UN / PLANET OR PLASTIC

As part of the campaign to beat plastic pollution, a photo exhibition by National Geographic was unveiled by the President of the UN General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa, together with Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy recipient, Whoopi Goldberg. UNIFEED

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:39
• Production Date: 4 June 2019
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: MARIA F. ESPINOSA GARCES
• Corporate Name: GENERAL ASSEMBLY
• Subject Topical: POLLUTION
• MAMS Id: 2402502
• Parent Id: 2402502
• Alternate Title: unifeed190604f

Description

STORY: UN / PLANET OR PLASTIC
TRT: 02:39
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 04 JUNE 2019, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT

Shotlist

RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

04 JUNE 2019, NEW YORK CITY

2. Tilt down, General Assembly building visitor’s area
3. Med shot, attendees
4. SOUNDBITE (English) María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés President, United Nations General Assembly:
“Do we need to go through one trillion plastic bags a year? Do we? Do we need billions of coffee lids tossed aside after moments of use? I don’t think so.”
5. Med shot, attendees
6. SOUNDBITE (English) María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés President, United Nations General Assembly:
“We must choose to phase out single-use plastics. I am very proud to say that as promised to member states in September, I have made the issue of single-use plastics a key objective of my presidency. On the home front, and together with the office of the Secretary-General, and partners such as Culinart, we have now officially removed single-use plastics from UN Headquarters. This is wonderful.”
7. Med shot, attendees
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Tijjani Mohammad Bande, President-elect, United Nations General Assembly:
“We all have to do all that is within our power to end plastic pollution beneath the oceans if our fight against climate change will be successful. This is important because the repercussions of climate change reverberate around the world. In Africa for example, it has exacerbated conflicts and terrorism, thereby destroying the livelihood of tens of millions of people.”
9. Wide shot, Whoopi Goldberg walks to the podium
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Whoopi Goldberg, Actress and Activist:
“When I saw the visual of what the ocean looked like, because it’s been a while since I put on that kind of bathing suit, you know, it’s tight. I just can’t do it the way I used to. But when I saw what was happening, I don’t know, something happened and then these two guys said, so, we decided to do something. And so, what they did was they talked to the fishermen where they worked and said, listen, how much do you make fishing? Let us pay you instead to clean the ocean where you are.”
11. Med shot, attendees
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Whoopi Goldberg, Actress and Activist:
“And I thought, wow, what a great, simple, idea, and I lost my mind. So, I though, one person, two people, can make a huge difference.”
13. Med shot, family picture

Storyline

As part of the campaign to beat plastic pollution, a photo exhibition by National Geographic was unveiled today (4 Jun) by the President of the UN General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa, together with Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy recipient, Whoopi Goldberg.

Espinosa said, “do we need to go through one trillion plastic bags a year? Do we? Do we need billions of coffee lids tossed aside after moments of use? I don’t think so.”

The President of the General Assembly said, “we must choose to phase out single-use plastics” and noted that “together with the office of the Secretary-General, and partners such as Culinart, we have now officially removed single-use plastics from UN Headquarters.”

“We must choose to phase out single-use plastics. I am very proud to say that as promised to member states in September, I have made the issue of single-use plastics a key objective of my presidency. On the home front, and together with the office of the Secretary-General, and partners such as Culinart, we have now officially removed single-use plastics from UN Headquarters. This is wonderful.”

The incoming President of the General Assembly, Tijjani Mohammad Bande, said, “we all have to do all that is within our power to end plastic pollution beneath the oceans if our fight against climate change will be successful.”

The President-elect said “this is important because the repercussions of climate change reverberate around the world. In Africa for example, it has exacerbated conflicts and terrorism, thereby destroying the livelihood of tens of millions of people.”

Goldberg told the story of a conservancy project that got her involved in the issue.

She said, “two guys said, so, we decided to do something. And so, what they did was they talked to the fishermen where they worked and said, listen, how much do you make fishing? Let us pay you instead to clean the ocean where you are.”

Goldberg added, “and I thought, wow, what a great, simple, idea, and I lost my mind. So, I though, one person, two people, can make a huge difference.”

The exhibit, a partnership between National Geographic and the Office of the President of the General Assembly, and supported with funding from the Government of Monaco, strives to highlight how this simple material reshaped both global industries and everyday life, and how it has become such an important component of life on earth.

At the same time, the exhibit draws attention to the problems in our consumption and production patterns, showcasing how disposable and single use plastics – some used for mere seconds but lasting for centuries – are overwhelming our planet and jeopardizing the health and well-being of people and of ecosystems around the globe.