Mission Blue Voyage
Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution
戴安娜·科恩Dianna Cohen:关于塑料污染的严峻事实
Filmed:
Readability: 4.5
896,666 views
艺术家戴安娜·科恩分享关于塑料污染对大海和我们日常生活严重影响的事实和一些想法，帮助大家来摆脱塑料包围圈。
Dianna Cohen - Artist and activist
Dianna Cohen co-founded the Plastic Pollution Coalition, which is working to help end our cycle of plastics use. Full bio
Dianna Cohen co-founded the Plastic Pollution Coalition, which is working to help end our cycle of plastics use. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
I'm a visual artist,
0
0
2000
我是个视觉艺术家，
00:17
and I'm also one of the co-founders of the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
1
2000
3000
也是塑料污染联盟的创始人之一。
00:20
I've been working with plastic bags,
2
5000
3000
过去20年，我一直参与塑料包的工作，
00:23
which I cut up and sew back together as my primary material for my artwork
3
8000
3000
我艺术创作的原材料是裁制和缝合塑料
00:26
for the last 20 years.
4
11000
2000
。
00:28
I turn them into two and three-dimensional pieces
5
13000
3000
让塑料变为平面和立体型艺术，
00:31
and sculptures and installations.
6
16000
3000
雕塑和艺术装置。
00:34
Upon working with the plastic, after about the first eight years,
7
19000
3000
在与塑料打交道的八年之后，
00:37
some of my work started to fissure
8
22000
2000
我的一些作品开始开裂
00:39
and break down into smaller little bits of plastic.
9
24000
3000
碎成许多小塑料块。
00:43
And I thought, "Great.
10
28000
2000
我想，“好极了。
00:45
It's ephemeral just like us."
11
30000
3000
塑料就像我们人类一样短命。”
00:48
Upon educating myself a little further about plastics,
12
33000
3000
我自学进一步深入了解塑料，
00:51
I actually realized this was a bad thing.
13
36000
3000
我的确了解到塑料是个坏材料。
00:54
It's a bad thing that plastic breaks down into smaller little bits,
14
39000
3000
塑料碎成许多小块，
00:57
because it's always still plastic.
15
42000
2000
但它还是塑料，这很糟糕。
00:59
And what we're finding
16
44000
2000
我们发现有很多塑料
01:01
is that a lot of it is in the marine environment.
17
46000
2000
漂浮于大海。
01:03
I then, in the last few years,
18
48000
2000
然而在过去的几年，
01:05
learned about the Pacific garbage patch and the gyre.
19
50000
3000
我知道太平洋垃圾环流和垃圾漩涡。
01:08
And my initial reaction --
20
53000
2000
我第一反应--
01:10
and I think this is a lot of people's first reaction
21
55000
2000
我想这也是多数人的第一反应，
01:12
to learning about it --
22
57000
2000
知道这之后--
01:14
is, "Oh my God!
23
59000
2000
“喔，我的上帝！
01:16
We've got to go out there and clean this thing up."
24
61000
2000
我们要去那里并清理这些塑料。”
01:18
So I actually developed a proposal
25
63000
2000
所以我提议
01:20
to go out with a cargo ship
26
65000
2000
一只货船，
01:22
and two decommissioned fishing trawlers,
27
67000
2000
两只退役拖网渔船，
01:24
a crane, a chipping machine
28
69000
3000
一台起重机，一台削片机
01:27
and a cold-molding machine.
29
72000
2000
和一台冷压机出海。
01:29
And my intention was to go out to the gyre,
30
74000
2000
我计划是航行到垃圾环流带，
01:31
raise awareness about this issue
31
76000
2000
提高对于此污染的高度重视，
01:33
and begin to pick up the plastic,
32
78000
2000
开始回收塑料，
01:35
chip it into little bits and cold mold it into bricks
33
80000
3000
切割它变成小片，然后冷压变成塑料块，
01:38
that could potentially be used as building materials
34
83000
3000
它可能被用来作为欠发达社区的
01:41
in underdeveloped communities.
35
86000
3000
建筑材料。
01:45
I began talking with people
36
90000
2000
我同那些曾去过
01:47
who actually had been out to the gyre
37
92000
2000
垃圾环流带的人们谈过，
01:49
and were studying the plastic problem in the marine environment
38
94000
3000
他们也曾研究过塑料污染对海洋环境的污染，
01:52
and upon doing so,
39
97000
3000
交谈之后，
01:55
I realized actually that cleaning it up
40
100000
2000
我开始意识到海上清理塑料
01:57
would be a very small drop in the bucket
41
102000
3000
相比起
02:00
relative to how much is being generated
42
105000
2000
全球每天产生塑料的生产量
02:02
every day around the world,
43
107000
3000
就如大海捞针一样，
02:05
and that actually I needed to back up and look at the bigger picture.
