Donned in his canvas bago-suit and helmet, self-proclaimed “Bagonaut” Egan Sanders emerged from BIGBAG1 at noon on Sunday, Sept 9th, 2007 ending his 24 hour environmental odyssey. Bagonaut slowly descended an external ladder as the crowd of onlookers cheered. Moments later, he planted a large flag of the Earth into the ground and proclaimed, “That’s one small step for Bagonaut, one giant leap for reusable shopping bags!”

During the 24 hour San Angelo “Big Bag Event,” designed to raise awareness about the dangers and wastefulness of plastic bags, over 1200 reusable shopping bags, donated by local, national, and international businesses, were distributed to people donating food.  Per the Concho Valley Regional Food Bank, the recipient of the donations, a total of 4026 pounds of non-perishable food items, equaling over 16,000 servings, was collected. The Big Bag event received generous support from a wide variety of reusable bag companies: 1 Bag at a Time, Bring Your Own Bag, ChicoBag, Earthwise Bags, Eco Bags, Eco-Logics, Envirosax, Get Hip Get Green, Globotote, Go-Again Bags, Greenkit, Green Sak, Organic Fred, The Planet Bag, See2Sea Sourcing, Smart Sac, Texas Earth Bag, and The Abe Lincoln Story. Local sponsors included: Sam’s Club, Total Sports, West Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, A Plus Sign, Company Printing, Albertsons LLC, West Texas Broadcasting, San Angelo Standard Times, Concho Rent a Tent, Wal-Mart, and Cortese Flag & Silkscreen.

Doyle Bell, designer of BIGBAG1, created both the exterior bag and the bag support infrastructure with no blueprints. Working with an idea proposed by Bagonaut, Doyle was able to quickly complete BIGBAG1 in time for the San Angelo Big Bag Event while fulfilling his regular work duties and supervising a large staff. During the event itself Doyle watched over the food donation table joining with other volunteers from the from the Concho Holistic Association, Keep San Angelo Beautiful, San Angelo Friends of the Environment, and Goodfellow Air Force Base. Bagonaut knows he can rely upon Doyle to make any of his canvas projects come to life!


This is BIGBAG1 - The World's Largest Reusable Canvas Shopping Bag! It measures over 8 feet in height, over 6 feet in width, and is about 5 feet deep. It was built in San Angelo, Texas at the The West Texas Lighthouse for the Blind - a sheltered facility providing employment for blind and visually impaired individuals. The West Texas Lighthouse for the Blind is dedicated to the highest principles of professionalism in the field of blind care and is chartered in the State of Texas as a private, non-profit corporation. Many hours and resources were donated by the Lighthouse staff to ensure a safe journey for Bagonaut who also made Bagonaut's canvas Bago-suit. 




The Engineer and design team was headed by Doyle Bell who constructed BIGBAG1 with the help of Gloria H. Gloria, Elida Hernandez, Posantina Lira, and Egan Sanders. The West Texas Lighthouse for the Blind produces many products including the reusable canvas shopping bag, the Texas Earth Bag, www.texasearthbag.com. BIGBAG1 was constructed from 49 yards of canvas and came equipped with a fan system, chair, porthole and an escape hatch. Bagonaut was launched into the ecosphere in style due to the care and support of all the wonderful people at the Lighthouse.





Bigbag1 was successfully launched for the first time on September 8, 2007 at the Sam’s Club in San Angelo, Texas. It was piloted by bagonaut Egan Sanders who was strapped into a harness and then raised 70 feet into the air as the crowd watched his dizzying ascent. After reaching the maximum height, he began a slow descent and unfurled a sign reading “The Earth Needs Friends.”  Safely lowered into BIGBAG1, Bagonaut remained within it for 24 hours non-stop during the “Big Bag Event” in the parking lot of the Sam’s Club store in San Angelo, Texas. The use and disposal of plastic is becoming a pressing issue as increasing worldwide population and industrialization burden the Earth’s ecosystems.






Before BIGBAG1 launched on its maiden voyage on Saturday, a mysterious creature clad in plastic bags appeared before the large crowd.  Stating that he was Bagonaut, and that plastic bags were actually good for the Earth, it was soon revealed that this person was actually Bagonaut’s arch nemesis, Plastosis Bagosis, a bad “bag” guy. After hearing boos and hisses from the crowd, the real Bagonaut, Egan Sanders, appeared to confront the imposter. A few heated moments followed and then Bagonaut said, “Plastic isn’t the enemy, it’s how we use it that’s the problem. If we can all shop with reusable bags we can help the Earth right now!” Bagonaut and Plastosis then shook hands while the crowd applauded.





