Greenpeace: Plastic, Chemical Pollution Widespread in Antarctica
綠色和平組織稱塑料和化學(xué)污染蔓延到南極
The non-governmental environmental group Greenpeace reports that plastic and chemical pollution is often found in snow and seawater collected by researchers in Antarctica.
非政府環(huán)保組織綠色和平組織報(bào)告稱,南極研究人員在收集的雪和海水中經(jīng)常會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)塑料和化學(xué)污染。
Greenpeace said its scientists gathered water and snow samples from Antarctica during a visit between January to March of this year. Laboratory tests confirmed the effect of humanity on the continent.
綠色和平組織表示,該組織的科學(xué)家今年1月到3月期間在南極采集了水樣和雪樣。實(shí)驗(yàn)室檢測證實(shí)了人類對(duì)南極大陸的影響。
"It was about one microplastic piece at least per liter. When you think of extrapolating that out to the scale or the Antarctic Ocean, it's really, really significant," said Greenpeace's Louisa Casson.
綠色和平組織的路易莎·卡森(Louisa Casson)表示,“每升樣本中至少有一片微塑料。當(dāng)我們將此問題擴(kuò)大到整個(gè)南極海洋時(shí),問題就非常顯著了。”
She noted that, in the past, scientists thought the currents around the Antarctic Ocean might protect it from plastic pollution found in much of the world's oceans. But now, she said, evidence is increasingly showing that there might be little, if any, protection.
她指出,過去科學(xué)家們認(rèn)為南極海洋周邊的洋流可以保護(hù)它遠(yuǎn)離世界上大部分海洋發(fā)現(xiàn)的塑料污染。但是現(xiàn)在她表示,越來越多證據(jù)表明南極海洋也可能難逃其害。
Microplastics are extremely small particles of plastic. They come from the breakdown of bottles and other plastic waste in the world's oceans.
微塑料是指極其微小的塑料顆粒。它們來自于全球海洋中的瓶子和其它塑料廢棄物的分解。
In addition to microplastics, the Greenpeace study also confirmed the presence of chemicals known as per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances. These chemicals are widely used in industrial processes, and have been linked to reproductive and developmental problems for wildlife.
除了微塑料,綠色和平組織的研究還證實(shí)了被稱為全氟化和多氟化烷基化學(xué)物質(zhì)的這些化學(xué)品的存在。這些化學(xué)品被廣泛用于工業(yè)生產(chǎn)過程,并與野生動(dòng)物的繁殖和發(fā)育問題有關(guān)。
"This just strengthens the rationale for why we need to be taking action on land to stop that flow of plastic into the ocean, but also creating huge ocean sanctuaries at sea to allow wildlife to recover from these pressures," Casson said.
卡森表示:“這正好強(qiáng)化了我們?yōu)槭裁葱枰陉懙厣喜扇⌒袆?dòng)阻止塑料流入海洋,以及在海上建造巨大的海洋避難所,讓野生動(dòng)物能夠從這些壓力中恢復(fù)過來的的根本原因。”
The United Nations estimates that 8 million tons of plastic are dropped into the oceans every year. Plastic has been shown to harm wildlife.
聯(lián)合國估計(jì)每年有800萬噸塑料流入海洋。塑料已被證實(shí)會(huì)危害野生動(dòng)物。
An example of this happened several days ago in southern Thailand. That was when a pilot whale died after swallowing 80 pieces of plastic waste. Tests showed the waste weighed about eight kilograms.
幾天前泰國南部就發(fā)生了這樣一個(gè)例子,一頭鯨魚吞食了80塊塑料垃圾后死亡。相關(guān)檢測證實(shí)這些塑料垃圾大約有8公斤重。
International concern about plastic pollution is rising. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently promised to ban all single-use plastic by 2022. In the city of Mumbai, Bollywood movie stars have been taking part in waste clean-up activities at Versova beach.
國際上對(duì)塑料污染的關(guān)注正在上升。印度總理莫迪最近承諾在2020年前禁止使用一次性塑料。在孟買市,寶萊塢電影明星一直有參加Versova海灘的垃圾清理活動(dòng)。
Actress Abigail Pande told reporters she was surprised at the amount of waste she found.
