Bag It and Green Travel

Suzan and the Bag Monster

In honor of Earth Day, next Friday, April 22, I wanted to once again draw your attention to “Bag It,” the award-winning documentary produced and directed by Telluride local Suzan Beraza. April is also an important month for this informative and highly entertaining film since this is when PBS has chosen to make it available to their viewers.

I sat down with Suzan last fall and interviewed her for Travel Fun, my talk radio show on travel. I highly encourage you to click on the link below to listen to what Suzan says about “Bag It” and why we should all pay more attention to our consumption and use of plastic. There’s no lecturing in this movie—or in the interview for that matter—but Suzan and her work (as well as my chat with her!) politely reveal that plastic doesn’t just go away. Where is away anyway? In honor of Earth Day, which I try to celebrate every day of the year, please listen to our interview by clicking on the below link.

Click to play the Suzan Beraza interview

If you tuned in to the interview, you should now be on your way to realizing that buying water in a plastic bottle is a silly concept. Suzan started “Bag It” by making a short film about the plastic bag challenge between Aspen and Telluride a few years ago. Her project grew in scope as she discovered to what extent plastic impacts our environment. “Bag It” began with plastic bags and then expanded to reveal how single-use items such as plastic forks wreak havoc in our world. It follows one man’s journey, played  byTelluride local, Jeb Berrier, as he learns more about plastic, how it’s unhealthy for us and the environment.

Cutting down on our consumption of plastic and being green overall can sometimes be challenging. The task often becomes an even taller order while traveling. But in all cases, the reward is great and isn’t it our duty to at least try to be better stewards of our environment? In our interview, Suzan chats about her experiences traveling the world, promoting “Bag It.” Be sure to tune in to hear some of her observations about how other countries are faring in their efforts to be green. We also share how all of us can become more eco-friendly travelers.

Green Travel Tips

Take the train whenever possible.

Consider visiting a city or region by bike or foot.

Rent an eco-friendly car.

Use environmentally-responsible services and products such as green hotels and other businesses.

Cut down on (or eliminate) your consumption of hotel amenities such as mini shampoo bottles. Consider buying bar shampoos and using crystals for deodorants. (Sounds so new-age-y, doesn’t it? They’re actually better for you.)

Always bring your own stainless steel water bottle, commuter (or to-go) mug and bags wherever you go, even abroad.

“It’s important to question packaging,” Suzan says. If someone is going to give you a sandwich on Styrofoam, ask for a napkin instead. That will also get them thinking. We have the power to bring about change.

I’d also add that you can consider carpooling, even for long-distance travels. KOTO, our radio station here in T-ride, provides a wonderful service to their listeners:  a ride board, where it’s announced on air that so-and-so is looking for a ride/or willing to provide a ride to all kinds of destinations. I tested this recently when I wanted a one-way ride to Beaver Creek, a four-hour drive from Telluride. I didn’t find one on the ride board but I was able to locate a lift through contacts on the mountain. I shared expenses with my driver and we ended up having a fantastic time together. Also, I know my ride solicitations got a lot of people thinking. And as Suzan points out in our interview, it’s that sort of thinking that helps to turn things around. That’s how we become more conscious.

Go to Find a Screening on the “Bag It” site and scroll down to both community screenings and broadcast screenings to find out where “Bag It” might be playing in your area and/or on your local PBS affiliate station. Check “Bag It’s” homepage for information on how to tune in to a national webcast event for Earth Week on Thursday, April 21.

You may also enjoy reading my other stories about “Bag It” including Brand New Me and Brand New Me:  Surveying My Potions, Lotions and Other Pampering Paraphernalia.