air particle levels were ten times higher than the World Health Organization’s safety standards.

及空氣微粒程度超出聯合國衛生組織安全標準十倍之多

The alert shut down schools and stopped construction, reflecting China’s

此警戒暫停學校及城市一切活動，反映出中國

ongoing issues with pollution. At that same time, the rest of the world was meeting in

一直以來的汙染問題。 與此同時，世界各國正於巴黎

Paris for the United Nations Climate Change convention, in an attempt to tackle growing

召開聯合國氣候變遷高峰會，試圖找出對抗環境議題的方法

environmental concerns. So while Beijing is covered in smog, we want to know: what are

那麼在北京深陷霧霾中之時，我們來看看：

the cleanest cities in the world?

世界上最乾淨的城市有哪些？

A 2012 Green City Index reported by the Economist Intelligence Unit examined each major world

英國經濟學人智庫的2012綠色城市索引對世界主要地區進行調查

region to determine which global factors contribute to cleanliness.

以此判斷哪項全球化因素對環境清潔的影響最大

In Europe, many of the top spots were captured by Nordic countries, with Copenhagen in Denmark

在歐洲，北歐是受歡迎城市數量最多的地區，而丹麥的哥本哈根

as the cleanest city overall. Zurich, Switzerland also received high points for lowest CO2 emissions.

為其中最乾淨的城市。紐西蘭的蘇黎世在「二氧化碳排放量最低」的項目中也得到高分

Both countries have strict limits on high polluting vehicles, but there is also a societal

這兩個國家對於高汙染的車輛皆有嚴格管制的措施，而在社會上

push to use public transit, bicycling, and walking. Even the 2009 Copenhagen Accord saw

也力推民眾使用大眾交通工具、騎腳踏車或是步行。2009年哥本哈根協議甚至見證

the world’s major economies come together for the first time to lower global emissions.

世界主要經濟體齊聚一堂，首次致力於降低全球二氧化碳排放量

In Latin America, a clear and repeat winner for cleanest city has been Curitiba,in Brazil.

在拉丁美洲(中南美洲)，最乾淨城市的常勝軍是巴西的古里提巴

The city was the first to introduce bus rapid transit in 1974, and has continued

這個城市於1974年引進公車快捷交通，並且持續

the trend of working with its citizens to provide environmental benefits. A recycling

與居民一同致力於改善環境。

program called, “Garbage? That’s not garbage!” has led to about ¾ of the city’s trash

由於一項名為「垃圾？那不是垃圾」的回收計畫，該城市有四分之三的垃圾

recycled by residents. Other programs, like one which trades bus tokens for recycling,

是由居民回收的。 由其他像是以回收物交換公車票等等的計畫

shows how effective communal and government efforts can be.

可以看出社會大眾與政府花費許多心力在環境議題上

Another top recycler, this time in Asia, is the city-state of Singapore. On average, they

另外一個資源回收小尖兵是位於亞洲的城邦島國-新加坡。該國家平均

generate less trash per person than the rest of the continent. But they also keep the city

每人製造的垃圾量低於亞洲其他地區。他們密集地

clean through high density planning, and infrastructure investment. Recycling and water treatment

投資結構下的計畫來保持城市整潔。回收處理水源的綠化措施

plants are state of the art, and designed around supplying the uniquely compact city.

是這個城市之美，環繞這這個獨特整潔的城市並供給所需

With so many people living so close together, it is very important to produce as little

該城市人口十分密集，因此盡力推行垃圾減量

waste as possible.

非常重要

Over in North America, it’s health conscious San Francisco that takes the lead. According

在北美洲，舊金山以健康意識居於城市領導地位

to the GCI, San Francisco recycles as much as 77% of their waste, which is more than

根據美國公司GCI的資料，舊金山垃圾回收量達77%，除了德國萊比錫之外

any European city besides Leipzig, Germany. Another reason is that SF requires that commercial

這個數量比歐洲任何城市都多。另一個原因在於，舊金山要求商業建築屋主

building owners submit regular energy usage reports, leading to considerably lower usage.

遵守能源使用規範，因此能源使用量大幅降低

This, coupled with a sharing economy, high quality public transit, and and marginal environmental

再加上共享經濟、高品質的大眾運輸工具還有少量環境稅收

tax benefits, makes SF incredibly clean.

造就了乾淨的舊金山

Lastly, and unfortunately, no cities score “well above average” in Africa. The highest

最後，非洲不幸地沒有任何城市達到「高於平均」的標準。得分最高的

ranked, Accra in Ghana, is not necessarily the cleanest. But they get major points for

城市為迦納的阿克拉，但也不算是最乾淨的。然而他們得分主要是因為

having a direct bureaucratic link with the national government concerning the environment.

他們國家政府關心環境，對此設有直接的公家制度

This helps not only in monitoring, but also action, and is found lacking in most African

這不僅有助於觀察環境狀態，也有益於實際改善環境問題，這是受調查的大多數非洲城市

cities profiled.

所缺乏的

Overall, the most consistent aspect of environmental friendliness seemed to be based on society’s

綜觀上述，環境友善最關鍵的因素似乎以社會大眾的參與意願為基準

willingness to take part. Mass transit and recycling help bring down emissions, as does

大眾運輸工具與資源回收皆有助於降低二氧化碳排放量

efficient city planning and government policy. But it should come as no surprise that without

當然有效的城市計畫與政府政策也非常有幫助。但無庸置疑地

the support of the people, there is little that can be done to save the earth.

若沒有大眾的支持，拯救地球的機率是微乎其微

While it is nice to live in a city with no pollution, much of the world does not have

雖然住在無汙染的城市非常好，世界大多數地區卻沒能享這種福

that luxury. To find out what pollution actually does to your body, check out this video by

想知道污染對你的身體到底有什麼影響嗎？看看以下這部由DNEWS製作的影片

DNews. Thanks for

非常感謝

watching Test Tube News! Please like and subscribe and we’ll keep making videos for you everyday.

您收看Test Tube News！請按讚並訂閱頻道，我們每天都會發布影片供您觀賞