44
110000
2000
我必须回过头想想，要展望更大的蓝图。
02:07
And the bigger picture is:
45
112000
2000
真正的解决办法就是：
02:09
we need to find a way to turn off the faucet.
46
114000
3000
我们需要在源头找到解决方法。
02:12
We need to cut the spigot
47
117000
2000
我们需要切断
02:14
of single-use and disposable plastics,
48
119000
2000
一次性使用塑料和一次性塑料的源头，
02:16
which are entering the marine environment every day
49
121000
3000
使得它们在全球范围内每天不会再进入大海
02:19
on a global scale.
50
124000
2000
。
02:21
So in looking at that, I also realized that I was really angry.
51
126000
3000
看看这个，我也知道我非常生气。
02:24
I wasn't just concerned about plastic
52
129000
3000
我并不只关心
02:27
that you're trying to imagine out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean --
53
132000
2000
你也可能想象到的在太平洋中部
02:29
of which I have learned there are now
54
134000
2000
我们现在所知的，
02:31
11 gyres, potentially, of plastic
55
136000
2000
权威数据是，11个垃圾塑料环流带，
02:33
in five major oceans in the world.
56
138000
3000
遍及世界五大海洋。
02:36
It's not just that gyre of plastic that I'm concerned about --
57
141000
3000
我不仅仅是关心塑料环流带，
02:39
it's the gyre of plastic in the supermarket.
58
144000
2000
也包括超市的塑料包围圈。
02:41
I'd go to the supermarket and all of my food is packaged in plastic.
59
146000
3000
我要去超市，所有事物都是塑料包装。
02:44
All of my beverages are packaged in plastic,
60
149000
2000
所有饮料都是塑料包装，
02:46
even at the health food market.
61
151000
3000
甚至健康的有机市场。
02:49
I'm also concerned about the plastic in the refrigerator,
62
154000
3000
我也关注在冰箱的塑料，
02:52
and I'm concerned about the plastic and the toxins that leach from plastic
63
157000
3000
还有塑料以及滤取塑料的毒素
02:55
into us and into our bodies.
64
160000
3000
被我们吃下和吸收到我们身体里。
02:58
So I came together with a group of other people
65
163000
2000
我和其他的一群人们
03:00
who were all looking at this issue,
66
165000
2000
都关注这个塑料污染问题，
03:02
and we created the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
67
167000
3000
组建了塑料污染联盟。
03:05
We have many initiatives that we're working on,
68
170000
2000
我们为解决这问题开始许多活动，
03:07
but some of them are very basic.
69
172000
2000
它们中的一些是非常简单的。
03:09
One is: if 80 to 90 percent
70
174000
3000
其中一个是：在大海，
03:12
of what we're finding in the ocean --
71
177000
2000
我们发现百分80到百分90
03:14
of the marine debris that we're finding in the ocean -- is plastic,
72
179000
2000
海洋废弃物是塑料，
03:16
then why don't we call it what it is.
73
181000
3000
然后我们为什么不称其为：
03:19
It's plastic pollution.
74
184000
2000
塑料污染。
03:21
Recycling -- everybody kind of ends their books
75
186000
3000
再循环。关于可持续和再循环的环保想法的书籍都是
03:24
about being sustainable and greening with the idea of recycling.
76
189000
3000
类似的观点。
03:27
You put something in a bin and you don't have to think about it again.
77
192000
3000
大家扔东西到垃圾桶里，但是从来没有再想过此事。
03:30
What is the reality of that?
78
195000
2000
现实是什么呢？
03:32
In the United States, less than seven percent of our plastics are recycled.
79
197000
3000
在美国，塑料垃圾回收率少于百分之七。
03:35
And if you really look into it,
80
200000
2000
大家想实际看看，
03:37
particularly when it comes to plastic bottles,
81
202000
2000
特别当塑料变成塑料瓶，
03:39
most of it is only down-cycled,
82
204000
2000
绝大多数塑料瓶仅被降级回收，
03:41
or incinerated, or shipped to China.
83
206000
3000
或者焚烧，或运到中国。
03:44
It is down-cycled and turned into lesser things,
84
209000
3000
当一个塑料瓶
03:47
while a glass bottle can be a glass bottle again
85
212000
3000
可以被重制成一个塑料瓶，
03:50
or can be used again --
86
215000
2000
或者重被使用时，
03:52
a plastic bottle can never be a plastic bottle again.
