92 Indispensable Rubber

Pearl Harbor: It was December 7, 1941. Japanese bombers destroyed or damaged 19 American ships. The loss was a nightmare. Nothing could be worse. But a greater loss came right after that. What happened was that there was no rubber.

The Japanese had captured almost all the rubber-growing lands. These were lands in the Far East. Nine-tenths of the world’s supply of natural rubber was no longer available. Without rubber, war production would stop. There was no doubt about it.

Everything needed rubber. Trucks, jeeps, and planes needed tires. Artillery could not move. Shipbuilding would cease. The Army and Navy could not move. Rubber was a must. To emphasize: this was a greater crisis than Pearl Harbor.

What did the United States do? Latex, the sap from a rubber tree, was needed. But goldenrod and dandelions also produce latex. Fields of both were planted. Some latex was produced, but only small amounts. Desperation set in. Much more was needed. And quickly.

There was only one answer: to produce synthetic rubber. Chemists worked around the clock. They were successful. A fine rubber was quickly produced from oil. Production of war materials never stopped. American soldiers could be supplied.

After the war, new plantations were planted. Some were in South America, some in West Africa. Botanists developed better trees. These produce six times more latex than wild trees. Even hormones and vitamins are used to increase yields. The U.S. does not want to be caught short.

珍珠港事件：那是1941年12月7日，日本轰炸机摧毁或损坏了19艘美国船只。这次损失是一场噩梦，似乎没有比这更糟糕的了。但紧接着又发生了一场更大的损失，那就是橡胶短缺。

日本人占领了几乎所有的橡胶种植地，这些地方位于远东。世界上十分之九的天然橡胶供应不再可用。没有橡胶，战争生产就会停止，这一点毫无疑问。

所有东西都需要橡胶。卡车、吉普车和飞机需要轮胎，火炮无法移动，造船业会停止，陆军和海军也无法行动。橡胶是必需品。需要强调的是：这是一场比珍珠港事件更严重的危机。

美国做了什么呢？需要橡胶树的树液——乳胶。但一枝黄花和蒲公英也能产生乳胶，于是人们种植了大量的这两种植物。虽然产生了一些乳胶，但数量很少。绝望情绪开始蔓延，人们需要更多的乳胶，而且要快。

只有一个解决办法：生产合成橡胶。化学家们夜以继日地工作，他们成功了。一种优质的橡胶很快从石油中被生产出来。战争物资的生产从未停止，美国士兵的物资供应得到了保障。

战争结束后，人们开辟了新的橡胶种植园，有的在南美洲，有的在西非。植物学家培育出了更好的橡胶树，这些树产生的乳胶是野生橡胶树的六倍。人们甚至使用激素和维生素来提高产量，美国不想再陷入橡胶短缺的困境。