it's easy to lose track of its less obvious impacts.

它很容易失去對其不太明顯的影響的跟蹤。

While we're tracking infection rates and figuring out how to best distribute vaccines,

在我們追蹤感染率和弄清如何最好地分發疫苗的同時。

COVID has created just the right conditions for a surge in plastic waste.

COVID為塑膠垃圾的激增創造了恰到好處的條件。

But scientists are fighting back by exploring ways to reuse protective plastics without compromising people's safety.

但科學家們正在進行反擊，探索在不影響人們安全的情況下重新使用保護性塑膠的方法。

To start off the episode with a tiny silver lining around a very dark rain cloud,

在這一集的開始，在一片非常黑暗的雨雲周圍有一絲銀色的光芒。

let me first note that CO2 emissions have dropped during the pandemic.

讓我首先指出，在大流行期間，二氧化碳的排放量已經下降。

Global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 were down as much as 7% from the year before.

2020年的全球溫室氣體排放比前一年下降了7%之多。

People just aren't traveling as much and industries have ground to a halt.

人們只是沒有那麼多的旅行，工業已經停頓下來了。

As a result, we're not burning fossil fuels anywhere close to pre-COVID rates.

是以，我們的化石燃料燃燒率沒有接近COVID之前的水準。

It's not much of a consolation, but it's not insignificant either.

這算不上什麼安慰，但也不是無足輕重。

Because despite these temporary emission reduction gains, COVID presented new challenges

因為儘管有這些暫時的減排成果，COVID還是帶來了新的挑戰

in our efforts to stop using so much plastic.

在我們努力停止使用如此多的塑膠。

Take-out meals have become the life preserver of struggling restaurants,

外賣餐已經成為掙扎中的餐館的保命符。

and often each meal comes in its own plastic box with a side of single-use utensils.

而且往往每頓飯都裝在自己的塑膠盒子裡，旁邊還有一次性餐具。

Online shopping has soared and with it the use of packaging materials like plastic bubble wrap.

網上購物已經飆升，隨之而來的是塑膠氣泡膜等包裝材料的使用。

Grocery stores have even brought back plastic bags even though laws were previously passed to outlaw their use.

雜貨店甚至帶回了塑膠袋，儘管之前已經通過了法律，禁止使用塑膠袋。

And of course, there's the plastic product that is emblematic of the entire pandemic: single-use surgical face masks.

當然，還有象徵著整個大流行病的塑料產品：一次性使用的外科口罩。

Unlike reusable cloth masks, these masks are built for people in high-risk areas,

與可重複使用的布質口罩不同，這些口罩是為高風險地區的人們建造的。

like hospitals, who need to change their masks often and need an easy way to go about doing that.

像醫院一樣，需要經常更換口罩，並需要一個簡單的方法來完成這一工作。

Being able to dispose of a mask after just one use and replace it with a sterile one has huge advantages.

能夠在只使用一次後就處理掉口罩，用無菌的口罩替換，具有巨大的優勢。

But the need to keep healthcare workers protected from infection means these masks—

但為了保護醫護人員免受感染，意味著這些口罩

along with other protective equipment like face shields, N95 masks, and surgical gowns—

以及其他防護設備，如面罩、N95口罩和手術服---。

are used and discarded at an incredible rate.

以難以置信的速度使用和丟棄。

In Wuhan, China, the total amount of medical waste generated in 2020 jumped an estimated 25% from the previous year.

在中國武漢，2020年產生的醫療廢物總量估計比前一年躍升了25%。

Unfortunately, most of this disposable medical gear is made from polypropylene,

不幸的是，這種一次性醫療設備大多是由聚丙烯製成的。

a plastic derived from fossil fuels.

一種從化石燃料中提取的塑膠。

Single-use medical gowns and drapes, for example, are typically constructed from polypropylene laminated in a breathable film

例如，一次性使用的病號服和窗簾通常是由聚丙烯在透氣薄膜中層壓而成的。

that works to keep viruses and microorganisms at bay.

它的作用是保持病毒和微生物不受影響。

So, where does that leave us?

那麼，這讓我們怎麼辦呢？

The ideal solution would be to have personal protective equipment that keeps the people fighting for our health safe

理想的解決方案是擁有個人防護設備，使為我們的健康而戰的人保持安全。

while also ensuring the health of our planet.

