Drowning in Plastic

If you think you know we should be recycling plastic or using less plastic products, then you also need to know the sheer scale of the problem across the planet. We go on about not using plastic bags and single use bottles, or campaigning to stop the use of plastic straws. Well, that's just a drop in the ocean. Literally. I GUARANTEE 99.9% of people watching this programme will completely unaware of the scale of the effect of plastic on this planet.

This documentary does not show lots of cute animals or creatures in distress, just a couple at most. That's not the point of the programme. The makers don't want to make viewers switch channels. They want them to watch the whole thing and then, if not proactive in helping to make things better, then to at least be more aware of the choices they make.

For years the focus has been on climate change. For the vast majority of people this is much more urgent than climate change.

Attempting to save fish by catching fish is the dumbest solution ever presented. I cannot believe the level of intelligence of the producers that cannot see the simple cause and effect of the consumption of marine animals, who are just as sentient and capable of feeling pain as the ones they try to save.

This is a topic which deserves more documentary and news airtime and there is a lot of insight in this documentary.

However, the topic deserves better than the frequent documentary failing here, where the topic is overwhelmed by the presenter's narcissism, diverting time and focus on their image, their experiences and their reactions, rather than the topic, the artifacts and the experts providing their insight.

It is continuous throughout, but the most aggregious example: the presenter standing at a plastic clogged river in Indonesia, with the camera focussed on the presenter exclaiming "Look at that..! Just look at that..!" rather than showing us the plastic clogged river to look at!

Watch this to find amazing technological solutions to the plastic problem. This doc is full of hope and optimism. It has many projects that are scaling up, like replacement materials for plastic that dissolve in water, are edible, tasteless, made from seaweed, and accessible to poor parts of the world.

Then there are various sizes and types of collectors for plastic, from mini collectors, to giant wheels, to ocean currant powered and directed collections nets.

There are a few tragic scenes of animals affected by this problems, but the focus on solutions is inspiring and shows us that ingenuity is the way of the future, and human ingenuity is required to make our modern way of life sustainable for hopefully millions of years into the future on this beautiful Earth.

A must watch. I truly believe that where there is a problem created by 20th century technology, a 21st century technology is the solution, whether is it is in prototype stage right now, or just an idea in someones mind at the moment.

The human brain pays attention to bad news 10 times more than it does good news. Remember this when you fell all is lost. All is not lost. All is only beginning to be found.