Plastics are considered one of the most serious pollutants causing environmental problems. The garbage containing plastics end up in the waterways that eventually flow into the oceans. Accumulation (聚集)of plastic in the ocean endangers marine life and pollutes the water. Does a plastic continent exist? Yes, a plastic continent does exist and was discovered by Captain Charles Moore a decade ago. The plastic continent is twice the size of Britain and it is the region between the Hawaii Islands and California in the central Pacific Ocean. One of the causes of the lack of marine life in this region is due to pollution and pollutants are none other than plastics. Captain Charles Moore believes plastic waste started accumulating in the 1950s. The plastic continent is the man-made continent of floating plastic waste. The fisher men and the sailors have avoided this region for years. The reasons are: 1. There are no fish here because of the lack of nutrients. 2. The zone also lacks the wind that is essential for sailing. To do research on the ocean pollution, Captain Moore founded Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Other organizations such as Greenpeace supported his cause. The reports of The United Nations Environment Program show that millions of seabirds and marine animals are dying due to the invasion(入侵)of plastics. The waste plastics can be recycled, but in fact they are being thrown into the oceans. The marine animals mistake these for food and eat them. This leads to their death that affects the marine food chain. To save the oceans from the plastic continent you need to reduce the use of plastics, reuse plastic bags and recycle plastics. 小题1: What can we learn from the first paragraph?
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