经济学人: 清理海洋垃圾 (2)

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　　buoyant plastic tends to float within a metre of the water's surface. 塑料可在海水表面一米内漂浮。

　　The device is even simpler than Mr Slat's original idea, having dispensed² with the anchor. 该设备甚至比斯拉特原先的想法还简单，它没有用到锚。

　　Instead, it relies on the observation that the boom, which is driven by the current as well as by waves and wind, 而是依靠观察，在借助海流以及海浪和风为动力下，

　　always moves faster relative to the plastic, which is propelled by the current alone. It therefore scoops³ the litter up as it drifts. 吊杆总是比塑料移动迅速，而塑料仅由海流推动。因此，该设备可以将这些漂浮的垃圾捞上来。

　　A straight boom will first be towed 250 nautical⁴ miles off the coast of California for a fortnight of tests, 笔直的挡板首先将被脱离加利福尼亚海岸250海里，先做一个为期两周的测试，

　　before embarking⁵ on a three-week voyage to its final destination. 之后才开始进行为期三周的航行抵达最终目的地。

　　There it will be turned into a U-shape, with its ends fastened in place using metal lines, and set adrift. 在目的地，该设备将变成U型，并利用铁圈将它的末端固定任其随波逐流。

　　Satellite tracking and other electronics will allow its progress to be monitored remotely. 卫星跟踪和其他电子设备将可以对该设备进程进行远程监控。

　　Light beacons⁶ will alert the two dozen ships which cross the gyre each week to its presence. 灯光信标将提醒每周经过该环流的20艘船只，该设备的存在。

　　Some time next year another vessel⁷ will be dispatched to fish out the collected rubbish, which the charity hopes to sell to recyclers. 明年将派遣另一艘船只前去捞出收集到的垃圾，该慈善机构希望能将这些收集的垃圾卖给回收站。

　　If System 001 succeeds, Mr Slat wants to deploy⁸ another 60 booms, measuring 1km or more. 如果System 001成功了，斯拉特希望再布置60个吊杆，长度为1千米或更长。

　　Corporate⁹ sponsors would foot the bill of 5m euros a piece for construction and three years' operation, Mr Slat hopes. 斯拉特希望，赞助公司可以支付其建造和三年内运行的费用，共计500万欧元。

　　He already enjoys the backing of deep-pocketed endowments and of tycoons¹⁰ like Marc Benioff, founder¹¹ of Salesforce, and Peter Thiel, a noted¹² investor¹³. 他已经获得了大笔资助以及一些商业大亨，如软件营销部队创始人马克·贝尼奥夫以及著名投资人彼得·蒂尔的支持。

　　The system can do little about plastic that has fragmented into microscopic¹⁴ particles, but these make up just 8% of plastic in the gyre. 该系统对那些已经分解为微型颗粒的塑料收效甚微，但这类塑料仅占环流垃圾的8%。

　　Mr LeBreton reckons that a fleet of booms could, by 2040, sweep up virtually all the non-tiny detritus¹⁵, LeBreton估计截止2040年，一组吊杆几乎可以清理所有非颗粒垃圾，

　　but only if plastic leakage¹⁶ into the sea is stanched¹⁷. 但前提是流入海洋的垃圾是防水的。

　　If it continues unabated, the incoming debris¹⁸ would outweigh¹⁹ the fleet's capacity to skim it within a few years. 如果塑料垃圾数量不减，那么在几年内，这些垃圾将会超过船只的负载量，垃圾无法继续被收集。

　　The ocean's plastic problem cannot really be solved without better waste management on land. 如果岸上的人不采取更好的垃圾管理措施，那么海洋塑料垃圾问题无法真正得到解决。

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