These oysters² are helping³ to protect the US city of New Orleans.

 

这些牡蛎在帮助保护美国新奥尔良市的海岸湿地。

 

Their empty shells are being used to build a barrier to defend these coastal⁴ wetlands.

 

牡蛎的空壳被用来建造一道屏障，以保护这些海岸湿地。

 

Dickie Brennan, Bourbon House

"We have to save our coastline. It's a crisis."

 

迪基·布伦南       Bourbon House 餐厅

“我们必须拯救我们的海岸线。这是成败的紧要关头。”

 

US Geological Survey 2017

"Every 100 minutes, the Louisiana wetlands is losing an area as big as a football field due to canalling, levee building and rising sea level."

 

美国地质勘探局 2017

“每100分钟，路易斯安那州就会失去一个足球场那么大面积的湿地，原因是开凿运河、修建堤坝和海平面上升。”

 

This has drastically weakened the wetlands' flood defence function.

 

这大幅削弱了湿地的防洪作用。

 

Kim Reyher, Coalition⁵ to Restore Coastal Louisiana

"With every hurricane season, we stand to lose. The land is slowly slipping into the water. The water is slowly coming up. And so, we can't just sit here and expect to stay here without taking action."

 

金·雷伊尔       路易斯安那州海岸恢复联盟

“每到飓风季节，我们都定有损失。陆地慢慢陷入水中。海水缓缓涌上来。因此，我们不能坐以待毙、无所作为。”

 

Some New Orleans restaurants think their oyster shells can help.

 

新奥尔良市的一些餐馆认为客人饭后留下的牡蛎壳能帮上忙。

 

Dickie Brennan, Bourbon House

"This one restaurant has recycled over 700 tons of oyster shells. The neat thing is that every oyster that we get down there goes in the water. There's no waste."

 

迪基·布伦南       Bourbon House 餐厅

“光这一家餐厅就回收利用了700多吨牡蛎壳。最妙的是，我们从水中得到的每只牡蛎都会回到水中，用作防洪屏障。一点也不浪费。”

 

The shells are being brought to the edge of the wetlands. They're put against the bank to form a living, growing barrier.

 

牡蛎壳被运到了湿地边缘。它们被铺在岸上，筑成一道不断生长的活体屏障。

 

Darrah Bach, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

"The oyster shells that we're putting into the water are actually going to attract those baby oysters. They will settle on the shells and that's where they will grow. Not only are these shells going to attract oyster growth, they're going to attract other species. Fish are going to feed on them. Birds are going to feed on them. So, it creates a beautiful ecosystem⁶."

 

达拉·巴赫       路易斯安那州海岸恢复联盟

“我们放入水中的牡蛎壳其实会吸引牡蛎幼体。牡蛎幼体会在壳上安家、生长。这些牡蛎壳不仅会吸引牡蛎幼体，使其在礁体上生长，还会吸引其它物种前来觅食。鱼类会以它们为食。鸟类会以它们为食。因此，这道屏障创造了一个美丽的生态系统。”

 

This costly⁷ and labour-intensive project has covered 2.4km of the coastline so far. But one oyster reef has cut coastal erosion there in half over five years.

 

到目前为止，这个耗资巨大的劳动密集型项目已经为海岸线铺上了2.4公里长的牡蛎壳屏障。但这道牡蛎壳礁已在五年多内使海岸侵蚀减半。

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