中國正在做的毀掉自己環境的十種事情(上)
In recent years it's come to light that, despite China's best efforts to the contrary, they have a massive pollution problem. As China finds themselves trying to quickly and cheaply produce goods that meet the consumer demands of the majority of the world, they've also found themselves polluting the atmosphere on an unprecedented scale.
近年來，政府花大力氣治理污染，結果卻不如人意，污染問題反而日益嚴峻。一些人想靠快速、低成本產出的貨物搶佔世界主要消費市場，但同時也發現，生產過程所造成的大氣污染問題範圍之大前所未有。While the world is crying out for China to lower their emissions, many aren't prepared for the lifestyle changes that would be required if the world's major manufacturing hub decided to greatly lower its output. In the meantime, the Chinese people suffer the consequences, and as the pollution starts to spread around the globe we may all eventually feel the effects.
世界其他國家敦促中國降低污染排放量，但若中國這一世界製造中心決定大幅降低外貿輸出，那許多國家的生活方式也會隨之改變，但他們尚未做好改變原有生活方式的準備。同時，是中國人民在爲污染買單，獨自承受着環境污染帶來的惡果。由於污染問題開始在全球蔓延，世界各國也將嚐到環境污染所帶來的惡果。Air Quality Is Creating A Tremendous Death Toll
10.空氣污染嚴重，死亡人數驚人
The air pollution problem often keeps many people indoors, and forces them to wear masks to keep out toxic fumes even on days where total avoidance of the outside isn't advised. This problem is giving China a black eye on the national stage. Even after the Beijing Olympics, when the problem became more obvious, the true extent of pollution was swept under the rug. China has never offered journalists free reign to poke around, and has long denied any major problems caused by the air pollution.
很多人因爲空氣污染問題，寧願呆在家中，即使天氣預報沒有強調“不宜出行”，他們出門時也會戴上口罩，減少有害物質的吸入。環境污染問題讓中國在國際社會中顏面無存。2008年北京奧運會後，環境污染問題更加嚴重，然而，真實污染程度卻被隱瞞。However, a joint study involving the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning and the World Health Organization found that somewhere between 350,000 to 500,000 Chinese people are “prematurely” dying from lung cancer due to pollution. Unfortunately, there are people who try to hand wave these numbers away. China's government has tried to keep journalists from even talking about the issue, and they've done their best to keep the numbers out of international reports whenever possible. While some would suggest that all the smoking in China is the main cause, the study makes it clear that the number of people dying from lung cancer have continued to rise even as the number of smokers has declined.
一項由包括環境保護部環境規劃院和世界衛生組織在內的聯合調查發現，在中國某一地區，污染導致35-50萬人過早地死於肺癌。還有些人指出，吸菸是導致肺癌的主要原因；但調查顯示，吸菸人數已然減少，肺癌致死人數卻仍在持續增長。Are Burning Petcoke As Fuel
9.把石油焦當燃料
The United States likes to feel that they're a much cleaner country than China, and that they're doing more to deal with the crisis of pollution and renewable energy. However, the situation is more complicated than it seems. The United States and other countries are happy to buy products made using Chinese industry while claiming to take the high road themselves. The United States has put its foot down on certain fuels such as petroleum coke (petcoke). This fossil fuel is a byproduct of the oil refining process and is much, much dirtier than burning actual coal. While America don't use the fuel, the US exports it to China so America can make some money off this byproduct instead of just letting the dangerous pollutant “go to waste.”
美國一向認爲自身污染比中國小，在應對污染問題和再生能源危機時更加積極主動。然而，事實遠非這麼簡單。以美國爲首的一些國家，一邊購買中國製造的工業產品，一邊高調宣揚自己採取了積極措施應對環境污染。美國早已停止使用諸如石油焦這樣的燃料。石油焦是蒸餾原油所得副產物，燃燒時對空氣造成的污染比直接燒煤更嚴重。如此嚴重的污染物本該被當做廢物直接扔掉，卻被美國出口到中國來換取經濟利益。Every year, the amount of petcoke exported to China grows, because it's an incredibly cheap fuel and China is dealing with the industrial demands of much of the modern world. While it's cheap, it is hardly sustainable. With carbon emissions already out of control, using a fossil fuel that's dirtier than coal is going to make an environmental crisis approach even faster. Of course, the rest of the world is partly to blame for selling the stuff in the first place. Sometimes it's better to think of protecting the world from catastrophe than it is to squeeze every last possible cent of profit out of your waste.
由於中國是當今世界工業貿易品生產大國，考慮到石油焦做燃料價格低廉，所以中國進口石油焦量逐年增長。石油焦價格低廉，但不屬於可持續能源。碳排放已經無法遏制，用比煤炭污染更嚴重的石油焦做燃料，只會令環境污染更加惡化。當然，在石油焦買賣交易中，美國作爲石油焦銷售國應當遭到國際社會的譴責。保護地球避免災難發生，傾盡所有去彌補挽救要比災難發生後，再用以犧牲環境爲代價換來的經濟利益去彌補挽救的愚蠢做法要明智得多。rd Algae Growth
8.藻類大爆發
While algae blooms aren't necessarily dangerous to humans, they're usually a bad sign for the local ecosystem. Large blooms of algae have been surfacing every year in the Yellow Sea near the Qingdao Province, and the problem seems to be worsening. These huge piles of algae sitting on top of the water create an enormous mess, and in 2013 the local government was tasked with trying to clean up a bloom that was larger than 11,000 square miles.
