Your Empty Wine Bottle Could Help Rebuild Coastlines | Franziska Trautmann | TED

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Ruan Xiu Ze 阮修泽

As a kid growing up on a Louisiana bayou,

我是在路易斯安那州 海灣長大的孩子，

the boogeyman was the existential threat

會威脅到我生存的床邊妖怪，

of my state being washed away with the Mississippi River.

就是我會被密西西比河 沖走的可能性。

Louisiana loses a football field's worth of land every 100 minutes

路易斯安那州每一百分鐘就會失去 等同一個足球場大的土地，

due to coastal erosion.

原因是海岸侵蝕。

It's an unimaginably large amount to a kid.

對孩子來說，這實在大到無法想像。

But in my lifetime so far,

從我出生到目前為止，

we've lost over 600 square miles.

我們已經失去了超過 六百平方英里的土地。

That's more area than New York City,

這面積超過了紐約市、

San Francisco, DC and Atlanta combined.

舊金山、華盛頓特區， 和亞特蘭大加總起來的面積。

It's due to sea level rise,

原因包括海平面上升、

warming waters, increasingly severe storms

海水暖化、越來越劇烈的暴風雨，

and exploration of the oil and gas industry.

以及石油和天然氣產業的勘探。

Fast forward to 2020,

快轉到 2020 年，

in my last full semester as an engineering student

在我身為工程系學生的 最後一個完整學期，

and over a Two-Buck Chuck,

在喝廉價紅酒時，

my boyfriend and I lamented over the lack

我和我男友開始感嘆起 路易斯安那州的玻璃回收不足。

of glass recycling in Louisiana.

My state was landfilling about 295 million pounds of glass annually.

這個州每年要掩埋掉 兩億九千五百萬磅的玻璃。

The bottle we just finished would likely end up in a landfill.

我們剛剛喝完的酒瓶 很可能就會淪落到掩埋場。

It felt like a total waste,

感覺實在好浪費，

and we wanted to figure out how we could get all of this glass recycled.

所以我們想要想辦法 把所有這些玻璃回收。

The next day,

隔天，我們上網搜尋了一下，

it took a quick Google search to remember that glass comes from sand,

就想起玻璃是來自於沙子，

and that sand is an increasingly finite resource.

而沙子是一種越來越有限的資源。

We also learned about everything sand is needed for,

我們還去了解了 沙子可以用在哪些用途上，

including toothpaste, by the way.

順道一提，連牙膏也會用到。

And the last puzzle piece we found was this small, human-sized machine

我們找到的最後一塊拼圖片 是一台和人差不多大的小型機器，

that could crush one bottle at a time into sand,

一次可以把一個瓶子壓碎成沙子，

and we jumped into action,

我們立馬起而行，

setting up a GoFundMe campaign

設立了一個「去資助我」活動

and a pilot project in the backyard of a fraternity house.

以及一個前導計畫， 基地位在一個兄弟會的後院。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now you might be thinking to yourself,

各位此時可能在想， 兩個大學小鬼怎麼可能

how in the world would two college kids

ever be able to make a dent in these problems?

對這些問題產生絲毫的影響？

And that would be valid.

這樣想很合理。

Plenty of people told us the exact same thing.

很多人都這樣告訴我們。

But we didn’t listen, because we knew

但是我們沒有聽他們的，因為我們 知道不論我們造成的影響多小，

that no matter how small of an impact we made,

it would be worth it.

都還是值得。

It felt like we could alleviate two problems with one solution:

我們覺得我們可以用一個 解決方案一次緩解兩個問題：

convert the otherwise landfilled glass back into sand

把本來要被掩埋的玻璃轉換回沙子，

再把沙子運用在 全州各地的恢復計畫中。

and use it in restoration projects across the state.

Easy, right?

很容易，對吧？

(Laughs)

（笑）

But we didn't listen to the haters,

但是我們沒聽反對者的話，

which is actually why we named our company Glass Half Full.