同時也確保我們星球的健康。

That equipment would either be reusable or biodegradable…or both.

這些設備要麼是可重複使用的，要麼是可生物降解的......或者兩者都是。

A reusable biodegradable product is something of an oxymoron,

可重複使用的生物降解產品是一個矛盾的說法。

and while there are organic alternatives to plastic, such as cellulose and seaweed,

以及雖然有塑膠的有機替代品，如纖維素和海藻。

the cheap price of crude oil means that plastic is more economically viable.

原油的廉價價格意味著塑膠在經濟上更加可行。

So, scientists are looking at ways to improve and augment what we already have.

是以，科學家們正在研究如何改進和增強我們已有的東西。

Researchers at the University of California Irvine are testing out charged nanoparticles that repel viruses

加州大學歐文分校的研究人員正在測試能驅除病毒的帶電納米粒子

and can be embedded in plastics.

並可嵌入塑膠中。

Others are finding ways to cheaply and effectively decontaminate used masks.

其他人正在尋找廉價而有效地淨化使用過的口罩的方法。

Scientists in Ohio have teamed up with NASA and have had early success decontaminating thousands of N95 masks at once

俄亥俄州的科學家們與美國國家航空航天局合作，並在早期成功地一次性淨化了數千個N95口罩

with peracetic acid aerosols.

用過氧乙酸氣溶膠。

After running the masks through a 76-minute cycle, the team found a 99.9% reduction in viral contamination.

在通過76分鐘的循環運行口罩後，該團隊發現病毒汙染減少了99.9%。

Even more exciting is that this process can be scaled up to decontaminate 20,000 masks a day,

更令人興奮的是，這個過程可以擴大規模，每天對2萬個口罩進行淨化。

or enough to cover the needs of a large hospital,

或足以滿足一家大醫院的需要。

while allowing single-use masks to be reused at least 5 times before they start to show wear!

同時允許一次性使用的口罩在開始出現磨損之前至少重複使用5次。

And other researchers at NASA, in their NASA way, are looking into how atomic oxygen freed up from ozone molecules

而美國宇航局的其他研究人員，以他們的方式，正在研究從臭氧分子中釋放出來的原子氧是如何的

can break the bonds in a coronavirus's membrane.

可以打破冠狀病毒膜上的鍵。

Will any of these approaches be effective, scalable, and easy to adopt?

這些方法中是否有有效的、可擴展的、易於採用的？

Will they have a meaningful impact? It's too early to say.

他們會產生有意義的影響嗎？現在說還為時過早。

So, in the meantime, what can we do?

那麼，在這期間，我們能做什麼？

Well, the same advice from pre-covid applies: Reduce or eliminate plastic use where you can.

好吧，前ovid的建議同樣適用。在你能做到的情況下，減少或消除塑膠的使用。

If you use surgical face masks, consider switching to a natural fiber cloth one and be sure to wash it after each use.

如果你使用外科口罩，考慮換成天然纖維布的口罩，並確保每次使用後都要清洗。

When this is all over fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions are still going to be a huge issue.

當這一切都結束時，化石燃料和溫室氣體排放仍將是一個巨大的問題。

Because in 2020 alone, an estimated 1.5 billion masks entered our oceans.

因為僅在2020年，估計有15億個面具進入我們的海洋。

More than anything, the surge in plastic waste is just another reason to do your part to end the pandemic as soon as possible.

更重要的是，塑膠垃圾的激增只是另一個為儘快結束這一流行病而盡己所能的理由。

The public health and environmental crises do not stand alone

公共衛生和環境危機並不是孤立存在的

and we can all take steps to make sure that both the health of people and the planet stay protected.

我們都可以採取措施，確保人類和地球的健康都得到保護。

Want more COVID coverage? We've got a whole playlist for you to check out here.

想要更多的COVID報道？我們有一個完整的播放列表供你在這裡查看。

And be sure to let us know if there's another related topic that you'd like to see us cover down in the comments.

如果你想看到我們在評論中介紹其他相關話題，請務必讓我們知道。

Hit that subscribe button, and as always, thanks for watching Seeker. I'll see you next time.

點擊訂閱按鈕，並一如既往地感謝您觀看《探索者》。下一次見。