E.O. Wilson calls for an Encyclopedia of Life

翻译人员: Tony Yet 校对人员: lin qiang

I have all my life wondered what "mind-boggling" meant.

我整整一生都在想，“mind-boggling”（令人难以置信的）到底是指什么

After two days here, I declare myself boggled, and enormously impressed,

在这里呆了两天，我承认，我已经被深深感染

and feel that you are one of the great hopes --

我感到，你们代表着伟大的希望

not just for American achievement in science and technology,

不仅仅是美国在科学技术上取得进步的希望

but for the whole world.

也是整个世界的希望

I've come, however, on a special mission on behalf of my constituency,

我今天来到这里，是代表我的"选民"

which are the 10-to-the-18th-power -- that's a million trillion --

它们的数量多达10的18次方

insects and other small creatures, and to make a plea for them.

它们是昆虫以及其他的小动物，我是来为它们申张正义的

If we were to wipe out insects alone, just that group alone, on this planet --

假如我们要把昆虫从地球上消灭掉，就单单是昆虫

which we are trying hard to do --

实际上我们也在努力这样做……

the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from the land.

那么剩下的生物包括人类也很可能从地球消失

And within a few months.

这只需几个月的时间

Now, how did I come to this particular position of advocacy?

那我是怎么成为这样一个为昆虫辩护的斗士呢？

As a little boy, and through my teenage years,

当我还是小孩子的时候，

I became increasingly fascinated by the diversity of life.

我就对生物之多样性感到越来越浓厚的兴趣

I had a butterfly period, a snake period, a bird period, a fish period, a cave period

我曾经对蝴蝶、蛇、小鸟、鱼以及洞穴感兴趣

and finally and definitively, an ant period.

最后，我对蚂蚁产生浓厚而长久的兴趣

By my college years, I was a devoted myrmecologist,

读大学的时候，我对于蚂蚁研究很有热情

a specialist on the biology of ants,

我是一位研究蚂蚁的专家

but my attention and research continued to make journeys

我的关注点以及研究都

across the great variety of life on Earth in general --

围绕地球上巨大的生物多样性而展开

including all that it means to us as a species, how little we understand it

包括这对我们人类意味着什么，以及为何我们对此所知甚少

and how pressing a danger that our activities have created for it.

还有人类活动正在对生物多样性构成的严重威胁

Out of that broader study has emerged a concern and an ambition,

长期的研究使我产生一种对生物的关切以及一个宏愿

crystallized in the wish that I'm about to make to you.

待会我会在叙述愿望的时候具体说明

My choice is the culmination of a lifetime commitment

我的这一选择是整个研究生涯之落脚点

that began with growing up on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, on the Florida peninsula.

我小时候在佛罗里达半岛的阿拉巴马湾度过

As far back as I can remember, I was enchanted by the natural beauty of that region

从记事起，我就被那一带的自然美景深深陶醉

and the almost tropical exuberance of the plants and animals that grow there.

包括该地繁盛成长的接近热带的动植物

One day when I was only seven years old and fishing,

七岁那年，有一天我去钓鱼

I pulled a "pinfish," they're called, with sharp dorsal spines, up too hard and fast,

我捉到一条免齿鲷——有尖利的背棘——猛然用力拉上来

and I blinded myself in one eye.

并因此而弄瞎了其中一只眼睛

I later discovered I was also hard of hearing,

另外，我后来还发现自己在听力方面也不是很好

possibly congenitally, in the upper registers.

也许是生来就有的缺陷

So in planning to be a professional naturalist --

于是，为了成为一名职业的自然学家

I never considered anything else in my entire life --

我就决定只做一件事

I found that I was lousy at bird watching and couldn't track frog calls either.

要我观鸟，我不在行；要我追踪青蛙，我也不擅长于此

So I turned to the teeming small creatures

于是我决定做那些小动物的研究

that can be held between the thumb and forefinger:

它们大多可以放在我的拇指跟食指之间

the little things that compose the foundation of our ecosystems,

而正是它们构建了我们整个生态圈的基础

the little things, as I like to say, who run the world.

它们才是世界的主人

In so doing, I reached a frontier of biology so strange, so rich,

通过这样的方式，我来到一个非常古怪却又非常丰富的生物学领域

that it seemed as though it exists on another planet.

简直就像降临到别的星球一样

In fact, we live on a mostly unexplored planet.

事实上，我们就生活在一个很多地方皆未被研究的星球上

The great majority of organisms on Earth remain unknown to science.

