Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution

翻译人员: Angelia King 校对人员: Ying Zhang

I'm a visual artist,

我是个视觉艺术家，

and I'm also one of the co-founders of the Plastic Pollution Coalition.

也是塑料污染联盟的创始人之一。

I've been working with plastic bags,

过去20年，我一直参与塑料包的工作，

which I cut up and sew back together as my primary material for my artwork

我艺术创作的原材料是裁制和缝合塑料

for the last 20 years.

。

I turn them into two and three-dimensional pieces

让塑料变为平面和立体型艺术，

and sculptures and installations.

雕塑和艺术装置。

Upon working with the plastic, after about the first eight years,

在与塑料打交道的八年之后，

some of my work started to fissure

我的一些作品开始开裂

and break down into smaller little bits of plastic.

碎成许多小塑料块。

And I thought, "Great.

我想，“好极了。

It's ephemeral just like us."

塑料就像我们人类一样短命。”

Upon educating myself a little further about plastics,

我自学进一步深入了解塑料，

I actually realized this was a bad thing.

我的确了解到塑料是个坏材料。

It's a bad thing that plastic breaks down into smaller little bits,

塑料碎成许多小块，

because it's always still plastic.

但它还是塑料，这很糟糕。

And what we're finding

我们发现有很多塑料

is that a lot of it is in the marine environment.

漂浮于大海。

I then, in the last few years,

然而在过去的几年，

learned about the Pacific garbage patch and the gyre.

我知道太平洋垃圾环流和垃圾漩涡。

And my initial reaction --

我第一反应--

and I think this is a lot of people's first reaction

我想这也是多数人的第一反应，

to learning about it --

知道这之后--

is, "Oh my God!

“喔，我的上帝！

We've got to go out there and clean this thing up."

我们要去那里并清理这些塑料。”

So I actually developed a proposal

所以我提议

to go out with a cargo ship

一只货船，

and two decommissioned fishing trawlers,

两只退役拖网渔船，

a crane, a chipping machine

一台起重机，一台削片机

and a cold-molding machine.

和一台冷压机出海。

And my intention was to go out to the gyre,

我计划是航行到垃圾环流带，

raise awareness about this issue

提高对于此污染的高度重视，

and begin to pick up the plastic,

开始回收塑料，

chip it into little bits and cold mold it into bricks

切割它变成小片，然后冷压变成塑料块，

that could potentially be used as building materials

它可能被用来作为欠发达社区的

in underdeveloped communities.

建筑材料。

I began talking with people

我同那些曾去过

who actually had been out to the gyre

垃圾环流带的人们谈过，

and were studying the plastic problem in the marine environment

他们也曾研究过塑料污染对海洋环境的污染，

and upon doing so,

交谈之后，

I realized actually that cleaning it up

我开始意识到海上清理塑料

would be a very small drop in the bucket

相比起

relative to how much is being generated

全球每天产生塑料的生产量

every day around the world,

就如大海捞针一样，

and that actually I needed to back up and look at the bigger picture.

我必须回过头想想，要展望更大的蓝图。

And the bigger picture is:

真正的解决办法就是：

we need to find a way to turn off the faucet.

我们需要在源头找到解决方法。

We need to cut the spigot

我们需要切断

of single-use and disposable plastics,

一次性使用塑料和一次性塑料的源头，

which are entering the marine environment every day

使得它们在全球范围内每天不会再进入大海

on a global scale.

。

So in looking at that, I also realized that I was really angry.

看看这个，我也知道我非常生气。

I wasn't just concerned about plastic

我并不只关心

that you're trying to imagine out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean --

你也可能想象到的在太平洋中部

of which I have learned there are now

我们现在所知的，

11 gyres, potentially, of plastic

权威数据是，11个垃圾塑料环流带，

in five major oceans in the world.

遍及世界五大海洋。

It's not just that gyre of plastic that I'm concerned about --

我不仅仅是关心塑料环流带，

it's the gyre of plastic in the supermarket.

也包括超市的塑料包围圈。

I'd go to the supermarket and all of my food is packaged in plastic.

我要去超市，所有事物都是塑料包装。

All of my beverages are packaged in plastic,

所有饮料都是塑料包装，

even at the health food market.

甚至健康的有机市场。

I'm also concerned about the plastic in the refrigerator,

我也关注在冰箱的塑料，

and I'm concerned about the plastic and the toxins that leach from plastic

还有塑料以及滤取塑料的毒素

into us and into our bodies.

