Al Gore: Alarming new slides of the worsening climate crisis

譯者: Katherine Liu 審譯者: Chih-Yuan Huang

Last year I showed these two slides so that

去年我展示了這兩張投影片,並且

demonstrate that the arctic ice cap,

展示了北極冰冠

which for most of the last three million years

是在三百萬年內所形成的

has been the size of the lower 48 states,

已有美國本土48州的大小(意指不含夏威夷及阿拉斯加)

has shrunk by 40 percent.

但如今面積已經大幅縮小40%

But this understates the seriousness of this particular problem

但這仍然低估了我們實際所面臨問題的嚴重性

because it doesn't show the thickness of the ice.

因為這沒有展現出冰層的厚度

The arctic ice cap is, in a sense,

北極的冰冠, 就像是

the beating heart of the global climate system.

全球氣候系統中不斷跳動的心臟

It expands in winter and contracts in summer.

它在冬天擴大,在夏天縮小

The next slide I show you will be

在下一章投影片中我將要展示一個

a rapid fast-forward of what's happened over the last 25 years.

在最近25年內急速變化的事實

The permanent ice is marked in red.

永凍層標示成紅色

As you see, it expands to the dark blue --

如你所見,它擴張變成深藍色

that's the annual ice in winter,

那就是每年冬天的冰層

and it contracts in summer.

並且在夏天的時候縮小

The so-called permanent ice, five years old or older,

這就是永凍層,即形成已五年或更久

you can see is almost like blood,

你可以發現這就像血液一樣

spilling out of the body here.

流散在身體各處

In 25 years it's gone from this, to this.

在這25年內,它從這樣,變成這樣.

This is a problem because the warming

這就是暖化所造成的問題

heats up the frozen ground around the Arctic Ocean,

它加熱了北極海周圍的冰

where there is a massive amount of frozen carbon

那是十分大量的凝固態炭(指乾冰)

which, when it thaws, is turned into methane by microbes.

也就是說,當冰層溶化時,這些碳會經由微生物的作用轉化成甲烷

Compared to the total amount of global warming pollution in the atmosphere,

和大氣層中所有造成全球暖化的氣體總量做比較

that amount could double if we cross this tipping point.

暖化氣體的總量可能加倍如果我們排放的二氧化碳超過這個頂點

Already in some shallow lakes in Alaska,

這樣的現象已經發生在阿拉斯加一些淺水湖

methane is actively bubbling up out of the water.

甲烷不斷地自湖水中湧出

Professor Katey Walter from the University of Alaska

阿拉斯加大學的瓦特教授(Pro. Katey Walter)

went out with another team to another shallow lake last winter.

在去年冬天時和另外一個研究團隊去另一個淺水湖

Video: Whoa! (Laughter)

影片: 哇!!(笑)

Al Gore: She's okay. The question is whether we will be.

她沒事. 重點是我們會變成如何?

And one reason is, this enormous heat sink

另外一個理由是,這個巨大的熱水坑

heats up Greenland from the north.

正不斷地加溫北部的格陵蘭島

This is an annual melting river.

這是每年溶冰水所形成的河

But the volumes are much larger than ever.

但這流量比以往都還要大很多很多

This is the Kangerlussuaq River in southwest Greenland.

這是格陵蘭島南部的Kangerlussuaq河

If you want to know how sea level rises

如果你想從溶化的大陸冰層

from land-base ice melting

知道海平面會升到多高

this is where it reaches the sea.

這就是溶冰水進入海裡的景象

These flows are increasing very rapidly.

這些水流量正在急遽地增加

At the other end of the planet, Antarctica

在地球的另一端,南極

the largest mass of ice on the planet.

也是地球上最大的冰層

Last month scientists reported the entire continent

科學家回報說,上個月整個冰層的量

is now in negative ice balance.

已經呈現負成長

And west Antarctica cropped up on top some under-sea islands,

在南極西方,有些海平面下的島頂端的冰層像被剪過一樣

is particularly rapid in its melting.

正在急速地溶化

That's equal to 20 feet of sea level, as is Greenland.

這相當於海平面上升20英尺,就如同格陵蘭島

In the Himalayas, the third largest mass of ice:

在世界第三大的冰層,喜馬拉雅山脈

at the top you see new lakes, which a few years ago were glaciers.

你所看到這些山頂的湖,幾年前是冰河

40 percent of all the people in the world

全世界有40%的人口

get half of their drinking water from that melting flow.