科学家对于地球上大多数的有机体都是一无所知的

In the last 30 years, thanks to explorations in remote parts of the world

过去30年，人们去到了一些较为边缘的地区

and advances in technology,

也得益于科技的进步

biologists have, for example, added a full one-third of the known frog and other amphibian species,

生物学家使已知的青蛙以及两栖类物种数增加了三分之一

to bring the current total to 5,400,

现在，两栖类生物物种总数为5400种

and more continue to pour in.

并且还不断有新的物种被发现

Two new kinds of whales have been discovered, along with two new antelopes,

也发现了两种新的鲸鱼种类，以及两种新的羚羊

dozens of monkey species and a new kind of elephant --

还有几十个猴子的种类以及一种新的大象种类

and even a distinct kind of gorilla.

甚至还有一种新发现的大猩猩！

At the extreme opposite end of the size scale, the class of marine bacteria,

而在生物体体型大小的另一端，我们发现了新的海洋细菌

the Prochlorococci -- that will be on the final exam --

原绿球藻，也许在你的期末考试出现过

although discovered only in 1988, are now recognized as likely the most abundant organisms on Earth,

虽说是1988年发现的，现在则被认为是地球上最繁盛的生物

and moreover, responsible for a large part of the photosynthesis that occurs in the ocean.

这一生物为海洋里头发生的光合作用起到了很大的推动作用

These bacteria were not uncovered sooner

我们没能在更早的时候发现这些细菌

because they are also among the smallest of all Earth's organisms --

是因为它们也是地球上体型最小的生物之一

so minute that they cannot be seen with conventional optical microscopy.

你用普通的光学仪器是难以看得到它们的

Yet life in the sea may depend on these tiny creatures.

但海底的生物却必须依赖它们才能生存

These examples are just the first glimpse of our ignorance of life on this planet.

这些都不过是一些例子，显示出我们对于地球上的生物是多么无知

Consider the fungi -- including mushrooms, rusts, molds and many disease-causing organisms.

再看看真菌，包括蘑菇、锈菌、霉菌以及其他携带病原体的真菌

60,000 species are known to science,

我们知道有6万种的真菌

but more than 1.5 million have been estimated to exist.

但科学家估计，事实上有150万真菌存活于地球上

Consider the nematode roundworm, the most abundant of all animals.

再看看线虫，它们是所有动物家族当中最为繁盛的

Four out of five animals on Earth are nematode worms --

地球上80%的动物都是线虫

if all solid materials except nematode worms were to be eliminated,

假如地球上除了线虫以外所有的固态物质都消失

you could still see the ghostly outline of most of it in nematode worms.

你还是可以从线虫身上看出曾经的地球痕迹

About 16,000 species of nematode worms

大约16000种线虫动物

have been discovered and diagnosed by scientists;

已经被科学家发现并进行研究

there could be hundreds of thousands of them, even millions, still unknown.

而事实上，也许有数以千计甚至是数以百万计的我们还未曾知道

This vast domain of hidden biodiversity is increased still further

还有另外一个生物群体

by the dark matter of the biological world of bacteria,

它们通常不被关注，但其蕴含的生物多样性却更多

which within just the last several years

单单是过去的几年

still were known from only about 6,000 species of bacteria worldwide.

世界范围内就发现了6000例新的细菌物种

But that number of bacteria species can be found in one gram of soil,

在一克的泥土里，就可以找出这一数目的细菌出来

just a little handful of soil, in the 10 billion bacteria that would be there.

一剖泥土，里面就有一百亿的细菌

It's been estimated that a single ton of soil -- fertile soil --

有人估计，单单是一吨沃土当中

contains approximately four million species of bacteria, all unknown.

就包含了近四百万种的细菌，并且我们对这些细菌一无所知

So the question is: what are they all doing?

所以，我们要问：那些家伙到底在干嘛？

The fact is, we don't know.

答案是：我们根本不知道答案。

We are living on a planet with a lot of activities, with reference to our living environment,

我们对于这个地球上所发生的许多现象

done by faith and guess alone.

都只是通过信念或猜测来认知

Our lives depend upon these creatures.

我们的生命依赖于这些生物

To take an example close to home: there are over 500 species of bacteria now known --

举一个身边的例子：已知有500多种的细菌——

friendly bacteria -- living symbiotically in your mouth and throat

友好的细菌——正生活在你的口腔里

probably necessary to your health for holding off pathogenic bacteria.

也许它们正在为你抵抗来自致病细菌的进攻

At this point I think we have a little impressionistic film

说到这里，我想给大家放一个片子

that was made especially for this occasion.

