Name:
Doc Zone: The Battle of the Bag
Answer Key
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Answer the following questions while viewing the documentary.
Point form is acceptable.
1. We weren’t always hooked on the plastic bag, but once it caught on it went
viral. Now sections of our planet resemble deserts. (2 marks)
2. China has outlawed it. India has SWAT teams to stomp it out. The
the Bag movement is catching fire. (3 marks)
Ban
3. What does the plastic bag symbolize about consumer culture? (2 marks)
-
We use, use once and throw away
Creating a culture of buying and using stuff, but everything that we buy
and use has to come from the earth
The way we are treating the earth is NOT sustainable
4. Reasons given in the documentary for the use of plastic bags. (3 marks)
-
Habit
Fast
Way to transport items
- not many options
- bags are given to us
- EASY
5. Canadians use 6 billion plastic bags a year keeping 7000 people working
making plastic bags. (2 marks)
6. Our economy is based upon consumption. (1 mark)
7. The first bag was made from what? (1 mark)
-
Bull scrotum
8. What is plastic made of? (1 mark)
-
oil
9. All of the plastics made in the world account for 4% of the natural gas and
oil consumption. (1 mark)
10. What is the problem with polyethylene? (1 mark)
-
almost indestructible
resists degradation
not biodegradable
11. Which company created the plastic bag? How did the company make the
product desirable? (3 marks)
-
Mobil Oil
Paper bags take more energy to produce
Paper bags deplete forests
Offering paper or plastic to customers
12. A single plastic bag takes how long to disintegrate? (1 mark)
-
400 – 1000 years
13. Explain the impact of plastic on sea turtles. (1 mark) Cows are also affected.
What happens and give an example from the documentary. (2 marks)
-
60% had plastic in their guts
kills the turtles by ‘impacting” (from mouth to anus)
- eat plastic while scavenging for food, blocks digestive tract
- starves to death
14. Why are humans likely to use plastic bags and engage in other ecologically
damaging behaviors? (1 mark)
-
distances from the consequences
15. The largest slum in Africa is located in Nairobi, Kenya. There is little
plumbing and a few toilets among makeshift houses. Explain “flying toilets”
(4 marks)
-
plastic bags have been defecated in and tossed into the street.
16. What has happened to the Nairobi dam? (3 marks)
-
almost dried up
saturated with plastic bags
river flowing through has become a breeding ground for disease
water barely moves due to build up of plastic bags
17. Explain how plastic bags impact the prevalence of malaria. (3 marks)
-
plastic does not biodegrade
when it rains the bags collect water
mosquitoes breed in stagnant water
literally becomes millions of breeding habitats
18. The only anti-bag police squad exists in Mumbai, India. Since they have
begun bag raids they have taken tens of thousands of kilograms of illegal
bags off the market. (3 marks)
19. List the tactics used by the shop keepers of Modbury to rid their community
of plastic bags. (2 marks)
-
got rid of plastic bags
every household received a free reusable bag
replaced plastic fruit bags with paper
biodegradable “poop” bags
20. What does the Canadian Plastics Industry Association believe the answer is
to the plastic bag problem? (2 marks)
-
involve people in solving the problem
reuse and recycle is a better approach
21. Name the two Canadian cities that have already banned the bag. (2 marks)
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Leaf Rapids, MB
Rosalind, BC