A guilt-free flip-flop
环保人字拖
UC San Diego biology and chemistry students have created the world’s first algae-based, sustainable versions of your favorite summer items.
加州大学圣地亚哥分校的生物和化学专业的学生发明了世界上第一双以藻类为原料且可回收再利用的夏季热销商品新项目。
About 3 billion new pairs of these little plastic sandals are made globally every year. Eventually, they wind up as non-biodegradable trash in landfills, rivers and oceans.
每年全球大约会生产30亿双这种塑料小凉鞋。最终，它们成为垃圾填埋场、河流和海洋中不可生物降解的垃圾。
It’s a surprisingly big environmental footprint for something that seems so inconsequential.
这看似无关紧要的事情，却给大环境带来了令人惊讶的影响。
“One of the largest pollutants in the ocean is polyurethane from flip-flops and other shoes that have been washed or thrown into rivers and flow into the ocean,” says Stephen Mayfield, a UC San Diego professor of biology.
加州大学圣地亚哥分校生物学教授斯蒂芬·梅菲尔德(Stephen Mayfield)说：“海洋中最大的污染物之一是来自人字拖和其他鞋子的聚氨酯，它们已经被冲入河里，流入海洋。”
Mayfield, along with chemist Skip Pomeroy and their students at UC San Diego, may have found a solution.
梅菲尔德，化学家斯基普·波默罗伊(Skip Pomeroy)和他们加州大学圣地亚哥分校的学生一起，可能已经找到了该问题的解决办法。
Building on their earlier success in using algae oil to make the world’s first sustainable surfboard, they’ve developed a process that transforms algae oil into a flexible foam that can be fashioned into footwear. The result is Triton Soles, a flexible yet durable flip-flop adorned with a trident logo and a simple strap.
此前，他们利用海藻油制造了世界上第一个可降解的冲浪板，在此基础上，他们开发了一种将海藻油转化为软质泡沫的工艺，这种泡沫可以制成鞋类。于是便生产出了特里顿鞋（Triton Soles），一种灵活且耐用的人字拖，装饰有一个三叉戟标志和一个简单的皮带。
Mayfield, Pomeroy and fellow professor Michael Burkart plan to scale their algae innovations through a startup company, Algenesis Materials, which employs some of their lab students and provides them with the opportunity to experience what Pomeroy calls “project-based learning.”
梅菲尔德、波默罗伊和迈克尔·伯卡特(Michael Burkart) 教授计划创建一家名为Algene Matters的公司以推广他们的藻类创新，该公司雇佣了一些他们实验室里的学生，为他们提供了体验波莫罗伊所谓的“基于项目学习”的机会。
“Our plan is that in the next year, you’ll be able to go into the store and buy a flip-flop that is sustainable, biodegradable and invented by students at UC San Diego,” Mayfield said.
梅菲尔德说：“我们的计划是在明年，你可以去商店买一双可回收的、可生物降解的、由加州大学圣地亚哥分校的学生发明的人字拖。”
