In January 1992, a cargo ship sailing from Hong Kong to Washington hit a storm, and twelve

在1992年1月，一艘從香港到華盛頓的貨輪遇上風暴，十二箱

containers tumbled overboard, releasing a fleet of blue turtles, green frogs, red beavers,

貨櫃落海，無數藍海龜、綠青蛙、紅海狸，

and yellow ducks.

和黃色小鴨隨洋飄盪

28,800 animals, destined for bathtubs, now a lonely plastic navy, drifting in the Pacific

28,800 支塑膠玩具偏離航道，永世不得入「浴」，孤獨的飄盪在太平洋

Ocean.

有天，他們看見新大陸！

Then they started to float ashore.

經過阿拉斯加海岸，華盛頓州，甚至抵達不列顛群島

Along the Alaska coast, Washington State, some even traveled as far as the British Isles.

某些卻犧牲在一種螺旋妖怪嘴裡：太平洋垃圾島

But a few ended up here, in a swirling spiral of floating junk: the Great Pacific Garbage

全世界約有五、六個垃圾漩渦匯集大量塑膠碎片

Patch.

但你絕對找不到滿山谷的黃色小鴨、戴墨鏡的紅色海狸

There's five, or maybe six spots on Earth where rotating currents gather masses of plastic

不是壯麗的垃圾島，而是...更危險的...

debris.

我們製作的高密度塑膠產品，像是水壺、吸管、星冰樂杯，

But go there and you won't see mountains of yellow ducks, red beavers, and novelty

被日曬、浪打、好奇小動物分解，從乘風破浪的勇士

sunglasses.

被碎屍萬段，變成塑膠濃湯

Not alarming as Garbage Island, but a lot more dangerous.

這對當海居民很糟，諷刺發明塑膠是為了拯救動物

The high-density plastics we use to make consumables (think water bottles, straws, and Frappuccino

19世紀時期，象牙製撞球讓大象數量銳減

cups) are broken down by sun, waves, and curious critters until what's left is less like

迫使化學家尋找合成替代品

garbage rafts and more like tiny bits of confetti, floating in soup.

在1907年找到了：

That soup is is bad news for what lives there, which is ironic, since plastic was invented

「酚醛塑料」，最早的合成塑膠

to save animals.

當然，直到20世紀中期，這個技術才發揚光大

During the 19th century, the demand for ivory billiard balls decimated elephant populations,

『我對你只有兩個字，就兩個。』

forcing chemists to look for a synthetic alternative.

『是的先生？』

They found it 1907.

『你在聽嗎？』

Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic.

『我在聽。』

Of course the real boom didn't come until the mid 20th century.

『塑膠。』

"I just want to say one word to you.

時至今日，一個60克塑膠罐可以支撐4公斤牛奶

Just one word."

雖然很屌，塑膠有個致命點

"Yes sir?"

「便宜」，所以被設計成用一次即丟

"Are you listening?"

即使你愛地球，辛勤做回收

"Yes I am."

每年還是超過8萬噸塑膠垃圾落入海中

"Plastics."

代表全球每公尺海岸線，有15個塑膠垃圾袋

Modern plastics are so strong that a 60-gram jug can carry 4 kilograms of milk.

又因為塑膠被分解成肉眼看無的粒子，你很難分辨

But despite being so durable, plastic is also cheap.

到底海洋垃圾山有多大

So cheap that much of it's designed to be used just once.

是一個德州那麼大？

Even when it ends up in the trash can, or better yet, the recycling bin, every year

還是兩個或四個德州？

more than 8 million tons of plastic waste leak into the ocean.

還是 中華民國？

That's about 15 plastic shopping bags worth for every meter of coastline on Earth.

算了

Because that plastic is broken down into nearly invisible bits, it makes it hard to figure

由於這些塑膠太細小，多數你聽過的海洋清淨科技

out just how large those polluted patches are.

根本行不通，因為就算你派出海面清潔艦隊

Is it one Texas?

海底下每一寸，甚至在最深處都有塑膠微粒

Two, or four Texases?

