I've got my grocery tote bag.

我拿了我的托特購物袋

I even have solar panels on my roof.

我甚至在屋頂裝了太陽能面板

But in the back of my mind, I can't help thinking:

但在我腦海深處總忍不住要想：

Does any of this actually make a difference when it comes to climate change?

這些真的對氣候變遷有所助益嗎？

If you read the headlines,

如果你有讀新聞頭條

you quickly begin to see that climate change is a massive problem.

你會發現氣候變遷是個很大的問題

So is my reusable bag really going to change the world?

所以，我的環保袋真的能夠改變世界嗎？

But not everyone feels that way.

並不是每個人都有這種疑慮

This is all of my trash from the past four years.

這是我這四年來的垃圾

Oh, my god!

哦，我的天啊！

This is Lauren Singer.

這是 Lauren Singer

She runs a website where she gives tips and answers questions about living a zero-waste life.

她經營一個提供「零廢棄物」生活點子並幫大家解決疑難雜症的網站

Okay, so you've got tiny little ends and bits and things…

好，你有這些又小又少的廢棄物

Yeah.

是的

Are you really telling me that everything else that you use for four years—

你真的要告訴我你這四年所用的每樣東西都---

is—

是---

you've found some other use for?

都能找到其他用途嗎？

Totally, is compostable, infinitely reusable, or 100% easily recyclable.

絕對的，能變成堆肥，可無限再利用，或是能百分之百再生

You may look at the extremely eco-friendly way Lauren is living and find it inspiring.

你可以看見 Lauren 過著非常環保的生活方式，這非常令人佩服

Or maybe, like me, you're totally skeptical.

也或者，你和我一樣抱持懷疑的態度

But a lot of what she's doing is actually pretty simple.

不過她所做的大部分都不難做到

When she wants coffee, she brings her own cup.

當她想喝咖啡，她用她自己帶的杯子

Or let's say she wants to buy a pastry; she'll put it into a reusable cotton bag.

或是當她想買糕點的時候，她會用可重複使用的棉袋

A safety razor instead of plastic ones.

用安全剃刀而不是那種塑膠製的

There's all this disposable stuff in our lives that we're not even thinking about.

我們生活中充斥著一大堆這種一次性的可拋式商品

And what Lauren's done is find some easy substitutes.

而 Lauren 所做的只是找到簡單的替代品

Everything else ends up in the jar.

所有東西最後都進到這個玻璃罐裡了

This is macaroni-and-cheese packaging,

這是起司通心粉的包裝

and this was like, four years ago, right when I started.

大概四年前我開始這樣做

That was, that was my weekend at Dad's house.

那是一個周末，在我爸的房子裡

So these are…

這些是...

Oh, I know what these are.

哦，我知道這些是什麼

Plastic straws.

塑膠吸管

Hot chocolate.

熱巧克力

This was a bad day, wasn't it, for you?

那天對你來說應該很糟吧？

No, actually someone sent that to me in the mail.

不會，事實上那是有人寄給我的

These aren't huge trash problems.

這些不是太大的垃圾問題

The EPA isn't up in arms about plastic straws.

環保局並沒有因為塑膠吸管而發愁

But you can see how these little bits of waste can really add up.

但是你可以看見這些廢棄物是如何一點點累積起來

The United States is the No. 1 trash-producing country in the world.

美國是世界上最會製造垃圾的國家

If every country lived like the US,

如果每個國家都像美國這樣過生活

we'd need over four Earths to make all the stuff we consume.

我們就需要四個地球來裝我們消耗出來的東西

Do you think little things make a big difference?

你認為小事情就能做出大改變嗎？

Totally.

絕對可以

If you reduce single-use coffee cups from your routine and you're a daily coffee drinker,

如果你減少掉每天早上用來裝咖啡的那一個紙杯

that's 365 cups per year.

一年就少用了365個紙杯

That's not an insignificant change.

這絕不是個小改變

If every single person did that,

如果每個人都這麼做

that's a massive shift toward a more sustainable future.

就能朝向永續的未來邁近非常大的一步

And good policy can encourage this kind of shift.

而好的政策可以鼓勵這種轉變

Take plastic bags.

拿塑膠袋為例

Americans throw away about 100 billion a year.

美國人每年丟掉大約一千億個塑膠袋

But California is trying to change this.

但加州想要改變這件事情

Three communities have found that if you offer a plastic bag for free,

有三個社區發現如果你提供一個免費的塑膠袋

75 percent of people will take it.

有 75% 的人會使用它

But if you charge 10 cents for a bag, only 16 percent take it.

但如果每一個塑膠袋要收取十分錢的話，就只有 16% 的人會用

It's subtle, but this small fee makes people question whether they really need a bag.

這看起來沒甚麼，但是收取這小小的費用會讓人們考慮自己是否確實需要一個塑膠袋

And it reminds people to bring their own.

並且可以提醒大家自己帶一個

Communities across the country are beginning to adopt this policy,

全國各地的社區都開始採用這項政策

and it could create a large-scale shift.

