Links for my OregonCatalyst Comments

Apologies to my regular blog readers; this post is for those at this OregonCatalyst post, which won't allow me to post hyperlinks.

1) Some plastic bags *are* made from petroleum. About 4% of the world’s oil production goes to making plastic bags, according to this source: S Muthu et al, “An Exploratory Comparative Study on Eco-Impact of Paper and Plastic Bags,” Textile Bioengineering and Informatics Society (tbisociety.org), doi:10.3993/tbis200912, http://is.gd/YRTWf3

2) There are an estimated one million tons of plastic in the northern Pacific Ocean, according to K Saido et al, “New contamination derived from marine debris plastics,” Presented at the 238th American Chemical Society National Meeting, August 22-26,2009, Washington DC

http://5gyres.org/media/Saido_etal_plastics_break_down_in_ocean.pdf

3) An estimated 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds die each year from entanglement or ingestion of plastic, according to J. G. B. Derraik, Marine Polltn. Bull, 44, 842, 2002.