http://www.providencejournal.com/opinion/commentary/20140218-timothy-b.-wright-the-oceans-face-much-bigger-problems-than-plastic-bags.ece

Timothy B. Wright: The oceans face much bigger problems than plastic bags
February 18, 2014 01:00 AM

BY TIMOTHY B. WRIGHT

CHESTERFIELD, Mo.

On reading the Feb. 4 Commentary piece by Chris Clarendon (“Rhode Island
plastic bag ban would protect wildlife”), I thought the issues regarding
marine pollution should be put in their proper perspective. I am a
retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration captain, having
spent 30 years in sailing the open oceans and participated in many
surveys and scientific expeditions, including the 2002 New England Air
Quality Study.

I completely agree with Mr. Clarendon that plastic bags, or any other
solid matter such as tires, bottles, etc., do not belong in our
estuaries or ocean waters. But I do think that this problem is solved
not by bans on products but by proper disposal, recycling and education.

What should be addressed is the pollution from storm water runoff,
excess fertilizer polluting our estuaries (i.e., the Dead Zone at the
mouth of the Mississippi) and the air pollution and carbon dioxide that
lead to global warming and acidification of our oceans.

In testimony before the Rhode Island Senate’s Committee on Environment
and Agriculture, Christopher Reddy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
testified: “In Narragansett Bay, nitrogen from combined sewage overflow
and leaking septic fields is a significantly greater problem than
plastics, and perhaps any other pollutant in the Bay.” These, I believe,
are much bigger threats to Mr. Clarendon’s oysters than plastic bags.

Hello Anja,

I believe the biggest mistake the author of the editorial you forwarded
makes is concluding that there are more pressing threats to the ocean
than plastic bags, therefore dealing with the threat of plastic bags is
not worth doing.

He seems to refer to a "cost" of the plastic bag ban, but does not
define what resources are spent on the ban that could be better spent
elsewhere. State legislators' or activists' time? The public's will to
participate in conservation measures of any kind? I agree that the
problem of marine litter might be better served, in an ideal world, with
measures to promote education or the recycling or proper disposal of
plastic. But those measures would probably take a lot more resources
than a ban. What specific measures would the author suggest to promote
these things and how would they be cheaper and easier than a ban? The
fact remains that under our current conditions plastic bags are recycled
at a very low rate, and proper disposal is not happening enough to
prevent impacts on environment and wildlife.

I also see plastic bag bans as an important first step in reversing the
disposable culture we have created, which has implications beyond the
many problems with marine litter - including to terrestrial environments
(livestock eat plastic bags as well), human health, solid waste
disposal, and resource use. I hope that plastic bag bans will be
followed by bans on single-use Styrofoam containers and beverage
bottles. It is difficult to break old habits and create new ones, such
as keeping reusable bags handy and washing them, or purchasing corn
starch bags for pet waste, but after an adjustment period it becomes
part of a more responsible culture. We are now quite used to using
reusable dishes, clothes, and other bags such as backpacks or purses,
and wash them when they become dirty. Why not shopping bags, water
bottles, and take out containers?

I agree with the author that plastic bags are a small part of the marine
debris problem, which in itself is a small part of the threats to oceans
that include other forms of pollution and climate change. I may be naïve
to think that we can move forward on all those threats simultaneously,
and that progress on one does not inhibit the others.

Sincerely,
Henry Carson