就是为了这次演讲而准备的

And I'd like to show it.

现在请看屏幕

Assisted in this by Billie Holiday.

我们得到了Billie Holiday的帮助

(Video)

（视频）

And that may be just the beginning!

这也许还只是开始！

The viruses, those quasi-organisms among which are the prophages,

病毒，也就是那些带有有机体特性的“准”生物，prophasias 就是其中一种

the gene weavers that promote the continued evolution in the lives of the bacteria,

它是基因编织师，正是它使得细菌的持续进化成为可能

are a virtually unknown frontier of modern biology, a world unto themselves.

这一世界是现代生物学的一个待开垦的处女地，也是一个自我——的世界

What constitutes a viral species is still unresolved,

是什么构成了病毒还尚无定论

although they're obviously of enormous importance to us.

虽然这对人类而言意义重大

But this much we can say: the variety of genes on the planet in viruses

但是有一点可以肯定，病毒世界的基因多样性

exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.

远远大于所有其他生物的基因多样性之总和——至少科学家是这么认为的

Nowadays, in addressing microbial biodiversity,

今天，那些研究微生物多样性的科学家

scientists are like explorers in a rowboat launched onto the Pacific Ocean.

就如乘着木船驶进太平洋的探索者

But that is changing rapidly with the aid of new genomic technology.

但是，随着新的基因组技术的发展，这一境况正得到改善

Already it is possible to sequence the entire genetic code of a bacterium in under four hours.

现在，我们已经可以用四个小时的时间完成对一个细菌进行基因测序

Soon we will be in a position to go forth in the field with sequencers on our backs --

不久的将来，我们还将可以通过便携式的测序机完成这样的操作

to hunt bacteria in tiny crevices of the habitat's surface

直接寻找到那些隐藏在细小的缝隙里的细菌

in the way you go watching for birds with binoculars.

就像你用双筒望远镜来观鸟一样

What will we find as we map the living world, as, finally, we get this underway seriously?

那么，假如我们真的去对现实世界中的生物进行测序，将会带来什么？

As we move past the relatively gigantic mammals, birds, frogs and plants

从大型哺乳动物到鸟类到青蛙到植物

to the more elusive insects and other small invertebrates and then beyond

一直到昆虫以及其他非脊椎动物

to the countless millions of organisms in the invisible living world

再到无数的肉眼不可见的生物

enveloped and living within humanity?

——它们就在人体内发展、生存

Already what were thought to be bacteria for generations

过去科学家曾认定是细菌的生物

have been found to compose, instead, two great domains of microorganisms:

现在的发现则显示，它们实际上是由两种微生物组成的

true bacteria and one-celled organisms the archaea,

即真细菌和单细胞的古细菌

which are closer than other bacteria to the eukaryota, the group that we belong to.

它比其他的细菌更接近真核生物，人也是真核生物

Some serious biologists, and I count myself among them,

一些严肃的科学家，包括我

have begun to wonder that among the enormous and still unknown diversity of microorganisms,

就开始怀疑，在多元与未知的微生物世界中

one might -- just might -- find aliens among them.

也许还能找到外星生物的存在

True aliens, stocks that arrived from outer space.

我说的是真正的外星生物，来自外太空的生物

They've had billions of years to do it,

它们有数十亿年时间到达地球

but especially during the earliest period of biological evolution on this planet.

特别是地球上出现生物进化的原始阶段

We do know that some bacterial species that have earthly origin

我们知道，有些发源自地球的细菌

are capable of almost unimaginable extremes of temperature

竟然可以在极端的温度下生存

and other harsh changes in environment,

也能适应非常恶劣的环境变化

including hard radiation strong enough and maintained long enough to crack the Pyrex vessels

包括经受足以穿透Pyrex玻璃箱的强辐射的作用

around the growing population of bacteria.

这个在细菌的家族里很常见

There may be a temptation to treat the biosphere holistically

也许有些人会走捷径，用一种整体的视角来看待整个生物圈

and the species that compose it as a great flux of entities

将其中的物种看成是个体的流动

hardly worth distinguishing one from the other.

无须区分出它们之间的细微差别

But each of these species, even the tiniest Prochlorococci,

但是每一个这样的物种，即使是最细小的原绿球菌

are masterpieces of evolution.

都是进化之杰作

Each has persisted for thousands to millions of years.

