國家地理:沒有垃圾的世界可能存在嗎(5)

I didn't remember much about that German philosopher.

我對那位德國哲學家印象模糊。

"Leibniz said, 'If it is possible, therefore it exists.'

“萊布尼茨說，'有可能的必將存在。'

And I'm saying, 'If we can make it exist, it's therefore possible.'"

而我要說：'只要我們能實現(xiàn)，就說明它是可能的。'”

Was that tautological? Was it wise? Did Leibniz really say that?

這不是同義反復嗎？這理智嗎？萊布尼茨真那么說過？

It was intriguing, in any case.

無論如何，它總歸是個神奇構(gòu)想。

Not long after that, I took my busted old roller bag to be repaired (very circular, compared with buying a new one),

在那之后不久，我把破舊的行李箱拿去修好（這跟買個新包相比十分講循環(huán)經(jīng)濟），

packed the certified cradle-to-cradle jeans that McDonough had given me,

裝入麥克多諾送我的那條經(jīng)“從搖籃到搖籃”品質(zhì)認證的牛仔褲，

and headed out to see what evidence of possible existence I could find for the circular economy.

出發(fā)尋找循環(huán)經(jīng)濟的現(xiàn)世真身。

Metals

金屬

The first small breaks in our natural circularity actually predate the 18th-century industrial revolution.

人類經(jīng)濟天然循環(huán)狀態(tài)的首批小裂痕其實發(fā)生于18世紀的工業(yè)革命之前。

The Romans, besides tossing broken amphorae around in an uninhibited way, pioneered a fraught invention: sewers.

古羅馬人除了將陶罐隨手亂丟之外，還首創(chuàng)了一種危險的發(fā)明：下水道。

That is, they channeled human waste into rivers, instead of returning it to fields where,

也就是說，他們將人類排泄物通過管道輸入河流，而不是回施田地，

as any circularity maven will tell you, those nutrients belong.

循環(huán)專家認為本該回收養(yǎng)分的地方。

As a young boy in Tokyo in the 1950s (his parents were in the occupying American Army),

麥克多諾回憶起20世紀50年代的孩童時期（他的父母在駐日美軍中任職），

McDonough recalls waking at night to the sound of farmers collecting the family's night soil.

夜半醒來時聽到各家農(nóng)戶收集夜肥的聲音。

His mother would soothe him with lullabies about poop, sometimes in Japanese with an Alabama accent.

他的母親會唱起有關(guān)糞便的童謠催他入夢，時而用帶著阿拉巴馬口音的日語。

It made a permanent impression.

這為他留下了永久的印象。