Stunning Photos of the Endangered Everglades | Mac Stone | TED Talks

翻译人员: Xiaonan Shen 校对人员: Twisted Meadows

So I've had the great privilege

我曾有幸游览过

of traveling to some incredible places,

一些非常不可思议的地方，

photographing these distant landscapes and remote cultures

为世界上那些遥远大陆的风光和文化拍摄照片。

all over the world.

I love my job.

我爱我的工作。

But people think it's this string of epiphanies

大家可能以为我的工作 应该伴随着一连串的顿悟、

and sunrises and rainbows,

日出和彩虹，

when in reality, it looks more something like this.

可是在现实中， 它往往是这样的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This is my office.

这就是我的办公室。

We can't afford the fanciest places to stay at night,

我们无法得到最理想的过夜之所，

so we tend to sleep a lot outdoors.

所以我们常常…露宿野外。

As long as we can stay dry,

我们只要能保持干燥，

that's a bonus.

就已经是一种福利了。

We also can't afford the fanciest restaurants.

我们也不能去最理想的餐馆用餐，

So we tend to eat whatever's on the local menu.

所以我们要入乡随俗地吃当地食物。

如果你去到厄瓜多尔的 Páramo，

And if you're in the Ecuadorian Páramo,

you're going to eat a large rodent called a cuy.

你将能吃到一种超大的天竺鼠。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But what makes our experiences perhaps a little bit different

但是真正让我们的经历与众不同的，

就是在我们脑海深处 总是会有一种声音，

and a little more unique than that of the average person

is that we have this gnawing thing in the back of our mind

that even in our darkest moments, and those times of despair,

即便在我们最黑暗的时刻， 在那些绝望的瞬间 ，

we think, "Hey, there might be an image to be made here,

我们还是会想到： “嘿，我们该为这里拍张照片，

there might be a story to be told."

这里的故事应该让更多人知道。 ”

And why is storytelling important?

为什么讲故事如此重要？

Well, it helps us to connect with our cultural and our natural heritage.

因为，它是自然遗产 与我们的文化之间连接的纽带。

And in the Southeast,

在美国东南部，

there's an alarming disconnect between the public

敲响了公众与自然区域之间 彼此失联的警钟。

and the natural areas that allow us to be here in the first place.

而这片自然区域 恰恰是我们生存的最初条件。

We're visual creatures,

我们是视觉生物，

so we use what we see to teach us what we know.

所以我们用自己看到的 去教授我们所知道的。

Now the majority of us aren't going to willingly go

现在我们中的大多数人

都非常不愿意踏入一片沼泽。 对吧？

way down to a swamp.

So how can we still expect those same people to then advocate

所以我们要如何继续期待 这些人会成为

on behalf of their protection?

提倡保护湿地的表率呢？

We can't.

我们做不到。

So my job, then, is to use photography as a communication tool,

所以我的工作就是， 用摄影作为传达工具，

to help bridge the gap between the science and the aesthetics,

在科学与美学之间 搭起一座桥梁。

to get people talking,

让人们讨论，

to get them thinking,

让人们思考，

and to hopefully, ultimately,

然后最终希望，

get them caring.

让他们关心。

I started doing this 15 years ago right here in Gainesville,

15年前，我就从这里起步， 从Gainesville，

right here in my backyard.

就从我的后院开始。

And I fell in love with adventure and discovery,

我爱上了冒险、发现

going to explore all these different places

以及去探索所有的那些 与众不同之处，

that were just minutes from my front doorstep.

哪怕它们离我家只有几分钟的路程。

There are a lot of beautiful places to find.

我发现， 可以找到那么多美丽的地方。

Despite all these years that have passed,

即便这么多年过去，

I still see the world through the eyes of a child

我依然用孩童的目光 去看待这个世界，

and I try to incorporate that sense of wonderment

并且我每次都尽力 将我的惊叹、

and that sense of curiosity into my photography

我的好奇

融入到我的摄影里。

as often as I can.

And we're pretty lucky because here in the South,

而且我们非常幸运 因为在南部，

we're still blessed with a relatively blank canvas

我们何其有幸地拥有 这么一块空白的画布，

that we can fill with the most fanciful adventures

我们可以在上面填满 最富有想象力的冒险

and incredible experiences.

