Franklin, Andrews, Kramer & Edelstein

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The Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom

Patrick Moore, PhD –
August 2018 [e-mail]
https://co2coalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Fake-Invisible-Catastrophes-and-Threats-of-Doom-Small.pdf


Some time ago it struck me that the majority of alleged environmental catastrophes and threats are
invisible or very remote, thus making it virtually impossible for the average person to validate them
through observation. Observations, along with replications of those observations, are the very
foundation of the scientific method. Seeing is believing, and seeing the same result again and again
under similar circumstances reinforces the belief. Is it possible that activist groups and the media
choose to cite supposed catastrophes and threats that are invisible, very remote or both because the
majority of people cannot verify them in person and therefore must rely on the activists, the media,
and other third parties to tell them the truth? At the conclusion of this essay, the reader may judge.
Here’s a list of some of the alleged invisible catastrophes and threats of doom, beginning with one of
the former.
...

The Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom Patrick Moore, PhD – August 2018

https://co2coalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Fake-Invisible-Catastrophes-and-Threats-of-Doom-Small.pdf

There is a “sea of plastic” the size of Texas in the North Pacific Gyre north of Hawaii

First question: have you ever seen an aerial or satellite photograph of the “sea of plastic”?

Probably not, because it doesn’t really exist. But it makes a good wordpicture and after all plastic is full of deadly poisons and is killing seabirds and marine mammals by the thousands. This is also fake news and gives rise to calls for bans on plastic and other drastic measures. Silly people are banning plastic straws as if they were a dire threat to the environment. The fact is a piece of plastic floating in the ocean is no more toxic than a piece of wood. Wood has been entering the sea in vast quantities for millions of years. And in the same way that floating woody debris provides habitat for barnacles, seaweeds, crabs, and many other species of marine life, so does floating plastic. That’s why seabirds and fish eat the bits of plastic, to get the food that is growing on them. While it is true that some individual birds and animals are harmed by plastic debris, discarded fishnets in particular, this is far outweighed by the additional food supply it provides. Plastic is not poison or pollution, it is litter.