Viral Video Igniting a Nationwide Refuse Disposable Plastics Campaign

Aiming for 1M signatories to the REFUSE PLEDGE of PlasticPollutionCoalition.org

Will culminate with Nov 6 TEDx event in Santa Monica

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A 60-second spot encouraging people to REFUSE disposable plastics is making an impact online via YouTube, where its hits are growing virally. The video is well-timed to generate excitement for people to live-stream the November 6 TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch event.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101026/TEDXLOGO )

Many people who watch the video are inspired to sign on to Plastic Pollution Coalition's REFUSE pledge to REFUSE disposable plastics like bags, water bottles, straws, plastic utensils, and other items. Plastic Pollution Coalition is aiming for one million signatories by Saturday, Nov. 6, when the TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch event will be held at the Santa Monica Annenberg Community Beach House.

 Available on YouTube and via the Web site of TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch, the clip is also being circulated on Facebook and Twitter. Plastic Pollution Coalition encourages people to make their own videos and share them online, as it is all part of the social movement they are helping to seed, to end the use of disposable plastics.

Viewers are also starting to submit their own personal REFUSE plastic videos and photos to the Plastic Pollution Coalition flickr account or their YouTube channel.

In addition to signing the REFUSE pledge, people are signing up to live-stream the TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch event on November 6.

TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch is a one-day event that will bring together global thought leaders from the fields of technology, science, arts and entertainment, design, community activism, and business in a dialog on the theme of "The Global Plastic Pollution Crisis."

In the past few years, the world has taken notice of the Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean, a gyre of trash estimated to be at a minimum the size of the state of Texas and possibly as large at the United States. 90% of this trash patch is comprised of plastic. And there are similar areas of plastic pollution throughout the world – in all the world's oceans, in seemingly unlikely places like the Arabian Desert, along some of the most pristine beaches of the world, in our cities, in our rivers, and in our bodies. Plastic pollution affects every one of us.

TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch is a forum where issue experts, youth leaders, visual and performing artists, actors, musicians, politicians and many others will share observations on how plastic pollution affects ocean/environmental health and public health; explore solutions for reducing our plastic footprint, and begin to develop ideas about eliminating plastic pollution through individual action as well as public- and private-sector innovation.

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Captain Charles Moore, Van Jones, Ferris Thompson, Chris Jordan, Fabien Cousteau, David de Rothschild, Chris Malloy, Jackson Browne, Ed Begley Jr., and His Excellency John Dramani Mahama are just some of the presenters scheduled to speak at the forum. As additional presenters are finalized, they will be added to the event website.

In a commitment to keep a low carbon footprint, and to encourage and empower global engagement and action, this important event will be streamed live to locations around the world. Please contact us if you are interested in organizing a virtual event. Locations will be listed on the website as they are added. A live webcast of the event will be available on the day of the event through the website.

Due to space limitation, attendance is by invitation only.

About Plastic Pollution Coalition

Plastic Pollution Coalition (www.PlasticPollutionCoalition.org) is a global alliance of individuals, organizations and businesses working together to end plastic pollution, and its toxic impacts on people, animals and the environment.

About TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self organized.

*This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world; and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at facebook.com/TED.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCumZMU1y4E

SOURCE Plastic Pollution Coalition