Every five seconds, 60,000 plastic bags are used in the United States. Every time we purchase something at the supermarket, or the convenience store, or the mall, these numbers pile up — to over 514 million plastic bags every day.

Internationally-acclaimed photographer Chris Jordan has captured staggering statistics, such as how many plastic bags we consume, into digestible images, engaging us to look at the impact we have as individuals and a society on our environment.

Texas Public Radio, in partnership with the The San Antonio Library, the San Antonio Library Foundation, and the Southwest School of Art & Craft, will bring Chris Jordan's eye-opening exhibit, Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait to San Antonio. The photographic series will be on display at the San Antonio Central Library and the Southwest School of Art & Craft's Navarro Campus. The exhibit is free and will be open beginning August 3 through August 29.

Focusing on blinding white walls made of millions of sheets of office paper, a giant whirlpool of discarded cell phones or dense forests of piled supermarket paper bags, Chris Jordan’s massive digital photographs provide a startling perspective on the enormity of America’s waste stream. Zooming from the enormous to the detailed, from the collective to the individual, his commentary inspires reflection on the complex roles we all play, and the responsibilities we all hold, in the stewardship of our planet and each other.

The exhibit is made possible by The Smothers Foundation, Allegra Print & Imaging, and Monterrey Iron & Metal and CPS Energy.

Chris Jordan, himself, will give a free, open-to-the-public lecture at Municipal Auditorium on Wednesday, August 6, fresh off his international tour as National Geographic's Eco-Ambassador for Earth Day 2008.

The presentation will incorporate slides of his internationally acclaimed images, as he walks unabashedly into the maw of consumerism, illuminating this frightening dark side of the American dream. Beginning with colorful scenes of shipping ports and container yards, his slideshow covers issues such as e-waste, the environment and global warming, among many others. Along the way, he shares a wealth of stunning facts about the subjects he depicts: 426,000 cell phones discarded every day; 15 million sheets of office paper used every 5 minutes; 1.14 million paper grocery bags used in the U.S. every hour, and so on. He examines consumer culture in a vulnerable and self-reflective style, sharing his personal journey from detached corporate lawyer to passionately engaged artist and cultural activist.

This engaging and thought-provoking lecture is made possible by the San Antonio River Authority, Lake | Flato Architects and Greenstar formerly known as Vista Fibers.