女演員阿比蓋爾·潘德(Abigail Pande )告訴記者,她對(duì)自己找到的垃圾數(shù)量感到驚訝。
"I am having fun (cleaning this place). But it is also very sad because once I came here, I got to know that the amount of waste is so high that if you dig the ground four feet, you will still find plastic inside. And it will take years to properly clean the beach," Pande said.
潘德表示:“我很開心打掃這些地方,但是也很傷心,因?yàn)槲乙粊磉@里,我就發(fā)現(xiàn)垃圾量非常大。挖個(gè)四英尺的洞,里面都還會(huì)有垃圾。要妥善清理這片海灘需要好幾年時(shí)間。”
Plastic has now been found in every corner of the world's oceans, from the bottom of the Pacific Mariana Trench to Antarctica.
現(xiàn)在世界海洋的每個(gè)角落,從太平洋的馬里亞納海溝底部到南極洲,到處都能發(fā)現(xiàn)塑料。
In October, world governments will decide on a European Union proposal to create an Antarctic Ocean sanctuary. At 1.8 million square kilometers, the sanctuary would be the largest protected area on Earth.
今年10月,世界各國政府將會(huì)對(duì)歐洲提出的建立一個(gè)南極海洋保護(hù)區(qū)的提議進(jìn)行表決。這個(gè)保護(hù)區(qū)將會(huì)以180萬平方公里的保護(hù)范圍,成為全球最大的保護(hù)區(qū)。
I'm Phil Dierking.
菲爾·德爾金報(bào)道。
The non-governmental environmental group Greenpeace reports that plastic and chemical pollution is often found in snow and seawater collected by researchers in Antarctica.
Greenpeace said its scientists gathered water and snow samples from Antarctica during a visit between January to March of this year. Laboratory tests confirmed the effect of humanity on the continent.
“It was about one microplastic piece at least per liter. When you think of extrapolating that out to the scale or the Antarctic Ocean, it’s really, really significant,” said Greenpeace’s Louisa Casson.
She noted that, in the past, scientists thought the currents around the Antarctic Ocean might protect it from plastic pollution found in much of the world’s oceans. But now, she said, evidence is increasingly showing that there might be little, if any, protection.
Microplastics are extremely small particles of plastic. They come from the breakdown of bottles and other plastic waste in the world’s oceans.
In addition to microplastics, the Greenpeace study also confirmed the presence of chemicals known as per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances. These chemicals are widely used in industrial processes, and have been linked to reproductive and developmental problems for wildlife.
“This just strengthens the rationale for why we need to be taking action on land to stop that flow of plastic into the ocean, but also creating huge ocean sanctuaries at sea to allow wildlife to recover from these pressures,” Casson said.
The United Nations estimates that 8 million tons of plastic are dropped into the oceans every year. Plastic has been shown to harm wildlife.
An example of this happened several days ago in southern Thailand. That was when a pilot whale died after swallowing 80 pieces of plastic waste. Tests showed the waste weighed about eight kilograms.
International concern about plastic pollution is rising. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently promised to ban all single-use plastic by 2022. In the city of Mumbai, Bollywood movie stars have been taking part in waste clean-up activities at Versova beach.
Actress Abigail Pande told reporters she was surprised at the amount of waste she found.
“I am having fun (cleaning this place). But it is also very sad because once I came here, I got to know that the amount of waste is so high that if you dig the ground four feet, you will still find plastic inside. And it will take years to properly clean the beach,” Pande said.
Plastic has now been found in every corner of the world’s oceans, from the bottom of the Pacific Mariana Trench to Antarctica.
In October, world governments will decide on a European Union proposal to create an Antarctic Ocean sanctuary. At 1.8 million square kilometers, the sanctuary would be the largest protected area on Earth.
I’m Phil Dierking.
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Words in This Story
extrapolate - v. to form an opinion or to make an estimate about something from known facts?
rationale - n. the reason or explanation for something?
sample - n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from?
sanctuary - n. a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter?
significant - adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect?
proper - adj. correct according to social or moral rules?
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