The economic injustice of plastic | Van Jones

譯者: Wang-Ju Tsai 審譯者: Shelley Krishna Tsang

我很榮幸能在這裡

I am honored to be here,

and I'm honored to talk about this topic,

也很榮幸能談論這個問題

which I think is of grave importance.

我認爲這是個很嚴重的問題。

We've been talking a lot

我們已經討論過很多

about the horrific impacts of plastic on the planet and on other species,

關於塑膠對地球和其他物種

帶來的可怕的影響，

but plastic hurts people, too --

但是塑膠也會危害人類

特別是貧窮的人。

especially poor people.

And both in the production of plastic,

在塑膠的生産過程

或是使用及丟棄的過程中

the use of plastic and the disposal of plastic,

直接受害的最嚴重的

the people who have the bull's-eye on their foreheads

都是貧窮的人。

are poor people.

People got very upset

大家對於英國石油油井的原油外泄

when the BP oil spill happened,

感到很憤怒

這是可以體會的。

for very good reason.

大家會想，“天哪，

People thought, "Oh, my God.

This is terrible, this oil -- it's in the water.

這外泄的油太可怕了，

流進水裏，裏面的生態

It's going to destroy the living systems there.

將會被破壞殆盡。

人們也會蒙受其害。

People are going to be hurt.

進而影響墨西哥灣周圍人們的生計

This is a terrible thing,

this oil is going to hurt the people in the Gulf."

這是很可怕的一件事。”

What people don't think about is:

人們沒想過的是

What if the oil had made it safely to shore?

如果原油安全地被運輸上岸

What if the oil actually got where it was trying to go?

順利地到達目的地（煉油厰）會怎樣呢？

石油不只會被送進引擎燃燒

Not only would it have been burned in engines and added to global warming,

變成廢氣造成全球暖化

but there's a place called "Cancer Alley,"

還有個地方叫“癌症帶”

and the reason it's called "Cancer Alley"

爲什麽叫“癌症帶”呢？

is because the petrochemical industry

那是因爲石化業

takes that oil and turns it into plastic

用原油製造塑膠

and in the process, kills people.

在生産的過程毒害了當地的居民。

It shortens the lives of the people who live there in the Gulf.

住在墨西哥灣區的人們壽命因此而縮短。

So oil and petrochemicals are not just a problem when there's a spill;

所以石油化工業即使在油井不漏油的時候

也是個問題製造者。

they're a problem when there's not.

And what we don't often appreciate

我們通常不知道的是

貧窮的人們為我們丟棄的塑膠

is the price that poor people pay

for us to have these disposable products.

所付出的代價。

還有一件我們通常也不知道的事

The other thing we often don't appreciate is,

人們不止在生産的過程中受害

it's not just at the point of production that poor people suffer.

在使用的過程

Poor people also suffer at the point of use.

人們也會受害。

Those of us who earn a certain income level,

收入所得超過一定水準的人

we have something called choice.

有選擇的能力。

The reason why you want to work hard and have a job

我們之所以會想要努力工作

不想陷入貧窮或破產

and not be poor and broke

是因爲我們在經濟上想要保有選擇的能力。

is so you can have choices, economic choices.

We actually get a chance to choose not to use products

我們有能力去選擇

不去使用某些產品

那些包含危險的有毒的塑膠的產品。

that have dangerous, poisonous plastic in them.

但是窮人們是沒有選擇的

Other people who are poor don't have those choices.

So low-income people often are the ones

所以低收入的人們經常也是

who are buying the products that have those dangerous chemicals in them

去買那些内含有毒化學成分的產品

來給他們小孩用的人。

that their children are using.

到頭來這些人

Those are the people who wind up ingesting a disproportionate amount

吸收了或是使用了

比一般人更多的有毒塑膠。

of this poisonous plastic in using it.

And people say, "Well, they should just buy a different product."

可能有人會說，“他們應該買其它較安全的產品。”

Well, the problem with being poor is you don't have those choices.

但是問題是身為窮人，你是沒有其他的選擇的。

You often have to buy the cheapest products.

