Paper or Plastic?

Ooops.

David Santillo, a marine biologist at Greenpeace, told The Times that bad science was undermining the Government’s case for banning the bags. “It’s very unlikely that many animals are killed by plastic bags,” he said. “The evidence shows just the opposite. We are not going to solve the problem of waste by focusing on plastic bags.

“It doesn’t do the Government’s case any favours if you’ve got statements being made that aren’t supported by the scientific literature that’s out there. With larger mammals it’s fishing gear that’s the big problem. On a global basis plastic bags aren’t an issue. It would be great if statements like these weren’t made.” -- Times Online

When a dude from Greenpeace says plastic bags are okay, what's an enviro-boob to do?

Turns out the "plastic bag" myth is based on a typo. A 1987 Canadian report said that fishing nets killed a lot of animals and birds. In 2002, an Australian government paper misquoted the text as not "fishing nets," but "plastic bags."

Catch the story here.