和难以置信的体验。

It's just a matter of how far our imagination will take us.

想象力有多远，我们就走多远。

See, a lot of people look at this and they say,

很多人看着这张照片说道：

“噢！对！哇哦！这棵树真漂亮。”

"Oh yeah, wow, that's a pretty tree."

But I don't just see a tree --

可是我看到的不仅仅是树，

I look at this and I see opportunity.

当我望着这张照片时，我看到的是契机，

I see an entire weekend.

我一整个周末都在看。

Because when I was a kid, these were the types of images

因为当我还是个孩子的时候， 就是这类照片

that got me off the sofa and dared me to explore,

让我离开沙发 激励我去探索，

dared me to go find the woods

激励我去寻找森林，

and put my head underwater and see what we have.

让我潜入水底去探查里面装着什么。

And folks, I've been photographing all over the world

诸位，我在全世界拍摄无数照片。

and I promise you,

我保证，

what we have here in the South,

我们在南部所拥有的，

what we have in the Sunshine State,

我们在阳光之州（佛罗里达）所拥有，

rivals anything else that I've seen.

足以媲美任何我曾见过的风景。

But yet our tourism industry is busy promoting all the wrong things.

但是我们的旅游业却在极力推销 那些错误的东西。

Before most kids are 12, they'll have been to Disney World

大部分的孩子在他们12岁前， 去迪斯尼世界的次数

more times than they've been in a canoe

远远超出他们在布满繁星的星空下

or camping under a starry sky.

乘驾独木舟或露营的次数。

And I have nothing against Disney or Mickey; I used to go there, too.

当然我并非反对迪斯尼和米老鼠 ——我小时候也去过那儿。

But they're missing out on those fundamental connections

但他们因此错失了那些基本的联系，

that create a real sense of pride and ownership

那些为他们带来切实的 骄傲和归属感的联系，

for the place that they call home.

是他们与自己故乡之间的联系。

And this is compounded by the issue that the landscapes

这是一系列互相关联的问题：

就是这些被定义为自然遗产的风景，

that define our natural heritage

and fuel our aquifer for our drinking water

补充着我们的地下蓄水层， 为我们提供饮用水。

have been deemed as scary and dangerous and spooky.

而我们却认为它们是可怕、 危险和令人毛骨悚然的。

当我们的祖先第一次踏上这片土地，

When our ancestors first came here,

they warned, "Stay out of these areas, they're haunted.

他们警告说， “远离那些区域，那儿闹鬼。

They're full of evil spirits and ghosts."

那儿充满了恶灵与幽魂。”

I don't know where they came up with that idea.

我不知道他们这些想法 是从哪儿得来的。

But it's actually led to a very real disconnect,

但它确实造成了一种失联，

a very real negative mentality

一种非常消极的心理，

that has kept the public disinterested, silent,

使得公众保持漠视和沉默，

and ultimately, our environment at risk.

最终，让我们的环境处于危险之中。

We're a state that's surrounded and defined by water,

我们是一个 由水包围和构成的州，

and yet for centuries,

可是几个世纪以来，

swamps and wetlands have been regarded

沼泽与湿地曾经被视为

as these obstacles to overcome.

是我们需要克服的障碍物。

And so we've treated them as these second-class ecosystems,

因此我们将其当做是 次要的生态系统，

because they have very little monetary value

因为它们没有太大的经济效益。

and of course, they're known to harbor alligators and snakes --

当然，里面也是短吻鳄和蛇类的避风港——

which, I'll admit, these aren't the most cuddly of ambassadors.

我不得不承认， 他们并非这片土地最可爱的使者。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So it became assumed, then, that the only good swamp

所以就变成了这样一种假设：

对我们来说最好的沼泽， 就是一片干涸的沼泽。

was a drained swamp.

And in fact,

事实上，

draining a swamp to make way for agriculture and development

直到不久前，人们还认为 排干沼泽为农业和开发铺路，

was considered the very essence of conservation not too long ago.