被我们吃下和吸收到我们身体里。

So I came together with a group of other people

我和其他的一群人们

who were all looking at this issue,

都关注这个塑料污染问题，

and we created the Plastic Pollution Coalition.

组建了塑料污染联盟。

We have many initiatives that we're working on,

我们为解决这问题开始许多活动，

but some of them are very basic.

它们中的一些是非常简单的。

One is: if 80 to 90 percent

其中一个是：在大海，

of what we're finding in the ocean --

我们发现百分80到百分90

of the marine debris that we're finding in the ocean -- is plastic,

海洋废弃物是塑料，

then why don't we call it what it is.

然后我们为什么不称其为：

It's plastic pollution.

塑料污染。

Recycling -- everybody kind of ends their books

再循环。关于可持续和再循环的环保想法的书籍都是

about being sustainable and greening with the idea of recycling.

类似的观点。

You put something in a bin and you don't have to think about it again.

大家扔东西到垃圾桶里，但是从来没有再想过此事。

What is the reality of that?

现实是什么呢？

In the United States, less than seven percent of our plastics are recycled.

在美国，塑料垃圾回收率少于百分之七。

And if you really look into it,

大家想实际看看，

particularly when it comes to plastic bottles,

特别当塑料变成塑料瓶，

most of it is only down-cycled,

绝大多数塑料瓶仅被降级回收，

or incinerated, or shipped to China.

或者焚烧，或运到中国。

It is down-cycled and turned into lesser things,

当一个塑料瓶

while a glass bottle can be a glass bottle again

可以被重制成一个塑料瓶，

or can be used again --

或者重被使用时，

a plastic bottle can never be a plastic bottle again.

正是被降级回收，使得塑料瓶被制成小塑料体，使得一个塑料瓶不再被制成塑料瓶回收利用。

So this is a big issue for us.

对我们而言，这是个重大问题。

Another thing that we're looking at and asking people to think about

我们关注，并让人们思考的另一件事

is we've added a fourth R

是我们

onto the front

在原本3个R原则前，

of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," three R's,

Reduce（减量）、Reuse（复用）、Recycle（再生），

and that is refuse.

加了第四个R原则，它就是拒绝使用（Refuse）。

Whenever possible, refuse single-use and disposable plastics.

无论何时，拒绝使用一次性使用塑料和即丢塑料。

Alternatives exist;

有替代品的使用。

some of them are very old-school.

其中一些是非常老套。

I myself am now collecting these cool Pyrex containers

我自己现在收集这些很酷的耐热玻璃容器，

and using those instead of Glad and Tupperware containers

使用这些而替换高兴派和特百惠派塑料容器

to store food in.

来储存食物。

And I know that I am doing a service

我知道我这样做

to myself and my family.

有利于我自己和我的家庭。

It's very easy to pick up a stainless-steel bottle

我们选择使用不锈钢瓶

or a glass bottle,

和玻璃瓶是很容易的，

if you're traveling and you've forgotten to bring your stainless-steel bottle

你如果要出门，记得带不锈钢瓶，

and fill that up with water or filtered water,

让它灌满水，或者滤过水，

versus purchasing plastic bottled water.

而不要购买塑料瓶装水。

I guess what I want to say to everybody here --

我猜我想要告诉大家的是

and I know that you guys know a lot about this issue --

我知道你们大家关于此塑料污染知道得很多

is that this is a huge problem in the oceans,

漂在大海上的塑料是个严重的问题，

but this is a problem that we've created as consumers

但这是我们做为消费者自身产生的问题，

and we can solve.

我们也能自身解决这问题。

We can solve this by raising awareness of the issue

我们通过提高这问题的意识，

and teaching people to choose alternatives.

教导人们选择可替换性产品，能够解决这问题。

So whenever possible, to choose alternatives

所以无论何时，请选择使用可替换性产品，

to single-use plastics.

拒绝使用一次性使用塑料和即丢塑料。

We can cut the stem -- tide the stem of this

我们可以切断源头，阻止这塑料污染

into our oceans

到我们的海洋里，

and in doing so,

通过如上4R行动，

save our oceans, save our planet, save ourselves.

拯救我们的海洋，拯救我们的家园，拯救我们自己。

Thank you. (Applause)

谢谢。