February 24th Documentary Assignment

APEs 2021

History 101: Plastics (Netflix)

1. Briefly explain the history of plastics.
The 1930s the first mainstream form of plastic created was called Bakelite resinoid. It was the
first fully synthetic manmade plastic that helped normalize cheap and fast products. Then in
the 1900s new industries took advantage of this cheap and seemingly nonfinite resource. In
1941 Ford uses soybeans and corn to produce plastic. In WWII most metals are in short supply
so plastics become a substitute for traditional manufacturing materials. Because of the war, in
1945, the US takes the lead in plastic production. Then plastic bag arrives in 1965. The 30
years following the war, plastic becomes a lifestyle. Then in the 1980s the world woke up to
plastic and its devastating affect on the environment.
2. When did recycling of plastics begin? Describe one example of what the recycling of
plastics can provide.
It began in 1975 when Coca cola decided to replace their glass bottle with PET (polyethylene
terephthalate) soda bottle. It is strong enough to hold pressurized drinks and can be recycled
and can be used again and again to make more bottles cheaply. However, it was in the 1980s
that the world woke up to the overproduction and over consumption of plastic.
3. Were there any statements from the documentary that you did not agree with?
No because it is mostly fact based.
4. Describe 3-4 examples of plastics that provide life saving services.

- In the early 1900s car industries started using plastic “as insulation for electric wires
spark plug caps, and light fittings all of which make the car much safer.”
- In WWII parachutes and ropes are made from nylon to help the allies win the war.
- Between 1955 and 1965 42% of Americans start to rely on condoms as the primary for
of contraceptives.

5. Do you think that humans as a whole could survive without plastics? Explain your
opinion.
I think we should and we could in theory. If every single person would commit to living
sustainably, we could. However I don’t think it is feasible. Humans are greedy, lazy, and we
want things done for fast and cheap, which plastic can do at the moment.
6. Whether or not you think that humans could survive with plastics, the narrator states
that plastics are killing our planet. Elaborate on this statement.
This statement is attempting to explain how the increase in production of plastic from 1955 to
2015 has accumulated over 7.8 billion tons. Additionally, the world uses 500 billion plastic
bags per year, that’s roughly 1 million bags per minute. The reason it is killing our plant is
because every piece of plastic that has been created is still on this earth to this day. This is
because plastic is man-made “it comes from monomers of propylene, linked together by
extremely strong carbon-carbon bonds”. Because it does not come from nature, nature can
not break it down. Because it is not being broken down it is population habitats, destroying
ecosystems, and the production emits massive amounts of CO2 which causes global warming.

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 History 101: Nuclear Power (Netflix)
1. Briefly explain the history of nuclear power.
In 1938 Germany, Jewish chemist, Lise Meitner and her colleagues Otto Hahn and Fritz
Strassmann discover nuclear fission. They find out the “if you fire a neutron particle at an
atom of uranium, its nucleus splits, releasing 200 times the energy of the original neutron that
triggered it.” They also discover how to create an atomic bomb. This leads to the creation of
the Manhattan Project, by Present Roosevelt. With the help from the UK and Canada, on July
1945, the first test at Los Alamos in New Mexico lead to the atom bomb being dropped on
Hiroshima on August 6 1945. In 1952, it is the first-time peaceful benefits of nuclear power is
being introduced to the public. Then in 1954 the Soviets pull ahead in the race with nuclear
bombs and energy, by establishing the world’s first fully operational atomic power plant. In
1957 The United Kingdom’s first reactors, called Windscale, has the first fire in the reactor
room. This leaves about 15 tons of radioactive fuel melted in the core. The US the first
commercial atomic power station opens a year later in Pennsylvania, 1958. The US and the
Soviet Union explode over 300 atomic bombs in tests, by the end of 1950s. However, the rush
for nuclear energy fades by the early 1970s. Then the US explodes into an economic
depression which makes the price of oil soar. This leads to the popularity in the production of
nuclear energy from 19070 -1985. In 1979 companies start dumping small amount of nuclear
waste into the sea, without knowing the devastating environmental effects.
2. Pick two of the nuclear incidents mentioned in the documentary and explain what
happened.
- A four-reactor power plant in Ukraine called Chernobyl is one the Soviet Union’s
largest power plants. On April 26, 1986 “reactor 4, a safety test is underway, so
emergency systems are turned off. But there is suddenly a power surge. Control rods
meant to protect the uranium from melting get jammed as they enter the core.” This
results to radioactive material spewing into the atmosphere. The radioactive cloud
spreads throughout Europe and even reaches the United Kingdom.
- In 1979, at the three-mile island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania “a jammed relief
valve creates a dangerous buildup of heat in the system, cooking the reactor’s core
until the uranium melts.” This is known as the first and worst American nuclear
meltdown. Although, there are no death recorded, it is estimated that 2 million
people, in the surrounding areas, are exposed to the leaking radiation coming from the
power plant.
3. The narrator states that if you have the means to use nuclear power, then you also have
the means to develop nuclear weapons. Thus, allowing access to nuclear power should
be limited. So, what may be the answer to this problem?
Although there are only certain countries that can develop nuclear weapons, many other
countries have been caught trying to create nuclear war heads. There is a solution, it is called
nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion happens when atoms collide and their nuclei fuse together. It
produces 3-4 times more energy than nuclear fission. Additionally, it is does not produce any
toxic waste until nuclear fission.
4. “Nuclear power is still considered one of the best ways to wean ourselves off of an even
bigger threat to the plant: __carbon emissions from fossil fuels. __”

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