In recent years, polyethylene bags, usually made from petroleum or natural gas, have largely displaced the more cumbersome paper sack as a means of
carrying items from the store to the home or office. But their ubiquitous presence has drawn the ire of environmental activists and politicians who
claim the bags inflict significant harm on the environment, including causing the death of 100,000 mammals and one million seabirds annually.
The plastic bag scare, it turns out, is based on a 1987 Canadian study that investigated the harm to marine mammals and seabirds from discarded fish
nets. For reasons not fully understood, Australian researchers, in a follow-up study conducted 15 years later, mistakenly attributed the death of
100,000 marine animals to plastic bags instead of the "plastic litter" cited in the Canadian research.
"Plastic bags do not figure in entanglement. The main culprits are fishing gear, ropes, lines, and strapping bands," David W. Laist, an analyst with
the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, told the March 8 Times of London.
"Most mammals are too big to get caught up in a plastic bag," Laist continued. "The impact of bags on whales, dolphins, porpoises, and seals ranges
from nil for most species to very minor for a few species. For birds, plastic bags are not a problem either."
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