到2050年海洋中塑料将会超过鱼类重量

    There will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans by 2050 unless more recycling takes place. That is what a new report from the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation warns.
    如果不进行更多回收,到2015年全球的海洋里塑料要比鱼多。这是世界经济论坛和艾伦·麦克阿瑟基金会在一份新报告中做出的警告。

    If the current trend continues, the report said, oceans will contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish in 2025.
    该报告称,如果目前的趋势继续下去,到2025年海洋每包含3吨鱼就会有1吨塑料。

    By 2050, plastics will weigh more than fish, the report said.
    该报告称,到2050年,塑料的重量将会超过鱼。

    The problem is that each year at least 8 million tons of plastics end up in oceans around the world.
    问题是每年至少有8百万吨塑料最终流入了世界各地的海洋。

    The report said this is the same as dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute.
    该报告称,这相当于每分钟向海洋中倒入一垃圾车的塑料。

    Not all plastic ends up in the ocean because someone throws a plastic bottle into the water.
    并非所有流入海洋的塑料都是因为有人把塑料瓶扔进水里。

    Plastic containers and other trash thrown onto streets and sidewalks often are swept into oceans. The debris travels from storm drains during rain storms, said the environmental group Marine Defenders.
    海洋卫士环保组织表示,扔到街道和人行道的塑料容器等垃圾通常都会流入大海。这些垃圾在暴雨中通过下水道流入大海。

    Some end up in gyres. A gyre is a big whirlpool that traps and moves the plastic in circles.
    其中一些被卷入环流。环流是指让困住垃圾并使其环形运动的大漩涡。

    Unlike other types of trash in the ocean, the plastic never bio-degrades. That means it does not break down.
    和海洋里其它类型的垃圾不同,塑料从未生物降解,这意味着它不会分解。

    There is a way to slow the amount of plastics going into the oceans -- people can recycle more. That is a major recommendation of the report by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
    有一种办法可以减少流入海洋的塑料的数量,人们可以回收更多塑料。这是世界经济论坛和艾伦·麦克阿瑟基金会的报告提出的主要建议。

    The report's authors say that currently only about 14 percent of plastics are recycled.
    该报告的作者表示,目前只有14%的塑料被回收利用。

    It said research in Europe shows as much as 53 percent of plastic could be recycled using available technology.
    报告称,欧洲的研究表明高达53%的塑料可以利用现有技术进行回收。

    The report says that another solution is using less plastic for packaging products. But that is not likely to happen, the report's authors say.
    报告称,另一种方案是减少产品的塑料包装。但是该报告的作者表示这不太可能实现。

    "Given plastic packaging's many benefits, both the likelihood and desirability of an across-the-board drastic reduction in the volume of plastic packaging used is clearly low," the report said.
    报告称,“由于塑料包装的诸多好处,全盘大幅减少塑料包装使用量的可能性和愿望显然都很低。”

    But the authors note reducing the use of plastics should be tried "where possible."
    但是作者们指出,在可能的情况下应该尽量减少塑料的使用。

    For decades, scientists warned that plastics are killing fish. The Natural Resources Defense Council said research shows that fish are dying from choking after eating plastics. Another cause of death is that plastics cause "intestinal blockage and starvation," the environmental group said.
    科学家几十年来一直警告说塑料会导致鱼类死亡。美国自然资源保护委员会表示,研究显示鱼类食用塑料后会窒息而死。该环保组织表示,鱼类死亡的另一个原因是塑料造成肠道堵塞和饥饿。

    I'm Mario Ritter.
    我是马里奥·理特。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)