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When it comes to buying stuff, I’ve often wondered how did I live without online shopping?
谈到买东西，我总是会想，如果没有网购，生活会是什么样？
I mean literally today anything I want is available to me 24/7.
毫不夸张地说，现在我想买的任何东西都能够全天候送达。
I can buy anything anytime.
任何东西，只要想买，我都能买到。
In fact 79% of Americans shop online.
事实上，79%的美国人都在网购，
This happens when they’re laying in bed, while they’re out with friends having a drink.
无论是躺在床上，还是在外面和朋友喝东西。
It turns out actually one in five us shop online while we’re using the bathroom.
事实上，有20%的人上厕所都会网购
All this stuff we’re buying magically appears on our doorstep.
买的东西也会像变魔术一样出现在我们家门口。
But what effect does all this shopping have on the planet?
然而，这种购物方式会给环境带来怎样的影响呢？
Delivery services ship a lot more packages now because of online shopping.
有了网购，配送公司的业务也更多了。
Since 2009 US Postal Service deliveries increased by 65%.
从2009年到现在，美国邮政的业务量增长了65%。
And during the holidays, UPS deliveries have increased by 260 million packages since 2010.
2010年以来， 美国邮政假期配送的包裹增长了2.6亿件。
Now for the most part, if you compare online shopping with driving to the store, online shopping has a smaller carbon footprint.
最要紧的是，如果将网购和去实体店购物相比，网购的碳足迹更小。
But there’s a catch.
然而，这里有一个问题：
It's only better for the environment if you don't get rushed delivery.
网购只有在不考虑加急配送的情况下才更环保。
Most of us, including me, are choosing faster delivery like two day shipping
大多数人，包括我在内，都会选择两日送达这种快递。
Because most of the time it's free, why wouldn’t we want it right away?
既然大部分快递都是免费的，那干嘛不选马上配送？
But it isn’t just a time difference, it’s an environmental difference.
然而，快递和普通配送不仅时间不同，对环境的影响也不同。
You see all these faster deliveries mean more trucks on the road
想过没，这些快递会增加交通负荷，
and that’s causing more greenhouse gases and that means more global warming.
增加温室气体排放量，造成全球变暖进一步加剧。
When we choose two-day shipping, deliveries often come in multiple packages.
选择两日送达时，我们的快递会用到更多的包装盒。
Let’s say I buy some dish soap and a pair of socks.
比如我要买瓶洗碗剂和一双袜子。
The shipping warehouse near me might be out of dish soap,
离我最近的货仓洗碗机可能缺货了，
so they fly some in from another state.
这时他们就会从别的州空运一些过来。
Meanwhile, those socks, they’re getting sent to me on a separate truck.
在此期间，他们会用卡车单独运送我的袜子。
Also, the company is trying to get it to me quickly,
此外，快递公司还要考虑尽快把袜子送到我手里，
so trucks are often sent out only half full
这样一来，还没装满卡车就不得不出发了。
If there was more flexibility in timing, they could fill them up all the way.
如果时间上更灵活的话，他们可以把卡车装满再发货。
If you know you have five-day delivery window,
如果卖家知道自己有五天的派送时间，
you can wait from all the products to come in from different sources, consolidate the shipment, and send it.
那他们可以等所有商品从不同货源地集齐并且等卡车满载之后再发货。
And now you can wait for many customers’ orders to come in and consolidate that into, let’s say, a full truckload.
他们还可以等其他买家下单，把他们买的东西也一并装进去直到满载再发货。
This is Miguel Jaller.
这位是Miguel Jaller。
He studies sustainable transportation at the University of California, Davis.
他是加利福尼亚大学戴维斯分校可持续运输方面的研究员。
By picking the longer delivery window,
选择更长时间的配送
I’m giving the company more time to find the most efficient way to get a product to me.
就是给快递公司更充分的时间去选择最高效的方式把货送到买家手里。
Another problem is with returns.
快递还有一个问题：退货。
So one of the things that companies made is offering this reliable and fast and almost free return option.
很多店铺都支持不仅可靠、快速，而且几乎免费的退货服务。
So now as a customer, I can actually try the product, even if I don’t have any store to go to,
这样一来，作为消费者，我其实可以试用这个商品，我甚至不需要到实体店去就能试用，
because if I don’t like it or it doesn’t fit, I can actually return it at no cost.
要是觉得不喜欢或是不合适，我还可以免费退货。
So like with buying clothes, if I shop online and pick the ‘try before you buy’ option,
就拿买衣服来说，如果我在网上买的时候选了“先试后买”，
it would be like saying a delivery truck is driving back and forth just to find me the right stuff.
这样一来，为了帮我找到合适的产品，送货的车辆就要来回跑。
So what are companies trying to do?
