豆知识 2011-04-10&04-16 物品的故事 (2/5)

 So next, the materials move to production. And what happens there is we use energy to mix toxic¹ chemicals in with natural resources to make toxic contaminated products.

There are over 100,000 synthetic² chemicals in use in commerce today. Only a handful of them have even been tested for health impacts and none have been tested for synergistic health impacts, that means when they interact with all the other chemicals we’re exposed to every day. So we don’t know the full impact on health and the environment of all these toxic chemicals. But we do know one thing – toxics³ in, toxics out. As long as we keep putting toxics into our industrial production systems, we’re going to keep getting toxics in the stuff that we bring into our homes and workplaces and schools, and, duh, our bodies. Like B.F.R.s – brominated flame retardants, they’re a chemical that make things more fireproof but they’re super toxic. They’re neurotoxin that means toxic to the brain. What are we even doing using a chemical like this? Yet we put them in our computers, our appliances, couches, mattresses⁴, even some pillows. In fact, we take our pillows; we douse⁵ them in a neurotoxin and then bring them home and put our heads on them for eight hours a night to sleep. Now, I don’t know, but it seems to me in this country with so much potential, we could think of a better way to stop our heads from catching⁶ on fire at night.

Now these toxics build up the food chain and concentrate in our bodies. Do you know what is the food at the top of the food chain with the highest level of many toxic contaminants? Human breast milk. That means that we’ve reached a point where the smallest members of our societies, our babies, are getting the highest lifetime dose of toxic chemicals from breastfeeding from their mothers. Is that not an incredible violation⁷? Breastfeeding must be the most fundamental human act of nurturing⁸. It should be sacred and safe. Now breastfeeding is still best and mothers should definitely keep breastfeeding. But we should protect it. They should protect it. I thought they were looking out for us.

And of course the people who bear the biggest branch of these toxic chemicals are the factory workers, many of whom are women of reproductive age. They’re working with reproductive toxins⁹, carcinogens and more. Now I ask you, what kind of woman at reproductive age would work in a job exposed to reproductive toxins, except for a woman with no other option? And that’s one of the beauties of this system?

The erosion of local environments and economies here ensures a constant supply of people with no other option. Globally, 200,000 people a day are moving from environments that have sustained them for generations into cities. Many to live in slums, looking for work no matter how toxic that work may be. So you see it’s not just resources that are wasted along this system but people too, whole communities get wasted. 

Yep, toxics in, toxics out. A lot of the toxics leave the factories in products, but even more leave as by-products or pollution. And it’s a lot of pollution.

In the U.S., our industry admits to releasing over 4,000,000,000 pounds of toxic chemicals a year. It’s probably a lot more because that’s only what they admit. So that’s another limit because, yak¹⁰, who wants to look at and smell 4,000,000,000 pounds toxic chemicals a year. So what do they do? Move the dirty factories overseas, pollutes someone else’s land. But surprise, a lot of that pollution is coming right back at us carried by wind currents. So what happens after all these natural resources are turned into products?

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

3 toxics   

n.毒物（toxic的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Corrosives are generally toxic, so follow the precautions cited in the following section on toxics. 腐蚀剂一般来说是有毒的，所以请遵守下文关于毒品的防范措施。 来自互联网
• Objective To evaluate the diagnostic methods and treatment of gastric ulcer perforating with toxics tubular necrosis. 目的探讨胃溃疡穿孔合并中毒性肾小管坏死的诊断方法与治疗方案。 来自互联网

4 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

5 douse   

v.把…浸入水中，用水泼；n.泼洒

参考例句：

• Men came with buckets of water and began to douse the flames.人们提来一桶桶水灭火。
• He doused the flames with a fire extinguisher.他用灭火器把火焰扑灭。

6 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

9 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 yak   

n.牦牛

参考例句：

• The most common materials Tibetan jewelry are Yak bone.藏饰最常见的材料当属牦牛骨。
• We can sell yak skin,meat and wool.我们可以卖牦牛的皮、肉和毛。