評論
打印
To make matters worse, Earth's forests have been disappearing, slowly at first, but in the last couple of centuries quite rapidly. Right now it is disappearing at the rate of sixty-four acres per minute.
更糟的是，地球上的森林在不斷消失，起先是慢慢地消失，但在近一兩個世紀里其消失的速度相當快。現在，森林消失的速度是每分鐘64英畝。
Whatever replaces the forest — grassland or farms or scrub — produces plants that do not consume carbon dioxide at an equal rate. Thus, not only is more carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere through burning of fuel, but as the forests disappear, less carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere by plants.
不管取代森林的是草地、農田，還是灌木叢，其生產的植物消耗二氧化碳的速率與森林是不相等的。因此，不僅是通過燃料的燃燒使更多的二氧化碳被加到大氣中，而且，隨著森林的消失，植物從大氣中清除的二氧化碳也減少了。
But this gives us a new perspective on the matter. The carbon dioxide is not rising by itself. It is people who are burning the coal, oil, and gas. It is people who are cutting down the forests. It is people, then, who are the villains.
但是這也給了我們一個新的視角來考察這個問題。大氣中二氧化碳并不是自行上升的。是人在燒煤、燒油和燒氣。是人在砍伐森林。所以，人才是真正的元兇。
What is to be done?
怎么辦呢？
First, we must save our forests, and even replant them.
首先，我們必須拯救森林，乃至重植森林。
Second, we must have new sources of fuel that do not involve the production of carbon dioxide. Nuclear power is one of them, but if that is thought too dangerous, there are other alternatives. There is the energy of waves, tides, wind, and the Earth's interior heat. Most of all, there is the direct use of solar energy.
第二，我們必須有新的不產生二氧化碳的燃料源。核能就是其中之一，如果認為核能太危險，也還有其他選擇。有波浪能，潮汐能，風能，還有地球內部的熱能。尤其是，還可以直接利用太陽能。
All of this will take time, work, and money, to be true, but nations spend more time, work, and money in order to support competing military machines that can only destroy us all. Should we object to spending less time, work, and money in order to save us all?
誠然，這一切將需要時間、努力和金錢，但是，各個國家卻把更多的時間、努力和金錢花在了對抗性的軍事器械上，而這些軍備只能毀滅我們大家。為了拯救我們大家而減少在這方面時間、努力和金錢的花費，難道我們應該反對嗎？
