It's just a thing we Do, and it's fun. But it's really, really terrible for the environment.
虽然这只是人们喜欢做的一件有趣的事，但是这对环境来说真的非常糟糕。
When a balloon ascends into the heavens, it doesn't end up on Jupiter.
当一只气球升上天空，它不会落到木星上去。
That colorful little scrap of latex may end up living in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It could get tangled up in the flippers of a sea turtle or be eaten by one who mistakes it for a jellyfish.
那些五颜六色的乳胶碎片最终可能会掉在太平洋垃圾带。它们可能会缠住海龟的鳍状肢，或者被海龟当成水母给吃掉。
Or a bighorn sheep could mistake it for forage, or it might land in some farmer's pasture, where a cow chokes on the string.
大角羊可能会把它们误认为是饲料。它们落在农民的牧场时，一头牛可能被丝带呛到。

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, animals of the land, sea and air are equally susceptible to mistaking deflated balloons for food, or, arguably worse, getting tangled up and strangled by the ribbon attached to it.
据美国渔业与野生动物服务局透露，陆地、海洋和天空中的动物都容易误把泄气的气球当成食物，更糟糕的是，它们都有可能被气球上的丝带缠住并勒死。
And it's true, some balloons do break down eventually. A big part of the reason releasing balloons is permitted in so many places is that latex balloons are technically biodegradable -- it takes one between six months and four years to break down completely, though they deteriorate in seawater more slowly than they do on land.
诚然，有些气球最终会分解掉。许多地方之所以允许放飞气球，很大程度上是因为乳胶气球在技术上是可生物降解的。但是它们也需要长达6个月到4年的时间才能完全分解，而且它们在海水中的降解速度比在陆地上要慢很多。
Mylar balloons, on the other hand, are made out of NASA-grade nylon and are not biodegradable, so they can hang out in the environment indefinitely.
还有一种迈拉气球是由美国宇航局级别的尼龙制成的，不能生物降解，因此它们会一直存在于自然界中。
Helium balloons can interfere with airplanes. In Singapore, you have to get permission from a government aviation regulation agency in order to release balloons.
氦气球会干扰到飞机。在新加坡，你必须得到政府航空管制署的许可才能放飞气球。