都從這溶冰水中獲得日常一半的飲用水

In the Andes, this glacier is the

在安地斯山脈,這裡的冰河

source of drinking water for this city.

是這個城市飲用水的來源

The flows have increased.

這水流量已經增加

But when they go away, so does much of the drinking water.

但當這些水消失時,飲用水也會不見

In California there has been a 40 percent

在加州Sierra,

decline in the Sierra snowpack.

積雪場面積已縮小40%

This is hitting the reservoirs.

這就像是對蓄水池加熱

And the predictions, as you've read, are serious.

如你所知,預測結果顯示這樣後果會嚴重

This drying around the world has lead to

如此全球性的乾旱將導致

a dramatic increase in fires.

火災發生次數戲劇性地增加

And the disasters around the world

並且在全球各地所發生的災難

have been increasing at an absolutely extraordinary

也絕對是以非比尋常

and unprecedented rate.

並且史無前例速率的大量增加

Four times as many in the last 30 years

將會是近三十年來所發生次數的四倍

as in the previous 75.

是過去七十五年所發生的總量

This is a completely unsustainable pattern.

這是個令人完全無法承受的景象

If you look at in the context of history

如果你回頭看看歷史上的過往

you can see what this is doing.

你會發現我們正在所經歷的是什麼

In the last five years

在過去五年間

we've added 70 million tons of CO2

我們已經增加了了七千萬噸的二氧化碳排放量

every 24 hours --

每二十四小時

25 million tons every day to the oceans.

每天排放兩千五百萬噸的二氧化碳到海裡

Look carefully at the area of the eastern Pacific,

仔細看看太平洋得東邊海域

from the Americas, extending westward,

從美洲,一直延伸到西邊

and on either side of the Indian subcontinent,

到印度次大陸的兩側

where there is a radical depletion of oxygen in the oceans.

都有海域極度缺氧(死亡海域)的現象發生

The biggest single cause of global warming,

造成全球暖化最重要的的原因,

along with deforestation, which is 20 percent of it, is the burning of fossil fuels.

其中20%是因為不斷砍伐森林,作用和直接燒石油煤炭一樣

Oil is a problem, and coal is the most serious problem.

燃燒石油是一個問題,但是燃燒煤炭更嚴重

The United States is one of the two

美國是兩大燃煤消費國之一

largest emitters, along with China.

也是最大的排放國,和中國大陸並列

And the proposal has been to build a lot more coal plants.

而且還有更多燃煤的火力發電廠的興建計劃

But we're beginning to see a sea change.

然而我們已經開始看到海平面的變化

Here are the ones that have been cancelled in the last few years

這是近幾年內已被取消的興建計劃

with some green alternatives proposed.

取而代之的是一些綠色替代能源計劃

(Applause)

(拍手)

However there is a political battle

然而,在我們國家

in our country.

有一場政治角力

And the coal industries and the oil industries

那些煤碳及石油工業

spent a quarter of a billion dollars in the last calendar year

在去年的選舉中撒了兩千五百萬

promoting clean coal,

推銷所謂的"淨煤"

which is an oxymoron.

這無疑是掛羊頭賣狗肉

That image reminded me of something.

那景象讓我想起了一些事

(Laughter)

(笑)煤碳:新的駱駝老喬？ (駱駝牌香煙的所創的卡通人物, 使青少年抽煙人口大幅增加)

Around Christmas, in my home in Tennessee,

大約在聖誕節時,在我田納西的家中

a billion gallons of coal sludge was spilled.

有十億加侖的煤廢水外洩出來

You probably saw it on the news.

你或許已經看過這則新聞了

This, all over the country, is the second largest waste stream in America.

這條流經全國的河,成為美國西部第二大的污水河

This happened around Christmas.

這件事發生在聖誕節附近

One of the coal industry's ads around Christmas was this one.

一個燃煤工業在聖誕節附近所播放的廣告如下:

Video: ♪♫ Frosty the coal man is a jolly, happy soul.

影片:♪♫雪白煤碳先生是個快樂的精靈

He's abundant here in America,

它在美國產量豐富

and he helps our economy grow.

並且幫助我們的經濟成長

Frosty the coal man is getting cleaner everyday.

雪白的煤碳先生每天都越來越乾淨

He's affordable and adorable, and workers keep their pay.

它物美價廉,讓工人們有薪水領

Al Gore: This is the source of much of the coal in West Virginia.

高爾:這是西維吉尼雅大部份的煤炭來源

The largest mountaintop miner is the head of Massey Coal.

