Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity
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0:05 - 0:06Plastic.
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0:06 - 0:08What a great invention.
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0:08 - 0:10It has made our lives so much easier:
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0:10 - 0:12from the everyday toothbrush
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0:12 - 0:16to a straw that filters out
the toxins in your water. -
0:16 - 0:21But at the rate we are using plastic,
there will be no earth left to save. -
0:21 - 0:23We use plastic on a daily basis.
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0:23 - 0:27But what we don't realize,
it takes about 450 years -
0:27 - 0:30for the average plastic bottle
to biodegrade, -
0:30 - 0:33and most of the time,
it doesn't even biodegrade; -
0:33 - 0:39instead, it turns into small bits
of plastic called microplastic. -
0:39 - 0:42Now, this microplastic
and other plastic debris -
0:42 - 0:44gathers in the middle of our oceans
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0:44 - 0:48to make islands
that are called garbage patches. -
0:48 - 0:53These garbage patches can be
three to four times the size of Texas. -
0:54 - 0:56Now, I would like to take
you on a journey -
0:56 - 0:58of the average plastic bottle.
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0:58 - 1:01A bottle starts in a factory
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1:01 - 1:03where oils and other crude materials
are mixed together -
1:03 - 1:06to make the raw material
of our plastic bottle. -
1:06 - 1:08Now it's sent to another factory
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1:08 - 1:11where it is molded
and formed into the bottle. -
1:11 - 1:12Then, another factory
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1:12 - 1:16where it's filled with a sugary drink
that we are addicted to. -
1:16 - 1:18Then, it's sent to the store,
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1:18 - 1:21where someone like you or I buys it,
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1:21 - 1:24and we use it for 15 minutes.
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1:24 - 1:27That's a minuscule part
of our life and its. -
1:28 - 1:31Then we throw it away -
like it's no big deal. -
1:31 - 1:37It makes me sad and angry
that sometimes us as human beings -
1:37 - 1:40can be so ignorant about how
we treat our environment. -
1:41 - 1:44Anyways, back to our journey.
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1:44 - 1:46Somehow it ends up
in the Mississippi River -
1:46 - 1:50and flows down river
to hit the Gulf of Mexico. -
1:50 - 1:54From there it is swept up
by the Northern Atlantic Current. -
1:55 - 1:57It flows out in the middle of the ocean
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1:57 - 2:00and hits the Northern
Atlantic Garbage Patch. -
2:01 - 2:06Out there, hundreds of animals
die each day from plastic. -
2:07 - 2:09Let's take the average
sea turtle for example. -
2:10 - 2:15So, the sea turtle will mistake
a plastic bag for a jellyfish -
2:15 - 2:17and will eat it as its meal.
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2:17 - 2:23And the plastic tricks the sea turtle
into thinking it's full, -
2:23 - 2:27but in reality, it's not getting
the nutrients it needs -
2:27 - 2:29and soon will starve to death.
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2:31 - 2:34When I heard about this,
this made me so sad, -
2:34 - 2:38and from then on, I've always
wanted to help our planet. -
2:39 - 2:44So, I know this sounds like a talk
about how we are horrible -
2:44 - 2:47and we can't do anything
to save our earth, -
2:47 - 2:50but I promise you it's not too late.
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2:50 - 2:54Even if just choosing the can
over the plastic bottle -
2:54 - 2:57or choosing a piece of fruit
instead of a bag of chips, -
2:57 - 3:01every little thing you do
makes a difference. -
3:01 - 3:04We are the generation to save our oceans.
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3:04 - 3:07So, let's do something about it.
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3:07 - 3:08Thank you.
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3:08 - 3:10(Applause)
- Title:
- Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity
- Description:
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We use plastic on a daily basis and rarely think about the effect on the earth. Grace takes us on a journey of a plastic bottle through its life cycle and encourages us to consider alternatives.
At the time of this talk, Grace is a 9th grader at Treasure Mountain Junior High in Park City, Utah.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 03:14
Peter van de Ven approved English subtitles for Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity | ||
Peter van de Ven edited English subtitles for Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity | ||
Peter van de Ven accepted English subtitles for Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity | ||
Peter van de Ven edited English subtitles for Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity | ||
Peter van de Ven edited English subtitles for Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity | ||
Retired user edited English subtitles for Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity | ||
Retired user edited English subtitles for Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity | ||
Retired user edited English subtitles for Life of a plastic bottle | Grace Jencks | TEDxYouth@ParkCity |