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The world's oceans have absorbed about half of all the carbon dioxide released so far into the atmosphere by industry,
全世界的海洋吸收了工業排放到 大氣層中幾乎一半的二氧化碳
significantly reducing the greenhouse effect.
顯著地減少了溫室效應
But there's a catch—
但這有個隱情...
for the fish, all that extra carbon dioxide in the water can have some unwanted side effects.
對于魚類而言 水中額外的二氧化碳 會產生它們不希望的副作用
All life in the Pacific is dependent on the tiniest of creatures—the plankton that floats freely in the currents.
太平洋里所有的生命都依賴于最微小的生物——在洋流里自由地飄浮的浮游生物
One of the most plentiful is the sea butterfly,
其中最豐富的一種是海蝴蝶
a tiny marine snail, which uses its enlarged foot to "fly" through the water.
一種極小的海洋蝸牛 用它增大的足在水里"飛行"
Sea butterflies are such important food for so many marine animals
海蝴蝶是眾多海洋生物非常重要的食物
they have been dubbed the "potato chips of the ocean".
以至被稱為"海里的薯條"
But they could be under threat from all that extra carbon dioxide.
但它們可能已經處在那些 額外的二氧化碳威脅之下
Dissolved carbon dioxide is slowly turning the water more acidic,
溶解的二氧化碳慢慢地將水變得更酸性
making it harder for sea butterflies to build their calcium shells.
使海蝴蝶更難形成它們的鈣質貝殼
The loss of these swimming "potato chips" would have repercussions right up the food chain.
游動的"薯片"的消失 會往上影響食物鏈
And with a billion people around the world dependent on fish for their protein,
全球有十億的人口需要靠魚類提供他們所需的蛋白質
fewer fish would clearly be bad news for people too.
魚的減少顯然對人類來說也是一個壞消息
Of course, there's no need to worry if the greenhouse gases are brought under control.
當然 人們不需要煩惱 只要溫室氣體被控制住
Or is there?
又或者?
Although the burning of fossil fuels is often viewed as the biggest environmental threat,
雖然石油的燃燒經常被視為最大的環境威脅
here in the Pacific, there are more pressing concerns.
在太平洋這里 卻有更緊迫的令人擔心的事情
The fish may disappear long before the impact of climate change really takes hold.
魚類可能早于氣候變化的影響 得到實際控制之前就已經消失
