How to be a good ancestor | Roman Krznaric

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Rhonda Jacobs

譯者: Tina Wu 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

It's time for humankind to recognize a disturbing truth:

人類該認清這個令人不安的事實了：

we have colonized the future.

我們已將未來當成我們的殖民地，

In wealthy countries, especially,

尤其是富裕的國家。

we treat it like a distant colonial outpost

我們將未來當成遙遠的殖民前哨站，

where we can freely dump ecological damage

隨意破壞生態和發展有害的科技，

and technological risk as if there was nobody there.

彷彿未來沒有人一樣。

The tragedy is that tomorrow's generations aren't here

不幸的是後代子孫無法在此

to challenge this pillaging of their inheritance.

對抗掠奪他們遺產的行為。

They can't leap in front of the king's horse like a suffragette

他們無法像女權運動者那樣 衝到國王的馬前

or stage a sit-in like a civil rights activist

或者像民權人士靜坐示威，

or go on a Salt March to defy their colonial oppressors like Mahatma Gandhi.

更不能像甘地那樣參加鹽稅遊行， 抵抗殖民壓迫者。

They're granted no political rights or representation;

他們沒有政治權或代表權，

they have no influence in the marketplace.

在市場上沒有影響力。

The great silent majority of future generations

大多數沉默的後代，

is rendered powerless.

對此無能為力。

It could be hard to grasp the scale of this injustice,

要理解這份不公的程度並不容易。

so look at it this way:

不妨試著這樣想:

There are 7.7 billion people alive today.

現今有七十七億人，

That's just a tiny fraction of the estimated 100 billion people

與過去五萬年間曾經 活在地球上的一千億人相比，

who have lived and died over the past 50,000 years.

只是微不足道的一部份。

But both of these are vastly outnumbered by the nearly seven trillion people

假設目前的出生率穩定，

這兩個人數與未來五萬年

who will be born over the next 50,000 years,

出生的近七兆人相比，

assuming current birth rates stabilize.

顯得滄海一粟。

In the next two centuries alone, tens of billions of people will be born,

僅在接下來的兩個世紀， 將有數百億人出生，

amongst them, all your grandchildren,

其中包含你的所有孫子

and their grandchildren

和他們的後代，

and the friends and communities on whom they'll depend.

以及他們將依賴的朋友和社會。

How will all these future generations look back on us

這些後代子孫會如何審視我們

and the legacy we're leaving for them?

以及我們留給他們的遺產？

We've clearly inherited extraordinary legacies

我們顯然已經繼承共同祖先

from our common ancestors:

遺留的非凡遺產：

the gift of the agricultural revolution,

農業革命和醫學發現的貢獻

medical discoveries and the cities we still live in.

以及我們仍在居住的城市，

But we've certainly inherited destructive legacies too.

但我們不可避免地也繼承了 毀滅性的遺產：

Legacies of slavery and colonialism and racism

奴隸制度、殖民和種族主義，

creating deep inequities that must now be repaired.

造成嚴重不平等的問題， 現在必須加以改善。

Legacies of economies

經濟的遺產問題

that are structurally addicted to fossil fuels

是人類對化石燃料根深蒂固的依賴 和無止盡的經濟成長，

and endless growth that must now be transformed.

現在這些都必須改變。

So how can we become the good ancestors that future generations deserve?

那麼我們要如何成為 後代的好祖先呢？

Well, over the past decade,

過去十年裡，

a global movement has started to emerge

全球運動已經開始興起，

of people committed to decolonizing the future

人們努力不將危害遺留至未來，

and extending our time horizons towards a longer now.

並將未來當成自己存在的當下。

This movement is still fragmented and as yet has no name.

這個運動仍然零散而且尚未命名，

I think of its pioneers as time rebels.