你通常只能買最便宜的產品

The cheapest products are often the most dangerous.

而最便宜的產品通常也是最危險的。

And if that weren't bad enough --

如果這還不夠糟糕，還有更慘的：

if it wasn't just the production of plastic that's giving people cancer

不止在塑膠的生産過程裏

會帶給人們癌症，形成“癌症帶”，縮短性命

in places like Cancer Alley,

and shortening lives and hurting poor kids at the point of use --

窮苦人家的小孩在使用的過程也會受害

甚至在丟棄的時候

at the point of disposal,

再一次地，又是窮苦人家

once again, it's poor people who bear the burden.

首當其害。

Often, we think we're doing a good thing:

我們常常以爲我們在做正確的事

你在你的辦公室

You're in your office, drinking your bottled water or whatever it is,

你在喝一瓶水還是什麽的

你在想，“我要把這瓶子丟掉。

and you think to yourself, "I'm going to throw this away.

No -- I'm going to be virtuous. I'm going to put it in the blue bin."

不，我要做做功德

把這個瓶子放進藍色的資源回收桶。”

You think, "I put mine in the blue bin."

你想，“我把我的瓶子放進藍桶子裏。”

And then you look at your colleague and say,

接下來你看著你的同事說

“爲什麽你這個低能兒

"Why, you cretin! You put yours in the white bin."

把你的塑膠瓶放在白色的桶子裏？”

And we use that as a moral tickle.

我們把這個動作當作一個道德標簽

We feel so good about ourselves.

我們也因此自我感覺超好。

If we -- well, OK, I'm just ... me.

還可能原諒自己

Not you, but I feel this way often.

可能你不會，但是我是這麽覺得的。

(Laughter)

And so we kind of have this moral feel-good moment.

我們都因此有道德上感覺良好的時候。

But if we were to be able to follow that little bottle

但是要是我們跟著這個小塑膠瓶

on its journey,

看看它接下來的旅程

we would be shocked to discover that, all too often,

常常，我們會很吃驚地發現

that bottle is going to be put on a boat,

塑膠瓶會被裝上船

花費一些運費

it's going to go all the way across the ocean

飄洋過海

at some expense,

and it's going to wind up in a developing country, often China.

最後到達一個開發中國家--通常是中國

在我們的心裏我們想象

I think in our minds, we imagine

somebody's going to take the little bottle and say,

有個人會拿起瓶子說，“噢，小小瓶子，

"Oh, little bottle! We're so happy to see you, little bottle."

我們真高興見到你這個小瓶子。”

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"You've served so well."

“你的任務是如此完美地達成了”

(Laughter)

He's given a little bottle massage,

小瓶子得到了獎勵

a little bottle medal.

還有小瓶子獎章。

And they say, "What would you like to do next?"

那個人又說，“接下來你想做什麽？”

The little bottle says, "I just don't know ..."

小瓶子說，“我還不知道。”

(Laughter)

但事實並不是如此。

But that's not actually what happens.

You know?

That bottle winds up getting burned.

這個瓶子

最後是被燒掉。

The recycling of plastic in many developing countries

在很多開發中國家，塑膠資源的回收

就意味著把塑膠燒掉

means the incineration of the plastic, the burning of the plastic,

而在燒塑膠的過程中

which releases incredible toxic chemicals

會散發無可計量的有毒化學物質

and, once again, kills people.

再一次，

And so, poor people who are making these products

是貧窮的人

在“癌症帶“這樣的石化中心

in petrochemical centers like Cancer Alley,

生産這一類塑膠產品；

poor people who are consuming these products disproportionately,

是貧窮的人高度地消費這一類的產品；

最後還是貧窮的人

and then poor people who, even at the tail end of the recycling,

在資源回收的末端

are having their lives shortened.

看著他們的性命被縮短

They're all being harmed -- greatly --

嚴重地被侵害

by this addiction that we have to disposability.

就只因爲我們太習慣於

用過即丟的生活方式。

Now, you think to yourself -- I know how you are --

現在你會想--因爲我很了解大家--

you say, "That sure is terrible for those poor people.