那有什么办法解决这个问题吗？
When you think of the future of online shipping, you might imagine drones and driverless cars.
想到网购快递的未来，你可能会想到无人机或无人驾驶汽车
But today’s solutions are more about keeping traffic moving along,
但是当前的方案更多的是考虑如何疏散交通，
like with wifi traffic lights that let truckers know ahead of time when the light will turn red.
比如可以提前告知送货司机何时会有红灯的wifi信号灯。
This cuts down on idling at the light and wasting fuel.
这样可以节省等红灯的时间，还能降低油耗。
We’re now starting to transmit the timing of those traffic lights, in anticipation for that,
我们已经开始传送广播信号灯的时间，这样一来
they might want to speed up a little bit or slow down or do these certain little velocity changes
送货司机可以相应地加速或者减速，或者做些别的调整，
so that they increase their chances of getting through that light.
以便提高顺利通过信号灯的机会
This is Matt Barth at the University of California, Riverside.
这位是加利福利亚大学河滨分校的Matt Barth。
He’s looking at ways trucks can reduce their transit footprint.
他在努力研究提高卡车运输效率的办法，
You can essentially smooth out your patterns of travel.
让大家能够大幅提高行驶的畅通性。
And when you smooth out your travel patterns, you get those fuel-economy benefits.
行驶畅通时，大家就能享受到省油的好处。
Cities like San Jose and Las Vegas are already testing out this traffic light technology.
圣何塞和拉斯维加斯等城市已经在测试我们的信号灯技术了。
You can save 15 to 20 percent fuel just by doing those type of activities.
只需做这些调整，大家就能省掉15%-20%的油耗。
And on the highway, trucks are now starting to talk to each other -- it’s called truck platooning.
而且，如今的卡车司机在高速上也可以相互通知了，这就是所谓的“卡车结队”现象
You can think of it like cruise control except its transmitting the truck’s speed to the other vehicles following behind.
大家可以理解为定速控制，只是这些卡车的速度转移到了后面部分的卡车上。
This lets all the trucks drive in unison at the same speed close behind each other.
所有的卡车都紧跟着彼此并步调一致地前行。
What they’re doing is trying to reduce the drag.
这样就可以缓解拖后腿的现象。
The narrow gaps they create between each other shields the trucks that are following from wind resistance.
这些卡车之间狭窄的间距使得后面的开车免受空气阻力的干扰。
And so there’s been a number of experiments worldwide that have shown,
全世界已经有很多试验表明，
you know, you can get 10 to 15, 20 percent energy savings, fuel savings by doing that type of platooning.
这种结队现象能够让大家节省10%-15%或是15-20%的油耗或能耗。
Now delivery companies have been tackling fuel use and emissions for decades.
数十年来，配送公司一直在想办法解决油耗和排放的问题。
I mean, take UPS.
就拿美国邮政来说，
Since the 1970s they’ve encouraged drivers to eliminate left hand turns,
从70年代以来，他们一直在鼓励司机减少左转弯的次数，
reducing their emissions by 100,000 metric tons.
这一举措减少了10万公吨的排放量。
That’s like taking 21,000 cars off the road.
效果相当于从道路上移除2.1万台汽车。
So there are ways companies can shrink their carbon footprint,
换句话说，我们是有办法减少碳足迹的。
but what if they were better about changing customer behavior –like getting us to be conscious about how we shop online?
那么，改变消费者的习惯，比如让大家注意自己的网购习惯，又会带来怎样的效果呢？
I’ve always picked that 2 day option because I, to be honest, never really thought about it,
一直以来我用的也是两日送达，因为，说实话，之前我并没有认真考虑过这个问题，
but what if companies offered a green option?
但如果店铺提供了更环保的选项，
so if you just check a box they would just ship stuff to you in the most energy efficient way possible.
而你只需要点选一下，他们就可以用最节约能源的方式把东西送到你手里，你会怎么办？
Sure, maybe it takes a little bit longer,
不错，这样也许会更慢，
but that’s something I’d actually be willing to do.
但这种事我是乐意接受的。
I mean every now and again, I might need something right away.
我的意思是，我可能还是会时不时地需要快递。
But honestly, I probably don’t need to overnight a delivery of socks to my front door.
但说实话，我应该不需要买个袜子都选择24小时送达。
You probably do a lot of your online shopping with your smartphone.
大家可能很多时候都是在手机上买东西，
well, watch our other episode to see what kind of impact these devices have on our planet and then check out climate.universityofcalifornia.edu for other global warming solutions and tips.
我们还有一期视频专门讲手机购物对环境的影响，大家可以去看一看。此外，大家还可以去climate.universityofcalifornia.edu网站查看改善全球变暖趋势的其他办法或技巧。
