Plastic, Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Nonfiction - Grades 4-8)
Patricia Newman, Annie Crawley
Language: English
Pages: 48
ISBN: 1467712833
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Green Earth Book Award winner
AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books finalist
Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
Plastic: it's used to make everything from drink bottles and bags to toys and toothbrushes. But what happens when it ends up where it doesn't belong like in the Pacific Ocean? How does it affect ocean life? Is it dangerous? And exactly how much is out there? A team of researchers went on a scientific expedition to find out. They explored the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where millions of pieces of plastic have collected. The plastic has drifted there from rivers, beaches, and ocean traffic all over the world. Most of it has broken down into tiny pieces the size of confetti.
For nearly three weeks at sea, researchers gathered bits of plastic and ocean organisms. These samples helped them learn more about the effects of plastic in the ocean. Follow along on the expedition to find out how scientists studied the Garbage Patch and what alarming discoveries they made.
nonfiction books. In her spare time, she travels, reads, river rafts, and bakes yummy desserts. Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com. A NNIE C RAWLEY graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Illinois. After learning to scuba dive and sail, she dedicated her life to changing the way the next generation views the ocean. She founded Dive Into Your Imagination, a multimedia company producing books, enhanced eBooks, educator guides, films, inspirational posters, cartoon characters,
nonfiction books. In her spare time, she travels, reads, river rafts, and bakes yummy desserts. Visit her at www.patriciamnewman.com. A NNIE C RAWLEY graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Illinois. After learning to scuba dive and sail, she dedicated her life to changing the way the next generation views the ocean. She founded Dive Into Your Imagination, a multimedia company producing books, enhanced eBooks, educator guides, films, inspirational posters, cartoon characters,
left: Mussels, crabs, and sea anemones live on a piece of discarded rope. Bottom right: This sample shows Halobates, insects that can live on the surface of the ocean, and tiny plastic pieces. Miriam wondered how the floating ocean plastic might affect these insects. 21 the amount of plastic in the water affected one rafter, an ocean insect called Halobates. Her hypothesis predicted that more plastic would allow Halobates to lay more eggs. She found that the amount of plastic in a given area
disappeared in three months, thanks to bacteria eating the plastic. No one knows if we would see the same results in the ocean. If plastic in the gyre could disappear in months instead of years, Chelsea wonders at what cost to the ocean bacteria. Would they absorb the poisonous plastic chemicals like fish? Irish scientists are taking the teen’s research one step further. They cooked plastic water bottles and fed them to plastic-munching microbes. The microbes digest the plastic and turn it into a
ocean, lake, or river. Create a plastic-free day (or week) at school—no disposable plastic bottles, utensils, or bags allowed! Carry the plastic you use around for a week to raise awareness of how much you use during that time. 42 “Perhaps,” Miriam said, “missions like SEAPLEX will become obsolete, and ocean science will be done for the sheer joy of discovery instead of the necessity of understanding what our species has wrought.” 43 sOurce nOTes 25 Ibid. 10 Chelsea Rochman, “SEAPLEX Day