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思維導圖作者：
琚兒，女，QE在職，夢想能仗翻譯/音樂/健康走天涯
翻譯組全體成員如下：
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精讀|翻譯|片語
Electric vehicles also cause air pollution
電動汽車同樣造成空氣汙染
英文部分選自經濟學人20250419期科技板塊
An illustration of an electric car flatening the world and creating loads of fumes.
[插圖說明] 一輛電動汽車正壓扁地球、製造大量煙塵
Science & technology | Well informed
科學與技術 | 深度洞察
Electric vehicles also cause air pollution
電動汽車同樣造成空氣汙染
Though fume-free, their brake pads and tyres disintegrate over time
電動汽車雖不排放尾氣，但剎車片和輪胎也會磨損產生顆粒物
PEOPLE ARE dying for clean air. According to the most recent estimates from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, air pollution caused 4.7m early deaths worldwide in 2021—about the same as dementia, road-traffic accidents, malaria and suicides combined.
人類在用生命渴望清新空氣。根據華盛頓大學健康指標與評估研究所的最新估算，2021年全球因空氣汙染導致的過早死亡人數達到470萬，幾乎相當於老年痴呆、交通事故、瘧疾和自殺導致的死亡人數總和。
Road traffic is a leading contributor to dirty air; in London, for instance, it is responsible for 60% of outdoor particulate dust. Electric vehicles (EVs) are often preferred because they can be powered by clean, sustainable energy sources and, in contrast to petrol and diesel cars, produce no exhaust fumes. But EVs nevertheless emit other pollutants common to all cars: particles originating not from the exhaust, but from brakes, tyres and roads. These, too, can be dangerous for human health.
道路交通是空氣汙染的主要元兇。以倫敦為例，60%的室外空氣顆粒物汙染都來自於交通排放。電動汽車使用清潔的可再生能源驅動，不像汽油車和柴油車那樣排放尾氣，往往更受青睞。但即使是電動汽車，也會產生所有汽車都釋放的其它汙染物，這些顆粒物並非來自排氣管，而是源於剎車片、輪胎和路面磨損，同樣危害人類健康。
The most dangerous particles are those smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, which get into the lungs and reach other organs via the bloodstream. Such dust can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung disease and cancer. According to British government statistics, 60% of road-traffic particles below 10 microns do not come from the combustion, but from the gradual breakdown of tyres, brake pads and roads.
直徑小於2.5微米的顆粒物最具危害，它們能深入肺部，並透過血液迴圈到達其它器官。這類微粒會增加罹患心臟病、中風、肺病和癌症的風險。英國政府的統計資料表明，小於10微米的道路交通排放顆粒物中，其中60%來自輪胎、剎車片和路面的持續磨損，而非燃料燃燒。
In addition to being less well regulated than exhaust fumes, non-exhaust particles are also less well studied. That is changing. One study published in February by researchers at the University of Southampton found that some brake-pad dust seems to be more damaging to dish-grown human lung cells than diesel-fume particles. This was in part because of its higher levels of copper, which can damage cells and DNA.
對非尾氣顆粒物的監管不如尾氣排放嚴格，其相關研究也相對較少，但這種情況正在改善。南安普頓大學研究人員2月發表的一項研究發現，相比於柴油尾氣顆粒，某些剎車片粉塵似乎對培養皿中的人體肺細胞傷害更大，部分原因在於這類粉塵含有更多銅元素，可能對細胞和DNA造成破壞。
Though exact figures are elusive, scientists estimate that EVs produce more of these non-exhaust particles than other cars. This is because their batteries make them heavier, causing them to generate more friction. (According to Hannah Ritchie, a data scientist at the University of Oxford, in 2023 the mean weight of an EV was 2,133kg, whereas regular cars weighed around 1,500kg in Britain and 1,800kg in America.) As cars continue to get bigger, the risk is that EVs become more polluting.
儘管難以獲得精確資料，但科學家估測，電動汽車比其它種類汽車產生的非尾氣顆粒更多，這是因為電動汽車的電池重量導致車身更重，從而車輛產生更大摩擦。牛津大學資料科學家漢娜·裡奇（Hannah Ritchie）指出，2023年，電動汽車的平均重量達2133公斤，而英國的普通汽車平均重量僅有1500公斤，在美國平均為1800公斤。隨著汽車“體型”不斷增大，電動汽車可能帶來更嚴重的汙染風險。
Although EVs may be dirtier than you think, they are still mostly less polluting than other cars. That is partly because they use an extra braking system called regenerative braking. When the driver removes their foot from the pedal, the continued forward motion of the car is harvested to recharge the battery, thereby slowing the car down. That system works independently of brake pads, potentially eliminating one source of emissions. One study from 2021 estimated that, when regenerative braking was used for all braking, EVs produced a total of about 14 milligrams of fine particles per vehicle per kilometre on urban roads, whereas petrol cars produced about 18 and diesel cars 20 (exhaust included).
