ess review sheet

https://docs.google.com/a/wells-school.com/document/d/1uQTh7Fhk5lnVFCK9AGx3A3tsm4cM2TRpN7PcqhsiBXs/edit

Pre-Movie Background Research: Bag It

Movie Title/ Year

• Title: Bag It
• Year: 2010

Producer

• Michelle Hill

Genre

• Documentary, Drama, and Comedy

Summary of documentary film

• Jeb Berrier decided to stop using plastic bags. His wife, Anne, who are pregnant also join him in this challenged to use lesser plastic at home. He start come up with different question about plastic: “what is plastic made of? is it recyclable? does it decompose she it ends up in the landfill? does plastic have negative health effects?” Therefore, he start to do some research to learn more about plastic. After the research with the help of an environmental scientist, Jeb found out plastic not only harmful to eh environment but also the marine animal. Plastic also contain chemicals such as phthalate that can carry adverse effects to the newborn babe. The average consumer household products such as baby shampoos are also found to contain unsafe level of phthalate. This causes Jeb and Anne to start  worry about their unborn child. Moreover, the chemicals in plastics are making their way up the food chain and straight onto our dinner plates. 

Intended message to be delivered

• be aware of the danger of plastic: the impact on environment, marine animal lives, and our health. 
• we could help the world, the marine animals, as well as prevent ourselves from the danger of plastic by reduce or minimize the uses of plastics. 

Any actions/ movements after the film? Successful stories?

• Some Campaigns start to take actions on the plastics issue:
  • Kid Safe Campaign
  • The Safe Baby Bottle Act
  • Campaign for Precautionary Action
  • Rise Above Plastic
  • Bag It Town Campaign
• Yes, it was a successful stories and received many award: 
  • Audience Choice Award 
  • Best of Festival Award
  • Best Documentary Audience Award
  • Audience Choice Award

Reading Note: Resources – Natural Capital

Natural Capital (resources) and natural income 

• The Earth contains many resources that support its natural systems:
  • The core and crust of the planet
  • The biosphere containing forests
  • Grassland
  • Deserts
  • Tundra
  • Other Biomes
  • The upper layers of the atmosphere
• These resources are all extensively used by human to provide food, water, shelter and life-support systems.
• Human have an anthropocentric (human-centred) view of these resources and their use.
• Ecologically minded economists describe recourses as natural capital. If they are properly managed, they can be renewable and replenishable resources and produce natural income.
• The income from natural capital maybe in the form of goods or services: 
  • goods are marketable commodities such as timber and grain
  • ecological services might be flood and erosion protection, climate stabilisation, maintenance of soil fertility.
• The non-renewable resources will run out if they are not replaced. In economic terms, these resources can be considered as parallel to those forms of economic capital that cannot generate wealth without liquidation of the estate.

Renewable, Replenishable and Non-renewable natural capital (resources)

• 3 categories of natural capital:
  • Renewable – living species and ecosystem which can be replaced by natural productivity (photosynthesis) as fast as they used.
  • Replenishable – Non-living resources which are continuously restored by natural process (review and streams) as fast as they are used up.
  • Non-renewable – Natural resources which cannot be replenished within a timescale of the same order as that at which they are taken from the environment. These resources includes:
    • fossile fuels
    • minerals

• Renewable and replenishable natural capital are usually being damaged by human actions.
  • Example1: ozone-depleting substances such as chorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are found in refrigerants and propellants. These pollutants enhance the rate of destruction of ozone in the stratosphere and remain active for long periods of time.
  • Example2: irresponsible use of a resource concern groundwater. Pollutants from agricultural products and run-off from storage tanks, landfills and septic tanks are reducing the water quality.

Dynamic nature and concept of a resource

• The value of a resource should be seen as dynamic.
• As humans advance culturally and technologically, and our resource base changes, the importance of a resource may be transformed.
• Resources become more valuable as new technologies need them.
• Example: flint – once an important resource is now redundant; it was superseded by the development of metal extraction from ores.

Intrinsic value of the environment 

• Economic value – can be determined from the market price of the goods and services a resource produces
• Ecological values – have no formal market price: oil erosion control, nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis are all essential from human existence but have no direct monetary value.
• Aesthetic values – have no market price; it’s the appreciation of a landscape for its visual attraction.
• Intrinsic value – valued regardless of their potential use to humans; value in their own right, irrespective of economic value.