評論
打印
What human activity has the biggest impact on the planet?
人類的活動對我們所居住的這顆星球產生的最大影響是什么？
I took an informal poll of New Yorkers: Driving, day to day commuting. Eating too much meat.
于是我在《紐約人》雜志上進行了一項非正式的調查，回答真是五花八門：駕車，每天上下班。吃太多肉。
Using too many resources, I think. Factory farming. Driving.
我想是消耗過多的資源，工廠制造和農業耕作駕車。
Here's something I didn't hear: killing off the world's top carnivores, like tigers, wolves and bears.
還有一些我們沒有聽到的回答：致使世界上位于生物鏈金字塔尖上的肉食動物消亡，比如老虎、狼和熊等。
Scientists say it's an overlooked problem with effects that ripple through ecosystems in unexpected ways.
科學家表示這是我們人類所忽視的一個問題，現在已經出現一些以意外方式波及到整個生態系統的現象。
When otters disappear, for example, urchins take over, decimating kelp forests.
比如當水獺消失，海膽數量會上升，海藻叢會被大量消耗殆盡。
Researchers reviewed the conservation status of 31 of the world's largest carnivorous mammals.
研究人員們研究了31種世界上最大型的肉食類哺乳動物現在的生存狀態。
They found that some two-thirds are threatened, living on a fraction of their former range.
他們發現大約三分之二的這類動物面臨生存威脅，與之前的生存區域相比現在它們的地盤大幅減少。
And nearly all are decreasing in number, apart from a few exceptions, like grizzlies and black bears.
而且除了少數以外，幾乎每個種類的數量都在減少，比如說北美洲灰熊和黑熊。
Their analysis appears in the journal Science.
這項研究已在《科學》雜志上發表。
The loss of top carnivores could alter the dynamics of disease and wildfires, they say, and have unintended consequences for ecosystems.
頂級生物鏈上的肉食動物數目下降將改變疾病和野火發生的動態變化規律，研究人員們表示，還會對生態系統造成的非預期影響。
So either we learn to coexist with these predators or their disappearance may come back to bite us.
所以，要么我們學會和這些肉食動物和諧共存，要么它們的消亡會最終讓我們品嘗到自己種下的惡果。