Big Bag volunteers wearing tee-shirts that said, “Got Bags?” were on hand to collect food items being donated to the Concho Valley Regional Food Bank and to distribute bags from Saturday at 10am through Sunday until noon. For 24 hours these dedicated volunteers collected food, instructed people on the use of the wide varietey of bags and distributed them.Well wishers brought Bagonaut water, food, and things to read. Volunteers for the event were from the Concho Holistic Association, Keep San Angelo Beautiful, San Angelo Friends of the Environment, Children for a Peaceful World, and Goodfellow Air Force Base.


The Mayor of San Angelo, J.W. Lown, and Texas State Representative Drew Darby were present to officially measure and certify BIGBAG1’s dimensions for a world record. Here they are in front of BIGBAG1 with Nonie Knight of the West Texas Lighthouse for the Blind. Musician Cindy Jordan of the Children for a Peaceful World program also presented her song dedicated to Bagonaut entitled, “The Earth Needs Friends”. This in turn inspired Bagonaut to unfurl the sign with these very words as he descended into BIGBAG1. The Youtube music video of  “The Earth Needs Friends,” can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=asO2b1JpViY






Bagonaut Press Releases, Videos and Articles:

Click here to see the Pre Big Bag Event Press Release & Photos

Click here to see the Post Big Bag Event Press Release & Photos

Click here to see the 9/7/07 KSAN TV News Bagonaut Interview

Click here to see "The Earth Needs Friends," Video

Click here to read the San Angelo Standard Times article

                Bagonaut and BIGBAG1 Appearances

Sept 28-30, 2007   Renewable Energy Roundup, Fredericksburg, TX
Oct 6-7, 2007         Wholistic Rodeo, Abilene, TX
Oct 20, 2007           Eco-Fair and Family Day, San Angelo, TX
Jan 26-27, 2008     Wholistic Rodeo, Kerrville, TX
April 11-12, 2008   Live Green In Plano, Plano, TX
June18-21, 2008   LOHAS Forum and Business Conference, Boulder, CO
June 27-30, 2008  International New Age Trade Show, Denver, CO
August 22, 2008    Global Energy and Climate Symposium, Boulder, CO


                                            
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Using a reusable shopping bag is one simple thing every person on Earth can do to help the environment right now. Whether it’s made of canvas, mesh, or nylon, the simple act of using reusable bags will save energy and petroleum, reduce our landfills, decrease pollution, and prevent harm to wildlife.

The Facts About Plastic Bags


Factories around the world manufacture 4 to 5 trillion plastic bags per year.  Although many of these bags are recyclable, each year Americans return less than 1% of the billions of plastic bags they use and throw out the rest.


Plastic bags begin their lives as natural gas or other petrochemical substances, which are finite, polluting, and increasingly expensive resources. They waste resources.

Plastic bags often contaminate the solid recycling waste streams. Many plastic bags are littered or fly away, where they clog up sewers and waterways, and become entangled in vegetation and fences.

Plastic bags also are dangerous for wildlife, accounting for an estimated 100,000 deaths of marine animals. They easily get caught in the throats of animals and are found in the stomachs of sea turtles and on the shores of remote islands.

Once plastic bags are in the environment - whether in a landfill or polluting a lake - it can take hundreds of years for them to decompose, and they contribute toxins to the soil and water as they do.

Nations such as Australia, Bangladesh, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Taiwan and Ireland either levy taxes on bags, charge consumers for bags, or have enacted bans on plastic shopping bags. In Ireland, plastic bag usage dropped 90 percent in the first year after that nation imposed a fee of 15 cents per bag. City Leaders in San Francisco approved a plastic grocery bag ordinance in March 2007. Austin, Texas and other citiies are considering  similar measures.

Each disposable shopping bag is typically used for less than an hour.  Reusable shopping bags can be used for many years.

Special Note: Plastic is not the enemy; it is a useful material that has created many products for our society. Plastic bags are not the problem - it is how we use and dispose of them that is the issue. With our increasing population and worldwide industrialization we need to face the fact that unless we make changes we will create environmental problems.  We are the solution.



"We have not inherited the Earth from our ancestors, we are borrowing it from our children."
         -- Native American proverb 

                                  
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