Despite sleet, snow and frigid temperatures, over sixty-five intrepid people came to see the environmental film: "Plastic Paradise, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch," at The Hill School Sheila C. Johnson Performing Arts Center, on March 6. A recent study shows that there are an estimated 270,000 tons of plastic floating in the world's ocean, covering areas twice the size of Texas. Where does it come from? Where does it go? What does it do?

This stunning documentary explored the permanence of plastic in our world. Goose Creek Association, Land Trust of Virginia, and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters Education Fund sponsored this free screening and afterwards donated the DVD of the movie to The Hill School's library, along with prior documentaries shown on the Life Of Aldo Leopold and SWITCH (about energy sources and alternatives). If you missed them, these movies might also be available through Netflix.

"Plastic Paradise" explained that every single piece of plastic that has ever been created since the 19th century is still somewhere on our planet. The invention of synthetic plastic created an era of disposable products that are watertight and endlessly malleable. Plastic is a brilliant invention, yet its miraculous durability is also a problem because it never totally biodegrades.

In the early 21st Century, rumors about an island of garbage somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, started to rise. Filmmaker, Angela Sun's investigation took her thousands of miles from human civilization to Midway Island. There, in what should be a remote tropical paradise, she discovered an ecosystem inundated by plastic waste. Exposed to seawater and sunlight, tons of discarded plastics are breaking down into smaller fragments resembling food to fish and birds.

The sobering images Angela uncovered, combined with the latest evidence from researchers, demonstrated that a growing, toxic, confetti is transforming the oceans and is also working its way up the food chain to human beings. Scientists and health experts revealed that chemicals in many of the plastic products we take for granted are harmful.

Despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation, conservationists note that individuals can make a difference by recycling, buying in bulk, using their own shopping bags, not plastic bags, and using aluminum or other containers for water and beverages, not plastic bottles. These simple steps can significantly reduce the amount of plastic refuse that, otherwise, never, ever, goes away.