它们都在地球上存活了千百万年

Each is exquisitely adapted to the environment in which it lives,

都能很好的融入到其生活环境当中

interlocked with other species to form ecosystems upon which our own lives depend

并且与其他的物种相互作用，构成我们赖以生存的生态系统

in ways we have not begun even to imagine.

而这些我们十年前还未曾想象得到

We will destroy these ecosystems and the species composing them

假如我们破坏这些生态系统以及生活于其间的物种

at the peril of our own existence --

我们终将自食其果

and unfortunately we are destroying them with ingenuity and ceaseless energy.

可悲的是，我们罔若无知，肆无忌惮的继续这样的行为

My own epiphany as a conservationist came in 1953, while a Harvard graduate student,

我的灵光一现出现在1953年，那时我是哈佛大学的一位研究生

searching for rare ants found in the mountain forests of Cuba,

我去古巴的大山和森林里寻找罕见的蚂蚁种类

ants that shine in the sunlight --

这些蚂蚁在阳光照射之下会发光

metallic green or metallic blue, according to species, and one species, I discovered, metallic gold.

金属绿、金属蓝，甚至是黄金的颜色

I found my magical ants, but only after a tough climb into the mountains

经过一段艰难的山地跋涉，我终于找到了我的神奇蚂蚁

where the last of the native Cuban forests hung on,

那里也是古巴仅存的一块原始森林地带

and were then -- and still are -- being cut back.

但后来，直到现在，那片森林不断遭受砍伐

I realized then that these species

我意识到

and a large part of the other unique, marvelous animals and plants on that island --

像这些蚂蚁以及那个岛上生活的其他独特且多姿的动植物

and this is true of practically every part of the world --

这对于世界任何一个地方都是一样的

which took millions of years to evolve, are in the process of disappearing forever.

经过数百万年的进化，才有今天，但它们一旦消失，就有可能永远不会再次出现了

And so it is everywhere one looks.

这一现象在世界各地都在发生

The human juggernaut is permanently eroding Earth's ancient biosphere by a combination of forces

人类正在以不可抗拒的力量，持续破坏着那些亿万年演化而成的生物系统

that can be summarized by the acronym "HIPPO," the animal hippo.

这些力量可以总结为“HIPPO”，原意是河马

H is for habitat destruction, including climate change forced by greenhouse gases.

H是代表栖息地破坏, 这包括因为大量排放温室气体而产生的气候变化

I is for the invasive species like the fire ants, the zebra mussels, broom grasses

I是代表入侵物种，包括红火蚁、 斑马贻贝等

and pathogenic bacteria and viruses that are flooding every country, and at an exponential rate -- that's the I.

以及那些正在以惊人速度在各个国家蔓延的病毒和致病菌

The P, the first one in "HIPPO," is for pollution.

P，第一个P是代表污染

The second is for continued population, human population expansion.

第二个是指持续的人口增长

And the final letter is O, for over-harvesting --

而O则代表过度捕获

driving species into extinction by excessive hunting and fishing.

过度的狩猎和捕捞正使许多物种走向消亡

The HIPPO juggernaut we have created, if unabated, is destined --

人类如果不减弱这些力量（HIPPO）

according to the best estimates of ongoing biodiversity research --

根据一直在进行的生物多样性研究的最乐观估计——

to reduce half of Earth's still surviving animal and plant species

也将使得地球现存的动植物种类中有一半

to extinction or critical endangerment by the end of the century.

走向灭绝或走到濒危 的境地，也许就发生在本世纪末

Human-forced climate change alone -- again, if unabated --

单单是人为引起的气候变化，假如不加以遏制

could eliminate a quarter of surviving species during the next five decades.

就将会在未来的半个世纪使得现存物种数目减少四分之一

What will we and all future generations lose

假如地球环境真的这样恶化下去，

if much of the living environment is thus degraded?

那么我们以及我们的后代将经受怎样的后果

Huge potential sources of scientific information yet to be gathered,

有大量的科学数据就藏在大自然当中等待我们去发掘

much of our environmental stability

环境稳定性

and new kinds of pharmaceuticals and new products of unimaginable strength and value --

还有许多价值非凡的新药物新产品

all thrown away.

都会因此而被遗弃

The loss will inflict a heavy price

这样的损失也将

in wealth, security and yes, spirituality for all time to come,

给我们的财富、安全以及精神生活带来巨大的冲击

because previous cataclysms of this kind --

我们知道，历史上曾出现过的类似这类灾难性事件

the last one, that ended the age of dinosaurs --

对上一次是数百万年前，使得恐龙走向灭绝

took, normally, five to 10 million years to repair.