在以山巔移除的方式開礦的就是梅西礦業的領導人

Video: Don Blankenship: Let me be clear about it. Al Gore,

布蘭肯席普(梅西礦業的執行長):讓我明白的說. 高爾

Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, they don't know what they're talking about.

皮洛西(美國衆議院議長),瑞德(聯邦參議院多數黨領袖),他們都不知道自己再胡說些什麼(三人都在推動環保能源法案)

Al Gore: So the Alliance for Climate Protection

高爾: 所以,氣候保護聯盟(高爾發起的環保團體)

has launched two campaigns.

已經發起這兩場戰役

This is one of them, part of one of them.

這就是其中之一,是一部份

Video: Actor: At COALergy we view climate change as a very serious

影片:演員:在[碳能源]我們已知道氣候變遷的嚴重性

threat to our business.

威脅著我們的商機

That's why we've made it our primary goal

這就是為什麼我們將氣候變遷設為我們的首要目標

to spend a large sum of money

也就是要花一大筆錢

on an advertising effort to help bring out and complicate

在廣告及宣傳,好讓大家知道且明瞭

the truth about coal.

有關煤炭的真相

The fact is, coal isn't dirty.

事實是,煤炭不髒

We think it's clean --

我們覺得它十分乾淨

smells good, too.

聞起來也很乾淨(暗指燃煤所產生的氣體)

So don't worry about climate change.

所以不用擔心氣候變遷的問題

Leave that up to us.

把那些問題交給我們

(Laughter)

(笑)

Video: Actor: Clean coal -- you've heard a lot about it.

影片: 演員: 乾淨的碳,你們或許已經聽說過

So let's take a tour of this state-of-the-art clean coal facility.

那麼讓我們來一覽這項頂尖科技的淨碳設施

Amazing! The machinery is kind of loud.

太驚人了! 這機器的聲音還真大!

But that's the sound of clean coal technology.

但這就是淨煤科技的聲音

And while burning coal is one of the leading causes of global warming,

雖然燃燒煤碳是導致全球暖話的主因之一

the remarkable clean coal technology you see here

但如你所見,這非凡的淨煤科技

changes everything.

改變了一切

Take a good long look: this is today's clean coal technology.

仔細的看哪! 這就是現今的淨煤科技

Al Gore: Finally, the positive alternative

高爾:最後,這項積極的替代方案

meshes with our economic challenge

可以解決我們在經濟上面臨的困難

and our national security challenge.

以及我們在國家安全上面臨的挑戰

Video: Narrator: America is in crisis -- the economy,

影片: 旁白: 美國正處在各式各樣的危機中, 經濟上的

national security, the climate crisis.

國家安全上的,還有氣候上的

The thread that links them all:

有一條線串連他們三者

our addiction to carbon based fuels,

就是我們對含碳燃料如上癮般的依賴

like dirty coal and foreign oil.

比方說不乾淨的煤(指排放溫室氣體)還有國外進口的石油

But now there is a bold new solution to get us out of this mess.

但現在有個大膽的新解決方案試突讓我們脫離這些泥沼

Repower America with 100 percent clean electricity

用百分之百乾淨的能源來再次啟動美國

within 10 years.

在十年內

A plan to put America back to work,

一個讓美國重新回到生產線上的計劃

make us more secure, and help stop global warming.

不僅讓我們國家更安全,還可以阻止全球暖化

Finally, a solution that's big enough to solve our problems.

終於,一個夠大夠強的解決方案可以解決我們所有的問題

Repower America. Find out more.

美國再起.詳情內恰

Al Gore: This is the last one.

高爾: 這是最後一個影片

Video: Narrator: It's about repowering America.

影片: 旁白: 這有關美國再起的計劃

One of the fastest ways to cut our dependence

是讓我們不再依賴那些不斷殘害我們的地球

on old dirty fuels that are killing our planet.

老舊又不乾淨的燃料最快方法之一

Man: Future's over here. Wind, sun, a new energy grid.

男人: 未來就在我們眼前. 風力,太陽能,一個全新的能源網

Man #2: New investments to create high-paying jobs.

男人2: 用新投資來創造高收入的工作

Narrator: Repower America. It's time to get real.

旁白: 美國再起. 該是美夢成真的時候了

Al Gore: There is an old African proverb that says,

高爾: 非洲有個古老的諺語說

"If you want to go quickly, go alone.

如果你想走得快,要自己走

If you want to go far, go together."

如果你想走得遠,要找同伴

We need to go far, quickly.

我們必須走得既快又遠

Thank you very much.

謝謝你們大家

(Applause)

(拍手)