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We generally think of islands as being fixed in size, but some islands are actually

growing. On the island of Hawaii, theKilauea volcanohas been

continuouslyeruptingsince 1983. Lava has been pouring out of this volcano

continuously for the past 30 years. Some of this lava reaches the ocean, which has

caused the island to grow fresh land. Between 1983 and 2002, the islands landmass

grew by 542 acres.

While Hawaii is a natural example of the earths growing landmass, there are alsogrowing islands of trash in five different places in the worlds oceans that are

completely man made. The biggest island of trash is called theGreat Pacific Garbage

Patch,which is in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Hawaii. Some estimates say it

is twice the size of theContinental United States.Its actual size is hard to say,

because it is not really an island of solid trash, but is better described as a trash soup.

In some areas this soup is thick and up to 10 meters deep, and in other areas it thins to

very small pieces of plastic that are not visible from the surface. It is estimated to weigh

100 million tonsand is continuing to grow daily.The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is held together by wind and water currents, but that

doesnt mean it is contained. It kills many different types of sea life including turtles,

penguins, and birds that mistake the plastic trash as food. In the Midway Islands, the

bodies of birds that have died from eating the plastic have beenphotographed,which

has encouragedsome people to decrease their use of plastics.

Zooplanktonare a variety of tiny organisms in the ocean that are a necessary food

source for many of the oceans creatures. They are rapidly being outnumbered by

plastic, however. In 1900, there were zero poundsof plastic per pound of zooplankton

in the ocean. In 2000, there were six pounds of plastic per pound of zooplankton in theocean. And today, there are 60 pounds of plastic per pound of zooplankton. This isnt

just a problem for sea life, but also for us. So if you eat seafood, you are probably

being exposedto all this plastic. In 2011, researchers found plastic in 9% of fish

caught in the Pacific Ocean.

The truth is that we are using plastic at an increasing rate. In the U.S., 2 million plastic

bottles are thrown away every 5 minutes. And about 1 million plastic bags are used

every minute worldwide. Theyre thrown inlandfillsand in the oceans of the world,

where they stay. All of this plastic is designed to last forever, or at the very least,hundreds to thousands of years.

When we are faced with such immensepollution problems like this, its easy tobury

our heads in the sand. But there is a solution and it starts with each one of us. Watch

the video below as you ponderwhether you can give up plastic and instead make

reusable bags and bottles a part of your life.

http://www.livescience.com/27622-kilauea.htmlhttp://www.livescience.com/27622-kilauea.htmlhttp://www.livescience.com/27622-kilauea.htmlhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patchhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patchhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patchhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patchhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_United_Stateshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_United_Stateshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Laysan_albatross_chick_remains.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Laysan_albatross_chick_remains.jpghttp://marinebio.org/oceans/zooplankton.asphttp://marinebio.org/oceans/zooplankton.asphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfillhttp://marinebio.org/oceans/zooplankton.asphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Laysan_albatross_chick_remains.jpghttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_United_Stateshttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patchhttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patchhttp://www.livescience.com/27622-kilauea.html

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Vocabulary

eruptto explode or to come forth suddenly or violently

tona unit of weight equaling 2,000 pounds

encourageinspire with confidence or spirit or courage

pounda unit of weight equal to 12 ounces or 373 grams.

exposedwithout protection; susceptible toimmenselarge, huge, great

bury your head in the sandthis is a popular idiom meaning to ignore obvious

danger or signs of warning. It comes from the behavior of the ostrich, which often

buries its head in the sand in order to deal with threat.

ponderto think deeply about