87
217000
3000
正是被降级回收，使得塑料瓶被制成小塑料体，使得一个塑料瓶不再被制成塑料瓶回收利用。
03:55
So this is a big issue for us.
88
220000
2000
对我们而言，这是个重大问题。
03:57
Another thing that we're looking at and asking people to think about
89
222000
3000
我们关注，并让人们思考的另一件事
04:00
is we've added a fourth R
90
225000
3000
是我们
04:03
onto the front
91
228000
2000
在原本3个R原则前，
04:05
of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," three R's,
92
230000
2000
Reduce（减量）、Reuse（复用）、Recycle（再生），
04:07
and that is refuse.
93
232000
2000
加了第四个R原则，它就是拒绝使用（Refuse）。
04:09
Whenever possible, refuse single-use and disposable plastics.
94
234000
3000
无论何时，拒绝使用一次性使用塑料和即丢塑料。
04:12
Alternatives exist;
95
237000
2000
有替代品的使用。
04:14
some of them are very old-school.
96
239000
2000
其中一些是非常老套。
04:16
I myself am now collecting these cool Pyrex containers
97
241000
3000
我自己现在收集这些很酷的耐热玻璃容器，
04:19
and using those instead of Glad and Tupperware containers
98
244000
2000
使用这些而替换高兴派和特百惠派塑料容器
04:21
to store food in.
99
246000
2000
来储存食物。
04:23
And I know that I am doing a service
100
248000
2000
我知道我这样做
04:25
to myself and my family.
101
250000
2000
有利于我自己和我的家庭。
04:27
It's very easy to pick up a stainless-steel bottle
102
252000
2000
我们选择使用不锈钢瓶
04:29
or a glass bottle,
103
254000
2000
和玻璃瓶是很容易的，
04:31
if you're traveling and you've forgotten to bring your stainless-steel bottle
104
256000
2000
你如果要出门，记得带不锈钢瓶，
04:33
and fill that up with water or filtered water,
105
258000
3000
让它灌满水，或者滤过水，
04:36
versus purchasing plastic bottled water.
106
261000
3000
而不要购买塑料瓶装水。
04:39
I guess what I want to say to everybody here --
107
264000
2000
我猜我想要告诉大家的是
04:41
and I know that you guys know a lot about this issue --
108
266000
3000
我知道你们大家关于此塑料污染知道得很多
04:44
is that this is a huge problem in the oceans,
109
269000
2000
漂在大海上的塑料是个严重的问题，
04:46
but this is a problem that we've created as consumers
110
271000
3000
但这是我们做为消费者自身产生的问题，
04:49
and we can solve.
111
274000
2000
我们也能自身解决这问题。
04:51
We can solve this by raising awareness of the issue
112
276000
3000
我们通过提高这问题的意识，
04:54
and teaching people to choose alternatives.
113
279000
3000
教导人们选择可替换性产品，能够解决这问题。
04:57
So whenever possible, to choose alternatives
114
282000
2000
所以无论何时，请选择使用可替换性产品，
04:59
to single-use plastics.
115
284000
2000
拒绝使用一次性使用塑料和即丢塑料。
05:01
We can cut the stem -- tide the stem of this
116
286000
2000
我们可以切断源头，阻止这塑料污染
05:03
into our oceans
117
288000
2000
到我们的海洋里，
05:05
and in doing so,
118
290000
2000
通过如上4R行动，
05:07
save our oceans, save our planet, save ourselves.
119
292000
3000
拯救我们的海洋，拯救我们的家园，拯救我们自己。
05:10
Thank you. (Applause)
120
295000
2000
谢谢。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dianna Cohen - Artist and activistDianna Cohen co-founded the Plastic Pollution Coalition, which is working to help end our cycle of plastics use.
Why you should listen
Dianna Cohen is the co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, a group that addresses the pervasive problem of plastic pollution. She was inspired to co-found the group by her work as an artist -- because her chosen material is the ubiquitous plastic bag. She writes: "Having worked with the plastic bag as my primary material for the past fifteen years, all of the obvious references to recycling, first-world culture, class, high and low art give way to an almost formal process which reflects the unique flexibility of the medium."
With the Plastic Pollution Coalition, she helps to raise awareness of ocean waste -- the majority of which is nondegradable plastic -- and everyday strategies to cut down the amount of plastic we use and throw away.
Dianna Cohen | Speaker | TED.com