Solving Everest's mounting poop problem
如何处置珠穆朗玛峰上日益堆积的屎
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.
当攀岩爱好者试图攀登世界上最高峰上的时候，如何处理他们的身体废物可能是他们优先事项清单上最不起眼的了。
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，在珠穆朗玛峰上工作的搬运工将28000磅的人类粪便——相当于两个完全长大的大象的重量——从大本营搬运到附近的倾倒场，这是据当地的非政府组织负责清理珠穆朗玛峰的萨加马萨污染控制委员会（SPCC）提供的消息。
schlep：v. 携带，搬运
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位于海拔17000英尺高的冰冻湖床上，在那里垃圾被倾倒在敞开的坑里，渐渐枯萎和脱水。但华盛顿州一位退休登山者和工程师Garry Porter解释说，它可能会泄漏到河流中并污染供水系统。
contaminate：弄脏，污染;损害，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.
当你在攀登珠穆朗玛峰时突然想大号的时候，你会做什么？前登山者和工程师Garry Porter解释说，在雪地里挖一个洞是不可能的，尽管这在一些营地确实就是这么做的。
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.
在高山上设施很少，登山者被鼓励去把他们的身体垃圾存放在一次性袋子里，然后把它们带回去，照片中是冒险家Ben Fogle在帐篷里的一个临时厕所。
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.
但在大本营，尼泊尔当局已经安装了蓝色桶式的便携式马桶。据Fogle说，大本营的规矩是不能把尿液和大粪混在一起。蓝色的桶只是装大粪的。
Local porters working on Everest lug the barrels down from base camp to Gorak Shep, a frozen lakebed 17,000 feet above sea level.
在珠穆朗玛峰上工作的当地搬运工把桶从大本营搬运到Gorak Shep，这是一个海拔17000英尺的冰冻湖床。
Here the waste is dumped in open pits.
这里的垃圾倒在露天坑里。
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.
但是粪便在零度以下的温度下不会分解。相反，它干涸和萎缩，释放有害气体，Porter解释说。
"It's unsightly and unsanitary, it's a health issue and an environmental nightmare," Porter tells CNN.
Porter告诉美国有线电视新闻网记者：“这不仅不好看，还不卫生，这关乎健康问题，也是一个环境噩梦。”
"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."
“我经历了珠峰的震撼和壮丽，但我也看到了当我们这些来自西方的人离开时，就好像我们的粪便不臭。”
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，因为他说他们的首要任务是登顶并安全地回家。
Nor are Nepalese authorities to blame, says Porter, as there are no waste treatment plants nearby.
Porter说，尼泊尔当局也不应受到指责，因为附近没有垃圾处理厂。
Yangji Doma, of the SPCC, agrees that the current human waste management system is problematic.
SPCC的央吉多玛同意目前的人类废物管理系统是有问题的。
"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."
她告诉美国有线电视新闻网记者：“我们确保它不会被留在在冰川上。”但主要问题是…天气很冷，自然不会降解，这我们都知道。它得到了解决，但并不是一种可持续的解决方法。”
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和攀岩者Dan Mazur一起在八年前建立了珠峰沼气工程，试图摆脱这种“环境危害”。
While biogas digesters are used around the world, and fairly easy to make, they are difficult to operate at altitude in sub-zero temperatures.
虽然沼气池在世界各地使用，并且相当容易制造，但它们很难在零度以下的温度下运作。
digester：沼气池
This is because the process requires bacteria to feed on organic waste, and these living microorganisms need to be kept warm, explains Porter.
这是因为这个过程需要细菌以有机废物为原料，而这些活的微生物需要保暖，Porter解释道。
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.
珠峰沼气项目计划使用太阳能电池板将热量传递到池中。当太阳落下时，也会有一个电池组来储存能量。
Rendering of the proposed biogas digester.
拟议沼气池的绘制。
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.
最终产品将是甲烷气体，可用于烹饪或照明，剩余废料可以用作农作物的肥料。
methane：<化>甲烷，沼气
But he says mini digesters at Kathmandu University successfully converted human waste from base camp to methane gas.
但他表示，加德满都大学的小型沼气池成功地将大本营的人类粪便转化为沼气。
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.
珠峰沼气项目与SPCC签署了协议，一旦筹集到必要的资金，就准备破土动工。
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.
波特估计第一个沼气池将花费大约50万美元，这主要是将材料搬运到Gorak Shep的运输费用。
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."
多玛希望这个项目会取得成功：“从长远来看，这是一个非常有创新性的解决人类粪便的方法，因为现在我们的做法并不是那么好。是不可持续的。”
For Porter, it is about paying off a debt to the Nepalese people.
对Porter来说，是向尼泊尔人民还债。
"I was part of the problem, so hopefully now I can be part of the solution," he says.
“我曾是问题的一部分，所以希望现在我能成为解决方案的一部分，”他说。
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