Wednesday 22 January 2020

Fwd: Skeptoid: The Trashy Secret of Plastic Bag Bans

Ecology: Keep'emPeeled! 



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Skeptoid Companion Email <noreply@skeptoid.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2020, 15:23
Subject: Skeptoid: The Trashy Secret of Plastic Bag Bans
To: Johnny Zhivago <zvagoman@gmail.com>


Skeptoid Companion Email

The weekly companion email provided with each new episode of the Skeptoid podcast

Skeptoid

Skeptoid #711: THE TRASHY SECRET OF PLASTIC BAG BANS

All around the world, bans on plastic carryout bags are being passed faster than you can keep track, especially in western countries like the United States where environmental sentiment is most prolific. The idea behind the bans is simple and self-evident: a reduction in waste and litter, and a corresponding reduction in associated environmental impacts like greenhouse gases. At first glance, it seems like a perfectly rational step. Shoppers will turn to lower-impact options like reusable bags or easily-recyclable paper bags. The environment will benefit. Or will it? For it turns out that, from end-to-end, virtually every single belief that informs these bans is based on misinformation; and as a result, bans on plastic carryout bags do more harm than good. Most people have heard this claim, and many have dismissed it as pro-industry propaganda. Today we're going to look at the underlying data and uncover the real facts. by Brian Dunning
Read | Listen

Skeptoid shop: Apparel, books, closeouts

WONDER OF THE WEEK

Incredible how gullible even science news can be

Wonder of the Week
An uninteresting frame of FLIR footage that TTSA says is interesting

Today's Wonder of the Week illustrates my wonder at how gullible even science news can be.

For a long time, former rock musician Tom Delonge's UFO film production company To The Stars Academy -- an evolution of Skinwalker Ranch and later the dubious Pentagon $22 million UFO program -- has been blanketing the world media with press releases claiming that the US Navy says UFOs are real and it has the evidence. Note the important difference. The US Navy actually says no such thing and expresses little interest in UFOs; To The Stars simply says the US Navy believes in them.

Nevertheless their press releases get parroted by the world media nearly every time they come around. This week just blew my stack because it was picked up as the "top science story of the week" by Live Science, an organization which should definitely know better.

Read more.

Contributed by Brian Dunning.

SKEPTOID COMING TO YOU...

March 19-22, 2020 - Miami, FL
Podcasting Facts: What Works and What Doesn't
University of Miami Conspiracy Theory Conference

March 26-27, 2020 - Portland, OR
Listener Feedback LIVE
Science Talk 20

August 6-9, 2020 - San Francisco, CA
Science Friction screening discussion
AEJMC Annual Conference

I would love to come visit your group too -- click here to make it happen!

THE END IS NEAR

An apocalyptic explosion. Rogue black holes. Infiltration of bloodthirsty zombies. A robot revolt. Alien invasion. Threats of the world's demise.

No, we aren't talking about the end of the world — it's simply the close of 2019 and beginning of new decade.

If you feel that speaking up for science should be a priority for 2020, please, open your wallet and support Skeptoid before year-end. Contributions are tax deductible for US taxpayers.

Here's to 2020 and giving reality a louder voice!

100 EPISODES AGO

100 agoAll About Grounding — Some New Agers believe that you can heal virtually any ailment simply by taking off your shoes.

200 EPISODES AGO

200 agoFirestorm in Waco — The FBI did not deliberately murder the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas.

300 EPISODES AGO

300 agoYour Body's Alleged Energy Fields — There is no such thing as your body's energy field.

400 EPISODES AGO

400 agoDeconstructing the Rothschild Conspiracy — Some believe that world governments and economies are secretly controlled by the Rothschild banking family.

500 EPISODES AGO

500 agoAttack on Pearl Harbor — The American government did not have advance knowledge of the Pearl Harbor attack, and did not allow it to happen.

This email is a weekly companion to the Skeptoid Podcast.
To unsubscribe, simply click this link: Immediate unsubscribe

Or visit your Members Portal to manage your account and email settings

Skeptoid Media© Skeptoid Media, Inc.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity
740 NE 3rd St #3-220, Bend OR 97701

No comments:

Post a Comment