Pollution by states and companies is contributing to more deaths globally than COVID-19, a UN environmental report published on Tuesday last week said, calling for “immediate and ambitious action” to ban some toxic chemicals.
The report said pollution from pesticides, plastics and electronic waste is causing widespread human rights violations and at least 9 million premature deaths a year, and that the issue is largely being overlooked.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused close to 5.9 million deaths, according to data aggregator Worldometer.
Photo: Reuters 照片：路透
“Current approaches to managing the risks posed by pollution and toxic substances are clearly failing, resulting in widespread violations of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” the report’s author, UN Special Rapporteur David Boyd, concluded.
Due to be presented next month to the UN Human Rights Council, which has declared a clean environment a human right, the document was posted on the Council’s Web site on Tuesday last week.
It urges a ban on polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl, man-made substances used in household products such as non-stick cookware that have been linked to cancer and dubbed “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily.
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
It also seeks the clean-up of polluted sites and, in extreme cases, the possible relocations of affected communities — many of them poor, marginalized and indigenous — from so-called “sacrifice zones.”
That term, originally used to describe nuclear test zones, was expanded in the report to include any heavily contaminated site or place rendered uninhabitable by climate change.
UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet has called environmental threats the biggest global rights challenge, and a growing number of climate and environmental justice cases are invoking human rights with success.
Chemical waste is set to be part of negotiations at a UN environment conference in Nairobi, Kenya, starting on Monday next week, including a proposal to establish a devoted panel, similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
(Reuters)
聯合國上週二發布的一份環境報告指出，各國與企業造成的污染，在全球所導致的死亡人數超過死於COVID-19的人數，因此呼籲「立即採取大刀闊斧的行動」禁用一些有毒化學品。
該報告說，農藥、塑膠及電子廢棄物所造成的污染，造成大規模人權侵犯，每年至少有九百萬人過早死亡，而且此問題多半被忽視了。
根據資料整合網站Worldometer之數據，冠狀病毒大流行已造成近五百九十萬人死亡。
該報告作者、聯合國特別報告員大衛‧波伊德總結道：「目前對污染及有毒物質的風險管理方法顯然是失敗的，導致我們擁有清潔、健康及永續環境的權利被廣泛侵犯」。
該報告已於上週二發佈在聯合國人權理事會網站，將於下月送交理事會──該理事會宣示擁有潔淨環境為人權。
該報告敦促禁用多氟烷基和全氟烷基，這些人造物質用於家用產品例如不沾廚具，這些物質與癌症有關，且被稱為「永久化學品」，因其不易分解。
它還呼籲清理被污染的地方，在極端情況下，可能將受影響的社區──其中許多是貧困、社會邊緣人及原住民──搬離所謂的「犧牲區」。
「犧牲區」這術語原指核子試爆場，此報告將其定義擴及任何因氣候變化或嚴重污染而不適人居的地方。
聯合國人權事務負責人蜜雪兒‧巴舍萊將環境威脅稱為全球最大的人權挑戰，越來越多援引人權的氣候與環境司法案件取得成功。
化學廢棄物問題將納入二月二十八日起在肯亞奈洛比舉行的聯合國環境會議中談判，包括建立一個類似「政府間氣候變化專門委員會」之專門小組的提案。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
A: Yet another shopping mall has just opened in Taipei. B: Do you mean the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang? A: Yeah, the shopping mall run by Japanese Mitsui & Co. opened last week. B: I hear the mall features about 300 stores, Vieshow Cinemas and Japanese Lopia supermarket. A: With the opening, a war is breaking out between Taipei’s department stores. A: 台北又有新的購物商場可逛啦。 B: 你是說Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport 南港？ A: 對啊這家日本三井集團旗下的商場上週開幕。 B: 聽說商場有威秀影城、樂比亞日系超市，還有多達300家專櫃。 A: 新商場一開幕，看來又要掀起一場百貨大戰啦！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: Hey, didn’t you go to the opening of the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang last week? B: Yeah, there are about 300 shops, including the first overseas branch of Japan’s Mahou Dokoro — a famous Harry Potter-themed store. A: Wow, I’ve always wanted to get a magic wand. B: There are also a bunch of great restaurants, such as Smart Fish hotpot restaurant. A: I wish I had Harry Potter’s “apparition” and “disapparition” magic, so I could teleport to the mall right now. A: 你上週不是有去LaLaport南港的盛大開幕嗎？有什麼特別的？ B: 那裡有多達300家專櫃，包括魔法之地的海外首店——它可是日本知名的《哈利波特》專賣店。 A: 哇我一直想買根魔杖。 B: 另外還有各式各樣的美食，像是林聰明沙鍋魚頭。 A: 真希望我也有哈利波特的「現影術／消影術」魔法，能瞬間移動到商場去！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
When it comes to movies, some people delight in watching spine-chilling horror films. Surprisingly, apart from containing a few scares, horror movies may also offer an unexpected __1__. According to a study, watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn an average of 113 calories, which is roughly __2__ to taking a 30-minute walk. Researchers from the University of Westminster carried out an experiment in which they __3__ participants’ oxygen intake, carbon dioxide output, and heart rates while they were watching horror movies without any distractions. The results revealed that physiological responses to fear play a crucial role
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？ 1. 你覺得這部電影怎樣？ ˇ What do you think of the movie? χ How do you like the movie? χ How do you think of the movie? 註︰What do you think of ＝ What is your opinion of。 think 的受詞是 what，不能用 how。 2. 你認為哪一個歌星唱得最好？ ˇ Which singer do you think is the best? χ Do you think which singer is the best? 註︰英語中 which singer 似乎是 do you think 的受詞，實則 do you think 是插入語，其他例子如下： 你以為他喜歡誰？ Who do you think he likes? 你以為我住在哪裏？ Where do you think I live? 你想我昨天在公園裏碰到了誰？ Whom/Who do you think I met in the park yesterday? 3. 他不論到什麼地方，總是帶著一把雨傘。 ˇ No matter where he goes, he
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