近年来，塑料袋造成的白色污染越来越严重，所以提倡大家改用可重复使用的布袋或纸袋，以保护环境。但是，如果从可持续发展的角度来分析这个问题，结论会让人大吃一惊。
Are reusable bags really better?
by Ian Graber-Stiehl
Last year, a pilot whale died after being found with 7.7 kilograms of plastic bags in its stomach. The horrific incident was our latest reminder that plastic bags contribute to the scourge（祸害） of marine litter. By sheer coincidence, it came on the heels of a major U.N. report pointing to plastic bag levies or bans as key strategies to help reduce that litter.
pilot whale 领航鲸
horrific /həˈrɪfɪk/ adj. 令人震惊的
incident /ˈɪnsɪd(ə)nt/ n. 事件
reminder /rɪˈmaɪndə(r)/ n. 起提醒作用的事物（由remind加上表示人或物的后缀-er）
contribute /kənˈtrɪbjuːt/ v. 做贡献（contribute to意思是“是…的原因之一”）
marine /məˈriːn/ adj. 海洋的
litter /ˈlɪtə(r)/ n. 乱扔的垃圾
sheer /ʃɪə(r)/ adj. 完全的（表示强调）
coincidence /kəʊˈɪnsɪd(ə)ns/ n. 巧合
on the heels of 在…之后不久
major /ˈmeɪdʒə(r)/ adj. 主要的、重大的
levy /ˈlevi/ n. 税、费
ban /bæn/ n. 禁令
key /kiː/ adj. 关键的
strategy /ˈstrætədʒi/ n. 策略
But as the war against plastic bags intensifies, it's worth taking a step back and asking: How much better are the alternatives?
intensify /ɪnˈtensɪfaɪ/ v. 强化、加剧（由intense加后缀-ify变成动词）
alternative /ɒlˈtɜːnətɪv/ n. 别的选择、替代方案
The assumption is that the hierarchy of sustainable choices goes reusable totes, paper, and plastic. While that may well be true from a litter perspective, when it comes to emissions, energy and water use, smog, and a host of other factors, it turns out paper and totes often fall behind good old plastic.
assumption /əˈsʌmpʃ(ə)n/ n. 假定、假设
hierarchy /ˈhaɪərɑːki/ n. 层次结构
sustainable /səˈsteɪnəb(ə)l/ adj. 可持续的（由sustain加后缀-able变成形容词）
reusable /riːˈjuːzəb(ə)l/ adj. 可重复使用的（由reuse加后缀-able变成形容词）
tote /təʊt/ n. 手提袋、购物袋
perspective /pəˈspektɪv/ n. （看问题的）角度
emission /ɪˈmɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 排放
smog /smɒɡ/ n. 雾霾
a host of 大量的
factor /ˈfæktə(r)/ n. 因素
turn out 结果是
A key method used for determining the sustainability of a product is the Life Cycle Assessment. LCAs analyze all the steps (resource extraction, manufacturing, shipping, use, disposal, etc.) in a product's long journey from factory to landfill, and calculate what impact each has on things like greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion（消耗）, the degradation（劣化） of water bodies, smog production, and the creation of toxic byproducts.
determine /dɪˈtɜːmɪn/ v. 确定、查明
sustainability /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪləti/ n. 可持续性
life cycle 生命周期
assessment /əˈsesmənt/ n. 评估（由assess加后缀-ment变成名词）
analyze /ˈæn(ə)laɪz/ v. 分析
step /step/ n. 步骤
resource /ˈriːsɔːs/ n. 资源
extraction /ɪkˈstrækʃ(ə)n/ n. 提取、开采（由extract加后缀-ion变成名词）
manufacture /ˌmænjuˈfæktʃə(r)/ v. 制造
shipping /ˈʃɪpɪŋ/ n. 运送、运货
disposal /dɪˈspəʊz(ə)l/ n. 丢弃
landfill /ˈlændfɪl/ n. 垃圾填埋场（由land和fill组成）
calculate /ˈkælkjuleɪt/ v. 计算
impact /ˈɪmpækt/ n. 影响
greenhouse /ˈɡriːnhaʊs/ n. 温室（由green和house组成）
water body 水体、水域
production /prəˈdʌkʃ(ə)n/ n. 生产
creation /kriːˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 创造（由create加后缀-ion变成名词）
toxic /ˈtɒksɪk/ adj. 有毒的
byproduct /ˈbaɪˌprɒdʌkt/ n. 副产品
One recent LCA by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, which compared 14 types of bags and analyzed their impact in 14 categories, concluded that the most sustainable choice was to use plastic bags, and reuse them as trash bags.
Danish /ˈdeɪnɪʃ/ adj. 丹麦的（丹麦是北欧国家）
environmental /ɪnˌvaɪr(ə)nˈment(ə)l/ adj. 环境的（由environment加后缀-al变成形容词）
protection /prəˈtekʃ(ə)n/ n. 保护（由protect加后缀-ion变成名词）
agency /ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nsi/ n. 政府机构（局、署等）
category /ˈkætəɡri/ n. 类别、方面
conclude /kənˈkluːd/ v. 下结论
reuse /riːˈjuːz/ v. 重复使用（由use加上表示重复的前缀re-）
trash /træʃ/ n. 垃圾
To compete with plastic in every LCA category, regular cotton bags would need to be reused 7,100 times, and 20,000 times for organic cotton. (That may sound strange, but organic crops usually require more land and resources to grow.) Paper bags would've needed to be used 43 times to compete.
compete /kəmˈpiːt/ v. 竞争
cotton /ˈkɒt(ə)n/ n. 棉花
organic /ɔːˈɡænɪk/ adj. 有机的
Why does plastic come out ahead? The main reason is that plastic weighs less than paper or cotton and carries more for the material it uses. In fact, to compensate for the discrepancy（差异） in carrying capacity, one LCA by Hong Kong Polytechnic University researchers compared two plastic bags to every one paper bag, and still found plastic bags took less energy to make. Paper bags also produced nearly four times more solid waste, 142 percent more air emissions, and 15 times more water-borne waste.
weigh /weɪ/ v. 重量为
material /məˈtɪəriəl/ n. 原材料
compensate /ˈkɒmpənseɪt/ v. 补偿
capacity /kəˈpæsəti/ n. 容量
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
solid /ˈsɒlɪd/ adj. 固体的
water-borne 由水带走的
So, if plastic bag bans can reduce pollution, but leave us with bags that are less sustainable in other categories, what are we to do? As a general rule if you're using totes, use them like hell. What you can't put in the totes, just put in plastic bags, and reuse those bags.
general /ˈdʒen(ə)r(ə)l/ adj. 通用的、一般的
like hell = very much
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