鳥類和海洋小生物，無法深入海洋

Or is it Texi?

通常在更多塑膠的海面進食

Whatever.

大型塑膠很可能糾纏牠們，但更多反而吃下去

That puny plastic potpourri also means most of those ocean-skimming cleanup ideas you

而不自知

hear about won't work, and truth is, while we might hear a lot about these flotillas

在海龜眼裡

of flotsam, we find plastic in everywhere we find ocean, and at every depth, even the

漂浮垃圾看起來像晚餐

deepest.

更小的微粒會聚於小魚腹中，影響生長

Birds and younger sea animals that can't dive deep to find their dinner end up feeding

再更小，處理鯨魚便便、漂木、老船的微生物

near the surface where they encounter more plastic.

無法分解塑膠微粒，這些微粒會吸收毒素

Larger debris can certainly tangle these animals up, but many end up eating plastic too—sometimes

並且隨著食物鏈向上而累積，直達你的餐盤

by accident.

但是你的選擇，可以改變這一切！

To a sea turtle?

防治塑膠污染，只記得 6R

Floating trash looks a lot like dinner.

Reduce 減少！

And smaller debris, when ingested by young fish, can interfere with growth and development.

少買塑膠包裝的東西

On the small scale, the tiny organisms who recycle whale poop, driftwood, and old ships

偷偷告訴你亞馬遜會讓顧客選擇“無汙”包裝

can't break down microscopic plastic debris, and those tiny bits can absorb toxins which

Reuse 重用！

are concentrated as they move up the food chain, even to our plates.

就是重複利用

But that plate

學學好萊屋

is somewhere we can make a difference.

Recycle 回收！

When it comes to plastic pollution, just remember the 6 R's

多數城市都有回收政策，但很多可回收物仍然得扔掉

Reduce!

比如說充滿塑膠纖維的衣服、鞋子

Choose to buy fewer things that are packaged in non-recyclable plastic.

所以不如捐了吧？

Did you know that stores like Amazon often let you choose "hassle-free" packaging?

Rethink 三思！

Reuse!

做手工或其他東西時，想想能不能少用塑膠材料

Think reusable.

聽說下一代iPhone就是是用木頭做的！

Certainly works for Hollywood.

或者當你的塑膠用品壞掉，嘗試修理它，別把它扔掉

Recycle!

最後，Refuse 拒絕！

Most cities have recycling programs these days, but a lot of recyclable stuff still

對一次性塑膠說「不」

gets thrown away.

筷子改用環保(搖滾)鐵筷

Stuff like clothes and shoes, full of plastic fibers.

你知道，美國人每天用掉800萬支吸管嗎？

So why not donate them?

而且你可以用嘴喝，不用吸管？

Rethink!

試試看嘛！

If you build or make things, ask if there's another way to do it without using disposable

不用吸欸

plastics.

雖然我們不會封殺塑膠，但也沒關係

I hear the next iPhone might be made of wood!

它依然是偉大的發明，很多時候很有用

And if you own something plastic and it breaks, try to repair it rather than throw it away.

但是，很多時候並沒有

Finally, Refuse!

不信問問海龜，或海鳥

Just say no to disposable plastics.

保持好奇

Turn your plastic fork into metal.

我對你只有兩個字

Did you know that Americans use 500 million drinking straws every single day?

就兩個字

Did you know that you can drink with your mouth, and not use a straw?

訂閱！

Try it!

如果你想了解更多關於塑料污染、洋流、垃圾板塊，

It doesn't suck.

還有怎麼在生活中減少塑膠垃圾，我們附上一堆連結

We'll never get rid of plastic, and that's ok.

在影片說明區

It's still a pretty great invention, and there's a lot of places where it makes sense.

But there's a lot of places where it doesn't.

Just ask the turtles, and the birds.

Stay curious.

I just want to say one word to you.

One word.

Subscribe!

And if you want to learn more about plastic pollution, ocean currents, garbage patches,

plus what you can do to reduce plastic waste in your own life, we put a bunch of links

down in the description.