英语第六课C

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We recently participated in an environmental fair at the Mall (购物中心) of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the largest indoor shopping center in America. 最近，我们参加了一次在明尼苏达州布卢明顿市的美国购物中心举办的环境大会。此中心是全美最大的室内购物中心。After speaking with thousands of parents, children and teachers, we were alarmed at the public's wealth of environmental ignorance. 在与几千名家长、孩子和教师交谈之后，我们惊讶地发现，人们的环境知识是那么的贫乏。

We were equally annoyed that all of what we heard was so superficial, and based on such a shallow understanding of today's true environmental problems. 同样让我们懊恼的是，我们听到的一切都相当肤浅，对当今真正环境问题的理解也很浅薄。Here are five examples. 以下就是五个例证：

One: Recycling (回收利用) is the key. 误区1：回收利用是关键

Actually, recycling is one of the least important things we can do, if our real objective is to preserve natural resources. 实际上，如果我们的真正目的是保护自然资源，那么回收利用则是我们能做的工作中最不重要的事情之一。

Remember the phrase "reduce, reuse and recycle"? 还记得"少用，重用，再回收利用"这一说法吗？Reduce comes first for a good reason: It's better not to create waste than to have to figure out what to do with it.将"少用"放在第一位有充分的理由：与其绞尽脑汁地思考怎样处理废物，还不如干脆不要制造垃圾。And the production of recycled items, like the production of any other form of manufactured goods, requires energy and other resources while creating pollution. 而且生产回收利用的产品，就像生产其他各类产品一样，需要能源和其他资源，同时还造成了污染。

Rather, we need to make products more durable, lighter, more energy efficient and easier to repair rather than to replace. 与之相反，我们需要制造更多更耐用、更轻便、更节能、更易修理而不是更易替换的产品。Finally, we need to reduce and reuse packaging. 最后，我们还要减少并重复使用产品的包装。

Two: Garbage will bury us. 误区2：垃圾会埋葬我们

The original garbage crisis occurred when people first settled down to farm and could no longer leave their places after their garbage grew too deep.最早的垃圾危机发生在人类首次定居并开始农耕时，由于垃圾堆积过多，人们无法离开他们的住地。Since then, every society has had to figure out what to do with its waste — something that is usually unhealthy, smelly, and ugly — throwing garbage in the streets, piling it up just outside of town, building it into structures or simply setting it on fire. 此后，每个社会都要想办法解决垃圾问题——处理那些通常是有害的、难闻的、难看的东西——要么把垃圾扔到街上，要么堆在城外，要么掺在建筑结构里，要么干脆付之一炬。

Today we can design history's and the world's safest recycling facilities, garbage dumps and facilities for burning rubbish. 今天，我们能够设计出有史以来世界上最安全的再造设施、垃圾场和废物燃烧设备。America even has too much garbage dump capacity,

thanks to the fact that we have been building large regional dumps to replace older, smaller local dumps. 美国的垃圾倾卸能力非常强，因为美国人一直在修建大型区域性垃圾场，以取代陈旧的小型地方性垃圾场。

The problem is political. 问题出在观念上。No one wants to spend money on just getting rid of garbage or to have a garbage site in the backyard. 没人愿意把钱花在清理垃圾这种小事上，或在院子里设一处垃圾堆放点。The obvious solution is to stop generating so much garbage in the first place. 最显而易见的解决办法是首先停止生产这么多垃圾。Doing so requires both the knowledge and the self-discipline to use less energy and do more with less stuff. 要做到这一点，需要人们有意识地、自觉地减少使用能源，并且用更少的东西办更多的事情。

Three: Industry is to blame. 误区3：工业难辞其咎

No, it's all people's fault.不，这是所有人的过错。Certainly industry has played a significant role in destroying natural areas, generating pollution and using up resources. 在破坏自然环境、制造污染和消耗能源方面，工业固然起了主要作用，但是我们才是授意者：But we are the ones who signal to businesses that what they are doing is okay — every time we buy their products. 每当我们购买他们的产品时，我们就在向企业发出信号，告诉他们可以这样做。

And don't just blame industrial societies. 不要只是谴责工业社会。In his recent book Earth Politics, Ernst Ulrich von Weizsacker wrote that "perhaps 90 percent of the destruction of animal and plant species, soil erosion, forest destruction and creation of deserts is taking place in developing countries."在其新作《地球政治学》一书中，厄恩斯特·乌尔里克·冯·魏茨泽克写道："动植物物种灭绝，土壤受侵蚀，森林被毁，沙漠产生，在这些破坏中，也许有90%正发生在发展中国家。" Thus, even non-industrialized, poor economies are creating environmental disasters. 可见，即使是非工业化的经济穷国也在制造环境灾害。

Four: The earth is in danger. 误区4：地球身处险境

In reality, the earth doesn't need to be saved.事实上，地球并不需要我们去拯救。Nature doesn't care if human beings are here or not. 自然界并不在乎人类是否存在。The planet has survived major changes for millions upon millions of years. 这个星球几十亿年来经历了种种重大变化仍能生存。Over that time, it is widely believed, 99 percent of all species have come and gone, while the planet has remained. 这期间，99%的物种生生死死，唯独地球依然存在，这一点已成共识。

Saving the environment is really about saving our environment — making it safe for ourselves, our children and the world as we know it. 拯救环境其实就是拯救我们自己的环境——是为了保障我们自己、我们的子孙以及我们周围世界的安全。If more people saw the issue as one of saving themselves, we would probably see increased support and commitment to actually doing something. 如果更多的人把这看作一项拯救自己的事业，那我们会看到更多人以实际行动支持和投身于这项事业。

Five: Americans are wasting more. 误区5：美国人浪费更多