How you can help save the monarch butterfly -- and the planet | Mary Ellen Hannibal

翻译人员: Yang Oscar Sun 校对人员: Wanting Zhong

Hi there.

大家好。

I'm in the habit of saying I would like it if butterflies could talk,

虽然我总是说，我希望蝴蝶可以说话，

but I've been recently reconsidering that,

但是最近，我开始重新思考这个愿景，

because we already have a pretty loud world.

因为我们的世界已经有很多声音了。

Can you imagine if butterflies were yakking out there all over the place?

你能想象到处都有蝴蝶 在叽叽喳喳叫吗？

But I would like to ask butterflies one question, which is,

但是我想对蝴蝶 问一个问题，那就是，

what is the meaning of some of the stories that we humans tell about them?

我们人类讲述的一些 关于它们的故事有什么意义？

Because remarkably, all over the world, cultures have really similar stories,

因为神奇的是，在全世界 ， 不同文明围绕着

similar mythologies about butterflies having to do with the human soul.

蝴蝶与人类灵魂的关系 都有相似的故事与神话。

Some cultures tell us butterflies are carrying the souls of children

有些文化告诉我们， 蝴蝶承载着

意外去世或者早夭的孩子们的灵魂，

who have died wrongly or too soon,

and other cultures tell us that butterflies

而其他文明告诉我们

are carrying the souls of our ancestors among us.

蝴蝶承载着我们祖先的灵魂。

This butterfly is called a Kallima inachus.

这只蝴蝶叫枯叶蛱蝶。

On one side, it looks like a beautiful butterfly,

它的一侧看起来像一只美丽的蝴蝶，

and on the other side, it looks like a leaf,

另一侧看起来像一片树叶，

and it folds up like a leaf to elude predators.

它还会像一片树叶一样折起来， 以躲避捕食者。

So now you see it, now you don't,

你有时能看见它，有时又看不见，

something hidden, something revealed.

它的身体时隐时现。

Maybe we got our ideas about the human soul from this butterfly.

没准我们思考人类灵魂的灵感 就来自于这种蝴蝶。

So it's possible that butterflies have some sort of outsized role

蝴蝶对于我们的来世

或许有什么重大作用。

in our afterlife.

But in this life, in this world, butterflies are in really serious trouble.

但在今生，在这个世界上， 蝴蝶正面临着很严峻的危机。

This is a moth.

这是一只飞蛾。

Moths and butterflies are related. Moths generally fly at night.

飞蛾和蝴蝶是亲戚关系。 飞蛾一般都在夜间飞行。

This is called "praedicta," because Darwin predicted that it must exist.

这只蛾叫做“预测天蛾”， 因为达尔文曾预言了它的存在。

So today, more than 60 species of butterflies are endangered

时至今日，全世界有 60 多种类的蝴蝶

都处于濒危的状态，

around the world,

but even more than that,

但是比这更糟糕的是，

insects are declining, declining, declining.

昆虫的数量在不停地 下降、下降、下降。

In the last 50 years,

在过去的 50 年里，

we've lost nearly 50 percent of the total number of bodies of insects.

我们的昆虫总数减少了近 50%，

Now this is a disaster.

这真是一个灾难。

It could impact us in a more serious way more quickly than climate change,

它能比全球变暖更快、 更凶猛地打击我们，

because butterflies don't do that much in the ecosystem that we depend on,

因为虽然蝴蝶在我们所依赖的 生态系统里没有太大的作用，

but they do things for other creatures that we do depend on,

但它们对我们赖以生存的物种 起着不容忽视的作用，

and that's the same story with all insect life.

而这一结论对所有昆虫都适用。

Insect life is at the very foundation of our life-support systems.

昆虫是我们赖以生存的 生态系统的基石。

We can't lose these insects.

我们不能失去这些昆虫。

Biodiversity all over the globe is in a vast decline.

全球的生物多样性都在大幅减少。

Habitat loss, pesticides, herbicides and impacts of climate change.

栖息地的消失、杀虫剂、除草剂 和气候变化都会对其产生影响。

Habitat loss is very serious,

栖息地消失的问题非常严重，

and that's where we really have to get developing better,

这也是我们必须更加留心、

more mindfully.

更谨慎地发展的地方。

It's the worst of times,

现在是最艰难的时刻，

we are kind of overloaded with our problems.

自身的问题已经让我们应接不暇。

It's also the best of times -- there's incredibly good news.

现在也是最好的时刻—— 有非常可喜的消息。

We have exactly what we need.

我们恰好有我们需要的东西，

We have exactly the platform to save nature.

恰好有可以拯救大自然的平台。

It's called citizen science.

它叫做“公众科学”。

So citizen science is generally a term used to mean people without a PhD

公众科学通常是用来形容 没有博士学位，

contributing to scientific research.

