Here's the problem: <a href="http://i.imgur.com/KW0d1qh.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://i.imgur.com/KW0d1qh.jpg</a><p>That's a google image search for "pacific garbage patch", and about half of the results are pure fiction. Photos of heavily polluted inhabited areas that are not actually part of the pacific gyre. Many articles reproduce these pictures from other sources and just assume they are photos of the garbage patch (a typical "citogenesis" problem: <a href="https://xkcd.com/978/" rel="nofollow">https://xkcd.com/978/</a>).<p>This is very important because it bears directly on the credibility of scientists and of environmental activists. Once you lose credibility you rarely get it back. Many, many people (even some scientists, sadly) believe that action is more important than truth. That "doing the right thing" is paramount, even if you have to twist the facts a teensy bit to make them more palatable to the masses. But the masses are fickle, and they pick up on these things readily, with the result being a loss of credibility.<p>It's very difficult to always avoid the temptation of the easy, quick short-term gain, but the importance of maintaining scientific discipline should always override that impulse.
What is the myth they are referring to?<p>I haven't been following any stories about the Pacific Gyre in the mainstream media, but I've always understood it to be a region in the Pacific where garbage seems to concentrate because of ocean currents. Much of the garbage isn't visible as it floats just beneath the surface.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StNZ3XUBDYw#t=1m17s" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StNZ3XUBDYw#t=1m17s</a>
Is the word "myth" here being used in the sense of being true but connected to storytelling nevertheless?<p>Because the Great Pacific Garbage Patch really exists.<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch</a><p><i>The patch is characterized by exceptionally high relative concentrations of pelagic plastics, chemical sludge and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre.[2] Because of its large area, it is of very low density (4 particles per cubic meter), and therefore not visible from satellite photography, nor even necessarily to casual boaters or divers in the area. It consists primarily of a small increase in suspended, often microscopic, particles in the upper water column.</i><p><i>Research has shown that this plastic marine debris affects at least 267 species worldwide</i><p>Also, overfishing is real. Colony collapse disorder is real and affects wild bees. Monarch butterflies and others are becoming extinct. So are tigers and many other species. (although the trend has been halted for tigers).<p>The human population explosion and energy use explosion that grew even faster are the problem. Regardless of how efficient we get, we can't sustain such population growth indefintely. And Capitalism is extremely efficient at exacerbating negative externalities - whether factory farms, private prisons, weapons manufacturers or manufacturers of anything (plastic etc.) the incentive is to exploit negative externalities as much as possible to have more customers pay more money faster. The collective effect is perpetually increasing money velocity and increased velocity of exploiting externalities.
I guess we'll find out more soon: <a href="http://www.theoceancleanup.com/updates/show/item/announcing-the-aerial-expedition/" rel="nofollow">http://www.theoceancleanup.com/updates/show/item/announcing-...</a>
You want to look at the largest instances of ocean pollution in world history? Look at submarine warfare in WW1[1] and WW2[2]. Millions and millions of gallons of bunker oil spilled out, not to mention all the chemicals, explosives, and other bits of nastiness in contained in the cargo of those ships.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.naval-history.net/WW1LossesaContents.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.naval-history.net/WW1LossesaContents.htm</a><p>[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_sunk_by_submarines_by_death_toll" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_sunk_by_submarin...</a>