2023年经济学人 堆积如山的垃圾问题

 

    Culture

    文艺版块

    Book review

    书评

    Heaps of trouble

    堆积如山的问题

    Wasteland. By Oliver Franklin-Wallis.

    《垃圾场》，奥利弗·富兰克林-沃利斯著。

    In “our mutual¹ friend”, Charles Dickens’s last complete novel, stray paper “hangs on every bush, flutters in every tree, is caught flying by the electric wires, haunts every enclosure”.

    《我们共同的朋友》是查尔斯·狄更斯最后一部完结小说，在这本书中，废纸“挂在每一簇灌木丛上，在每一棵树上飘扬，飞舞着被电线拦住，出没于每一个围场”。

    Since those words were published in the 1860s, the world’s waste problem has changed in both scale and composition.

    自从这些文字在19世纪60年代发表以来，全世界的垃圾问题在规模和结构上都发生了变化。

    These days plastic in one form or another is strewn on verges², clogs³ rivers and swirls⁴ around oceans in vast gyres.

    如今，各种各样的塑料散落在路边草地上，堵塞了河流，在海洋中形成巨大的漩涡。

    Circulated by winds and tides, tiny nanoplastics have penetrated⁵ all manner of watery⁶ ecosystems⁷, reaching both the Earth’s poles and its highest peaks, with unknown consequences for the planet.

    在风和潮汐的作用下，微小的纳米塑料已经渗入了各种水体生态系统，到达了地球的两极和最高峰，给地球带来尚不可知的后果。

    Worried by the pollution caused by a throwaway culture, Oliver Franklin-Wallis—a British journalist who has written for The Economist—heads to places that best illustrate⁸ this profligacy⁹.

    曾为《经济学人》撰稿的英国记者奥利弗·富兰克林-沃利斯对一次性文化造成的污染深感担忧，于是前往了最能体现这种挥霍浪费的地方。

    In “Wasteland” he visits an Indian landfill that is piled almost as high as the Qutub Minar, a well-known minaret¹⁰ in Delhi; Ghana’s largest second-hand¹¹ clothes market, through which 15m garments are thought to pass every week; a former mining area in America that is blighted¹² by dumped lead, zinc¹³ and cadmium; and a defunct¹⁴ nuclear-power plant in the north-west of England, which contrasts starkly¹⁵ with the natural beauty of the nearby Lake District.

    在《垃圾场》中，他去了印度的一个垃圾填埋场，这里的垃圾堆几乎和德里著名的宣礼塔库图卜塔一样高；在加纳最大的二手服装市场，据说每周有1500万件衣服在市场中被买卖；还有美国的一个矿区旧址，如今被倾倒的铅、锌和镉破坏；以及英格兰西北部的一座废弃核电站，与附近湖区的自然美景形成了鲜明的对比。

    He sees these places as evidence of human myopia about the Earth’s fragility and the finitude of its resources.

    富兰克林-沃利斯认为这些地方证明了人类对地球脆弱性和资源有限性的短视。

    Rubbish, the author notes, is often deposited “on the margins¹⁶, and on the marginalised”.

    他在书中指出，垃圾通常被“放在边缘地带，以及被边缘化的地方”。

    He explains the concept of “toxic colonialism”, whereby trash is shipped by wealthier countries to poorer ones, and shows its detrimental¹⁷ effects up close.

    他解释了“有毒殖民主义”的概念，即较富裕的国家将垃圾运往较贫穷的国家，并近距离展示了其有害影响。

    But he also acknowledges that the waste trade can sometimes be beneficial to communities on the receiving end: what one person deems useless, another sees as a potential source of income.

    但他也承认，这种废品贸易有时会对接收方的社区有利：一个人认为无用的东西，却会被另一个人认为是潜在的收入来源。

    Throughout his tour of disfigured landscapes and industrial incinerators, Mr Franklin-Wallis decries¹⁸ the tactic¹⁹ of “planned obsolescence”: ie, the marketing²⁰ of products that quickly need to be replaced.