才是从本质上保护了生态。

But now we're backpedaling,

但是现在我们改变了想法，

because the more we come to learn about these sodden landscapes,

因为我们越深入去了解 这些丰泽的景色，

the more secrets we're starting to unlock

我们解锁的奥秘就越多：

about interspecies relationships

关于各个物种间的关系，

and the connectivity of habitats, watersheds and flyways.

他们栖息地之间的关联， 分布流域和迁徙路线。

以这种鸟为例：

Take this bird, for example:

this is the prothonotary warbler.

这是一只蓝翅黄森莺。

I love this bird because it's a swamp bird,

我喜欢这种鸟，因为它是一种沼泽鸟，

through and through, a swamp bird.

彻彻底底的沼泽鸟。

They nest and they mate and they breed in these old-growth swamps

它们从筑巢到交配到繁育， 都在这片古老的沼泽，

in these flooded forests.

这片被水浸没的森林中。

And so after the spring, after they raise their young,

春天过后， 等它们把雏鸟哺育成年，

they then fly thousand of miles over the Gulf of Mexico

它们将飞越数千英里的墨西哥湾

into Central and South America.

进入中美洲和南美洲。

And then after the winter,

当寒冬过去，

the spring rolls around and they come back.

春天重临大地， 它们便会返航。

They fly thousands of miles over the Gulf of Mexico.

它们再次飞越数千英里 横跨墨西哥湾。

And where do they go? Where do they land?

它们去了哪里？它们在哪着陆？

Right back in the same tree.

它们回到了去年的那棵树上。

That's nuts.

这太迷人了。

This is a bird the size of a tennis ball --

这种鸟的体型只有网球大小——

I mean, that's crazy!

我觉得，这太离奇了！

I used a GPS to get here today,

我今天是靠GPS导航才来到这个场馆，

and this is my hometown.

而且这还是在我的家乡。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's crazy.

太不可思议了。

So what happens, then, when this bird flies over the Gulf of Mexico

而现在发生的是： 当这种鸟横跨墨西哥湾

into Central America for the winter

到中美洲过冬，

and then the spring rolls around and it flies back,

然后春天到来时，它会再飞回来，

and it comes back to this:

它发现……：

a freshly sodded golf course?

一个全新的草地高尔夫球场？

This is a narrative that's all too commonly unraveling

这个故事在我们州 诸多未解之谜里

here in this state.

是再寻常不过的一个了。

And this is a natural process that's occurred for thousands of years

这些自然历程存在数千年之久，

而我们直到最近才开始了解它。

and we're just now learning about it.

So you can imagine all else we have to learn about these landscapes

所以你可以想象，这片风景中 还有多少这样的事情需要去了解，

但前提是我们要保护它们。

if we just preserve them first.

Now despite all this rich life that abounds in these swamps,

现在虽然有如此丰富的物种 生活在沼泽中，

they still have a bad name.

它们却始终恶名昭彰。

Many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of wading

许多人想到自己跋涉在 佛罗里达的黑水河中时

into Florida's blackwater.

会觉得不舒服。

I can understand that.

我懂这种感觉。

但我之所以喜欢 在阳光之州（佛罗里达）长大，

But what I loved about growing up in the Sunshine State

is that for so many of us,

是因为对我们大多数人来说，

we live with this latent but very palpable fear

我们生活在一种潜在的， 却极易察觉的恐惧中：

that when we put our toes into the water,

那就是，当我们将脚趾探入水中，

there might be something much more ancient

水中可能存在着某些 比我们更加古老、

and much more adapted than we are.

比我们更加适应这个环境的生物。

Knowing that you're not top dog is a welcomed discomfort, I think.

认识到自己并非这里的主宰，

这种不安的感觉 是值得体验的，我认为。

在这个现代化、城市化和数字化的时代，

How often in this modern and urban and digital age

do you actually get the chance to feel vulnerable,

你有多少机会去感到弱势？

or consider that the world may not have been made for just us?

