The carbon cycle - Nathaniel Manning

碳循環 - Nathaniel Manning

Transcriber: tom carter Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

譯者: Geoff Chen 審譯者: Coco Shen

Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is the main greenhouse gas in climate change.

二氧化碳是導致氣候變化的主要溫室氣體，

So how does CO2 get into our atmosphere?

那麼二氧化碳是如何進入我們的大氣層呢？

Well, carbon is part of a cycle. It starts with the sun,

嗯，碳是循環的一部分。它始於太陽，

which heats the Earth's surface with more energy

太陽使地球表面的熱度提高， 其一小時所產生的能量

in one hour than the whole world uses in a year.

比整個世界一年下來所使用的還要高。

Plants, which are kind of like biological chefs,

植物，作為一個有點像生物廚師的角色，

take that sunlight, and then suck in some CO2 from the air,

採取陽光，然後從空氣中吸入二氧化碳，

mix them together, and BAM!

將它們混合在一起，接著砰！

They create a stored form of energy, in the form of carbohydrates

它們在碳水化合物中創造一種貯存形式的能量，

such as glucose and sucrose.

比如葡萄糖、 蔗糖，

The process is called photosynthesis.

這過程叫作光合作用。

When animals like us eat those plants

當像我們這種動物吃那些植物時，

our stomachs convert that food back into energy for our own growth.

我們的肚子將食物轉換為成長所需的能源，

Greenhouse gases are a byproduct of this process,

溫室氣體是這過程中的一個副產品，

and are released through waste.

並且藉由廢物被釋出。

If those plants die, they decompose, and tiny microorganisms break down those carbohydrates

如果這些植物死了，他們會腐爛， 小小的微生物會分解這些碳水化合物，

and again, release greenhouse gases as a byproduct.

然後再次釋放其副產品——溫室氣體。

As you see, energy originates from the sun. It is then transferred as it moves through the food chain.

如我們剛才看到的，能源來自太陽， 接著它透過食物鏈轉換形式。

But sometimes, carbon based organisms like plants or animals get stuck in the earth.

但有時，根植於碳的有機體 會困在地球上，比如植物或動物，

When this happens, they're compressed under tons of pressure,

當發生這種情況時，它們被壓縮在 好幾噸重的壓力之下，

and turned into carbon-based fossil fuels

轉變為基於碳的化石燃料

like oil, coal or natural gas.

像石油、 煤、或天然氣。

Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have been pulling those fossil fuels out of the ground

自工業革命以來，人類把這些化石燃料從地底掘出

and burning them, activating the stored energy

燃燒它們，啟動儲存的能量

to make electricity and power engines.

以使電力和動力引擎運作，

But the thing is it also releases millions of years worth of stored CO2 back into the air.

然而這便造成那貯留了數百萬年的 二氧化碳釋放回空氣中。

In addition, humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out CO2.

此外，人類吸入氧氣，呼出二氧化碳，

But plants do the opposite.

但植物卻相反。

Trees suck up huge amounts of CO2, which balances the cycle.

樹木吸收大量的二氧化碳，這可以平衡循環。

Thus, deforestation reduces the plants that store CO2.

因此，砍伐森林減少了貯存二氧化碳的植物，

We're attacking the cycle from both sides.

我們正從雙方攻擊這個循環，

Think of it like a computer. A computer can operate a few programs at a time, right?

這就像一台電腦。電腦可以 同時運行幾個程式，對吧？

Normally, when you've finished with a document, you save, and you close it,

平常當你完成一份檔案，存檔然後關閉它，

so as not to overwork the computer.

免得過度使用電腦。

Then, imagine you stopped closing your documents.

現在想像一下你停止關閉檔案，

So they were all open at once.

它們同時都開啓著，

Your computer wouldn't be able to process it all.

你的電腦無法處理這一切。

It would start to slow down, and then to freeze, and eventually it would crash.

它會開始慢下來，接著當機，最終崩潰。

Which might be where our environment is heading if we keep overloading the carbon cycle.

倘若我們持續地過度負載碳循環， 這可能就是我們最終的環境結果。

So is there any way to rebalance the ecosystem?

所以，有什麽辦法可以平衡生態系統？

What about technology? Technology is defined as a technique to solve a problem.

科技？科技的定義是一種解決問題的技術。

And so, sustainable technologies are those whose output is equal to their input.

因此，永續的科技是那些輸出等同於投入的技術。

They do not create negative externalities,

它們不創造負面的外部成本，

such as CO2, in the present or the future.

比如目前的、或將來的二氧化碳，

They sort of cancel themselves out to solve the problem.

它們在某種程度上排除自己，以解決問題。

To achieve this, we need to invent sustainable technologies.

爲了要實現這一目標， 我們需要創造永續的科技。

If we put all the ideas and technologies ever created into one circle,

如果我們把所有得出的想法和科技匯成一個圈，

then invention is the pushing of the boundaries of that circle.

然後，發明便是推動那圈子邊界的驅力。

And the area outside of the circle is infinite,

那圓之外的區域是無窮的，

meaning the potential for invention is limitless.

這意味著發明的潛力是無限的。

Think about some of the incredible clean technologies we have today. [Wind; Electric & Solar Cars; Biogas]

想想我們今天所擁有的 令人難以置信的清潔能源。 [風 ；電動與太陽能車；沼氣]

[Biofuels; Photosynthetic Algae; Compost] All those ideas have one thing in common.

[生物燃料；光合藻類 ；堆肥] 所有這些想法都有一個共同點：

They all came from people. People innovate.

它們都來自人，創新的人。

People create. It's the limitless potential of creative people

人們創造它們。恰恰就是 有創意的人以其無限的潛質

to build unimagined technologies that is going to stop climate change

創造了難以想像的科技 以阻止氣候變遷、

and rebalance the ecosystem. And that is something to be hopeful about.

和恢復生態系統的平衡。 這就是我們可以希冀的事。