Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Environmental Documentary "Bag It" At MCC Thursday

The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County and McHenry County Transition are sponsoring a free screening of the award-winning environmental documentary "Bag It" at MCC’s Conference Center at 7 pm on Thursday, December 8th.

"Bag It" follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he tries to make sense of our dependence on plastic bags. Although his quest starts out small, Jeb soon learns that the problem extends past landfills to oceans, rivers and ultimately human health.

The average American uses about 500 plastic bags each year, for about twelve minutes each. This single-use mentality has led to the formation of a floating island of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean more than twice the size of Texas.

The film explores these issues and identifies how our daily reliance on plastic threatens not only waterways and marine life, but human health, too. Two of the most common plastic additives are endocrine disruptors, which have been shown to link to cancer, diabetes, autism, attention deficit disorder, obesity and infertility.

Jeb looks beyond plastic bags and discovers that virtually everything in modern society—from baby bottles, to sports equipment, to dental sealants, to personal care products—is made with plastic or contains potentially harmful chemical additives used in the plastic-making process. When Jeb’s journey takes a personal twist, we see how our crazy-for-plastic world has finally caught up with us and what we can do about it. Today. Right now.

Sponsored by the Defenders and McHenry County Transition. Hosted by Lou Marchi Total Recycling Institute at MCC.

The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the environment. The group provides community residents with educational programs and volunteer action on pollution prevention, sustainable land use and energy and natural resource conservation. Donations are encouraged and are tax-deductible as charitable contributions.  For more information, visit www.mcdef.org or call 815-338-0393.

Screening Date: Thursday, December 8
Screening Time: 7 pm
Screening Location: MCC Conference Center, 8900 US Highway 14, Crystal Lake, IL
Admission is free, but donations are accepted!

This event is open to the public.

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