必须经过一千万年才能得到恢复

Sadly, our knowledge of biodiversity is so incomplete

可悲的是，我们关于生物多样性的了解是如此之少

that we are at risk of losing a great deal of it before it is even discovered.

也许有许多知识未待我们发现就已经不复存在

For example, even in the United States, the 200,000 species known currently

比方说，在美国，我们知道有20万个物种

actually has been found to be only partial in coverage;

但我们发现这其实只是很小的一个部分

it is mostly unknown to us in basic biology.

而我们学基础生物学的时候是没有学这个的

Only about 15 percent of the known species have been studied well enough to evaluate their status.

只有15%的已知物种是有过深入研究，使得我们可以评估它们的境况

Of the 15 percent evaluated, 20 percent are classified as "in peril,"

在这15%的物种里，有20%是被列为“处于危险状态”

that is, in danger of extinction.

换言之，它们就在灭绝的边缘

That's in the United States.

这只是美国的故事

We are, in short, flying blind into our environmental future.

概而言之，我们就像盲人一样去迎接这样的未来环境

We urgently need to change this.

我们必须尽快改变这一现状

We need to have the biosphere properly explored

我们需要对生物圈正确地进行探测

so that we can understand and competently manage it.

唯有如此，我们才能把握其秘密，并更好的加以保护

We need to settle down before we wreck the planet.

我们要知道我们的处境，而后才能对未来采取应对措施

And we need that knowledge.

我们需要这样的知识

This should be a big science project equivalent to the Human Genome Project.

这将会是一个相当庞大的科学项目，堪与人类基因组计划相比

It should be thought of as a biological moonshot with a timetable.

或者说是一次时间概念更强烈的生物学阿波罗项目

So this brings me to my wish for TEDsters,

我接下来就 要宣布我的TED愿望

and to anyone else around the world who hears this talk.

世界各地热爱科学的朋友也欢迎你们的聆听

I wish we will work together to help create the key tools

我希望我们可以携手合作，创建一些工具

that we need to inspire preservation of Earth's biodiversity.

来鼓励保护地球生物多样性

And let us call it the "Encyclopedia of Life."

不妨将此项目称为“生命百科”

What is the "Encyclopedia of Life?" A concept that has already taken hold

“生命百科”的概念已经得到人们的认同

and is beginning to spread and be looked at seriously?

并且正在不断的传播与普及

It is an encyclopedia that lives on the Internet

这将会是一本在线的百科全书

and is contributed to by thousands of scientists around the world.

世界各地的科学家都将参与其间

Amateurs can do it also.

科学爱好者也能参与

It has an indefinitely expandable page for each species.

对于每个物种，都可以为其添加尽可能多的数据

It makes all key information about life on Earth accessible to anyone,

可以使得地球上所有生物的信息向世人公开

on demand, anywhere in the world.

何时何地都可查阅得到

I've written about this idea before,

我曾为此写过文章

and I know there are people in this room who have expended significant effort on it in the past.

我知道这里也有人曾为同类项目作出巨大贡献

But what excites me is that since I first put forward this particular idea in that form,

但最让我兴奋的是，自从我产生这个想法之后

science has advanced.

科学有了飞跃的发展

Technology has moved forward.

技术也有飞跃的发展

Today, the practicalities of making such an encyclopedia,

今天，从技术上来说，我们完全有能力

regardless of the magnitude of the information put into it, are within reach.

去编制这样一部百科全书，不管当中包含的数据容量有多大

Indeed, in the past year, a group of influential scientific institutions

事实上，过去一年，有多家颇具影响力的科研机构

have begun mobilizing to realize this dream.

就已经着手将此设想变为现实

I wish you would help them.

我希望你们能帮助他们

Working together, we can make this real.

携手合作，我们就可以实现目标

The encyclopedia will quickly pay for itself in practical applications.

项目本身很快就会得到回报，因为会有很多实际的用途

It will address transcendent qualities in the human consciousness, and sense of human need.

它也将为人类带来更深层次的精神维度，重新定义人类的需求

It will transform the science of biology in ways of obvious benefit to humanity.

它将改变生物学的面貌，这样的改变也将为人类带来福音

And most of all, it can inspire a new generation of biologists

最重要的是，它将为年轻一代的生物学家带来启发

to continue the quest that started, for me personally, 60 years ago:

去继续我60年前开始的征途

to search for life, to understand it and finally, above all, to preserve it.

去寻找生命，理解生命，最终守护生命

That is my wish. Thank you.

这就是我的愿望。谢谢大家。