    在参观被破坏的景观和工业焚烧炉的整个过程中，富兰克林-沃利斯谴责了“计划性淘汰”的策略：即营销那些需要迅速被更换的产品。

    A notorious early-20th-century example was the “light-bulb cartel”, who conspired²¹ to slash²² the lifespan of their filaments²³.

    20世纪初一个臭名昭著的例子是“灯泡卡特尔”，这些商家们合谋削减灯丝的使用寿命。

    These days items ranging from “fast fashion” to wireless²⁴ earbuds are liable to be thrown away or forgotten in a drawer before long.

    如今，从“快时尚”到无线耳机等各种物品都可能很快就会被扔掉或遗忘在抽屉里。

    The book comes alive in its descriptions of people and places.

    这本书对人和各个地方的描写也栩栩如生。

    A paper-mill worker in southern England is “bald and aquiline²⁵, monkish²⁶, with the gentle stoop of an under-watered tulip”.

    英格兰南部的一位造纸厂工人“秃顶、有鹰钩鼻，很像一个和尚，总是微微弓着背，像缺水耷拉的郁金香”。

    The appearance of a zero-waste zealot in the north of England is “somewhere between affable climate activist²⁷ and festival drug-dealer”.

    而英格兰北部的一位零废物狂热分子的相貌则“介于随和友善的气候活动家和节日里的毒品贩子之间”。

    The colours and buzz of a market day in Accra are sketched²⁸ in short, lively sentences, as is the dusty decay of an abandoned town in Oklahoma.

    阿克拉赶集日的缤纷色彩和热闹喧嚣用简短、生动的句子就勾勒了出来，俄克拉荷马州的一座尘土飞扬、荒芜破败的废弃城镇也是如此被刻画。

    Happily, Mr Franklin-Wallis writes stylishly²⁹ about ugly things: cranes at a site for burning garbage “move slowly, Damoclesian, their noise a deep rumble”; the flow of rubbish at a waste plant is “relentless, the choreography balletic”.

    令人庆幸的是，富兰克林-沃利斯用极具风格的语言描述了丑陋之物：垃圾焚烧场的起重机“缓慢地、如达摩克利斯之剑般移动，发出低沉的隆隆噪声”；废物处理厂里流动的垃圾“片刻不停，有着芭蕾舞式的动作编排”。

    “Wasteland” is heavy on facts, many of them interesting and sobering.

    《垃圾场》中有大量翔实的事实，其中许多既有趣又发人深省。

    Twenty thousand plastic bottles are sold around the world every second.

    全世界每秒售出两万个塑料瓶。

    The world produced 2bn tonnes of solid waste in 2016, a figure that will rise to 3.3bn tonnes by 2050.

    2016年，全球产生了20亿吨固体废物，到2050年，这一数字将升至33亿吨。

    But the piles of numbers can occasionally be a strain.

    但堆积如山的数字有时会给人带来压力。

    At such moments, readers may find themselves agreeing that waste is “not the most appealing subject” for a book, as the author himself admits near the beginning of his.

    这时，读者可能会发现自己同意这种观点，即对于一本书而言，垃圾“不是最吸引人的主题”，作者本人在本书开篇处也承认了这一点。

    Overall, however, he dispels³⁰ that impression.

    然而，总体而言，他消除了这种印象。

    “Wasteland” does not offer novel solutions to the problem of waste.

    《垃圾场》并没有为垃圾问题提供新鲜的解决方案。

    Mr Franklin-Wallis wants you to buy less and recycle more, along with a crackdown on “greenwashing” (whereby companies make exaggerated claims about their environmental credentials).

    富兰克林-沃利斯希望你能少买东西，多回收利用，同时打击“绿色清洗”(企业夸大自己的环保资质)。

    But he succeeds in outlining the size of the challenge.

    但他成功地勾勒出了这一挑战的规模。

    His book should prompt serious discussion in boardrooms and parliaments.