儘管電動汽車的汙染程度可能超乎預期，但總體汙染仍低於其它型別汽車。這要部分歸功於它額外配備的“再生制動系統”。當駕駛員的腳鬆開踏板時，車輛向前的慣性動能會轉為電能回充電池，同時實現減速。該系統獨立於剎車片工作，潛在地消除了一個汙染排放源。2021年的一項研究估測，若全程使用再生制動，電動汽車在城市道路上每公里僅排放約14毫克細顆粒物，而汽油車排放約18毫克、柴油車20毫克（含尾氣）。
More radical steps can also be taken. Regulating non-exhaust emissions in a similar way to fumes would be one way to minimise harm to human health. Encouraging people to consider smaller cars, though difficult, would be another. Enormous cars are disastrous for road safety and most people will never need the extra range that the largest car batteries provide. Ensuring EVs run on clean electricity is also important: if their power is ultimately generated by burning coal, say, that just moves the pollution from the exhaust to the power plant chimney. Though EVs are necessary for the energy transition, they are currently far from emission-free.
還有更深入徹底的措施可以採取。參照尾氣標準監管非尾氣排放，也是一種降低對人體健康傷害的方式。此外，儘管難度較大，鼓勵人們出行選擇小型汽車亦為可行。大型車輛不僅威脅道路安全，對多數人而言其最大電池帶來的超長續航里程也屬冗餘。而且，確保電動汽車使用清潔電力也至關重要：若電力源自燃煤，汙染不過是從汽車排氣管挪到了發電廠煙囪。儘管電動汽車是能源轉型的必經之路，但就目前而言，它們距實現零排放的方案仍然相去甚遠。
翻譯組：
Jack Jan，實踐出真知Yvette，拒絕標籤
校對組：
Xia Jiehai， 創作者Lucian，靈魂在傑作中冒險
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感想
本期感想
Vicky，少兒英語老師+筆譯新人
變革總在無聲處
清晨的城市街道上，一輛電動車無聲地滑過，沒有引擎的轟鳴，沒有尾氣的味道，只有輪胎與地面摩擦的細微聲響。這靜謐的一幕，卻掀起了人類交通史上最激烈的變革。我們站在時代的十字路口，左手握著燃油車百年來積澱的工業榮光，右手捧著電動車帶來的清潔未來，內心充滿矛盾與希望。
然而，當我們掀開這層光鮮的表象，看到的卻是一個充滿矛盾的現實。那些被宣傳為"零排放"的電動車，其電力可能來自遠方的燃煤電廠；那些清潔的鋰電池，其原材料開採過程卻造成了新的環境破壞。我們是否在用一種汙染替代另一種汙染？更不用說電網負荷、廢舊電池處理、稀有金屬爭奪……這些問題的複雜性遠超我們想象。有人在剛果拍到了當地兒童在鈷礦中工作的畫面，與精英們談論"清潔能源未來"的場景形成了刺眼的對比。就像是當年的血鑽,財富的累積和科技的陽光，似乎總有陰影如影隨形。
可是，是否要停下來？不會。做不到也不可能。
人類追求科技進步的歷史，就是一部不斷解決問題的歷史，同時也是一部不斷製造新問題的歷史。18世紀的工業革命帶來了生產力飛躍，也帶來了倫敦的致命霧霾；20世紀的石油繁榮創造了汽車文明，也導致了氣候危機。真正的進步從來不是一蹴而就的，而是在無數次跌倒後依然選擇前行的勇氣。
站在這個新舊交替的時代，我們或許不必急於做出非此即彼的選擇。不失去對新事物的追求,可是也要尊重對於過去榮光的敬仰。不要說流行趨勢總是逃不開一次又一次的文藝復興，就連人類社會的前進發展，都沒有絕對的先進和正確。89年的福山說：自由民主政體可能構成“人類意識形態進化的終點”和“人類政府的最終形式”，並由此構成《歷史的終結》。可是三十多年後的今天，就連福山心目中人類社會進步的終點西方社會，對於這個判斷的質疑都所在多有。
真正的進步，不僅需要技術突破的智慧，更需要直面矛盾的勇氣，和守護人性溫度的堅持。任何的進步都會伴隨著質疑，可是在質疑聲中堅定前行，不冒進，不偏聽，於黑暗與光明的交界處，種下希望，未來屬於這樣的人。
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願景
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