但能给科学研究做出贡献的人。

Sometimes, it's called community science,

有时它被称作“社区科学”，

which gets at the communal purpose of citizen science,

这个用词体现了 公众科学的社区性意义，

which is to do something for our commons together.

即为了我们的共同利益做些什么。

It's amateur science.

它是业余科学。

It's being turbocharged today by vast computing power,

今日，它被强大的计算能力、

statistical analysis and the smartphone,

数据分析和智能手机所推动，

but it's an ancient practice that people have always practiced.

但它其实是一个 长期被实践的、古老的做法。

It's amateur science.

这就是所谓的业余科学。

Professional science has its roots in amateur science.

专业科学是建立在 业余科学之上的。

Charles Darwin was a citizen scientist.

查尔斯·达尔文就是一位公众科学家。

He had no advanced degree, and he worked only for himself.

他没有很高的学历， 而且只为自己工作。

So someone showed Darwin this Madagascar star orchid,

有人给达尔文看了这株

花距长达 30 厘米的 马达加斯加彗星兰，

which as a spur that's 12 inches long,

and the spur is the part of a flower that the nectar is in.

花距是贮存花蜜的部位。

So this person showed this to Darwin and said,

这个人给达尔文看过花后说，

"This proves that evolution does not come about in a natural way.

“这株花证明了 进化不是自然发生的。

This flower proves that only God can make these incredibly bizarre

这株花证明了只有上帝 才能在地球上创造出

这些非常奇妙、长相怪异的生物，

and tricky-looking creatures on the earth,

because no insect could possibly pollinate this.

因为没有昆虫能够给它授粉，

God must reproduce it."

只有上帝才能让它繁殖。”

And Darwin said, "No, I'm sure that there is an insect somewhere

而达尔文说， “不，我相信世上有某种

with a proboscis long enough to pollinate that star orchid."

吸管足够长的昆虫， 可以为这株彗星兰授粉。”

And he was right.

达尔文是对的。

This is a map of the monarch butterfly.

这是一张帝王蝴蝶的分布地图，

So, the monarch butterfly has a different story

帝王蝴蝶的故事

和能为彗星兰授粉的飞蛾 不太一样，

than that particular moth,

but reflects the same kind of fundamental idea that Darwin had

但它反映了和达尔文一样的基本思想，

called coevolution,

叫做“协同进化”。

and coevolution is at the heart of how nature works,

协同进化是大自然规律的核心，

and it's also at the heart of what's going wrong with nature today.

而且它也是今日 大自然所面临问题的核心。

So over time, as the moth developed a longer proboscis,

随着时间推移， 飞蛾的吸管变得越来越长，

so the plant developed a longer spur.

彗星兰的花距 也变得越来越长。

Over millions of years,

百万年来，

the plant and the moth developed a relationship

彗星兰和飞蛾发展出了一段

各取所需、提高彼此生存概率的关系。

whereby they both make each other's chances of existence better.

The monarch butterfly has a different kind of coevolutionary relationship,

帝王蝴蝶则有另一种协同进化关系，

and today, it is at the heart of what's going wrong

而今天，这种关系正是

帝王蝴蝶所面临问题的核心。

for the monarch butterfly.

So this is a map of the monarch butterfly migration.

这是一张帝王蝴蝶的迁徙的地图。

The monarch does this amazing thing,

帝王蝴蝶有种令人叹为观止的行为，

and over the course of a year,

在一年之内，

it goes over the entirety of North America.

它们会在四到五代的时间里

It does this in four or five generations.

穿越整个北美洲。

The first generations only live a couple of weeks.

第一代帝王蝴蝶 只能活几周的时间。

They mate, they lay eggs and they die.

它们交配、产卵，然后死亡。

The next generation emerges as butterflies and takes the next leg of the journey.

第二代蝴蝶出生后 会继续前辈的旅程。

Nobody knows how they do it.

没人知道它们是怎么做到的。

By the time the fifth generation comes back around -- and that one lives longer,

等到第五代出生的时候， 它们的寿命会更长，

they overwinter in Mexico and California --

它们在加利福尼亚 和墨西哥度过冬天。

by the time it gets there,

等它们到达这两个地方的时候，

those butterflies are going back to where their ancestors came from,

就即将返回祖先的故乡，

but they've never been there before,

但是它们从来没有去过故乡，

and nobody that they're immediately related to has been there before either.

它们的直系亲属也没有去过那里。

We don't know how they do it.

我们不知道它们是怎么做到的。

The reason we know they do this kind of migration --

虽然关于帝王蝴蝶迁徙

还有很多问题没有解答，

and we still have a lot of unanswered questions

但正是因为公众科学，

about the monarch migration --

我们才了解了它们的迁徙方式。

is because of citizen science.