    他的这本书理应引起董事会和议会的严肃讨论。

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

2 verges   

边，边缘，界线( verge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The small stream verges to the north. 这条小河向北延伸。
• The results ob-tained agree well with those given by Verges using random Bethe lattice model. 所得结果与Verges用非晶的Bethe晶格模型的计算结果相符。

3 clogs   

木屐； 木底鞋，木屐( clog的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Clogs are part of the Netherlands national costume. 木屐是荷兰民族服装的一部分。
• Clogs are part of the Dutch traditional costume. 木屐是荷兰传统装束的一部分。

4 swirls   

n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 )；卷状物；漩涡；尘旋v.旋转，打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Swirls of smoke rose through the trees. 树林中升起盘旋的青烟。 来自辞典例句
• On reaching the southeast corner of Himalaya-Tibet, It'swirls cyclonically across the Yunnan Plateau. 在到达喜马拉雅--西藏高原东南角处，它作气旋性转向越过云南高原。 来自辞典例句

5 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

6 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

7 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

8 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

9 profligacy   

n.放荡，不检点，肆意挥霍

参考例句：

• Subsequently, this statement was quoted widely in the colony as an evidence of profligacy. 结果这句话成为肆意挥霍的一个例证在那块领地里传开了。 来自辞典例句
• Recession, they reason, must be a penance for past profligacy. 经济衰退，他们推断，肯定是对过去大肆挥霍的赎罪。 来自互联网

10 minaret   

n.（回教寺院的）尖塔

参考例句：

• The minaret is 65 meters high,the second highest in the world.光塔高65米，高度位居世界第二。
• It stands on a high marble plinth with a minaret at each corner.整个建筑建立在一个高大的大理石底座上，每个角上都有一个尖塔。

11 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

12 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

13 zinc   

n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

14 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

15 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

16 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

17 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

18 decries   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mr Basescu decries communism as criminal, but Bulgarian leaders only mumble. 巴塞斯库总统将共产主义比作犯罪，而对这个问题，保加利亚的领导人却避而不谈。 来自互联网
• A staunch materialist,he decries economy. 一个坚定的唯物主义者公开谴责经济。 来自互联网

19 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

20 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

21 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

22 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

23 filaments   

n.（电灯泡的）灯丝( filament的名词复数 )；丝极；细丝；丝状物

参考例句：

• Instead, sarcomere shortening occurs when the thin filaments'slide\" by the thick filaments. 此外，肌节的缩短发生于细肌丝沿粗肌丝“滑行”之际。 来自辞典例句
• Wetting-force data on filaments of any diameter and shape can easily obtained. 各种直径和形状的长丝的润湿力数据是易于测量的。 来自辞典例句

24 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

25 aquiline   

adj.钩状的，鹰的

参考例句：

• He had a thin aquiline nose and deep-set brown eyes.他长着窄长的鹰钩鼻和深陷的褐色眼睛。
• The man has a strong and aquiline nose.该名男子有强大和鹰鼻子。

26 monkish   

adj.僧侣的，修道士的，禁欲的

参考例句：

• There was an unconquerable repulsion for her in that monkish aspect. 她对这副猴子样的神气有一种无法克制的厌恶。 来自辞典例句

27 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

28 sketched   

v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

29 stylishly   

adv.时髦地，新式地

参考例句：

• Her stylishly short auburn hair was streaked naturally with gray. 她时髦的金棕色短发里自然地夹着几丝灰发。 来自辞典例句
• She was dressed very stylishly. 她穿着很时髦。 来自互联网

30 dispels   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This landmark case dispels the absolute finality of this dreaded disease. 这个划时代的病例终于改观了这可怕疾病的绝对结局。 来自辞典例句
• Charles's experience--and that of all other researchers I have met--dispels many myths about water buffaloes. 查尔斯以及我所见到的其他研究人员的经验破除了关于水牛的许多奇谈。 来自辞典例句