Plastic Waste in the Ocean - The False Narrative

Four massive garbage scows leave New York headed out to sea.

I post this here with the full knowledge that had I posted it on Facebook, the Facebook Gestapo (FBG) would likely take it down and suspend my account. They are kind of sensitive about this sort of thing. This way I hope I can post the link and avoid being suspended again.  I checked the source of this chart and it's solid.

This link is to a Politifact article, that is often cited in the fact-check take-downs, claims that, though the numbers are real, it is missing some "nuance." They claim it was long ago (2010) and we've "probably" done a lot worse since then and/or did a lot worse before that and that much of the vast Chinese plastic waste "may" come from products manufactured in the United States. The article waffles a lot and Politifact claims there has to be more mismanaged waste in the ocean without evidence that there is. It also leaves out the fact that not only have we taken steps to reduce plastic waste, the pre-2010 plastic waste they worry about has come largely from Democrat run cities dumping their trash onto big barges and dumping it into the ocean rather than disposing of it sustainably. Even National Geographic, toeing the environmentalist's histrionic line claims the US is responsible for 20% of the world's waste, a dubious figure at best.

I don't see how the US can be blamed because China (which doesn't buy a lot of stuff from us in the first place) dumps US made plastic stuff in the ocean. Shredding and/or recycling it and/or burying it in landfills for future archaeologists to sift through works pretty well and from personal experience digging up buried plastic stuff, it breaks down a whole lot faster than the environmentalists claim it does.

While I agree, we shouldn't dump our plastic in the ocean on purpose, we shouldn't be held responsible for the rest of the planets irresponsible habits. We've cleaned up our air, developed better ways to dispose of our trash and even forced ourselves to recycle, even though in many cases recycling turns out to be a scam. Remember who likes to run waste disposal companies (Guido, Salvatore, Tony, and guys like that). 

Instead of wringing your hands and making people feel guilty in order to manipulate them into giving up a little more control of their own life, why not fix the problem?  Start with the trash barges progressive coastal cities ship out to mid ocean and scatter without concern for the environment. Why do those of us in the heartland have to pay for the sins of the coastal dwellers. If wealthy progressives want clean beaches in front of their oceanfront mansions, maybe they need to convince progressive cities to clean up their messes. 

Those of us who live inland have been figuring out ways to safely dispose of our garbage a long time before it became a political tool.