“對這些人來説

這真是太可怕了。

太慘了，

It's just awful. Those poor people.

這些窮人們。

我希望有人能幫幫他們。”

I hope someone does something to help them."

But what we don't understand is --

我們不了解的是

在洛杉磯的我們

here we are in Los Angeles.

We worked very hard to get the smog reduction

很努力地要降低

在本地煙霧的排放

happening here in Los Angeles.

But guess what?

但是你猜怎麽樣？

Because they're doing so much dirty production in Asia now,

因爲現在在亞洲有這麽多的骯髒的工廠

因爲環境保護法案

because the environmental laws don't protect the people in Asia now,

現在還無法保護在亞洲的人們

almost all of the clean air gains and the toxic air gains

我們在加州

辛辛苦苦維護的清潔空氣

that we've achieved here in California

和消除的髒空氣

have been wiped out by dirty air coming over from Asia.

全被亞洲飄過來的髒空氣一筆勾銷。

So we all are being hit. We all are being impacted.

最終我們還是受到影響

It's just that the poor people get it first and worst.

但是首當其衝的還是貧窮的人們。

But the dirty production, the burning of toxins,

因爲不乾淨的生産過程，燃燒所釋放的有毒物質

the lack of environmental standards in Asia,

和亞洲的缺乏環保

is actually creating so much dirty air pollution,

產生了許多空氣污染

it's coming across the ocean,

飄洋過海而來完全抵消了我們在加州的努力。

and has erased our gains here in California.

我們反而退回到70年代的標準。

We're back where we were in the 1970s.

And so we're on one planet,

我們在同一個地球上

and we have to be able to get to the root of these problems.

所以我們必須找到問題的根源。

The root of this problem, in my view,

在我看來，問題的根源

is the idea of disposability itself.

在於用過即丟這個觀念上。

You see, if you understand the link

看，你如果了解

我們對地球

between what we're doing to poison and pollute the planet

所造成的污染

and what we're doing to poor people,

和我們對窮人帶來的影響之間是有關聯的

you arrive at a very troubling but also very helpful insight:

你就會得到這個

令人不安但很有幫助的看法：

In order to trash the planet,

要把地球作廢

you have to trash people.

你得先把人類作廢。

But if you create a world where you don't trash people,

但是如果你能創造一個珍惜人類的世界

you can't trash the planet.

你也就做到了珍惜地球。

So now we are at a moment

我們社會進步到了

一方面重視社會正義

where the coming together of social justice as an idea

and ecology as an idea,

一方面也要環境保護

但我們也終於看出來

we finally can now see

that they are really, at the end of the day, one idea.

這其實是一體的兩個面。

And it's the idea that we don't have disposable anything.

這兩個面指的事就是，拒絕用過就丟。

We don't have disposable resources.

我們的資源不該是用過即丟的

We don't have disposable species.

其他的生物也不是用過即丟的。

人類更不是用過即丟的。

And we don't have disposable people, either.

We don't have a throwaway planet,

我們的地球不是用過即丟的

and we don't have throwaway children -- it's all precious.

就像我們的下一代一樣，都是很珍貴的。

And as we all begin to come back to that basic understanding,

一旦我們有了這樣的基礎認識

new opportunities for action begin to emerge.

新的行動機會也跟著出現了。

那就是“仿生學”

Biomimicry,

which is an emerging science,

這是一樣新概念

剛出現的新科學

winds up being a very important social justice idea.

也是一個很重要的社會正義的概念

People who are just learning about this stuff:

人們也才剛開始了解。

仿生學是指

biomimicry means respecting the wisdom of all species.

尊重所有物種的智慧。

順便一提，民主，

Democracy, by the way,

means respecting the wisdom of all people -- we'll get to that.

是指尊重所有人民的智慧。

仿生學是指尊重所有物種的智慧。

But biomimicry means respecting the wisdom of all species.

我們人類被認定是很聰明的物種

It turns out we're a pretty clever species.

We have this big cortex, we're pretty proud of ourselves.

腦很大之類的，我們相當自豪。

But if we want to make something hard,

我們要是要做一樣硬的東西

we say, "I know! I'm going to make a hard substance.

我們會想，”我要拿一樣硬的原料

I know! I'm going to get vacuums and furnaces

我知道，我還需要鼓風機和熔爐

and drag stuff out of the ground

把硬的原料從地底挖出來

and get things hot and poison and pollute ...

把一切搞得熱乎乎、又有毒、又重污染

But I got this hard thing!"

但我最後還是得到我要的。

(Laughter)

我太聰明了。“

"I'm so clever!"

And you look behind you, and there's destruction all around you.

你看看你後面，一路造成的破壞

But guess what?

你還說你很聰明嗎？

You're so clever, but you're not as clever as a clam.

你還比不上一顆蛤蚌呢

A clamshell is hard.

蛤蚌的殼很硬

There's no vacuums. There's no big furnaces.

不需要鼓風機，不需要大的熔爐

There's no poison. There's no pollution.

不產生有毒物質，也沒有污染。

It turns out that other species figured out a long time ago

看起來別的物種

很早以前就知道

用自然界的生物功法

how to create many of the things we need

using biological processes that nature knows how to use well.

來製造我們需要的東西。

我們的科學家終於了解

That insight of biomimicry, of our scientists finally realizing

仿生學的内涵

that we have as much to learn from other species --

我們可以從其它物種那裏學很多東西，

我不是說抓一隻老鼠

I don't mean taking a mouse and sticking it with stuff.

給牠貼上東西

I don't mean looking at it from that way, abusing the little species.

我不是說要虐待小動物

I mean actually respecting them, respecting what they've achieved.

我是說要去尊重，尊重牠們的成就。

這就是仿生學

That's called biomimicry,

and that opens the door to zero waste production;

這也是做到

完全利用，

zero pollution production;

零污染的關鍵

that we could actually enjoy

這樣我們才可以

a high quality of life, a high standard of living,

享受高品質的生活

而不會使地球毀滅。

without trashing the planet.

Well, that idea of biomimicry,

這個仿生學的

respecting the wisdom of all species,

尊重所有物種的智慧的概念

去結合

combined with the idea of democracy and social justice,

民主和社會正義的

尊重所有人類的智慧和價值的觀念，

respecting the wisdom and the worth of all people,

would give us a different society.

會產生一個不同以往的社會。

We would have a different economy.

我們也會有一個不同的經濟

We would have a green society

我們會有金博士都引以爲傲的

that Dr. King would be proud of.

環保綠色社會。

這應該是我們的目標。

That should be the goal.

And the way that we get there is to first of all recognize

而要達到這個目標

that the idea of disposability

大家要先認知這個用過即丟的概念

not only hurts the species we've talked about,

不止傷害了

我們談到的物種

but it even corrupts our own society.

還會腐化我們的社會。

We're so proud to live here in California.

我們是如此地以住在加州為傲

We just had this vote, and everybody's like,

我們才剛投過票，大家才透過選票說

"Well -- not in our state!"

“這種事不該在這裡發生。

(Laughter)

別的州在搞什麽我不懂。”

I don't know what those other states were doing, but ..."

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Just so proud.

是如此地自豪。

對啊，我也覺得很驕傲。

And, yeah, I'm proud, too.

But ...

但是加州

California, though we lead the world in some of the green stuff,

雖然我們在一些環保建設是領先的

we also, unfortunately, lead the world

但是，不幸地，在監禁人口這件事上

in some of the gulag stuff.

我們也是領先全球的。

California has one of the highest incarceration rates

加州有全國50州

最高的囚禁率。

of all the 50 states.

We have a moral challenge in this movement.

我們現在有個道德上的挑戰

我們花很多心思

We are passionate about rescuing some dead materials from the landfill,

來拯救瀕危的生態

但我們對拯救活生生的人

but sometimes not as passionate

about rescuing living beings, living people.

卻不一直是那麽有興趣。

And I would say that we live in a country --

我可以說我們住的美國

five percent of the world's population,

有全世界百分之五的人口

25 percent of the greenhouse gases,

排放全球百分之25的溫室氣體

but also 25 percent of the world's prisoners.

