The “myth” of the boiling frog

Translator: Klavdija Černilogar Dwyer Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

Two frogs are minding their own business in the swamp when WHAM—

Dve žabi v močvirju se brigata sami zase, ko, HOP!

they’re kidnapped.

ju ugrabijo.

They come to in a kitchen, captives of a menacing chef.

Ujetnici nevarnega kuharja se znajdeta v kuhinji.

He boils up a pot of water and lobs one of the frogs in.

Kuhar zavre lonec vode in vanj vrže žabo.

But it’s having none of this.

Ampak žabi to ni po volji.

The second its toes hit the scalding water it jumps right out the window.

V trenutku ko kraki začutijo vročo vodo, skoči ven in skozi okno.

The chef refills the pot, but this time he doesn’t turn on the heat.

Kuhar spet napolni lonec z vodo, a tokrat ne vklopi štedilnika.

He plops the second frog in, and this frog’s okay with that.

Žabo vrže v lonec, kar je nič ne moti.

The chef turns the heat on, very low, and the temperature of water slowly rises.

Kuhar vklopi štedilnik in voda se počasi segreva.

So slowly that the frog doesn’t notice.

Tako počasi, da žaba tega ne opazi.

In fact, it basks in the balmy water.

Pravzaprav uživa v prijetni vodi.

Only when the surface begins to bubble does the frog realize: it’s toast.

Šele ko površina začne brbotati, se žaba zave: konec je.

What’s funny about this parable is that it’s not scientifically true... for frogs.

V tej zgodbi je smešno to, da ni znanstveno točna... za žabe.

In reality, a frog will detect slowly heating water and leap to safety.

V resnici bo žaba čutila, da se voda segreva in bo skočila na varno.

Humans, on the other hand, are a different story.

Ljudje pa smo drugačne sorte.

We’re perfectly happy to sit in the pot and slowly turn up the heat,

Brez skrbi sedimo v loncu in ga počasi segrevamo,

all the while insisting it isn’t our hand on the dial,

hkrati pa trdimo, da ne dodajamo plina sami,

arguing about whether we can trust thermometers,

se kregamo o tem, ali verjeti termometrom,

and questioning— even if they’re right, does it matter?

ter se sprašujemo: tudi če je res, je sploh važno?

It does.

Je važno.

Since 1850, global average temperatures have risen by 1 degree Celsius.

Od 1850 do danes je povprečna temperatura na Zemlji zrasla za eno stopinjo Celzija.

That may not sound like a lot, but it is.

To se ne sliši veliko, a je.

Why? 1 degree is an average.

Zakaj? Ena stopinja je povprečje.

Many places have already gotten much warmer than that.

Številni kraji so veliko toplejši.

Some places in the Arctic have already warmed 4 degrees.

Deli Arktike so se segreli za štiri stopinje.

If global average temperatures increase 1 more degree,

Če se povprečna globalna temperatura dvigne za še eno stopinjo,

the coldest nights in the Arctic might get 10 degrees warmer.

bodo najhladnejše arktične noči mora za deset stopinj toplejše.

The warmest days in Mumbai might get 5 degrees hotter.

Najtoplejši dnevi v Mumbaju bodo lahko pet stoping toplejši.

So how did we get here?

Kako smo prišli do sem?

Almost everything that makes modern life possible relies on fossil fuels:

Skoraj vse, kar omogoča moderno življenje, se zanaša na fosilna goriva:

coal, oil, and gas full of carbon from ancient organic matter.

premog, nafta in plin so polni ogljika iz prastarih organskih snovi.

When we burn fossil fuels,

Ko sežigamo fosilna goriva,

we release carbon dioxide that builds up in our atmosphere,

se sprošča ogljikov dioksid, ki se nabira v atmosferi,

where it remains for hundreds or even thousands of years,

kjer potem ostane na stotine in celo na tisoče let

letting heat in, but not out.

ter spušča toploto noter, ven pa ne.

The heat comes from sunlight, which passes through the atmosphere to Earth,

Toploto ustvarja sončna svetloba, ki skozi atmosfero pronica do Zemlje,

where it gets absorbed and warms everything up.

Zemlja jo vpije in tako se vse segreje.

Warm objects emit infrared radiation, which should pass back out into space,

Tople stvari oddajajo infrardeče sevanje, ki bi se moralo vrniti v vesolje,

because most atmospheric gases don’t absorb it.

saj ga večina atmosferskih plinov ne more absorbirati.

But greenhouse gases— carbon dioxide and methane—

Toda toplogredni plini - ogljikov dioksid in metan -

do absorb infrared wavelengths.

absorbirajo infrardeče valove.

So when we add more of those gases to the atmosphere,

Če je v atmosferi več teh plinov,

less heat makes it back out to space, and our planet warms up.

manj toplote pronica nazaj v vesolje in naš planet se segreva.

If we keep emitting greenhouse gases at our current pace,

Če bomo nadaljevali z izpuščanjem toplogrednih plinov,

scientists predict temperatures will rise 4 degrees

znanstveniki računajo, da bo leta 2100

from their pre-industrial levels by 2100.

za štiri stopinje topleje kot v predindustrijski dobi.

They’ve identified 1.5 degrees of warming—

Če se segreje za 1,5 stopinje,

global averages half a degree warmer than today’s—

kar je pol stopinje več kot danes,

as a threshold beyond which the negative impacts of climate change

bodo negativni učinki podnebnih sprememb

will become increasingly severe.

postali vse hujši.

To keep from crossing that threshold,

Da tega praga ne bi prestopili,

we need to get our greenhouse gas emissions down to zero

moramo izpuste toplogrednih plinov spraviti na nič

as fast as possible.

in to čim hitreje.

Or rather, we have to get emissions down to what's called net zero,

Pravzaprav moramo izpuste spustiti na neto nič,

meaning we may still be putting some greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,

kar pomeni, da bodo toplogredni plini še uhajali v atmosfero,

but we take out as much as we put in.

vendar bomo enako količino plinov morali tudi odstraniti.

This doesn’t mean we can just keep emitting and sequester all that carbon—

To ne pomeni, da lahko hkrati izpuščamo in odstranjujemo ves ta ogljik -

we couldn’t keep up with our emissions through natural methods,

z naravnimi metodami to ne gre,

and technological solutions would be prohibitively expensive

tehnološke rešitve pa so pregrešno drage

and require huge amounts of permanent storage.

in zahtevajo ogromno prostora za trajno shranjevanje.

Instead, while we switch from coal, oil, and natural gas

Namesto tega moramo premog, nafto in naravni plin

to clean energy and fuels, which will take time,

zamenjati za čisto energijo in goriva, kar bo vzelo svoj čas,

we can mitigate the damage by removing carbon from the atmosphere.

hkrati pa moramo omejiti škodo ter odstraniti ogljik iz atmosfere.

Jumping out of the proverbial pot isn’t an option,

Skočiti iz legendarnega lonca ni mogoče,

but we can do something the frogs can’t:

lahko pa storimo nekaj, česar žaba ne more:

reach over, and turn down the heat.

lahko sežemo do gumba in znižamo temperaturo.