来源：《洛杉矶时报》
原文刊登日期：2021年11月11日
本文适合2023考生
COVID-19 is a plague on humanity, but it hasn’t been that kind to the planet either. Our efforts to avoid infection led to an unavoidable increase in single-use plastic. Just how much more we are only now starting to grasp.
新冠病毒对人类来说是一种瘟疫，但对地球来说也不是什么好事儿。我们为避免感染所做的努力导致一次性塑料使用量不可避免地增加。我们现在才刚刚开始了解究竟多用了多少。
This month a team of researchers from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography published an estimate based on scientific modeling, that 8 million tons of pandemic-related plastic was produced globally as of August. Furthermore, they estimate that about 26,000 tons has or will end up in rivers, oceans, beaches and, ultimately, in the bellies of sea creatures. By the end of this year, their model projects that another 3 million tons of pandemic-related plastic waste will be used.
本月，加州大学圣地亚哥分校斯克里普斯海洋学研究所的一组研究人员发表了一项基于科学模型的估计，截至8月，全球与新冠大流行相关的塑料产量为800万吨。此外，他们估计约有26000吨已经或将最终进入河流、海洋、海滩，并最终进入海洋生物的肚子里。他们的模型预计，到今年年底，将再产生300万吨与新冠大流行有关的塑料垃圾。
While some of the trash was generated from increased online sales of various consumer goods, about 70% of the extra plastic came from, no surprise, medical waste such disposable gloves, gowns and masks. The researchers say Asian countries are the source of 72% of the pandemic plastic, but that doesn’t make this only a problem for Asia.
虽然一些垃圾来自各种消费品网上销售的增长，但约70%的额外塑料垃圾来自一次性手套、防护服和口罩等医疗垃圾，这一点也不奇怪。研究人员说，亚洲国家是72%新冠大流行相关塑料的来源地，但这并不意味着这只是亚洲的问题。
For one thing, once plastic waste enters the ocean it becomes everyone’s problem. But also because the U.S., and California in particular, is a huge generator of plastic trash, much of which is transported to poorer Asian countries that don’t have the infrastructure to dispose of it properly.
首先，一旦塑料垃圾进入海洋，它就会成为每个人的问题。还有一个原因是，美国，尤其是加州，是一个巨大的塑料垃圾制造者，其中大部分被运送到没有适当处理塑料垃圾的基础设施的较贫穷的亚洲国家。
Though the 8-million-ton increase is a pittance next to the 300 million tons of single-use plastic produced in the typical, non-pandemic year, it’s a trend that is headed in the wrong direction.
虽然800万吨的增幅与典型的、非大流行年份的3亿吨一次性塑料产量相比微不足道，但这是一个朝着错误方向发展的趋势。
There’s no reasonable substitute for plastic in many medical applications, particularly safety gear. That’s why it’s imperative that we focus on reducing nonessential single-use plastic — you know, bags and cups and the layers upon layers of plastic film encasing so many products found in every retail store.
在许多医疗应用中，塑料没有合理的替代品，尤其是防护装备。这就是为什么我们必须专注于减少不必要的一次性塑料——你知道，袋子和杯子，以及包装在每个零售商店中如此多产品的一层层塑料薄膜。
That will be the focus of the debate next year when Californians are asked to vote on a groundbreaking plastic packaging reduction measure on the November 2022 ballot. The measure would place a penny tax on each product wrapped in plastic that is sold in California, as well as require that the state adopt regulations to reduce waste from plastic packaging by 25% by 2030.
这将是明年辩论的焦点，届时加州人将被要求在2022年11月的投票表决中就一项开创性的减少塑料包装措施进行投票。该措施将对在加州销售的每一种塑料包装产品征收一分钱的税，并要求加州采取法规，到2030年将塑料包装产生的废物减少25%。
This is a conversation that should be happening in every state and every country. Plastic trash isn’t just a litter problem, it’s an environmental disaster that is already well underway and will be with us long after the pandemic ends without dramatic intervention.
这是一个应该在每个州和每个国家进行的对话。塑料垃圾不仅仅是一个垃圾问题，它是一个已经在发生的环境灾难，而且在疫情结束后很长一段时间内，如果不采取积极干预，它还会伴随我们。