Garbage (At Sea) : Another environmental claim proven to be hyped

Watts Up With That? ^ | January 6, 2011 | Anthony Watts

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From Oregon State University:

Oceanic “garbage patch” not nearly as big as portrayed in media

CORVALLIS, Ore. – There is a lot of plastic trash floating in the Pacific Ocean, but claims that the “Great Garbage Patch” between California and Japan is twice the size of Texas are grossly exaggerated, according to an analysis by an Oregon State University scientist.

Further claims that the oceans are filled with more plastic than plankton, and that the patch has been growing tenfold each decade since the 1950s are equally misleading, pointed out Angelicque “Angel” White, an assistant professor of oceanography at Oregon State.

[Yo-Yo]

I thought that the “Great Garbage Patch” is where free Nike shoes come from.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Articles about this subject are usually accompanied by photographs of floating plastic bottles or bags. Then someone (either the author, or several of the commentators) inevitably declares something like “the plastic doesn't degrade for 1,000 years”.

Imagine if you could buy vinyl paint that didn't degrade for 1,000 years. Or, even if you could buy a Corvette that wouldn't degrade in 1,000 years. The simple fact is that plastics degrade very quickly in sunlight. The vast bulk of the plastic in the so-called “garbage patch” can't be seen with the naked eye. An honest photo of the patch would show clear, blue water — not flotsam and jetsam.

[Morpheus2009]

Again, another case where some fine print would have been nice. (The size is estimated)

However, I wonder if someone could please send some boats to collect that junk for once.

[lormand]

FACTS - the turd in the punch bowl of liberal thought

[WayneS]

There goes HER chance of getting tenure...

[WayneS]

Compleet with feet...

[treetopsandroofs]

Downgraded to (smaller than?) Texas for the messiah’s reign?

Three years ago with a Republican president it was twice the size of the continental United States.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-worlds-rubbish-dump-a-garbage-tip-that-stretches-from-hawaii-to-japan-778016.html

[SMARTY]

Most of that stuff probably is from the Tsunami a couple years ago and got itself washed out to sea

After all-a quarter of a million people died and whole villages were washed out to sea If Liberals are supposed to be so smart why can't they figure this out?

[Yo-Yo]

Compleet with feet...

Oh yeah, forgot about the mystery feet! Remember the rubber duckies?

[Cold Heart]

Good article.

[Vigilanteman]

Interesting graphic. I've flown over the Pacific a number of times (west coast to Japan and back) and also been in a seagoing vessel once plus tracked cargo over the ocean hundreds of times.

Interestingly, ships and planes follow the Gulf Streams and seldom venture through or near the location shown as the garbage path.

Thus, it is a convenient theory precisely because it is so hard to disprove. Sort of like claiming there is a lost city on the bottom of the Marianas Trench.

[Sherman Logan]

Calculations show that the amount of energy it would take to remove plastics from the ocean is roughly 250 times the mass of the plastic itself;

Anybody have a clue what this means?

[treetopsandroofs]

“Some say...”, “Calculations show...” — whatever it takes to make us believe the president shouldn’t be held responsible for doing something about it, as compared to 3 years ago when we needed to DEMAND that the president of a major plastic-using country with a mess TWICE THE SIZE of that same country BETTER BE DOING SOMETHING about it.

It’s all about the political party of the president.

[nerdwithagun]

Another belief by enviromentalists a load of poo. More important information for the MSM to ignore.

[poobear]

I'm borrowing that for a little while lormand.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Anybody have a clue what this means?

3250 Mexicans in canoes with dip nets.

[Steve_Seattle]

Well, now some professors can do a survey to prove how misinformed people are, based upon their source of news:

Question: The amount of plastic in the oceans covers an area twice the size of Texas. True or False?

New York Times readers: 89% True, 11% False.

Fox News listeners: 42% True, 58% False.

Free Republic participants: 0% True, 100% False.

Correct answer: False A recent study by Oregon State University found that the level of plastic in the oceans is less than 1% the size of Texas.

Resulting headlines (sarc): "Study shows New York Times readers more likely to be uninformed"

[WayneS]

Mass and energy now have the same Units?

“Who are THEY who are so wise in the ways of science?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFL!