2018年地球日关注塑料垃圾污染
Earth Day 2018 Focuses on Plastics Pollution

Each year on April 22, many people stop to think about the health of the world environment, as as if it were a New Year's Day for nature, many make resolutions to treat the world around them more responsibly.

The day first celebrated in 1970 is approaching a half-century of existence with a movement that started in the United States and spread around the world. People celebrate the day with environmental action such as natural area cleanups, public demonstrations, tree plantings and, in 2016, the signing of the international Paris climate agreement, which aims to keep climate change in check.

The theme for 2018 is plastic pollution. Experts say a large mass of discarded plastic that has gathered in the Pacific Ocean, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, has grown to more than 600,000 square miles — more than 155 million hectares (600,000 square miles), or twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas.

The patch developed in less than 100 years, as plastics have been in common use only since the 1950s. It is one of several masses of refuse found in the world's oceans, brought together by weather patterns and water currents. Experts say many types of plastic that do not biodegrade can remain in the environment for up to 2,000 years.

This year's Earth Day focuses on getting rid of single-use plastics, promoting the using of alternative materials, recycling and developing more responsible behaviors concerning the use of plastics.

The environmental group behind Earth Day, the Earth Day Network, estimates that 1 billion people around the world recognize Earth Day in some way.

华盛顿 — 4月22号是世界地球日（Earth Day）。每年的这一天很多人会停下一切来思考地球的环境状况，就像是大自然的新年一样；人们会在这一天许下愿望以行动来更负责任地对待自然环境。

这场运动1970年开始于美国后来迅速扩展到全世界。人们以清洁大自然、集会、植树等环保行动来庆祝这一天。2016年签署的巴黎国际气候变化协议目的是要缓解气候变化带来的后果。

2018年的主题是塑料污染。专家认为人们所熟知的太平洋垃圾带（the Great Pacific Garbage Patch）堆积了大量塑料垃圾，面积已经扩展到60万平方英里，大约为美国德克萨斯州的两倍。

太平洋垃圾带出现的时间不到100年，而塑料的普遍使用是1950年代后开始的。专家说很多种不能生物降解的塑料在环境中可以生存两千年。

印尼巴厘岛海滩上的塑料垃圾