Blue Angels

A dead bird’s stomach riddled with plastic pellets — not a pretty picture. But that’s the devastating effect plastic waste has on our ecosystem, and Florida is doing a dismal job of combating the issue. We generate almost two tons of municipal solid waste per resident per year. And collectively, Floridians recycle only 28 percent of that waste. Faced with these statistics, two Miami dudes decided to do something about it. Bill Whiddon and Thaddeus Foote took to their paddleboards and became the first of their kind to brave an epic journey across the Gulfstream. This wild ride of more than 60 miles was chronicled in the documentary Bimini to Miami Blue Water Challenge. On their 17-hour journey, the duo faced a 40-minute squall, three-foot swells, and scorching summer heat. The flick is screening this week at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden (2000 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach) in support of the Surfrider Foundation, an advocacy group focused on conservation, activism, research, and education to benefit our beaches. Its Rise Above Plastics (RAP) campaign is designed to push the legislature to a statewide recycling goal of 75 percent by 2020. At the screening, the Miami Surfrider chapter will push locals to change their habits and reduce the unnecessary use of plastic. After all, do we really need a straw in every Wet Willie’s drink?
Thu., Aug. 9, 7 p.m., 2012