或者意识到这个世界 未必是为我们而建造的？

So for the last decade,

所以在过去的十年间，

I began seeking out these areas where the concrete yields to forest

我开始探寻这些区域： 从钢筋丛林到真正的森林，

and the pines turn to cypress,

从松树林到柏木林，

and I viewed all these mosquitoes and reptiles,

然后我看遍了所有的蚊子和爬虫类，

all these discomforts,

去体验这些不适，

as affirmations that I'd found true wilderness,

来确认自己找到了真正的荒野，

and I embrace them wholly.

我拥抱这所有的一切。

Now as a conservation photographer obsessed with blackwater,

现在，身为一个执着于 黑水河环境保护的摄影师，

it's only fitting that I'd eventually end up

我终于找到了唯一适合我的地方，

in the most famous swamp of all:

也是所有的沼泽地中最著名的：

the Everglades.

佛罗里达大沼泽地（Everglades).

Growing up here in North Central Florida,

在佛罗里达州中北部长大，

it always had these enchanted names,

这儿总有一些充满魔力的地名，

places like Loxahatchee and Fakahatchee,

像 Loxahatchee 、Fakahatchee，

Corkscrew, Big Cypress.

Corkscrew（螺丝锥），Big Cypress（大丝柏）……

I started what turned into a five-year project

我启动了一个 为期五年的企划，

to hopefully reintroduce the Everglades in a new light,

希望以一种崭新、 更具启发性的角度

in a more inspired light.

向世人重新介绍大沼泽地。

But I knew this would be a tall order, because here you have an area

但我知道这会非常辛苦，

因为它大约占去了佛罗里达州 三分之一的面积，它太大了。

that's roughly a third the size the state of Florida, it's huge.

And when I say Everglades,

当我说到大沼泽地的时候，

most people are like, "Oh, yeah, the national park."

可能大部分人会说， 「哦，对，是那个国家公园。」

But the Everglades is not just a park; it's an entire watershed,

但是大沼泽地不仅仅是公园； 它是一整片流域，

一整片发源于北方湖泊的基西米河流域，

starting with the Kissimmee chain of lakes in the north,

and then as the rains would fall in the summer,

当夏天雨季来临，

these downpours would flow into Lake Okeechobee,

倾盆大雨注入奥科乔比湖，

and Lake Okeechobee would fill up and it would overflow its banks

奥科乔比湖水满涨时，会漫过堤岸

and spill southward, ever slowly, with the topography,

顺着地势缓慢地向南方流去，

and get into the river of grass, the Sawgrass Prairies,

最后进入青草之湖—— 索格拉斯大草原，

before meting into the cypress slews,

在进入大片松柏林之前，

until going further south into the mangrove swamps,

它们会一直向北方蔓延流入红树林沼泽，

and then finally -- finally -- reaching Florida Bay,

最终抵达佛罗里达湾，

the emerald gem of the Everglades,

犹如大沼泽地上的祖母绿宝石，

the great estuary,

这片壮阔的港湾，

the 850 square-mile estuary.

有着850平方英里。

So sure, the national park is the southern end of this system,

所以可以确定的是，国家公园只是 这整个系统的最南端，

but all the things that make it unique are these inputs that come in,

但是让它变得与众不同的是，

the fresh water that starts 100 miles north.

那些从100英里外的北方 奔腾而至的淡水。

So no manner of these political or invisible boundaries

没有任何政策或是无形的约束

protect the park from polluted water or insufficient water.

可以保护公园远离水污染或干旱。

And unfortunately, that's precisely what we've done.

不幸的是，（干旱和水污染） 正是我们造成的。

Over the last 60 years,

过去60年中，

we have drained, we have dammed, we have dredged the Everglades

我们泄水、筑坝、挖掘大沼泽地

to where now only one third of the water that used to reach the bay

以至于现在抵达佛罗里达湾

的水量只有过去的三分之一。

now reaches the bay today.

So this story is not all sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately.

所以，这个故事里不全是 阳光和彩虹——很遗憾。

For better or for worse,

无论好坏与否，

the story of the Everglades is intrinsically tied

有关大沼泽地的故事，

本质上表现了人类和自然界之间

to the peaks and the valleys of mankind's relationship

忽冷忽热的关系。

with the natural world.

But I'll show you these beautiful pictures,

但是我要给你们展示一些美丽的照片，

because it gets you on board.

