Bagonaut does his part for the environment by supporting energy saving ideas to help planet Earth such as: using reusable shopping bags, reducing the use of water and electricity, saving gas by hypermiling and recycling as much as possible.

His eco journey began in 2007 when, 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

June 2, 2007           Bagonaut gives first presention to San Angelo City Council 
July 17, 2007         Bagonaut presents Environmental Plan to San Angelo City Council
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
Nov, 22, 2008         Bagonaut Promotes use of Eco Envelopes, Denver, CO
Dec 2, 2008             Bagonaut Promotes Hypermiling Techniques, Denver, CO
January 9, 2009     Food Drive for the Aurora Interchurch Food Bank
                                          
                                   INVITE Bagonaut to your event by visiting the contact page

                                                  Where will Bagonaut go from here???

                                         NEW ARTICLE: Save Gas to Help the Economy and Your Finances

 

Here are some effective tips for people to save money on gas. If you find that they work for you, please share them with as many people you can. Saving gas saves us money and is good for our economy and the environment.

 

I’ve been experimenting with these “hypermiling” techniques for the last few months. My 1997 Toyota is only supposed to get about 23 miles per gallon. By hypermiling I get on average 35-38 miles per gallon – over a 50% increase! Most of my driving is in the city which usually wastes more gas. If you have a newer car that already gets higher gas mileage then this will likely boost it even further.

 

Even though the price of gas has come down recently that doesn’t mean that it’s going to stay there. At this time I see no logic in the stock market and in the trading of commodities like gas. Also, the more gas we use, the more of that money goes overseas - often to countries that don’t like the U.S.; like Venezuela, Russia, and Iran. Lessening our dependence on foreign oil is also a matter of national security. We are funding countries that are not truly democratic with our oil money. Saving gas is patriotic and these techniques are life-long habits that will pay dividends for many years to come. 

 

Our national debt is also out of control and saving gas is one way we can ease it. By reducing our use we can help our own economy and be an example to other countries.

 

Until electric vehicles are widely available, we also have to realize that burning fuel harms the environment. Global Warming is a reality. Do we really want our children and grandchildren to inherit a more polluted and harsher environment? While I’m hoping our new president will put new programs into place, we all have to our part. We are all part of the solution and we can act now.

 

Okay, enough with the commentary…here are the basic techniques. More information can be found on the site for the man who invented hypermiling, www.cleanmpg.com 

 

1. If you can avoid driving – do so; walk, bike, carpool and/or take public transportation. I live close enough to my bank that I can walk to it. If you commute to work see if you can carpool with a coworker at least once a week.

 

2. Reduce you car’s weight. The heavier your car is, the more gas you use. Clean out your car and remove unnecessary objects. All that stuff in your trunk is wasting gas. Also, don’t fill up your gas tank all the way – a full tank adds more weight to your vehicle.

 

3. Properly inflate your car tires. Familiarize yourself with your car’s proper tire pressure and monitor it regularly.

 

4. Search for the cheapest gas prices online by visiting www.gasbuddy.com. I was surprised about the wide difference in prices even within a few miles of where I live. The larger chains generally charge more than other independent stations.

 

5. Drive five miles under the speed limit. Right away you reduce your gas use by 10%! If you try this you’ll find that you get to places on time. At the most you may lose a few minutes, but I found myself often meeting up with the same people at the next stop light who had sped past me. Driving slower is relaxing, too. If no one is on the road drive ten miles under the speed limit.  You will get to where you are going in about the same time at a slower speed. Less traffic means fewer red lights because most stop lights are automated. When traffic is low they stay green or change quickly.  

 

6. Avoid wasteful idling. When you turn you car engine on – go; when you get where you are going, turn off the engine immediately. Most cars nowadays are fuel-injected and don’t need to be warmed up. Shut off your engine if you’re stopped for more than 10 seconds to save even further on gas. So, if you stop at a drive thru ATM, turn off your engine. Some stoplights are over a minute or two. Why burn gas while you wait?

 

7. Combine errands. Before you head out to drive ask yourself, “Is there anything else I need to do while I’m out?” Instead of driving to do just one thing, combine errands and plan your route in advance. You can grab a coffee at Starbucks, go to the post office and then stop at the supermarket all in one trip. This kind of driving saves gas and also creates less wear on your car. It only takes a moment to plan your route. To drive fewer miles UPS has their drivers plan their routes to avoid left turns, and instead make as many right turns as possible.

 

8. Pay attention to how you accelerate and decelerate – braking. Have an anticipatory focus and be a smart-braker! Flow with the traffic and try to brake as little as possible. Every time you rapidly accelerate, or break hard to slow down, you waste gas. Try to keep a consistent speed and stay in one lane. Rather than braking, gently ease up on the gas pedal when coming to a red light and avoid a full stop - if you can. If you time it right the light may turn green and then you can slowly re-accelerate without having to do so from a complete stop.

 

9. Avoid additional gas wasters like running the air conditioning/heat and driving with the windows down. If you need to run the a/c or heat, turn it off a few minutes before you arrive at your destination. You can also use the vent or fan to intake and circulate air inside your car.

 

I know this initially takes effort, but if many people started to do this it could make a huge impact. I found with a little practice it becomes easy and automatic to do.

 

Thanks for hypermiling.

 

Bagonaut