The nurdles' quest for ocean domination - Kim Preshoff

塑膠粒的海洋稱霸 - 金‧布列索夫

譯者: Aaron Shoo 審譯者: Adrienne Lin

Meet the nurdles.

隆重介紹「塑膠粒」

They may be tiny, look harmless, and sound like a bunch of cartoon characters,

它們渺小、看來無害、 名字像卡通人物

but don't be fooled.

但別被騙了

These little guys are plotting ocean domination.

這些小傢伙正密謀征服海洋

Nurdles are some of the planet's most pervasive pollutants,

塑膠粒是地球上最常見的汙染物

found in lakes, rivers, and oceans across the globe.

全球的湖泊、河川、海洋 都有它們的蹤跡

The tiny factory-made pellets form the raw material

這些工廠製造出的小顆粒 是日常塑膠用品的原料

for every plastic product we use.

And each year, billions of pounds of nurdles

每年有數十億磅的塑膠粒 被製造、熔解、再被製成

are produced, melted, and molded

into toys, bottles, buttons, bags, pens, shoes, toothbrushes, and beads.

玩具、寶特瓶、鈕扣、袋子、 筆、鞋子、牙刷、柔珠顆粒

They are everywhere.

它們‧無所‧不在

And they come in many guises, multi-colored and many-shaped,

它們有很多造型 不同的顏色、形狀

they range in size from just a few millimeters to mere specks

大至幾毫米

小至要靠顯微鏡才能看見

that are only visible through a microscope.

但它們稱霸海洋的優勢

But their real advantage in the quest for ocean domination

is their incredible endurance, which allows them to persist

是它們很「耐久」

可以世世代代「存活」下來

in an environment for generations because their artificial makeup

人為加工的過程

makes them unable to biodegrade.

讓它們不會被自然分解

So, just as long as they don't get into the environment,

所以只要我們不亂丟

we have nothing to worry about, right?

應該就沒什麼好擔心的吧？

The problem is nurdles have a crafty way of doing exactly this.

問題是它很會鑽小漏洞

Produced in several countries and shipped to plastic manufacturing plants

在不同的國家生產

又運往世界各地的工廠加工

the world over, nurdles often escape

塑膠粒在製造時 可能順著排放水入海、

during the production process, carried by runoff to the coast

or during shipping when they're mistakenly tipped into the waves.

或是在運送過程中掉進海裡

Once in the water, nurdles are swiftly carried by currents,

一旦進入海洋

塑膠粒會迅速被洋流帶走

ultimately winding up in huge circulating ocean systems

最後變成海洋循環的一部份

就是所謂的「環流」

called gyres, where they convene to plan their tactics.

邪惡計畫就此展開

The Earth has five gyres that act as gathering points,

地球有五大環流讓它們聚集

but the headquarters of nurdle ocean domination

但它們的海洋侵略總部在太平洋

are in the Pacific Ocean, where the comparative enormity of the gyre

這裡夠寬敞又匯聚各種汙染物

and the resulting concentration of pollution

是江湖人稱的「北太平洋垃圾帶」

is so huge that it's known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Here, nurdles have good company.

塑膠粒在這團結起來

This gyre draws in all kinds of pollution,

環流還會帶來其他汙染物

but because they don't biodegrade, plastics dominate,

以無法自然分解的塑膠類為主

and they come from other sources besides nurdles, too.

不只是我們一直在說的塑膠粒

You know those tiny beads you see in your face wash or your toothpaste?

牙膏或洗面乳裡的柔珠顆粒

They're often made of plastic, and after you flush them down the drain,

通常也是塑膠做的

當它們被沖入下水道

some also end up in this giant garbage patch,

有些也會跑到這裡

much to the delight of the nurdles, building up their plastic army there.

塑膠粒會開心地成立「塑膠大軍」

And then there are the large pieces of unrecycled plastic litter,

也有沒被回收的大型塑膠垃圾

like bottles and carrier bags, transported by runoff from land to sea.

寶特瓶或塑膠袋

順著河水從陸地流入海洋

Over time, these plastic chunks turn into a kind of nurdle, too,

這些垃圾最後也變成塑膠粒大小

but one that's been worn down by the elements, not made in a factory.

只是一個是工廠製造 一個是被磨損變小

And as if they weren't threatening enough,

更可怕的是

the rough, pitted surfaces of these microplastics,

這些我們稱做「微型塑料」 的細小塑膠顆粒

the name we give to all those collective plastic bits,

會被水溶性化學物質 吸附在粗糙的表面

water-born chemicals stick, or adhere, to them,

making them toxic.

變成有毒物質

This gathering has grown so immense that the oceanic garbage patch can shift

像這樣在海上聚集的垃圾

面積可以從德州的大小

from around the size of Texas to something the size of the United States.

到一個美國這麼大

But while this toxic tornado is circulating,

當這些有毒物質隨著洋流循環

the birds, fish, filter feeders, whales, and crustaceans around it

海鳥、魚、濾食性動物、 鯨魚和甲殼類

are just going about their daily business, which means they're looking for food.

一樣會在附近活動、尋找食物

Unfortunately for them, tiny bits of floating plastic

不幸的是

有毒碎屑看起來就像魚卵

look a lot like fish eggs and other enticing bits of food.

或是其他可口美食

But once ingested, microplastics have

一旦吃下肚

微型塑料不像食物會分解

a very different and terrible habit of sticking around.

它們會留在體內

就待在動物的肚子裡

Inside an animal's stomach, they not only damage its health

不只用各種毒素傷害攝食者健康

with a cocktail of toxins they carry but can also lead to starvation

還可能害攝食者餓死

because although nurdles may be ingested, they're never digested,

它們雖然可以被「吃下肚」

但不會被「消化」

tricking an animal into feeling like it's continually full

讓動物以為自己還很撐

and leading to its eventual death.

結果最後被餓死

When one organism consumes another, microplastics and their toxins

當海洋生物進食

微型塑料和毒素 就會順著食物鏈向上傳遞

are then passed up through the food chain.

這就是塑膠粒

And that's how, bit by bit, nurdles accomplish their goal,

一步一步佔領海洋的計畫

growing ever more pervasive as they wipe out marine life

在海中流竄害死海洋生物後

and reshape the ocean's ecosystems.

破壞整個生態系統

So, how to break this cycle?

所以要怎麼阻止它們呢？

The best solution would be to take plastics out of the equation altogether.

最好的方法就是讓塑膠製品消失

That'll take a lot of time but requires only small collective changes,

這要花蠻長的時間

但只要我們一起改變

like more recycling, replacing plastics with paper and glass,

像是資源回收 或用紙類、玻璃取代塑膠

and ditching that toothpaste with the microbeads.

把牙膏裡的柔珠拿掉

If we accomplish these things, perhaps over time

如果我們能確實做好

也許出現在環流垃圾帶的塑膠粒 會越來越少

fewer and fewer nurdles will turn up at that giant garbage patch,

their army of plastics will grow weaker,

塑膠大軍的戰力下降

and they'll surrender the ocean to its true keepers once more.

然後把海洋還給真正的主人