CNN News：塑料污染

This special edition of our show dives into an ocean of plastic, masses of waste accumulating on and around some remote islands in the Pacific

本期特別節(jié)目關(guān)注塑料海洋，太平洋一些偏遠(yuǎn)島嶼及周圍堆積了大量廢棄物。

Synthetic plastic, the kind made by people, has been around since 1907, and scientists estimate that almost every piece of it made since then still exists. Why? It doesn't break down quickly in the environment.And researchers say that tons of plastic trash around the world find a way to leak into the ocean every year. It might be picked up on the coast and swept out to sea. It might find its way from streets to storm drains, carried by rivers to the ocean. And you're about to see its impact.

人類在1907年發(fā)明了合成塑料，科學(xué)家預(yù)計(jì)幾乎從那時(shí)起生產(chǎn)出的每塊合成塑料現(xiàn)在依然存在。為什么?因?yàn)槠錄]有在環(huán)境中迅速分解。研究人員表示，每年全世界有大量塑料垃圾會通過某種方式泄漏進(jìn)海洋。這些垃圾可能被扔在海岸上，然后被卷進(jìn)大海。也可能是以某種方式從街上進(jìn)入排水管道，然后被河流帶進(jìn)海洋。大家將看到這種情況的影響。

Before we get into the problem, though, what can be done about this? It's unlikely and probably unaffordable to take plastics out of the environment altogether. But on a personal scale, people can reduce the amount of plastics they use. Think water filter bottles or jugs instead of throwaway water bottles.Think reusable fabric shopping bags instead of plastic ones. Think reusable steel drink bottles instead of single use plastic cups.

在我們陷入困境之前，有什么解決方法?把所有塑料從環(huán)境中清除出去不太可能實(shí)現(xiàn)，而且我們也負(fù)擔(dān)不起。不過從個(gè)人層面來說，人們可以減少塑料使用量?？紤]用凈水瓶或水壺來代替一次性水瓶。用可重復(fù)使用的布料購物袋來代替塑料袋。用可重復(fù)使用的鋼制水瓶來代替一次性塑料杯。

And when it comes to the plastic you do use and need to throw away, think recycling every time. This will help keep the materials from slipping into the environment.

至于你要使用而且要扔掉的塑料制品，考慮一下回收利用。這將有助于避免塑料進(jìn)入環(huán)境中。

One image that's hard to forget about how plastic can impact the environment is what you can see in the stomach of a dead bird on a Pacific island.

就塑料會如何影響環(huán)境來說，一個(gè)很難讓人忘掉的情景是，你在太平洋島嶼上一只死鳥的胃里所看到的東西。

Every time you throw away a piece of plastic, it can be felt here, in paradise.This is Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean, one of the most remote places on the planet but one of the hardest hit by pollution.

你每扔掉一塊塑料，這座天堂之地都會受到傷害。

這里是位于太平洋的中途島，是地球上最偏遠(yuǎn)的地方之一，同時(shí)也是污染最嚴(yán)重的地方之一。

But it's too late for parts of it.

但是現(xiàn)在為時(shí)已晚。

Your coffee cup, water bottle, toothbrush, they may all float miles to end up on the shores, inside these birds, the blubber of these seals, and the sand, and invisibly in the waves these dolphins call home.

你扔掉的咖啡杯、水瓶、牙刷在漂流數(shù)英里后，最后會來到這片海岸，進(jìn)入這些鳥類的體內(nèi)、海豹的脂肪和沙子里，還會隱藏在海豚稱為家的海浪中。

And eventually, these plastics may well end up inside you.

而最終，這些塑料可能也進(jìn)入你的體內(nèi)。