"In 1907, a chemist named Leo Baekeland invented the first synthetic plastic. In the little more than 100 years since, plastic has benefited humanity even while we polluted Earth with it. During the 1950s, plastic production rapidly increased and since then, people have created billions of tons of plastic. Millions of tons of plastic enter the world's fragile oceans and ecosystems every year. This informative book examines the globally significant plastic pollution problem, how it got so bad, and the steps that governments, activists, and young people are taking to demand change"--.