這就是為什麼我們把我們的公司 取名為「半滿的玻璃杯」。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But that glass-half-empty mindset

但只看到半空杯子的心態

might actually be one of the biggest threats we face today.

可能就是我們現今 面臨的最大威脅之一。

Because climate apathy might be the new climate denial.

因為氣候冷漠可能 就是新的氣候否認。

Meaning that the biggest threat to our environment

意即，我們的環境所面臨最大的威脅

may no longer be people who deny our part in the changing climate

可能不再是否認我們 促成氣候變遷的人，

but people who deny that we can actually make a difference.

而是否認我們其實可以 努力做出改變的人。

Now climate change is happening right before our eyes.

氣候變遷就在我們眼前發生。

It's terrifying.

很可怕。

I've witnessed firsthand the severity of rapidly intensifying hurricanes

我親眼見睹過快速 加劇的颶風有多嚴重，

比如艾達颶風。

like Ida.

But dread, doom and gloom tend to get us nowhere.

但恐懼、厄運，和陰鬱 通常不會讓我們有所進展。

Whereas hope, combined with action,

而希望再加上行動，

can be one of the most powerful tools to enact change.

則可能是推動變革 最強大的工具之一。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Since that late night wine-fueled idea over four years ago,

從四多年前的那個夜晚， 因為紅酒衍伸出點子之後，

we've been able to divert more than eight million pounds of glass

我們已經能將超過八百萬磅的 玻璃從掩埋場轉移出來。

from our landfills.

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼和掌聲）

We quickly grew out of that small, tiny machine

我們很快就超越了那台小小的機器，

and upgraded a lot along the way.

並在過程中進行了很多升級。

We continue to work with over 50 scientists and engineers

我們持續與墨西哥灣南部的 五十多位科學家與工程師合作。

across the Gulf South.

And they helped me learn if this is good-smelling mud or not.

他們幫助我搞懂這泥巴 算是好聞還是不好聞。

But also understanding the interactions of our sand with the plants, animals

也去了解我們的沙子 如何與我們地區的

植物、動物，甚至菌類互相影響。

and even fungi of our region.

We've also answered difficult scientific questions

我們也解答了

困難的科學問題及類似這樣的問題：

as well as questions like,

can you actually walk on sand made from glass?

你真的能在玻璃 做成的沙子上行走嗎？

And I exposed my toes to the internet to answer that.

為了回答這個問題， 我在網路上露出我的腳趾。

In a few short months, we'll be opening up our new facility,

再過短短幾個月， 我們的新場所就會開幕，

enabling us to recycle the 295 million pounds of glass

那會讓我們能回收

每年進入掩埋場的 兩億九千五百萬磅玻璃。

entering our landfills annually.

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼和掌聲）

And with a combination of biodegradable sandbags and native marsh grasses,

透過結合可生物降解的沙袋 和當地原生的濕地草，

we've already restored thousands of square meters along our coast,

我們已經在海岸地區修復了 數千平方公尺的面積，

converting open water back into thriving wetlands.

將開闊水域轉化為繁茂的濕地。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼和掌聲）

But the key to our success so far

但目前為止，我們成功的關鍵 並非我們一開始就有所有的答案

isn’t that we had all of the answers in the beginning

or tons of money to try this thing out.

或大量金錢來嘗試此做法。

The key was that we simply started,

關鍵在於我們就只是起而行了， 然後就一直走下去，

and we kept going.

Somewhere, the belief that we, as individuals, could enact change

相信我們個人也能帶來改變的信念，

trumped our doubts.

超越了我們的懷疑。

And for us, finding a way to help with a problem

而對我們來說，

想辦法協助處理 比我們更大許多的問題

much, much bigger than us

meant taking that first step.

就表示要踏出第一步。

And in our case, it was a step in the sand,

在我們這個例子裡， 第一步是踩在沙子裡，

in an eroding but once magnificent swamp.

踩在不斷侵蝕但曾經 十分宏偉的濕地裡。

Thank y’all.

謝謝大家。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼和掌聲）