Release a helium balloon on a bright, sunny day, watch it magically float up into the sky, and I dare you not to feel some variety of exhilaration, a sense of wonder, a longing for freedom, suspense.... It's like a 21-gun salute, but quieter. It's like a Chinese Sky Lantern ceremony, but for the daytime.People release big bunches of balloons for memorial services, grand openings, birthday parties and parades. It's just a Thing We Do, and it's fun. But it's really, really terrible for the environment.

在一個陽光明媚的日子里，你放飛了一個氦氣球，并看著它神奇地漂浮在天空中。我敢肯定，這時的你會感到一絲興奮與驚喜，還有對自由的渴望。這就像觀看21響禮炮一樣，只是更安靜。這也像中國人放飛孔明燈一樣，只是在白天而已。人們會在紀念儀式、盛大開幕式、生日聚會和游行中放飛大量的氣球。雖然這只是人們喜歡做的一件有趣的事，但是這對環境來說真的非常糟糕。

When a balloon ascends into the heavens, it doesn't end up on Jupiter. You know this. Although a helium balloon can rise to altitudes of 8 kilometers into Earth's atmosphere, it's got to come back down eventually, and when it does, it wreaks some havoc. That colorful little scrap of latex may end up living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It could get tangled up in the flippers of a sea turtle or be eaten by one who mistakes it for a jellyfish. Or a bighorn sheep could mistake it for forage, or it might land in some farmer's pasture, where a cow chokes on the string. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, animals of the land, sea and air are equally susceptible to mistaking deflated balloons for food, or, arguably worse, getting tangled up and strangled by the ribbon attached to it.

我們都知道，即使氦氣球一直向上升，它最終也不會落到木星上去。盡管氦氣球可以升到距地面8千米的高度，但它最終還是會回來的，一旦它降落了，就會造成一些破壞。那些五顏六色的乳膠碎片最終可能會掉在太平洋垃圾帶，它們可能會纏住海龜的鰭狀肢，或者被海龜當成水母給吃掉。它們落在陸地上時，大角羊可能會把它們誤認為是飼料。它們落在農民的牧場時，氣球上的絲帶很可能會嗆死一頭牛。美國魚類和野生動物管理局的數據顯示，陸地、海洋和空中的動物都很容易把泄氣的氣球誤認為是食物，更糟糕的是，它們都有可能被氣球上的絲帶纏住并勒死。

And it's true, some balloons do break down eventually. A big part of the reason releasing balloons is permitted in so many places is that latex balloons are technically biodegradable — it takes one between six months and four years to break down completely, though they deteriorate in seawater more slowly than they do on land. Mylar balloons, on the other hand, are made out of NASA-grade nylon and are not biodegradable, so they can hang out in the environment indefinitely.

誠然，有些氣球最終會分解掉。許多地方之所以允許放飛氣球，很大程度上是因為乳膠氣球在技術上是可生物降解的。但是它們也需要長達6個月到4年的時間才能完全分解，而且它們在海水中的降解速度比在陸地上要慢很多。還有一種邁拉氣球是由美國宇航局級別的尼龍制成的，不能生物降解，因此它們會一直存在于自然界中。

So, if balloons in the environment are so bad, why isn't releasing them outlawed? Well, in many areas, it is. And a few places in the UK and Australia have banned the release of balloons of all kinds. In the US, California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia and some cities like Louisville, Kentucky, and Huntsville, Alabama have put the kibosh on balloon releases. But the thing about helium balloons is they don't care about our random geographic boundaries. They land wherever they want to land.

既然停留在環境中的氣球有這么多危害，為什么放飛它們不是違法的呢？其實在許多地方，放飛氣球都是違法的。英國和澳大利亞的一些地方已經禁止各種氣球的釋放。在美國，加利福尼亞州、康涅狄格州、佛羅里達州、田納西州和弗吉尼亞州，還有肯塔基州的路易斯維爾和阿拉巴馬州的亨茨維爾等城市，都已經禁止放飛氣球。但是氦氣球的問題在于，它們才不管人類劃定的地理邊界。它們想在哪里降落，就在哪里降落。

Hundreds of balloons drifting slowly into the wild blue yonder might give you the feels, but is a brief display of color and zero confetti cleanup at your party worth a bunch of dead birds and turtles and many beaches full of trash? Absolutely not. But, on a related note, the world may be running out of helium soon anyway — giving the turtles and the birds a reason to throw their own great big party, sans balloons.

看著數以百計的氣球慢慢地飄向遠處的藍色天空可能會讓你心潮澎湃，然而只是為了欣賞一次轉瞬即逝的多彩美景，或者為了不必清理派對留下的五彩紙屑，你就要讓一群鳥兒和烏龜用生命來買單，讓一片片沙灘堆滿垃圾。這值得嗎？當然不值得。而且，再這樣下去，這個世界可能很快就會耗盡氦氣——這反倒讓海龜和鳥兒有理由開個大派對來慶祝，沒有氣球的那種。

最后，不要錯過一個重要的事實：

Helium balloons can interfere with airplanes. In Singapore, you have to get permission from a government aviation regulation agency in order to release balloons.