因为这样才能让你们进入状态。

And while I have your attention, I can tell you the real story.

当你们的注意力被吸引过来时， 我将告诉你们真正的故事。

It's that we're taking this,

我们最初拥有的是这个，

and we're trading it for this,

但我们以惊人的速度 把它变成了这番景象。

at an alarming rate.

而我们所进行的大量讨论

And what's lost on so many people

is the sheer scale of which we're discussing.

对许多人来说是不能理解的。

Because the Everglades is not just responsible for the drinking water

因为大沼泽地所承担的不仅仅是

为七百万佛罗里达居民提供饮用水；

for 7 million Floridians;

today it also provides the agricultural fields

如今它还承载了大量农田，

for the year-round tomatoes and oranges

提供全年的西红柿和橘子，

for over 300 million Americans.

给三亿多美国人。

And it's that same seasonal pulse of water in the summer

同样在夏季汛期的涨水

that built the river of grass 6,000 years ago.

在六千年前形成了青草之湖。

Ironically, today, it's also responsible for the over half a million acres

讽刺的是，今天， 它却养育着超过50万英亩的

of the endless river of sugarcane.

无尽的甘蔗田。

These are the same fields that are responsible

这也意味着在同样的这片 土地和流域中

for dumping exceedingly high levels of fertilizers into the watershed,

施用了极为过量的肥料，

forever changing the system.

且永远的改变了这里的生态系统。

But in order for you to not just understand how this system works,

为了让你们不仅仅是了解 这一系统如何运作，

but to also get personally connected to it,

同样能与它产生更切身的联系，

I decided to break the story down into several different narratives.

我决定把故事打乱 放进几段不同的故事中。

And I wanted that story to start in Lake Okeechobee,

我想从奥科乔湖比开始我们的故事，

the beating heart of the Everglade system.

它是大沼泽地生态系统 跳动的心脏。

And to do that, I picked an ambassador,

为此，我挑选了一位亲善大使，

an iconic species.

一种标志性的生物。

This is the Everglade snail kite.

那就是大沼泽地食螺鸢。

It's a great bird,

一种非常漂亮的鸟，

and they used to nest in the thousands,

它们曾经筑有数以千计的巢穴，

thousands in the northern Everglades.

在沼泽地的北方。

And then they've gone down to about 400 nesting pairs today.

可现在它们的筑巢数量 已经下降到大约400个左右。

And why is that?

为什么会这样？

Well, it's because they eat one source of food, an apple snail,

因为它们食物单一，只吃苹果螺，

about the size of a ping-pong ball, an aquatic gastropod.

一种大小如乒乓球 的水产软体动物。

So as we started damming up the Everglades,

所以当我们开始 在大沼泽地筑坝时，

as we started diking Lake Okeechobee and draining the wetlands,

当我们开始在奥科乔比湖 筑堤并排干湿地时，

we lost the habitat for the snail.

我们毁掉了螺类的栖息地。

And thus, the population of the kites declined.

因此，食螺鸢的数量随之下降。

And so, I wanted a photo that would not only communicate this relationship

因此，我想要拍的照片不仅仅 是表达这种

between wetland, snail and bird,

湿地、螺类与鸟类的关系，

but I also wanted a photo that would communicate

而且我还希望照片中能表达

how incredible this relationship was,

这种关系的不可思议性，

and how very important it is that they've come to depend on each other,

和他们之间的相互相关性，

对于健康的湿地和鸟类来说 是多么的重要。

this healthy wetland and this bird.

And to do that, I brainstormed this idea.

为此，我想到了这个办法。

I started sketching out these plans to make a photo,

我开始起草了这个拍摄计划，

and I sent it to the wildlife biologist down in Okeechobee --

并把它传给一名位于 奥科乔比湖的野生生物学家——

this is an endangered bird, so it takes special permission to do.

这是一种濒临灭亡的鸟类 所有需要特别许可才行。

So I built this submerged platform

我制造了一个沉在水中的平台，

that would hold snails just right under the water.

这样就会把苹果螺固定到水下。

And I spent months planning this crazy idea.

