Trash Vortex: How Plastic Pollution Is Choking the World's Oceans

by Danielle Smith-Llera

Overview

Millions of tons of plastic slip into oceans every year. Some floats and travels slowly with the currents, endangering the health of marine animals. The rest is hardly visible but is far more dangerous. Tiny bits of plastic sprinkle the ocean's surface or mix into the sandy seafloor and beaches. It ends up inside birds, fish, and other animals, harming them-and ultimately humans. Experts struggle with fear and hope as they work to stop the flood of plastic threatening living organisms across the globe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780756557492
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	01/01/2018
Series:	Captured Science History Series
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	28,418
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Danielle Smith-Llera grew up in coastal Virginia, hearing unforgettable tales about her Mexican and Irish ancestors. She first moved overseas to teach in international schools in Hungary and Brazil. Life in the U.S. Foreign Service has taken her around the world to live in India, Jamaica, Romania, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Washington, DC. She loves sharing stories—fiction, nonfiction, and a mixture of both—in classrooms, museum exhibits, and, of course, books.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 A Surprise at Sea 4

Chapter 2 Shaping a Modern Life 14

Chapter 3 Risky Ocean Journeys 26

Chapter 4 New Cycles 44

Timeline 56

Glossary 60

Additional Resources 61

Source Notes 62

Select Bibliography 63

Index 64

Interviews

Primary sources; quotes; outstanding photographs and images; engaging, narrative nonfiction; maps; extensive research; expert consultation

Editorial Reviews

...traces the events that has made the dangers of plastic pollution in our ocean a call to action. . . .Smith-Llera provides a history of plastics and how our dependency on this synthetic material has grown since the 1930’s when it was used for home insulation, threads for nylon stockings and toothbrush bristles. Throughout the narrative the disastrous environmental impact throughout the world is well explained and the reasons behind laws that were past to regulate water pollution, including the Clean Water Act of 1972.

The Nonfiction Detectives