French
documentary 『The Mermaids´ Tears: Oceans of Plastic』 takes the viewer
into the 『plastic soup』 that our global seas have become. In particular,
the film focuses on the pollution that is affecting countless marine
animals.
In the Netherlands, for example, scientists who were
looking into the decline of the nation’s fulmar bird discovered plastic
in 95% of the deceased birds’ stomachs, while in California, USA,
dolphins and whales have been found to have died in extreme agony, with
their digestive tracts completely blocked by plastic debris.
The
phrase 『mermaid tears』 refers to the small pellets of plastic
resembling fish eggs or even smaller that have been spilled in the
transport of raw plastic materials, or have been broken down as granules
of waste over the years.
With every square kilometer of ocean
now containing an average of 74,000 pieces of plastic, these so-called
mermaid’s tears are nearly impossible to clean up.
Directed by
Sandrine Fevdel of France, the film’s thoughtful look at the destructive
effects of plastic pollution has earned it numerous awards, including
Best Environmental Film at the Prague Festival and the Greek Public
Television Broadcasting Award at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
2010.
Our heartfelt thanks, Ms. Feydel for this documentary,
which makes clear the plight of marine animals in the face of human
contamination of the oceans. May we all move rapidly to reverse these
harmful effects and restore the health of our planet and oceans.
Ever-concerned
for the balance of life on Earth, Supreme Master Ching Hai has often
spoken of ways that humanity can show more care for the beings that
depend on our actions for their survival, as during a May 2008
videoconference in South Korea.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
In many places there are already bans on the use of plastic bags. So I
think that’s a very good start, and maybe we should impose a little
stricter ban on these harmful substances.
Maybe we can use a carton instead, something more disposable, something more eco-friendly. And then we have to change.
The root of the problem is the cause of global warming, and that root is our unkindness to our co-inhabitants.
So,
in order to solve the problem that we are facing right now, we have to
reverse our actions. We have to be kind to our co-inhabitants. Instead
of killing them, massacring them, sacrificing them, we have to take care
of them.
Just become vegetarian, refuse all the animal
products, then nobody will raise animals anymore, nobody will kill them
anymore. Then we stop the physical harmful effect of animal stock
raising.
http://www.viadeCOuvertes.fr/pages/fr/reference.php.id=86 http://www.javafilms.fr/spip.php.article268 http://www.indiewire.com/article/eyes_takes_thessaloniki_doc_fests_top_prize/#