儘管藻類氾濫不會對人類生活造成多麼嚴重的負面影響，但這種現象常常意味着該片區域的生態環境已經開始惡化。著名海濱城市青島東臨黃海，附近海域連年水藻氾濫，海里其它生物的生存環境每況愈下。不僅如此，海藻生長聚集在海面上，使得近海多半海域看起來都是密密麻麻的綠色，景象嚇人。2013年，青島市政府打算投入大量人力物力將海藻清理乾淨，總面積超過1.1萬平方英里。These algae blooms greatly affect the local marine life, which often simply can't survive the conditions they're forced to deal with. The algae tends to block the sun's rays, and can also greatly change the chemical balance of the water. To make matters worse, the algae can start to cause problems to humans when it decomposes and sends toxic fumes into the atmosphere. When the Olympics were hosted in China, the government had to spend millions and enlist the aid of 10,000 people to clean the algae up enough to allow the games to continue. The damage from that year alone was estimated to cost local seafood farmers roughly 100 million dollars. Part of the problem may be seaweed farmers, who are scraping waste into the water that later turns into algae blooms when the conditions are right. Of course, many experts feel that if industrial pollution wasn't so bad those conditions wouldn't be there.
海藻附着在海面阻擋紫外線照射會極大改變海水中的化學平衡。更糟的是，藻類還會分解釋放有害氣體，影響人體健康。海藻氾濫的原因主要有兩個，一是工業污染，再一個就是附近漁民養殖海藻，還把生活垃圾丟入海里，天氣轉暖時很可能造成海藻氾濫。2008年中國舉辦奧運會時，政府曾花費上百萬人民幣招募一萬名志願者清理海藻，以保證賽事能正常進行。據估計，這項海藻清理工程給當地漁業造成近一億美元的損失。當然，很多專家認爲如果工業污染不那麼嚴重的話，海藻爆發的條件自然也不會出現。're Approaching A Water Crisis
7.日益嚴峻的淡水危機
When you think of a country with a serious water crisis, China isn't what comes to mind. But China is approaching a crisis, even though they would appear to have plenty of water to go around. To begin with, many industrial plants are located near water sources and dump their waste directly into the water, with very little recycling or treatment. Oftentimes sewage isn't treated properly or at all, and ends up in the same sources of water intended for industry, drinking and bathing. If that wasn't enough, since the 1960s, 10,000 bodies have been found in water sources.
每每提及用水危機、乾旱、水資源短缺一類的問題，我們的第一反應總是非洲火燎的沙漠，中東炙熱的日光，但絕不會認爲中國也是個用水緊張的國家。儘管淡水總量不少，但人口基數龐大，人均可用水量非常緊張，所以中國水資源短缺是個嚴峻問題。改革開放發展經濟初期，許多工廠廠房都建在河流岸邊，毫不顧忌地將未經循環處理的工業廢水直接排放到河流中。通常情況下污水也不經過處理，原本乾淨的水源遭到污染，然後再用於工業生產和日常生活。還有調查數據顯示，自上世紀六十年代，環境治理部門已經在水源污染嚴重的地區清理出將近一萬條死魚。Apart from pollution, China is also destroying some of their water sources. Due to industry using water without sustainable practices, many of China's rivers are drying up. Many different ruined rivers and lakes will affect other water sources and make the crisis worse. On top of all that, China has an infrastructure problem when it comes to getting water where it needs to be. Most of China's people and the agriculture that keeps them fed are located in the north, but the large majority of the country's natural water is still located in the south. And even if you can get water, you may not want to drink it. Some experts believe that half the drinking water in major cities is unsafe to consume, and groundwater supplies are in a similar state of pollution.
水源遭到污染除了工業排放所致，也受其他一些因素影響。首先工業用水量巨大加之利益驅使，極少有工廠在生產過程中考慮循環利用。這種工業生產模式導致越來越多的河流水量減少甚至瀕臨枯竭。同時由於河流運動，已經受到污染的淡水又流向乾淨水域，導致污染面積成倍擴張，可利用的淡水越來越少。地下水也同樣存在類似的污染現象。一些專家認爲許多大中型城市的淡水實際上有一半不宜飲用。此外水資源分佈不均也是重要問題，中國大部分人口以及賴以生存的農業區域主要位於北方，但絕大多數淡水位於南方，好在當前南水北調工程已經完工，情況得到緩解。're Starting To Experience Conditions Similar To A Nuclear Winter
6.即將遭遇核冬天般的極寒天氣
A nuclear winter is a theoretical scenario that would occur in the aftermath of multiple nuclear bomb detonations. Apart from the dangers of the radiation itself, the ash that accumulates in the air would block the sun's rays for a period that may last years. This would cause the planet to cool, and would greatly impede photosynthesis. It would be almost impossible to grow crops.
核冬天理論認爲，核彈爆炸後，除卻核輻射威脅環境和人體健康外，爆炸產生的大量煙塵也會對生產生活造成難以想象的影響。由於煙塵體積微小，被推入大氣後能在高空停留數天乃至一年以上，又因爲它們的平均直徑小於紅外波長，對從太陽來的可見光輻射有較強的吸收能力，會阻擋光熱到達地面，導致地表溫度下降，很大程度上阻礙植物進行光合作用，使得農作物幾乎不再生長。Aside from the radiation, this may soon be a reality in parts of China. As the country's smog problem worsens, and the government becomes less able to sweep it under the rug, more Chinese scientists are delving into the miasma, and it's not good news. One scientist concluded that the smog in some areas is already bad enough that it could be severely impeding photosynthesis. She believes that if the problem isn't dealt with soon, it could spread to much of the country and put agriculture across China at serious risk.
除了核輻射，在全國範圍內霧霾問題日益嚴重，環境治理部門監管力度太弱，他們顯然有着不可推卸的責任。此外，中國科學界的學術氛圍日益頹靡，種種情形都不容樂觀。有科學家研究發現，在一些重霧霾地區，農作物的光合作用同樣受到抑制，生長緩慢。審校：瑪格 編輯：旭旭 來源：前十網
