The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Newspaper article

In social studies, we have been learning about the great pacific garbage patch. We have been learning about the microscopic plastic left from the rubbish in the ocean which then goes into animals and kills them showing why it has been bad for the environment lately.

This term we had to write about the great pacific garbage patch and the causes and effects of this all in a newspaper type of look.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch
5th May 2021	By Lincoln Choub
How much rubbish is in the ocean? 5.8 trillion pieces The numbers are staggering, There are 5.8 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometre litter the deep sea. What is The Great Pacific Garbage Patch? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest of the five offshore plastic/trash build up zones which are in the world's oceans. The build-up of trash is humongous increasing over time, which is of course the 1.5 to 2.41 million amounts of trash entering the ocean. This is located halfway between Hawaii and California where you can find heaps upon heaps of trash. Due to seasonal stuff, winds and currents the great pacific garbage patch location and shape are constantly changing. Only floating objects are the ones affected by currents and less by winds were likely to remain within the patch. How we found this is because people from around the world have either seen plastic in the ocean or people have studied the movements of it, you can see this all over the internet and why it happens. Why does this happen: This to humans using plastic in their lives which then results in them dumping it, making it go into the ocean. Also, when rain, wind, and floods fall on the land, these materials can carry plastic into the oceans. These objects are very lightweight and can be easily carried by the wind to the coast. The agency also identified five Asian nations as the biggest sources of plastic waste in the seas. What are the effects of this: Much like the microplastics we banned last year, other plastic gets dumped into the ocean. This litter then becomes toxic to wildlife. These effects are really damaging the ocean's ecosystem aquatic animals, marine animals, and pollution would kill the ocean. Also, toxic chemicals in plastic pollution can cause long-term damage to the environment. It can take up to a thousand years for plastic to break down. What can we do to help? We can do this by using less plastic in our lives which the government has done and sho has Mcdonalds they use paper straws instead of plastic straws while the government has reduced the plastic bags. We could reduce, reuse and recycle all help to cut down on the amount of waste we throw away. They conserve natural resources, landfill space and energy. Plus, the three R's save land and money that communities must use to dispose of waste in landfills. Plankton: the passively floating or weakly swimming usually minute animal and plant life of a body of water. Plastic particles: they are broken bits of plastic that have affected the ocean. Plastic soup: Pollution in the water but with plastic. Accumulate: Means to gather and build up. Petroleum: Fossil fuels that have been found beneath the earth. Synthetic: Fibre that has been found in dead organisms. Ingested: Taking food into the body which then breaks down. Pacific Ocean: The Pacific Ocean is a very large sea to the west of North and South America, and to the east of Asia and Australia. North Pacific Gyre: The North Pacific Gyre is located in the northern Pacific Ocean, it is one of the five major oceanic gyres. This gyre covers most of the northern Pacific Ocean.   Pollutants: plastic, trash and rubbish that pollutes the ocean.  extra large