我花了几个月的时间 去筹备这个疯狂的计划。

And I took this platform down to Lake Okeechobee

我把这个平台放入奥科乔比湖，

and I spent over a week in the water,

并在水里待了一个多星期，

wading waist-deep, 9-hour shifts from dawn until dusk,

水深及腰，从拂晓到黄昏 九个小时的移动，

to get one image that I thought might communicate this.

只为拍下一张能表达 我的构想的照片。

And here's the day that it finally worked:

这是我最终得偿所愿的那天；

[Video: (Mac Stone narrating) After setting up the platform,

影片：（斯通旁白） 「平台布置好后，

I look off and I see a kite coming over the cattails.

我注视着它 然后我看到有一只鸢飞过香蒲。

And I see him scanning and searching.

它一直在扫视和搜寻着。

And he gets right over the trap,

当它越过这个陷阱后，

and I see that he's seen it.

我看到它有所察觉。

And he beelines, he goes straight for the trap.

然后它直奔陷阱而去。

And in that moment, all those months of planning, waiting,

在那一刻， 这数月来的筹划、等待，

all the sunburn, mosquito bites --

以及所有的晒伤和蚊虫叮咬，

suddenly, they're all worth it.

瞬间，都值得了。」

(Mac Stone in film) Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!]

（斯通在影片中说道） 「哦天啊，我简直不敢相信！」

You can believe how excited I was when that happened.

你们简直不能想象 当时我有多么激动。

But what the idea was,

但是这个计划是针对那些

is that for someone who's never seen this bird

从未见过这种鸟、

and has no reason to care about it,

也没有任何理由去关注这种鸟的人，

these photos, these new perspectives,

这些照片，这些新的认知，

will help shed a little new light on just one species

将提供一个新的视角： 单单一个物种

that makes this watershed so incredible, so valuable, so important.

就让这片流域变得如此不可思议， 如此珍贵和重要。

Now, I know I can't come here to Gainesville

当然，我知道， 我总不能到了Gainesville

and talk to you about animals in the Everglades

讲了那么多大沼泽地里的野生动物

without talking about gators.

却没有提到鳄鱼。

I love gators, I grew up loving gators.

我爱鳄鱼， 从小就喜欢鳄鱼。

My parents always said I had an unhealthy relationship with gators.

我的父母常说 我和短吻鳄有不正常的关系。

But what I like about them is,

但我之所以喜欢它们，

they're like the freshwater equivalent of sharks.

是因为它们相当于淡水里的鲨鱼。

They're feared, they're hated,

人们恐惧它、厌恶它，

and they are tragically misunderstood.

它们一直悲惨地被误解。

Because these are a unique species, they're not just apex predators.

因为它们是一种独特的生物， 而不仅仅是顶尖的猎食者。

In the Everglades,

在大沼泽地，

they are the very architects of the Everglades,

它们是大沼泽地出色的建筑师，

because as the water drops down in the winter

因为当冬季水位下降

during the dry season,

进入枯水期，

they start excavating these holes called gator holes.

它们开始挖掘短吻鳄洞穴。

And they do this because as the water drops down,

它们这样做的原因是 当水位下降后，

they'll be able to stay wet and they'll be able to forage.

它们依然可以保持潮湿 而且依然可以觅食。

And now this isn't just affecting them,

当然，这不止造福它们，

other animals also depend on this relationship,

其他的动物也依赖这种关系，

so they become a keystone species as well.

所以它们成了一种关键性的生物。

So how do you make an apex predator, an ancient reptile,

那么我们是怎么让一种顶尖猎食者、 一种古老的爬行生物，

at once look like it dominates the system,

乍看之下好像主宰着这一生态系统，

but at the same time, look vulnerable?

而同时，面对潜在的威胁却是脆弱的？

Well, you wade into a pit of about 120 of them,

想要了解的话，就得走进 一个有120只短吻鳄的水坑……

then you hope that you've made the right decision.

我真希望自己做出的是个正确的决定。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I still have all my fingers, it's cool.

我的手指都还在，酷吧。

But I understand, I know I'm not going to rally you guys,

但我知道，我并没要怂恿你们。

I'm not going to rally the troops to "Save the Everglades for the gators!"

