Are Microwave Ovens Cooking the Environment?
微波炉正在破坏环境吗？
Popping food into the microwave for a couple of minutes may seem utterly（完全地） harmless, but Europe's stock（现存的） of these quick-cooking ovens emit as much carbon as nearly 7 million cars, a new study has found.
把食物放在微波炉里加热几分钟看起来似乎完全无害，但是一项新的研究发现，欧洲现有的微波炉的碳排放量高达近700万辆汽车。
And the problem is growing. With costs falling（成本降低） and kitchen appliances becoming "status" items, owners are throwing away microwaves after an average of eight years.
而且这一问题还在不断恶化。随着成本日益降低以及厨房电器开始成为象征“身份”的物品，使用者平均八年扔掉一次微波炉。
This is pushing sales of new microwaves which are expected to reach 135 million annually in the EU by the end of the decade.
这推动了新微波炉的销量，且预计到2020年末，欧盟的微波炉年销量将达到1.35亿台。
A study by the University of Manchester calculated the emissions of CO2 — the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change — at every stage of microwaves, from manufacture to waste disposal.
二氧化碳是导致气候变化的主要温室气体，曼彻斯特大学的一项研究计算了微波炉从制造到废物处理每个阶段二氧化碳的排放量。
"It is electricity consumption by microwaves that has the biggest impact on the environment," say the authors.
研究者们指出，“微波炉的耗电量对环境影响最大”。
The authors also calculate that the emissions from using 19 microwaves over a year are the same as those from using a car.
他们同样计算出使用19个微波炉一年的碳排放量等于一辆车的年碳排放量。
According to the same study, efforts to reduce consumption should focus on improving consumer awareness and behaviour.
根据同一研究，减少应该注重提高消费者的意识，改善其消费行为。
For example, consumers could use appliances in a more efficient way by adjusting the time of cooking to the type of food.
比如说，消费者可以根据食物种类调节加热时间，从而提高微波炉的使用效率。
However, David Reay, professor of carbon management, argues that, although microwaves use a great deal of energy, their emissions are minor compared to those from cars.
然而，碳管理教授戴维·雷伊(David Reay)认为，虽然微波炉会消耗大量能源，但与汽车相比，它们的排放量很小。
In the UK alone, there are around 30 million cars. These cars emit more than all the microwaves in the EU.
仅在英国，就有大约3000万辆汽车。这些汽车的碳排放量超过了欧盟所有微波炉排放量的总和。
Backing this up, recent data show that passenger cars in the UK emitted 69 million tons of CO2 in 2015.
最近的数据证实了这一点：2015年英国乘用车二氧化碳排放量达6900万吨。
This is 10 times the amount this new microwave oven study estimates for annual emissions for all the microwave ovens in the EU.
这是新研究中估计的欧盟所有微波炉一年碳排放量的10倍。
Further, the energy used by microwaves is lower than any other form of cooking.
此外，微波炉所耗能源要远低于其他任何烹饪形式。
Among common kitchen appliances used for cooking, microwaves are the most energy efficient（节能）, followed by a stove and finally a standard oven.
在常用烹饪厨房电器中，微波炉是最节能的，其次是厨灶，最耗能的是标准烤箱。
Thus, rising microwave sales could be seen as a positive thing.
因此，微波炉销售量的增长也许看来是一件好事。
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