Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental issues our planet faces today.

塑膠污染是當今地球上所面臨的最大環境議題。

Plastic slush fills our oceans, plastic trash litters our landscapes, and even the air we breathe has microscopic pieces of plastic polluting it.

塑膠爛泥逐漸填滿海洋、塑膠垃圾遍佈自然生態，就連我們呼吸的空氣都充滿塑膠微粒污染。

This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question: What if plastic pollution gets even worse?

歡迎收看 Unveiled，我們今天要回答一個特別的問題：如果塑膠污染加劇，會發生什麼事？

Are you a fiend for facts?

你熱愛追求真相嗎？

Are you constantly curious?

你好奇心十足嗎？

Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?

何不訂閱 Unveiled，觀看更多此類的影片？

And ring the bell for more fascinating content!

開啟鈴鐺就能收到更多迷人的內容！

The problem with plastic is that, most of the time, it never fully disintegrates — often, it's specifically designed that way.

塑膠的問題在於它在多數狀況下無法完全分解，很多時候都是特地如此設計的。

And, given that many plastic products are single-use items, we're producing more and more and more of a material that'll never go away.

再加上很多塑膠製品都屬一次性商品，我們不斷地在製造更多永不消失的產品。

True, some plastics can be recycled, but that doesn't mean that everyone does so—leaving wrappers, water bottles, pieces of packaging, and everything else to clog up ecosystems.

有些塑膠的確可以重複利用，但不代表所有人都會這麼做，使得包裝袋、水瓶、包裝碎片和其他塑膠堵塞了生態系統。

Around 8 million tons of plastic winds up in the ocean every year.

每年都有近 8 百萬噸的塑膠被丟入海洋。

It's predicted that this type of pollution will triple in the next decade, and that by 2050, there could be even more plastic in the water than fish,

這種污染預計在接下來 10 年會變成 3 倍，而到了 2050 年，海裡的塑膠可能甚至比魚多，

which is devastating news for all marine life, with aquatic creatures either mistaking plastic for food and ingesting it, or getting trapped in casually discarded human trash.

這對所有海洋生物來說都是悲慘的消息，因為牠們可能會誤將塑膠認為是食物而吞下，或是被人類隨意丟棄的垃圾困住。

According to recent figures, almost half of marine vertebrates were wiped out between 1970 and 2012, but if plastic use continues as it has done, the stats will get worse.

根據最新數據顯示，有近一半海洋脊椎動物於 1970 至 2012 年間滅絕，若是人們持續使用塑膠，情況將更糟。

We'll see entire species forced to extinction and increasingly severe knock-on effects across the food chain as predators consume plastic via their prey.

我們將目睹物種滅絕，還有因獵食者透過獵物間接食用塑膠導致連鎖效應的日趨加劇。

The amount of plastic in the ocean is now so immense that at least five huge garbage islands have formed around the world.

現今海洋中的塑膠密度之高，導致全球至少已形成五座「巨型垃圾島」。

Made up only of the more buoyant plastics, these floating trash heaps are set to grow and grow.

主要由較具浮力塑膠所組成的漂浮垃圾堆估計將繼續擴大成長。

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest of all.

太平洋垃圾島是其中最大的。

Also known as the GPGP, it floats between California and Hawaii and takes up an area twice the size of Texas, holding around 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, including some dating back to the 1970s.

這座又稱為 GPGP 的垃圾島漂浮於加州和夏威夷間海域，大小是德州面積的兩倍、含約 1.8 兆件塑膠，有些甚至能回溯至 70 年代。

And remember, these patches are only made up of plastic on the ocean's surface.

別忘了，這些垃圾島只是由海洋表層的塑膠所組成。

It's estimated that 99% of all plastic in the water is unaccounted for below the waves,

估計有 99% 的海洋塑膠是在海平面下，去向不明。

and these often-smaller pieces pose an even more sinister threat.

