can use heat to convert plastic into diesel which can then be used as gas for cars. While this is a good way to change excess plastic into something that can be used again, it also brings about the problem of air pollution. Liz Hollaway, a project assistant for the Sustainable Ocean Initiative, suggests that people adopt greener chemistry practices, along with using greener materials. “Developing new materials...such as true biodegradables could prevent plastics from causing as much harm if they do enter the ocean” (Hollaway). Not only are these biodegradables safer in the sense that they don’t last forever as plastic does, but it also means that they won’t absorb the toxins that plastic does.

​

​

A solution that might provide fewer issues rather than more is to simply reduce the use of plastic. Use reusable ziplock bags for your chips, use a reusable bottle for your drinks, use paper straws that can be disposed of in a better way or metal straws that can be reused. We simply need to stop making plastic. While plastic is convenient, it’s not very difficult to make the switch to reusable items that will have a positive impact on the environment, the food chain, and ourselves. Start out small. Try using a reusable water bottle over a plastic one. You can wash it, you can put whatever you want in it, and you’re reducing your use of plastic in this one simple way. We all play a part in this fight. Hopefully, after viewing A Plastic Ocean you’ll feel the same way.

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10/11 Draft 

 

Life as we know it is at stake. The threat? Plastic. In the documentary A Plastic Ocean, released in 2016, we are shown the numerous impacts that plastic has on not only the ocean but all life. Craig Leeson, the director and one of the main cast members takes us on a journey throughout the Pacific Ocean. Inspired by what he sees when looking for whales, Leeson shows us in this environmental documentary the impact that plastic has on oceans, rivers, land, and living creatures. Winner of the best documentary in 2017 at the Sedona International Film Festival, A Plastic Ocean shows just how much harm the tiniest piece of plastic can do to an entire ecosystem. Leeson's goal with A Plastic Ocean is to make a change in the world. As a viewer, seeing life lost due to plastic, it makes you want to adjust how you live your life. Craig Leeson successfully made a beautiful documentary about an entire ecosystem, while simultaneously making you feel accountable for the destruction happening to it.

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Works Cited

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Boslaugh, Sarah E. “Pyrolysis.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, 

Inc., 17 Aug. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/pyrolysis. 

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Leeson, Craig, director. A Plastic Ocean, 2016, 

plasticoceans.org/about-a-plastic-ocean/. 

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National Geographic Society. “Microplastics.” National Geographic Society, 28 June 

2019, www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/microplastics/. 

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Hollaway, Liz, et al. “How to Reduce Plastic and Other Ocean Pollution Simultaneously.” 

World Resources Institute, 27 May 2020, www.wri.org/blog/2020/05/how-to-reduce-plastic-ocean-pollution.