氦氣球會干擾到飛機。在新加坡，你必須得到政府航空管制署的許可才能放飛氣球。

你以為你放飛的是心情，但是放出的卻是“殺生”利器。轉瞬即逝的美卻要付出永恒的代價。

Release a helium balloon on a bright, sunny day, watch it magically float up into the sky, and I dare you not to feel some variety of exhilaration, a sense of wonder, a longing for freedom, suspense.... It's like a 21-gun salute, but quieter. It's like a Chinese Sky Lantern ceremony, but for the daytime.People release big bunches of balloons for memorial services, grand openings, birthday parties and parades. It's just a Thing We Do, and it's fun. But it's really, really terrible for the environment.

在一個陽光明媚的日子里，你放飛了一個氦氣球，并看著它神奇地漂浮在天空中。我敢肯定，這時的你會感到一絲興奮與驚喜，還有對自由的渴望。這就像觀看21響禮炮一樣，只是更安靜。這也像中國人放飛孔明燈一樣，只是在白天而已。人們會在紀念儀式、盛大開幕式、生日聚會和游行中放飛大量的氣球。雖然這只是人們喜歡做的一件有趣的事，但是這對環境來說真的非常糟糕。

When a balloon ascends into the heavens, it doesn't end up on Jupiter. You know this. Although a helium balloon can rise to altitudes of 8 kilometers into Earth's atmosphere, it's got to come back down eventually, and when it does, it wreaks some havoc. That colorful little scrap of latex may end up living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It could get tangled up in the flippers of a sea turtle or be eaten by one who mistakes it for a jellyfish. Or a bighorn sheep could mistake it for forage, or it might land in some farmer's pasture, where a cow chokes on the string. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, animals of the land, sea and air are equally susceptible to mistaking deflated balloons for food, or, arguably worse, getting tangled up and strangled by the ribbon attached to it.

我們都知道，即使氦氣球一直向上升，它最終也不會落到木星上去。盡管氦氣球可以升到距地面8千米的高度，但它最終還是會回來的，一旦它降落了，就會造成一些破壞。那些五顏六色的乳膠碎片最終可能會掉在太平洋垃圾帶，它們可能會纏住海龜的鰭狀肢，或者被海龜當成水母給吃掉。它們落在陸地上時，大角羊可能會把它們誤認為是飼料。它們落在農民的牧場時，氣球上的絲帶很可能會嗆死一頭牛。美國魚類和野生動物管理局的數據顯示，陸地、海洋和空中的動物都很容易把泄氣的氣球誤認為是食物，更糟糕的是，它們都有可能被氣球上的絲帶纏住并勒死。

And it's true, some balloons do break down eventually. A big part of the reason releasing balloons is permitted in so many places is that latex balloons are technically biodegradable — it takes one between six months and four years to break down completely, though they deteriorate in seawater more slowly than they do on land. Mylar balloons, on the other hand, are made out of NASA-grade nylon and are not biodegradable, so they can hang out in the environment indefinitely.

誠然，有些氣球最終會分解掉。許多地方之所以允許放飛氣球，很大程度上是因為乳膠氣球在技術上是可生物降解的。但是它們也需要長達6個月到4年的時間才能完全分解，而且它們在海水中的降解速度比在陸地上要慢很多。還有一種邁拉氣球是由美國宇航局級別的尼龍制成的，不能生物降解，因此它們會一直存在于自然界中。

So, if balloons in the environment are so bad, why isn't releasing them outlawed? Well, in many areas, it is. And a few places in the UK and Australia have banned the release of balloons of all kinds. In the US, California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia and some cities like Louisville, Kentucky, and Huntsville, Alabama have put the kibosh on balloon releases. But the thing about helium balloons is they don't care about our random geographic boundaries. They land wherever they want to land.

既然停留在環境中的氣球有這么多危害，為什么放飛它們不是違法的呢？其實在許多地方，放飛氣球都是違法的。英國和澳大利亞的一些地方已經禁止各種氣球的釋放。在美國，加利福尼亞州、康涅狄格州、佛羅里達州、田納西州和弗吉尼亞州，還有肯塔基州的路易斯維爾和阿拉巴馬州的亨茨維爾等城市，都已經禁止放飛氣球。但是氦氣球的問題在于，它們才不管人類劃定的地理邊界。它們想在哪里降落，就在哪里降落。

Hundreds of balloons drifting slowly into the wild blue yonder might give you the feels, but is a brief display of color and zero confetti cleanup at your party worth a bunch of dead birds and turtles and many beaches full of trash? Absolutely not. But, on a related note, the world may be running out of helium soon anyway — giving the turtles and the birds a reason to throw their own great big party, sans balloons.

看著數以百計的氣球慢慢地飄向遠處的藍色天空可能會讓你心潮澎湃，然而只是為了欣賞一次轉瞬即逝的多彩美景，或者為了不必清理派對留下的五彩紙屑，你就要讓一群鳥兒和烏龜用生命來買單，讓一片片沙灘堆滿垃圾。這值得嗎？當然不值得。而且，再這樣下去，這個世界可能很快就會耗盡氦氣——這反倒讓海龜和鳥兒有理由開個大派對來慶祝，沒有氣球的那種。

最后，不要錯過一個重要的事實：

Helium balloons can interfere with airplanes. In Singapore, you have to get permission from a government aviation regulation agency in order to release balloons.

氦氣球會干擾到飛機。在新加坡，你必須得到政府航空管制署的許可才能放飛氣球。

你以為你放飛的是心情，但是放出的卻是“殺生”利器。轉瞬即逝的美卻要付出永恒的代價。