我不是在对你们宣扬说， 「为了短吻鳄去拯救大沼泽地吧！」

It won't happen because they're so ubiquitous,

我不会那么做， 因为它们现在活的很滋润，

它们不再稀有了，

we see them now,

they're one of the great conservation success stories of the US.

它们是美国环境保护的成功典范之一。

But there is one species in the Everglades that no matter who you are,

但大沼泽地里 有一种生物是你无论如何

都只能关爱，却无法保护的， 那就是玫瑰琵鹭。

you can't help but love, too, and that's the roseate spoonbill.

These birds are great, but they've had a really tough time in the Everglades,

这种鸟极其美丽， 但它们在大沼泽的生存却极其艰难。

because they started out with thousands of nesting pairs in Florida Bay,

因为它们最初在佛罗里达湾 筑有数以千计的巢穴，

and at the turn of the 20th century,

但到了20世纪之交，

they got down to two -- two nesting pairs.

却仅剩两个——两个巢穴。

And why?

为什么？

That's because women thought they looked better on their hats

因为女人们认为这种鸟 与其飞在天上，

then they did flying in the sky.

不如做成她们的帽子更好看。

Then we banned the plume trade,

此后我们禁止了羽饰贸易，我们禁止了，

and their numbers started rebounding.

所以它们的数量开始回升。

And as their numbers started rebounding,

当它们的数量开始回升后，

scientists began to pay attention,

科学家才注意到它们，

they started studying these birds.

并开始研究这些鸟类。

And what they found out is that

他们的研究发现

these birds' behavior is intrinsically tied

这些鸟的行为，

to the annual draw-down cycle of water in the Everglades,

本质上与大沼泽地每年水位下降

the thing that defines the Everglades watershed.

及流域一切的循环周期息息相关。

What they found out is that

他们发现：

these birds started nesting in the winter as the water drew down,

这种鸟在冬天 水位下降的时候开始筑巢，

because they're tactile feeders, so they have to touch whatever they eat.

因为它们是感知型的进食动物， 必须通过触碰食物（来判断能否进食）。

And so they wait for these concentrated pools of fish

所以它们会等待这些缩小后 的水池中的鱼长到足够大，

to be able to feed enough to feed their young.

这样它们才有 足够的食物哺育雏鸟。

So these birds became the very icon of the Everglades --

所以这种鸟成了 大沼泽地的象征——

an indicator species of the overall health of the system.

一种显示着整个生态系统 是否健康的风向标生物。

And just as their numbers were rebounding in the mid-20th century --

它们数量一直回升到二十世纪中叶——

shooting up to 900, 1,000, 1,100, 1,200 --

数量上升到900,1000,1100,1200

just as that started happening, we started draining the southern Everglades.

就像之前发生的一样， 我们开始排干南部的大沼泽地。

And we stopped two-thirds of that water from moving south.

我们阻断了三分之二 流向南部的水。

And it had drastic consequences.

而这造成了巨大的影响。

And just as those numbers started reaching their peak,

就在这种鸟的数量 到达一个高峰时，

unfortunately, today, the real spoonbill story,

非常不幸，今天， 玫瑰琵鹭真实的故事，

the real photo of what it looks like is more something like this.

真正关于它们生存现状的照片 却是这样的。

今天佛罗里达湾仅有 不到70个巢穴，

And we're down to less than 70 nesting pairs in Florida Bay today,

because we've disrupted the system so much.

因为我们极大地 扰乱了这里的生态系统。

So all these different organizations are shouting, they're screaming,

所有的环保组织 都在吶喊，都在高呼，

"The Everglades is fragile! It's fragile!"

「大沼泽地是脆弱的！是脆弱的！」

It is not.

不是的。

It is resilient.

它有极强的适应力。

Because despite all we've taken, despite all we've done and we've drained

无论我们掠夺多少， 无论我们对它做过什么，

and we've dammed and we've dredged it,

无论我们排干、筑坝或是挖掘它，

pieces of it are still here, waiting to be put back together.

那些碎片仍然在这， 等待我们将其复原。

And this is what I've loved about South Florida,

这就是我热爱佛罗里达南部的原因。

that in one place, you have this unstoppable force of mankind

因为在这里，你会看到： 人类不可阻挡的力量

meeting the immovable object of tropical nature.