還有關了全球百分之25的囚犯。

全世界的囚犯每四個人

One of every four people locked up anywhere in the world

就有一個人是関在美國。

is locked up right here in the United States.

所以這又跟我們這種

So that is consistent with this idea

that disposability is something we believe in.

只用一次、用過即丟的壞習慣相呼應。

然而

And yet,

as a movement that has to broaden its constituency,

要成爲一個活動

就要拓廣活動的延續性

就要使這個活動能成長

that has to grow,

that has to reach out beyond our natural comfort zone,

要使這個活動能超越其傳統範圍

one of the challenges to the success of this movement,

要把消除塑膠或幫助塑膠經濟轉型

of getting rid of things like plastic and helping the economy shift,

這個活動能否成功，我們常遇到的挑戰為

is people look at our movement with some suspicion.

人們常常對我們抱持著懷疑的態度。

人們常常問一個問題：

And they ask a question, and the question is:

How can these people be so passionate?

這些人怎麽會這麽有熱情這麽執著？

A poor person, a low-income person, somebody in Cancer Alley,

一個窮人、低收入戶、住在癌症帶的人

somebody in Watts,

住在瓦茨區（洛杉磯的窮人區）

somebody in Harlem, somebody on an Indian reservation,

住在哈林區（紐約的窮人區），住在印第安保留區的人

might say to themselves -- and rightfully so --

他們會這麽說，倒也沒錯

“這些人怎麽會這麽執著地

"How can these people be so passionate

要確認

about making sure

that a plastic bottle has a second chance in life,

一個塑膠瓶

還可以回收再利用，

or an aluminum can has a second chance,

或是一個鋁罐可以再有第二個生命，

然而，我的小孩惹了麻煩

and yet, when my child gets in trouble and goes to prison,

被送進了監獄

he doesn't get a second chance?"

卻沒有第二次的機會？“

"How can this movement be so passionate about saying

我們怎麽可以如此熱情地倡導

資源物質的再回收利用

we don't have throwaway stuff, no throwaway dead materials,

and yet accept throwaway lives

然而任由

人命的廢置或癌症帶的存在？

and throwaway communities like Cancer Alley?"

所以我們現在有個機會

And so, we now get a chance to be truly proud of this movement.

能讓我們真正為這個活動感到驕傲

When we take on topics like this,

如果我們選擇這個為我們奮鬥的議題

it gives us that extra call to reach out to other movements

這給我們額外的動機

來向其他的活動伸展

也使得我們變得更有包含性、也更能成長。

and to become more inclusive and to grow,

and we can finally get out of this crazy dilemma that we've been in.

而我們也終於能夠跳出以前那個無法兩全的局面。

Most of you are good, softhearted people.

你們大部分的人是好的，心很軟的

當你們年輕時，你們關心全世界

When you were younger, you cared about the whole world,

甚至於在某個階段

and at some point, somebody said you had to pick an issue,

有人說，你必須選擇一個議題來關心、奮鬥

一個可以把你的愛加諸其上的議題。

you had to boil your love down to an issue.

你不可能愛全世界

"Can't love the whole world --

所以你選擇植樹、

you've got to work on trees or you've got to work on immigration.

選擇移民政策

You've got to shrink it down and be about one issue."

你必須做篩選，只選一個議題來關心。

And really, they fundamentally told you,

基本上他們的意思是

"Are you going to hug a tree?

“你是要去擁抱一棵樹

Or are you going to hug a child? Pick.

還是一個小孩？選吧。

Are you going to hug a tree?

你是要去擁抱一棵樹

Or are you going to hug a child? Pick."

還是一個小孩？選吧。”

Well, when you start working on issues like plastic,

但是你要是選擇塑膠為你的議題

你將了解很多事是環環相扣的

you realize the whole thing is connected.

And luckily, most of us are blessed to have two arms --

很幸運地，我們都有兩條手臂

我們小孩和樹都可以擁抱。

we can hug both.

Thank you very much.

謝謝大家。

(Applause)

（掌聲）