就可以造成非常大規模的轉變

If New York City had a bag fee,

如果紐約市收取使用塑膠袋的費用

we could save roughly 7 billion plastic bags a year.

我們一年可以減少大約70億個塑膠袋的使用量

And without good policy,

而缺少好的政策

it can be really hard to do the right thing.

要想推動大家做對的事就變得很困難

Take recycling: in a place like Missoula, Montana, where I live,

拿資源回收來講，在我住的蒙大拿州米蘇拉縣

you can't recycle glass because doing so, it turns out, costs my city too much.

你不能回收玻璃因為這樣會造成整個城市過大的負擔

I think this is a fundamental flaw of governments and their relationship with businesses.

我覺得這是政府與企業間關係上一個根本的缺陷

Businesses aren't held accountable for products that they're putting into the waste stream.

企業沒有為他們所製造出來的大量廢棄物負起責任

So they're allowed to sell glass in Montana,

他們可以在蒙大拿販售玻璃

where there's no adequate recycling,

那裏並沒有適當的回收機制

and completely wipe their hands free

而企業完全不必負責任

and not have to subsidize any infrastructure to adequately recycle their product.

而且沒有任何配套措施來好好的回收他們的產品

So that responsibility for disposing of that product falls on you,

所以處理廢棄品的責任就落在你們身上

as a resident and the government.

身為當地居民以及其政府

That is completely unfair.

這非常不公平

The funny thing is, we used to have a really great system for dealing with glass.

好笑的是，我們原本有一套很棒的玻璃回收處理機制

After you were done with a bottle, you would just return it.

也就是在瓶子裡的東西用完以後，你可以還回去

Companies would clean it and use it again and again.

產品公司可以清洗乾淨然後重複使用

Around the 1950s, companies began experimenting with single-use bottles and cans.

大約在 1950 年代，各家公司開始研究生產可拋棄式的瓶子和罐子

Lots of other things became single-use too.

許多其他東西也都變成了可拋棄式的了

Like Don Draper here, people were just tossing their garbage wherever.

然後人們就像廣告中一樣到處亂丟垃圾

And all this trash started to annoy people.

這些隨處可見的垃圾開始使人們惱怒

Do you remember that very famous commercial?

你還記得那個很有名的廣告嗎？

Of this Native American,

一位美國的原住民

he's like, going down a river and there's all this waste, and tear goes down.

在河邊看到了非常多的廢棄物，然後他流下了眼淚

People start pollution; people can stop it.

人們汙染了這個環境，也可以停止這樣的傷害

And it's often credited for quote unquote "cleaning up America"

而且我們常說要「清理美國」

because we were reminded that we need to pick up our trash.

因為我們常常被提醒要隨手撿起垃圾

You see this commercial every Earth Day,

每年地球日都會看到這個廣告

but it was actually funded by a group of companies,

但這個廣告事實上正是由一堆公司贊助播出的

many of them from the can and bottle industry.

多半都是製造瓶瓶罐罐的工業

They were worried that states would ban their single-use products

他們擔心政府會立法禁止可拋棄式的產品

because people were getting sick of all the trash.

因為大眾開始對這種廢棄物感到厭惡

So they created this incredible ad,

所以他們製作了這個廣告

which is very powerful, which made us pick up trash,

廣告本身非常震撼人心，希望能讓人們撿起垃圾

which is actually trash that they were creating

而這些垃圾正是他們製造出來

and selling to us.

然後賣給我們的

Yeah

是啊

And profiting off of

並從中獲利

It actually shifted.

這真的被轉移了

That was the moment.

就在那一刻

I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't pick up trash.

我不是說我們不用撿起垃圾

But as far as I can tell,

但是我必須說

it was the first moment where we shifted this responsibility

當我們買這類產品的那一刻起，處理廢棄物的責任

from the person selling to the person buying.

就從賣方移到買方身上了

That needs to change really quick.

這真的需要儘快改變

And once it does, we won't even have to talk about providing adequate recycling systems

而且一旦改變開始，我們甚至不用討論提供適當回收機制的問題了

because businesses will create products that are easily and conveniently recyclable

因為企業就會開始生產可以輕鬆便利進行回收的產品

because it will make more economic sense for them

因為那樣會更有經濟效益

if that burden is put on the business instead of the consumer and the government.

如果將這個重擔回歸給企業而不是加諸在消費者以及政府身上

This gets to the heart of the matter.

回到問題的根本核心上

Climate change is a giant problem.

氣候變遷是一個非常嚴重的問題

We're not going to solve it without government and industry taking action.

如果企業和政府不採取行動，我們不可能解決這個問題

We live in this complicated web of carbon emissions.

我們居住在這個佈滿碳排放問題的複雜網絡之中

I mean, every single thing we do as individuals creates pollution.

我是說，每一個人做的每件事都會製造汙染

It's overwhelming.

