Comments on: Speaking of Plastic http://oregonstate.edu/terra/2011/09/speaking-of-plastic/ A world of research at Oregon State University Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:00:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: William Kelly http://oregonstate.edu/terra/2011/09/speaking-of-plastic/#comment-57807 William Kelly Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:44:08 +0000 http://oregonstate.edu/terra/?p=7966#comment-57807 I certainly agree that plastic does not belong in the oceans, but it is good to hear that some of the startling statistics have been somewhat exaggerated. The fact that microbes seem to be “eating” the Atlantic’s plastic also seems like good news to me. Anything that can be done, by people or nature itself, to reduce pollutants in the ocean is a good thing.

]]> By: AquaLumen http://oregonstate.edu/terra/2011/09/speaking-of-plastic/#comment-52850 AquaLumen Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:25:33 +0000 http://oregonstate.edu/terra/?p=7966#comment-52850 I think your confusion on this issue is understandable, but “sources of seemingly equivalent credibility”? Captain Charles Moore? A credible scientific source? I’m sorry, but he doesn’t have the research or professional background to be “equivalent” to Dr. White on this issue. Yes, he has been out to the central Pacific gyre a few times. Yes, he has published papers. However, he isn’t a trained scientist and his level of advocacy on this issue puts him in ethical conflict with his ability to speak impartially about the data. After you wade through the media hoopla and get to the real scientific literature, the actual data show that the concentrations of plastic are quite small. Dr. White’s analogy with the 1-liter water bottles is accurate.

I agree with the take-home message here: plastic does NOT belong in the ocean. But as a scientist myself, I think it’s important to recognize that we don’t have to exaggerate the issue in order to advocate for change.

]]> By: Who to believe? http://oregonstate.edu/terra/2011/09/speaking-of-plastic/#comment-52497 Who to believe? Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:49:36 +0000 http://oregonstate.edu/terra/?p=7966#comment-52497 What are we, as consumers of information, to do when we encounter disparate findings from sources of seemingly equivalent credibility? The issue of plastic in our oceans greatly concerns me, but I often find myself wondering which scientist to believe. And this problem of varied and conflicting information prevails across all environmental issues.

http://marine-litter.gpa.unep.org/documents/World's_largest_landfill.pdf
http://www.algalita.org/AlgalitaFAQs.htm

The information linked above isn’t in total conflict, but it certainly implies a level of gravity not reached in your research.

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