這些體積通常較小的塑膠碎片，帶來更大的威脅。

At 5 millimeters long or less, microplastics are small enough to go unnoticed to the human eye,

最長為 5 毫米的塑膠微粒，小到人類肉眼基本上無法察覺，

but these tiny particles that never truly break down like organic matter does can remain in the sea for centuries.

但這些永遠不會像有機體一樣真正分解的微小顆粒，可能會在海中殘留好幾世紀。

It's no longer a mistake on behalf of the fish to eat this type of plastic, but an unavoidable accident.

魚會誤食這類塑膠也不再能視為無意，反而是無可避免的意外。

In fact, microplastics are so small they can be absorbed into an animal's body simply through respiration, or even via tiny plankton carriers.

事實上，塑膠微粒小到生物體光是透過呼吸或是微小浮游生物搭載，就能將它們吸收。

Again, microplastics can make their way up the food chain even as far as seafood-eating humans, so plastic pollution directly impacts human health.

再次強調，塑膠微粒也可能上移至食物鏈頂端、吃海鮮的人類，所以塑膠污染會直接影響人體健康。

And it's not only the oceans we should worry about, either.

而且我們要擔心的還不只海洋。

Landfills overflowing with plastic are concerningly normal nowadays.

溢滿塑膠的垃圾掩埋場在現今越趨於常態。

And, as these areas encroach into other natural environments, the spread of non-biodegradable litter widens.

隨著這些區域逐漸侵犯到其他自然環境，生物不可降解的垃圾也將擴散。

It can even affect our drinking water supply, with plastics leaching toxic chemicals into the groundwater in some areas.

它甚至可能影響到飲用水源，透過某些地區塑膠濾出有毒化學物質進入地下水中。

At the very least, these materials wind up in rivers, and eventually end up in the oceans again.

最終這些物質將進到河流，終究又會流入大海。

Finding a solution to the issue, beyond simply not using plastic, is a problem, too.

除了單純停止使用塑膠外，要找到現存問題的解決方法也是個難題。

Simply incinerating plastic is plain dangerous for anyone nearby.

單單只是燃燒塑膠會危害到周遭人們。

And more broadly speaking, it contributes to air pollution, the depletion of the ozone layer, and climate change.

廣泛地說，它會造成空氣污染、臭氧層耗損以及氣候變遷。

And it throws microplastics into the air, inflicting on us the same problem that sea animals face,

燃燒塑膠也會將塑膠微粒釋放到空氣中，讓我們面臨和水生動物一樣的問題，

meaning every breath you take risks microplastics in your lungs, possibly your bloodstream, and eventually other parts of your body.

意味著你每一次呼吸，都冒著將塑膠微粒吸進肺部、血液系統，甚至其他身體部位的風險。

Completely cleansing the environment of the plastic that's already here currently seems an almost impossible task that will at least take a very long time.

清理環境中現存的所有塑膠目前看似不可能的任務，將耗費非常多時間。

But preventing the problem from getting worse is doable.

不過，防止情況繼續惡化是我們做得到的。

It rests on changing habits, increasing recycling, and reducing our reliance on plastic in general, both individually and as a society.

這要靠改變習慣、提高回收利用頻率並降低對塑料品的依賴，在個人和社會層面都應該做到。

Right now, plastic pollution stretches to almost every corner of Earth.

現今塑膠污染幾乎已經侵襲地球各個角落。

But, as long as it's mass-produced and irresponsibly disposed of, the garbage heaps, landfills, and floating islands of yesterday's trash will continue to grow, and the negative effects will continue to pile up.

然而，只要它是大量製造且未妥善丟棄，這些堆積的垃圾堆、掩埋場和漂浮垃圾島就只會繼續擴大，負面衝擊也會繼續加劇。

And that's what will happen if plastic pollution gets worse.

而這就是塑膠污染加劇的後果。

What do you think?

你的想法如何？

Is there anything we missed?

我們有漏掉什麼嗎？

Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.

請留言告訴我們、收看我們其他的影片並記得訂閱然後開啟小鈴鐺收看最新內容。