Sat, Dec 12, 2009 page14

• Six degrees could change the world 改變世界的6度C

  • • 
    • 
    • 

  VIEW THIS PAGE

  We have signs of very great changes occurring on the planet. Everything has happened so fast. Creeks are drying up that have never dried up in a lifetime. We’ve got a forest that’s already on the edge of disappearing. We’re going into uncharted territory. Our planet is at a crossroads. Global warming isn’t out of control, but it soon could be. The warning signs are all around us. This is the challenge of climate change: What can we do about global warming? What will happen to the Earth if we don’t? The temperature is rising and each degree is critical. A 6°C increase is almost unimaginable.

  我們已經看見地球出現巨變的跡象，事情發生得非常快。這一代從未乾涸的溪流正在枯涸森林面臨消失威脅。我們開始走入未知的領域，地球正面對轉捩點。全球暖化尚未失控，但可能很快就一發不可收拾，身邊四處可見警告跡象，這是氣候變遷帶來的挑戰：我們該如何減緩全球暖化？如果不著手處理，地球會有什麼下場？氣溫正在升高，每上升一度都有嚴重影響。氣溫升高六度的後果不堪設想。

  Imagine what the 21st century will be like if global warming accelerates. Where will the next super-storm hit? The next scorching heat wave? As the world warms degree by degree, where will the next catastrophe hit? The debate has ended. Scientists around the globe agree we now live in a world warmer by almost 1°C. An armada tracks the earth’s vital signs, with thousands of ships at sea. Meanwhile, there are tens of thousands of stations on land, and satellites monitor from space. Scientists feed the data into the most advanced computer models to calculate what it means for our future. The predictions are alarming.

  想像全球暖化加劇的二十一世紀，下一場超級風暴將襲擊何處？下一場炙人熱浪呢？隨著全球均溫逐步上升，一場重大天災又將侵襲何處？爭論已經落幕，全球科學家一致指出，全球均溫已升高近攝氏一度，全世界嚴陣以待，追蹤地球的生命跡象。海上有數千船隻，陸上有數萬監測站，還有衛星從太空監控。科學家將資料輸入最先進的電腦模型，估算地球可能面對的未來，預測結果令人擔憂。

  In four decades, glaciers in the Himalayas — the source of water for millions — could be gone. Within 50 years, the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet could be unstoppable. By the end of this century, the Amazon rainforest — home to half the world’s biodiversity — could wither to an arid savannah. We’re on the brink of living in a world 1°C warmer, hotter than it’s been in thousands of years. A temperature rise between 1°C and 6°C is possible over the next century. Each degree means a radically different future. In some parts of the world, the first signs of global warming may be arriving with a vengeance. In Australia, bush fires are a natural part of the ecosystem, especially in drought years. But climate change may be pushing conditions from bad to worse. Australia’s east coast is a tinderbox. In the winter of 2001, more than 900 fires encircled Sydney. They called it Black Christmas.

  四十年後，數百萬人仰賴的水源──喜馬拉雅山區的冰河，可能消失。五十年內，格陵蘭冰層可能全部融化。本世紀末，擁有地球半數生物多樣性的亞馬遜雨林，可能變成乾枯的熱帶草原。全球均溫正處於升高近一度的邊緣，超越數千年來的紀錄。未來一百年間，氣溫有可能升高一到六度。每升高一度都將讓地球的未來出現劇烈變化。在部分地區，全球暖化的最初跡象或許已經大張旗鼓展現。野火是澳洲生態系統中自然的環節，在旱年火勢尤熾。但氣候變遷或許讓情況愈下。澳洲東岸成為一觸即發的火場。二００一年冬季，雪梨周圍發生九百多起野火，澳洲人稱之為「黑色聖誕節」。

  VIEW THIS PAGE
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Alcaraz, Sinner win their Roland Garros openers

  • 2

    Napoli bag 2nd Serie A title in 3 years

  • 3

    Taiwanese duo knocked out of Malaysia Masters

  • 4

    Probes of CCP amplifiers supported: poll

  • 5

    Blackpink to hold concert in Kaohsiung