我稱他們的開路先鋒為 「時光逆戰士」。

They can be found at work in Japan's visionary Future Design movement,

日本富有遠見的「未來設計」 運動中就有這種人，

which aims to overcome the short-term cycles that dominate politics

目標在運用「第七代決策原則」

by drawing on the principle of seventh generation decision making

來克服短期執政循環的缺點；

practiced by many Native Americans communities.

這原是許多美國原住民社區 採行的方法。

Future Design gathers together residents

「未來設計」的活動凝聚社區居民，

to draw up and discuss plans for the towns and cities where they live.

為他們所居住的都市與鄉鎮 進行討論和制定計畫，

Half the group are told they're residents from the present day.

其中半數人扮演現在的居民，

The other half are given ceremonial robes to wear

另一半人則穿上禮袍，

and told to imagine themselves as residents from the year 2060.

並且想像自己是 2060 年的居民。

Well, it turns out that the residents from 2060

結果 2060 年的居民

systematically advocate far more transformative city plans,

有系統地提倡更有變革性的 遠程都市計畫，

from healthcare investments to climate change action.

包括醫療投資到氣候變遷的行動。

And this innovative form of future citizens assembly

這種未來居民集會的創新形式，

is now spreading throughout Japan

現在遍及日本，

from small towns like Yahaba to major cities like Kyoto.

從矢巾町般的小鎮 到京都般的大城市都有，

What if Future Design was adopted by towns and cities worldwide

如果世界各地的鄉鎮和城市 都採用「未來設計」，

to revitalize democratic decision making

以振興民主決策，

and extend their vision far beyond the now?

並將他們的視野 遠遠地往現在之外延伸。

Now, time rebels have also taken to courts of law

現在「時光逆戰士」也走上法庭，

to secure the rights of future people.

以確保未來人民的權利；

The organization Our Children's Trust

「我們孩子信託」組織，

has filed a landmark case against the US Government

已經向美國政府提出一個里程碑案件。

on behalf of 21 young people

他們代表 21 名的年輕人，

campaigning for the legal right to a safe climate and healthy atmosphere

為當代及後代的人民發起行動，

for both current and future generations.

以爭取擁有安全氣候 和健康空氣的法定權力。

Their David versus Goliath struggle

他們以小勝大，

has already inspired groundbreaking lawsuits worldwide

從哥倫比亞和巴基斯坦 到烏干達和荷蘭，

from Colombia and Pakistan to Uganda and the Netherlands.

已經在世界各地激勵了突破性的訴訟。

And this wave of activism is growing alongside the movement

這股行動主義的熱潮不斷擴大的同時，

to grant legal personhood to nature,

授予大自然法人身分的運動 也開始興盛，

from the Whanganui River in Aotearoa, New Zealand

從紐西蘭奧特亞羅瓦的旺格努伊河

to the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers in India.

到印度的恆河和亞穆納河。

Time rebels are taking action at the ballot box too.

時光逆戰士也在投票箱上採取行動，

In 2019, teenagers across Europe

在 2019 年，歐洲各地的青少年

began lobbying their parents and grandparents

開始說服他們的父母及祖父母，

to give them their votes in the European parliamentary elections of that year.

將當年歐洲議會的投票權讓給他們，

The hashtag #givethekidsyourvote went viral on social media

標籤「#給孩子你的那一票」 在社交媒體快速爆紅，

and was spread by climate campaigners as far as Australia.

而且氣候活動家 也將這個活動散播到澳洲。

My partner and I heard about it

我的另一半和我聽說此消息，

and decided to give our votes in the last UK general election

並決定將上次英國大選的那一票，

to our 11-year-old twins.

給我們 11 歲的雙胞胎，

So we all sat around the kitchen table and debated the party manifestos,

所以我們都坐在餐桌旁， 進行政見辯論。

and they then each told us where to put the X on the ballot sheet.

兩個孩子各自告訴我們 要將「X」章蓋在哪個票格上，

And in case you're wondering,

我知道你在想什麼，答案是沒有。

no, they didn't simply mirror their parents' political opinions.

他們的決策並沒有直接反映 父母的政治觀點，

So the time rebellion has begun.