So for decades, people have made observations

几十年来，人们观察帝王蝴蝶， 记录看见帝王蝴蝶的时间和地点，

about monarch butterflies, where and when they see them,

并将这些观察记录贡献给

and they've contributed these observations to platforms like Journey North.

像“北上之旅” （Journey North）这样的平台。

This is a map of some observations of butterflies given to Journey North.

这是“北上之旅”收到的 一张蝴蝶观察记录图。

And if you can see the dots are coded

地图上面的点

by what time of year those observations were made.

是根据一年中 观察到的时间来着色的。

So these massive amounts of data come into a place like Journey North,

当如此海量的数据都被集中到 “北上之旅”这样的地方，

and they can create a map of this time of over a course of a year

他们就可以用这些数据制作出

一年内帝王蝴蝶的动态地图。

of where monarchs go.

Also because of citizen science,

也是因为公众科学，

we understand that monarch butterfly numbers are going down, down, down.

我们发现了帝王蝴蝶的数量 一直在持续下降。

So in the 1980s, the overwintering butterflies here in California,

上世纪 80 年代， 在加利福尼亚过冬的蝴蝶

there were four million counted.

有四百万只。

Last year, 30,000.

而去年，只有三万只。

(Audience gasps)

（观众惊讶）

Four million to 30,000 since the 1980s.

从上世纪 80 年代到现在， 从四百万只到三万只。

The monarchs on the east coast are doing a little better,

在东海岸的帝王蝴蝶 情况稍微好一点，

but they're also going down.

但它们的数量也在下降。

OK, so what are we going to do about it?

那么对于这个问题， 我们能做些什么呢？

Well, very organically, nobody really asking anybody to do it,

一切都顺其自然， 没有人在呼吁别人做点什么，

people all over the continent are supporting monarch butterflies.

整个大陆的人们 都在主动帮助帝王蝴蝶。

The heart of the problem for monarchs is milkweed.

帝王蝴蝶的问题核心在于乳草。

It's another coevolutionary relationship, and here's the story.

这是另一个协同进化关系的故事。

Milkweed is toxic.

乳草是有毒的。

It has a poison in it that it evolved to deter other insects from eating it,

为了阻止昆虫吃掉它， 乳草进化出了一种毒素，

but the monarch developed a different kind of relationship,

但帝王蝴蝶进化出了 另一种和乳草的关系，

a different strategy with the milkweed.

对付乳草的另一种策略。

Not only does it tolerate the toxin,

帝王蝴蝶不仅对乳草毒素有抵抗力，

the monarch actually sequesters the toxin in its body,

它们还可以在身体里储存这种毒素，

thus becoming poisonous to its predators.

捕食者吃了它就会中毒。

Monarch butterflies will only lay their eggs on milkweed,

帝王蝴蝶只会把卵产在乳草上，

and monarch caterpillars will only eat milkweed,

而且帝王蝴蝶的幼虫只吃乳草，

because they need that toxin to actually create what they are as a species.

因为它们需要乳草毒素 来保障自身物种的繁衍。

So people are planting milkweed all over the country

在全国各地因生态环境破坏、

where we have lost milkweed due to habitat destruction,

杀虫剂、除草剂、气候变化影响 而失去乳草的地方，

pesticide use, herbicide use and climate change impacts.

人们都在种植乳草。

You can create a lot of butterfly habitat and pollinator habitat on a windowsill.

你可以在窗台上创造出不少 蝴蝶和授粉者的生态环境。

You go to a native nursery in your area

你也可以去一个本地苗圃，

and find out what's native to where you live,

了解一下当地的植物，

and you will bring beautiful things to yourself.

然后就能把这些 美丽的生物吸引到你身旁。

Now, citizen science can do even more than rescue monarch butterflies.

公众科学能做到的 不止是拯救帝王蝴蝶，

It has the capacity to scale

还能将行动规模扩大到

to the level necessary that we need to mobilize to save nature.

足以动员拯救大自然所需的力量。

And this is an example.

这里就有一个例子，

It's called City Nature Challenge,

叫做“城市大自然挑战”，

and City Nature Challenge is a project of the California Academy of Sciences

城市大自然挑战是一个 由加州科学院博物馆

and the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.

和洛杉矶自然历史博物馆 发起的项目。

So for four years, City Nature Challenge has enjoined cities all over the globe

四年来，城市大自然挑战 邀请了全球各地的城市

to participate in counting up biodiversity in their cities.

来参与统计各自城市的生物多样性。

We're up to, like, a million observations of biodiversity

今年四月，全球各界人士已收集了

近 100 万条生物多样性的观测记录。

collected by people around the globe this past April.

The winner this year was South Africa, much to the chagrin of San Francisco.

