'Planet or plastic': National Geographic magazine's latest cover takes shot at pollution caused by plastic

National Geographic magazine’s cover for June 2018 featuring a plastic bag partially submerged in water has gone viral on social media after a senior editor shared the illustration last week. Capturing the attention of thousands online, the cover has been described as “ genius ” and “ powerful ”. [caption id=“attachment_4476801” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The National Geographic magazine cover for June 2018. Image courtesy: National Geographic[/caption] Titled “Planet or Plastic?”, the cover illustration features a bag resembling an iceberg floating in an ocean, referring to the increasing usage of plastic around the world and the imminent threat posed to the environment as a consequence. This comes over 30 years after an iconic 1985 cover of the same magazine — titled ‘ The Afghan Girl ’ — was published. Here is how people reacted to the June 2018 cover:

Senior photo editor of the magazine Vaughn Wallace revealed that the illustration was created by Mexican artist Jorge Gamboa. He also said that starting with the June issue, the magazine will do away with the plastic wrapper and use paper for the purpose instead.