Solving Everest's mounting poop problem
如何處置珠穆朗瑪峰上日益堆積的屎
When climbing enthusiasts take a stab at the highest mountain in the world, thinking about their bodily waste is probably low on their list of priorities.
當攀巖愛好者試圖攀登世界上最高峰上的時候，如何處理他們的身體廢物可能是他們優先事項清單上最不起眼的了。
This season, porters working on Everest schlepped 28,000 pounds of human waste — the equivalent weight of two fully-grown elephants -- from base camp down to a nearby dumping site, according to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), a local NGO tasked with cleaning up Everest.
本次登山季，在珠穆朗瑪峰上工作的搬運工將28000磅的人類糞便——相當於兩個完全長大的大象的重量——從大本營搬運到附近的傾倒場，這是據當地的非政府組織負責清理珠穆朗瑪峰的薩加馬薩汙染控制委員會（SPCC）提供的消息。
schlep：v. 攜帶，搬運
At Gorak Shep, a frozen lakebed 17,000 feet above sea level, waste matter is dumped in open pits where it shrivels and dehydrates. But there is a risk that it will leak into a river and contaminate the water supply system, explains Garry Porter, a retired mountaineer and engineer from Washington state.
Gorak Shep位於海拔17000英尺高的冰凍湖床上，在那裡垃圾被傾倒在敞開的坑裡，漸漸枯萎和脫水。但華盛頓州一位退休登山者和工程師Garry Porter解釋說，它可能會洩漏到河流中並汙染供水系統。
contaminate：弄髒，汙染;損害，毒害
Photos: What happens to poop on Everest?
What do you do when nature calls and you're climbing Everest? Digging a hole in the snow is out of the question, although this does happen at some of the camps, explains former climber and engineer, Garry Porter.
當你在攀登珠穆朗瑪峰時突然想大號的時候，你會做什麼？前登山者和工程師Garry Porter解釋說，在雪地裡挖一個洞是不可能的，儘管這在一些營地確實就是這麼做的。
Higher up the mountain where facilities are scarce, climbers are encouraged to deposit their bodily waste in disposable bags and bring it back down with them, explains adventurer Ben Fogle, pictured alongside a makeshift toilet in a tent.
在高山上設施很少，登山者被鼓勵去把他們的身體垃圾存放在一次性袋子裡，然後把它們帶回去，照片中是冒險家Ben Fogle在帳篷裡的一個臨時廁所。
But at base camp, Nepalese authorities have installed portable toilets in the form of blue barrels. According to Fogle, the rule at base camp is to not mix urine with feces. The blue barrels are solely for solid human waste.
但在大本營，尼泊爾當局已經安裝了藍色桶式的可攜式馬桶。據Fogle說，大本營的規矩是不能把尿液和大糞混在一起。藍色的桶只是裝大糞的。
Local porters working on Everest lug the barrels down from base camp to Gorak Shep, a frozen lakebed 17,000 feet above sea level.
在珠穆朗瑪峰上工作的當地搬運工把桶從大本營搬運到Gorak Shep，這是一個海拔17000英尺的冰凍湖床。
Here the waste is dumped in open pits.
這裡的垃圾倒在露天坑裡。
Photos: What happens to poop on Everest?
But poop does not decompose at altitude in sub-zero temperatures. Instead it dries up and shrivels, releasing harmful gases, explains Porter.
但是糞便在零度以下的溫度下不會分解。相反，它乾涸和萎縮，釋放有害氣體，Porter解釋說。
"It's unsightly and unsanitary, it's a health issue and an environmental nightmare," Porter tells CNN.
Porter告訴美國有線電視新聞網記者：「這不僅不好看，還不衛生，這關乎健康問題，也是一個環境噩夢。」
"I experienced the thrill and grandeur of Mount Everest, but I also saw what happens when we, the Western world, leave, as if our waste doesn't stink."
「我經歷了珠峰的震撼和壯麗，但我也看到了當我們這些來自西方的人離開時，就好像我們的糞便不臭。」
But Porter doesn't fault climbers, as he says their main preoccupation is summiting and returning home in one piece.
但Porter不怪登山者，因為他說他們的首要任務是登頂並安全地回家。
Nor are Nepalese authorities to blame, says Porter, as there are no waste treatment plants nearby.
Porter說，尼泊爾當局也不應受到指責，因為附近沒有垃圾處理廠。
Yangji Doma, of the SPCC, agrees that the current human waste management system is problematic.
SPCC的央吉多瑪同意目前的人類廢物管理系統是有問題的。
"We make sure that it's not dumped on the glacier itself," she tells CNN. "But the main problem is ... it's very cold and it doesn't naturally degrade, we understand that. It's managed but it's not sustainably managed."
她告訴美國有線電視新聞網記者：「我們確保它不會被留在在冰川上。」但主要問題是…天氣很冷，自然不會降解，這我們都知道。它得到了解決，但並不是一種可持續的解決方法。」
So Porter, along with fellow climber Dan Mazur, established the Mount Everest Biogas Project almost eight years ago to try get rid of this "environmental hazard."
因此，Porter和攀巖者Dan Mazur一起在八年前建立了珠峰沼氣工程，試圖擺脫這種「環境危害」。
While biogas digesters are used around the world, and fairly easy to make, they are difficult to operate at altitude in sub-zero temperatures.
雖然沼氣池在世界各地使用，並且相當容易製造，但它們很難在零度以下的溫度下運作。
digester：沼氣池
This is because the process requires bacteria to feed on organic waste, and these living microorganisms need to be kept warm, explains Porter.
這是因為這個過程需要細菌以有機廢物為原料，而這些活的微生物需要保暖，Porter解釋道。
The Mount Everest Biogas Project plans to use a solar array panel to transmit heat into the digester. There will also be a battery array to store energy at night when the sun sets.
珠峰沼氣項目計劃使用太陽能電池板將熱量傳遞到池中。當太陽落下時，也會有一個電池組來儲存能量。
Rendering of the proposed biogas digester.
擬議沼氣池的繪製。
The end products will be methane gas, which can be used for cooking or lighting, and effluent that can be used as fertilizer for crops.
最終產品將是甲烷氣體，可用於烹飪或照明，剩餘廢料可以用作農作物的肥料。
methane：<化>甲烷，沼氣
But he says mini digesters at Kathmandu University successfully converted human waste from base camp to methane gas.
但他表示，加德滿都大學的小型沼氣池成功地將大本營的人類糞便轉化為沼氣。
The Mount Everest Biogas Project has a signed agreement with the SPCC and is ready to break ground once they have raised the necessary funds.
珠峰沼氣項目與SPCC籤署了協議，一旦籌集到必要的資金，就準備破土動工。
Porter estimates that the first digester will cost around $500,000, mostly because of the transportation cost to lug the materials up to Gorak Shep.
波特估計第一個沼氣池將花費大約50萬美元，這主要是將材料搬運到Gorak Shep的運輸費用。
Doma hopes the project will be a success: "It is a very innovative solution to address human waste in the long run, because right now the way we do it is not that good. It is not sustainable."
多瑪希望這個項目會取得成功：「從長遠來看，這是一個非常有創新性的解決人類糞便的方法，因為現在我們的做法並不是那麼好。是不可持續的。」
For Porter, it is about paying off a debt to the Nepalese people.
對Porter來說，是向尼泊爾人民還債。
"I was part of the problem, so hopefully now I can be part of the solution," he says.
「我曾是問題的一部分，所以希望現在我能成為解決方案的一部分，」他說。
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