今年的冠军是南非， 惹得旧金山大为恼火。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Look at them, they have more biodiversity than we do.

“看看人家， 他们的生物多样性比我们丰富。”

It's kind of an interesting thing, what is revealed when you start seeing

能看到你住的地方 有什么自然资源

what are the natural resources where you live,

是非常有意思的，

因为在将来，你会想住在 生物多样性更丰富的地方。

because as we go forward, you want to live where there's more biodiversity.

And by the way, citizen science is a very good tool for social justice

顺便说一下， 公众科学是一个

帮助实现社会公正 和环境公正目标的优质工具。

and environmental justice goals, for helping reach them.

You need to have data and you need to show a picture,

你需要拥有数据、展示照片，

you need to point to a cause

还需要找到一个初衷，

and then you need to have the surgical strike

以及拥有能够

to help support whatever that problem is.

精确解决那个问题的能力。

So City Nature Challenge, I think, should get a commendation from the UN.

所以我觉得，城市大自然挑战 应当在联合国被提名。

Has there ever been a global effort on behalf of nature

在这之前有过针对自然环境保护的 如此大规模的、统筹良好的

undertaken in this coordinated manner?

通力合作吗？

It's amazing, it's fantastic

这真的很惊人，非常出色，

and it's really a pretty grassroots thing,

而且是一件很草根的事情。

and we get very interesting information about butterflies and other creatures

当我们做这些生物调查的时候，

我们也能从中得到关于蝴蝶 和其他生物的很有趣的信息。

when we do these bioblitzes.

City Nature Challenge basically works with a tool called iNaturalist,

简单介绍一下，城市大自然挑战 用到了一个叫做 iNaturalist 的工具，

and iNaturalist is your entry drug to citizen science. (Laughs)

iNaturalist 是你加入 公众科学的入门“毒品”。 （笑声）

I suggest signing up for it on a laptop or on a desktop,

我建议你在笔记本电脑 或者台式机上注册，

and then you put the app on your phone.

然后在手机上下载这个应用。

With iNaturalist, you take a picture of a bird, a bug, a snake, anything,

有了 iNaturalist，你可以拍摄 鸟、虫和蛇，以及其他任何生物的照片，

and an artificial intelligence function and an expert vetting system

然后会有人工智能程序 和专业审查系统

works to verify that observation.

来确认那个观察记录。

The app gives the observation the date, the time, the latitude and the longitude,

应用会提供观察记录的 日期、时间、纬度、经度，

geolocates that observation.

对观察进行定位。

That's the data, that's the science of citizen science.

这就是公众科学领域的 数据和科学。

And then that data is shared,

那个数据会被共享，

and that sharing, that is the soul of citizen science.

而共享，就是公众科学的灵魂。

When we share data,

当我们分享数据的时候，

we can see much bigger pictures of what's going on.

就能够对当前状况有个宏观的了解。

There's no way to see that whole monarch migration

没有这几十年收集到的共享数据，

without sharing data that's been collected over decades,

我们就不可能看到 帝王蝴蝶迁徙路径的完整地图。

seeing the heart and soul of how nature works

我们通过公众科学看到了

大自然规律的核心与灵魂。

through citizen science.

This is a Xerces blue butterfly,

这是一只加利福尼亚甜灰蝶，

which went extinct when it lost its habitat in Golden Gate Park.

在失去了金门公园的栖息地后， 它们灭绝了。

It had a coevolutionary relationship with an ant, and that's another story.

它与一种蚂蚁有着协同进化的关系， 不过那就是题外话了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I'll end by asking you,

在演讲结束前，我想请求各位，

please participate in citizen science in some way, shape or form.

务必以某种方法、某种形式 参与公众科学。

It is an amazingly positive thing.

那是一件奇妙的、 充满正能量的事情。

It takes an army of people to make it really work.

要让它真正发挥作用， 需要很多人的参与。

And I'll just add that I think butterflies

我还想补充一点，我觉得蝴蝶

probably really do have enough on their plate

即使不背负人类的灵魂，

without carrying around human souls.

为了生存也已经自顾不暇了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But there's a lot we don't know, right?

但我们还有很多 未知的事情要去探索，对吧？

And what about all those stories? What are those stories telling us?

那些故事呢？ 那些故事告诉了我们什么？

Maybe we coevolved our souls with butterflies?

也许我们的灵魂 会和蝴蝶一起协同进化？

Certainly, we are connected to butterflies in deeper ways than we currently know,

可以肯定的是，我们与蝴蝶的联系 远比我们现在知道的要深，

and the mystery of the butterfly will never be revealed

而如果我们不拯救它们的话， 我们就永远无法知道

if we don't save them.

蝴蝶的秘密。

So, please join me in helping to save nature now.

所以，请和我一起保护大自然， 采取行动已经刻不容缓。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）