所以時光逆戰士崛起了，

The rebels are rising to decolonize the future

他們起義來阻止我們危害未來，

founding a global movement for long-term thinking

建立一個全球長期思維

and intergenerational justice

和世代間正義的運動。

that may turn out to be

這可能會成為本世紀 最強大的政治運動之一。

one of the most powerful political movements of this century.

They're helping us escape the short-term cycles

他們幫助我們擺脫短期循環——

that digital distraction and consumer culture trap us in,

「立即購買」按鈕的誘惑

和 24 小時全年無休的最新消息，

with the lure of the Buy Now button

and 24/7 news.

皆是數位化和消費文化 使我們步入的陷阱。

They inspire us to extend our time horizons

他們鼓勵我們擴展時間的視野，

from seconds and minutes to decades and far beyond.

從幾秒和幾分到幾十年甚至更遠。

The artist Katie Paterson's project, Future Library,

藝術家凱蒂帕特森的 「未來圖書館」計畫

will be a century in the making.

將執行一整個世紀。

Every year, a famous writer donates a book

每年都會有一位知名作家 捐贈一本書的手稿，

which will remain completely unread until 2114

一份未出版、未讀的手稿。

直到 2114 年，

when the whole collection will be printed on paper

這些手稿才會以紙本形式印行，

使用的紙張將來自一片 專門為此而栽種的森林。

made from a forest of trees planted for this very purpose.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault sets its vision even further,

斯瓦爾巴全球種子庫將眼光放得更遠，

housing millions of seeds

在北極圈裡一個堅不可摧的 岩石地下碉堡裡，

in an indestructible rock bunker in the Arctic Circle

貯存數百萬個種子，

該設計可讓碉堡維持一千年，

that's designed to last 1,000 years.

But how can we really think and plan on the scale of millennia?

但是我們如何能真正 以千年的規模來思考和規劃？

Well, the answer is perhaps the ultimate secret to being a time rebel,

答案也許是成為 時光逆戰士的終極方法，

and it comes from the biomimicry designer Janine Benyus,

它是來自生物仿生學 設計師珍妮班亞斯，

她建議我們從大自然 38 億年的演化中學習：

who suggests we learn from nature's 3.8 billion years of evolution.

How is it that other species have learned to survive and thrive

其他物種是如何學會生存和繁榮

for 10,000 generations or more?

至一萬代或者更久？

Well, it's by taking care of the place that would take care of their offspring,

他們透過維護環境來照顧後代，

by living within the ecosystem in which they're embedded,

透過居住在自己所生長的生態系統中，

by knowing not to foul the nest,

並了解不要破壞自己的巢穴，

which is what humans have been doing with devastating effects

這些卻是人類一直在做的 具有毀滅性影響的事。

at an ever-increasing pace and scale over the past century.

在過去的一世紀中， 破壞的速度和規模不斷擴大。

So a profound starting point for time rebels everywhere

所以對於各地的時光逆戰士來說，

is to focus not simply on lengthening time

出發點不只是著重在延長時間，

還要使環境再生。

but on regenerating place.

We must restore and repair and care for the planetary home

我們必須恢復、修復以及照顧好地球家園，

that will take care of our offspring.

才能照顧後代。

為了我們的孩子

For our children,

and our children's children,

和孫子

and all those yet to come,

以及往後的世世代代，

we must fall in love with rivers and mountains,

我們必須深愛高山與河流、

with ice sheets and savannas,

冰原和熱帶草原，

and reconnect with the long and life-giving cycles of nature.

並與自然界漫長的生命循環 重新建立連結。

讓我們一起成為時光逆戰士，

Let us all become time rebels

and be inspired by the beautiful Mohawk blessing

從美麗的莫霍克族祝禱聲中得到啟發；

spoken when a child is born:

有孩子出生時，他們會說：

「謝謝你，地球，

"Thank you, Earth.

You know the way."

你曉得前路通向何方。」