這是非常嚴重的

But there's one simple policy that could make going green easier for all of us,

但只要一個好的政策就很容易達成綠生活

and it could have an enormous impact: we could put a price on carbon.

並且可以造成很大的衝擊：我們可以為碳排放標價

Right now, companies can emit as much pollution as they like.

現在，企業可以隨心所欲地排放這些汙染源

We're basically treating our sky like a giant sewer.

我們的天空就像個大型的排水溝

As long as it's free to pollute,

只要還可以隨意地製造汙染

no one's going to stop doing it.

誰都不會停下這種作法

You can't just go out there and find one source or one factory, one business,

你不可能跑出去隨便找一個源頭，一家工廠，一間公司

and shut it down and clean up your air.

然後把它關閉就可以讓空氣清新了

Everybody in a sense is part of the problem.

在某種意義上，每個人對這個問題都有責任

If companies had to pay for the carbon they produce,

如果企業必須為他們所排放的碳付錢

it would encourage better behavior.

就可以鼓勵他們有更好的作為

This is what California did in 2006.

這正是加州在 2006 年所做的事情

The state set a cap on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions,

這個州設置了碳排放的上限，還有其他造成溫室效應的廢氣排放限制

and they lowered it over the next few years.

而且過去幾年這些氣體排放量都有減低

Companies could either reduce their pollution or pay for carbon allowances.

公司可以選擇減少他們的碳排放或付錢

And so far, it's worked.

而且到目前為止，成效很好

The state is on track to hit its 2020 goal

加州正在為達成2020 年設定的目標而努力

and they are looking to cut emissions by another 40% by 2030.

而且他們打算在 2030 年以前再減少 40% 的排放量

Now, California isn't perfect, but this is a huge reduction in emissions.

加州目前還不夠完美，但是他們在減少碳排放上有顯著的成果

It's really larger than anything a person could achieve on their own.

這真的比個人單憑一己之力所能完成的要大的多了

The fears that were raised by opponents have not come to pass.

那些因反對聲浪所造成的恐懼還沒有完全消除

We've not seen an exodus of industries from California

但我們並沒有看到加州的工業大批出走

or people unable to drive their cars.

也沒有任何人無法駕駛車輛

And as the state cut emissions,

而且加州在減少排放量後

California's economy has actually grown by 12%,

其經濟成長了 12%

outpacing the national average.

超過全國成長的平均值

Going green at this scale isn't an overnight process.

這種環保的進程並非一蹴可成

People like Mary Nichols have spent decades fighting for better policies.

像Mary Nichols這樣的人就 為了更好的政策奔走幾十年

We certainly have enjoyed a lot of political support from all sides.

從各層面來看，我們確實享有政治上所給予的支持

I think that's largely just because the public in California has demanded that

我想加州的成功大部分來自於大眾強烈要求

clean, healthy air is something that everybody ought to have access to.

要有乾淨、健康的空氣，而這也應該是所有人應該享有的

So individual climate action does matter,

所以每一個為氣候變遷所採取的行動都很重要

in the sense that it creates cultural change.

這在某種意義上造成文化上的改變

When Lauren makes a video tutorial or shares one of her zero-waste tips on Instagram,

當 Lauren 在 Instagram 上教導或分享她的零廢棄生活點子時

it has a social ripple effect.

會有社會漣漪效應

Do you want everyone to live the lifestyle you're living?

你希望每個人都跟你有一樣的生活方式嗎？

I would never tell anyone how to live their life.

我不會告訴任何人該怎麼過他們的生活

But I'd like to show everyone that there are options.

我只是想讓大家知道可以有其他的選擇

That the way that we're told we have to live in this hyper-consumeristic way

我們一直以來過著這種過度消費的生活

isn't the only way we have to live in order to live in a modern world with modern luxuries.

但不是我們擁有奢侈的現代生活的唯一途徑

Folks like Lauren really help build the bottom-up support you need for large-scale transformation.

像 Lauren 這樣，可以建立起一種由下而上的支撐系統，正是大規模轉型所需要的

Look, climate policy can be complicated, and sometimes it can be boring.

聽著， 氣候變遷的政策或許是複雜的，並且有時候也滿無趣的

But we need it to solve global warming.

但我們需要這樣的政策來解決全球暖化問題

And to get better policies like a price on carbon,

而且想要有像為碳排放付費這樣比較好的政策

you need to have public support.

需要靠大家一起來支持

Because politicians and businesses won't take action

因為政治人物和企業不會採取行動，除非人民能團結一致

unless people come together and demand it.

並且提出強烈的要求

So you may not be able to fit all your trash into a Mason jar.

你或許不能把你所有的垃圾裝進一個梅森瓶中

But psychologists have been developing "green nudges" that trick us into being more green.

但是心理學家已經發展出所謂的「綠色力」來驅使我們進入更環保的生活方式

Want to know whether they are working their magic on you?

想知道它們是否奏效嗎?

Visit climate.universityofcalifornia.edu to learn more.

請上 climate.universityofcalifornia.edu 看看更多相關資訊