遇上热带地区不可撼动的自然事物。

And it's at this new frontier that we are forced with a new appraisal.

在这片新的疆域 我们被迫重新审视。

What is wilderness worth?

荒野的价值究竟是什么？

What is the value of biodiversity, or our drinking water?

生物多样性有多珍贵？ 我们饮用水呢？

幸运的是， 经过数十年争论，

And fortunately, after decades of debate,

we're finally starting to act on those questions.

我们终于对这些问题做出了行动。

We're slowly undertaking these projects

我们开始逐渐实行这些计划，

to bring more freshwater back to the bay.

将更多的淡水还给海湾。

But it's up to us as citizens, as residents, as stewards

但这取决于我们—— 作为公民，作为定居者，作为管理者

to hold our elected officials to their promises.

应当保障我们选出的议员 能履行他们的承诺。

你能做点什么吗？

What can you do to help?

It's so easy.

非常简单。

Just get outside, get out there.

只要走出去家门，到那些地方去。

Take your friends out, take your kids out,

带着你朋友，带着你的孩子，

take your family out.

带上你的家人一起走出去。

Hire a fishing guide.

雇一个钓鱼顾问。

Show the state that protecting wilderness

让政府看到：保护荒野

not only makes ecological sense, but economic sense as well.

不仅对生态有好处， 也能创造经济效益。

It's a lot of fun, just do it -- put your feet in the water.

那会很有趣，去做就对了—— 把你的脚伸入水中吧！

The swamp will change you, I promise.

沼泽会改变你，我保证。

Over the years, we've been so generous

过去的这些年里，

我们对国内的其它风景如此慷慨，

with these other landscapes around the country,

cloaking them with this American pride,

将它们拥簇成美国之光。

places that we now consider to define us:

我们认为它们代表了美国：

Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone.

科罗拉多大峡谷，优胜美地，黄石公园。

And we use these parks and these natural areas

我们将这些国家公园和自然区域

as beacons and as cultural compasses.

作为美国的灯塔和文化指南。

可悲的是，佛罗里达大沼泽地

And sadly, the Everglades is very commonly

left out of that conversation.

却渐渐被人们遗忘了。

But I believe it's every bit as iconic and emblematic

但我相信它的每一个部分 都是一种图腾和象征，

of who we are as a country

象征着我们的国家，

as any of these other wildernesses.

就像其它的荒野一样。

It's just a different kind of wild.

它是另一种与众不同的荒野。

但是我很欣慰，

But I'm encouraged,

because maybe we're finally starting to come around,

因为或许我们终于醒来，

because what was once deemed this swampy wasteland,

因为那个曾经被人们视为沼泽的湿地，

today is a World Heritage site.

今天已经成了世界自然遗产。

It's a wetland of international importance.

它是世界级重要的湿地。

And we've come a long way in the last 60 years.

过去的六十年我们有所进展。

And as the world's largest and most ambitious wetland restoration project,

作为世界上最庞大、 最富雄心的湿地复原计划，

the international spotlight is on us in the Sunshine State.

全世界的目光 都聚焦在我们阳光之州。

Because if we can heal this system,

如果我们能修复这个生态系统，

it's going to become an icon for wetland restoration

它将成为一个全球的湿地修复典范。

all over the world.

But it's up to us to decide which legacy we want to attach our flag to.

但这一切都取决于我们想要 将怎样的荣誉赋予我们的国家。

They say that the Everglades is our greatest test.

他们说：保护大沼泽地 是我们最伟大的考验。

If we pass it, we get to keep the planet.

如果我们通过了， 我们就有能力保护地球。

I love that quote,

我喜欢这段话，

because it's a challenge, it's a prod.

因为这是一项挑战，是一种激励。

Can we do it? Will we do it?

我们能做到吗？我们愿意去做吗？

We have to, we must.

我们必须，也必然会做到。

But the Everglades is not just a test.

因为大沼泽地并非只是一次考验。

It's also a gift,

它也是一件礼物，

and ultimately, our responsibility.

而最终，是你我的义务。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）