Nature is everywhere -- we just need to learn to see it | Emma Marris

譯者: Yang Jasson 審譯者: Regina Chu

We are stealing nature from our children.

我們正從我們的後代手中偷走自然

Now, when I say this, I don't mean that we are destroying nature

在這裡，我想強調的 並不是我們在破壞

that they will have wanted us to preserve,

後代想讓我們保護的自然

although that is unfortunately also the case.

雖然這也是個不爭的事實

我想說的是

What I mean here is that we've started to define nature in a way

我們給了大自然一個 既純粹又死板的定義

that's so purist and so strict

that under the definition we're creating for ourselves,

在我們為自己創造的定義下

there won't be any nature left for our children

我們的後代長大後不會再擁有

任何一絲真正的大自然

when they're adults.

但是有解決之道

But there's a fix for this.

So let me explain.

聽我娓娓道來

Right now, humans use half of the world

現在人類使用著半個地球

去生活，去種植農作物和木料

to live, to grow their crops and their timber,

to pasture their animals.

去餵飼生畜

If you added up all the human beings,

如果你把所有人類的體重加起來

we would weigh 10 times as much as all the wild mammals put together.

會是野生哺乳動物總重量的十倍還多

We cut roads through the forest.

我們在森林中開闢出道路

We have added little plastic particles to the sand on ocean beaches.

連我們海灘上的沙粒裏 都被混入了塑膠粒

泥土的成分也被我們 用人工肥料所改變

We've changed the chemistry of the soil with our artificial fertilizers.

當然，我們也改變了空氣的成份

And of course, we've changed the chemistry of the air.

So when you take your next breath,

在你吸入一口氣時

you'll be breathing in 42 percent more carbon dioxide

會吸入比 1750 年的空氣 多 42% 的二氧化碳

than if you were breathing in 1750.

So all of these changes, and many others,

總的來說，所有各式各樣的改變

have come to be kind of lumped together under this rubric of the "Anthropocene."

都已經聚集在 「人類世」的指標之下了

And this is a term that some geologists are suggesting

「人類世」正是某些地質學家 為倡議我們去接受現在的時代

we should give to our current epoch,

所提出的新名詞

given how pervasive human influence has been over it.

因為，人類的影響無處不在

Now, it's still just a proposed epoch, but I think it's a helpful way

現在「人類世」 還只是一個假定的時代

但我認為，它有助思考 我們對地球的影響程度

to think about the magnitude of human influence on the planet.

So where does this put nature?

但是，這和大自然有何關係呢?

What counts as nature in a world where everything is influenced by humans?

當一切物質都被人類所操縱時 究竟什麽才算真正的自然呢？

So 25 years ago, environmental writer Bill McKibben said

25 年前，環境學作家 比爾‧麥吉本曾經說道

that because nature was a thing apart from man

因為自然應該是與人類無關的一件事

但現在氣候變化意味著

and because climate change meant

that every centimeter of the Earth was altered by man,

整個地球正一點點被人類所掌控

then nature was over.

因而大自然已經消逝

In fact, he called his book "The End of Nature."

事實上，他把他的著作命名為 《自然的末日》

我不同意他的觀點，非常不同意

I disagree with this. I just disagree with this.

I disagree with this definition of nature, because, fundamentally, we are animals.

我不同意這種對大自然的定義 因為說到底，我們也是動物

Right? Like, we evolved on this planet

對吧？我們在地球上進化

in the context of all the other animals with which we share a planet,

與其他動物共享著同一個地球

and all the other plants, and all the other microbes.

同樣還有其它植物，其它微生物

And so I think that nature

所以我認為自然

is not that which is untouched by humanity, man or woman.

並不是不能被人類所使用

I think that nature is anywhere where life thrives,

我認為生命繁盛的地方便是自然

anywhere where there are multiple species together,

任何有多種生物聚集在一起的地方

anywhere that's green and blue and thriving and filled with life

有綠意和水源

有生命茁壯成長的地方

and growing.

And under that definition,

在這種定義下

things look a little bit different.

事情看起來就不太一樣了

我知道，大自然有一些東西

Now, I understand that there are certain parts of this nature

that speak to us in a special way.

正試圖以一種特殊的方式 向我們傳達訊息

Places like Yellowstone,

像黃石公園

蒙古大草原

or the Mongolian steppe,

or the Great Barrier Reef

大堡礁

or the Serengeti.

非洲塞倫蓋蒂平原

Places that we think of as kind of Edenic representations

那些未遭我們破壞前

我們視作類似伊甸園的地方

of a nature before we screwed everything up.

And in a way, they are less impacted by our day to day activities.

在某種程度上，這些地方 不太受到人類生活影響

Many of these places have no roads or few roads,

這些地方道路稀少，甚至沒有道路

so on, like such.

諸如此類

But ultimately, even these Edens are deeply influenced by humans.

但是說到底這些美好的地方 也深受人類影響

Now, let's just take North America, for example,

我們來舉個例子

就以現場的北美洲為例

since that's where we're meeting.

So between about 15,000 years ago when people first came here,

從一萬五千年前 人類第一次發現這片土地之時

人類就開始了 與大自然相互影響的過程

they started a process of interacting with the nature

that led to the extinction of a big slew of large-bodied animals,

致使大量巨型動物滅絕

如乳齒象、巨型地獺

from the mastodon to the giant ground sloth,

saber-toothed cats,

劍齒虎等

all of these cool animals that unfortunately are no longer with us.

這些炫酷的動物 已然沒有機會與我們共存

And when those animals went extinct,

當這些動物滅絕之時

生態系統便不再平衡

you know, the ecosystems didn't stand still.

Massive ripple effects changed grasslands into forests,

大規模的漣漪效應 使得草原變成了森林

changed the composition of forest from one tree to another.

使得森林中的樹木都轉了型

所以即使如伊甸園般的地方

So even in these Edens,

even in these perfect-looking places

即使在這些看似完美的地方

that seem to remind us of a past before humans,

似乎提醒著我們有人類之前的樣子

我們看到的其實還是人類化的景觀

we're essentially looking at a humanized landscape.

Not just these prehistoric humans, but historical humans, indigenous people

不只是這些史前的人類 有歷史後的人類、土著居民

all the way up until the moment when the first colonizers showed up.

直到第一批殖民者出現都是

And the case is the same for the other continents as well.

同樣的事情也發生在其他陸域

Humans have just been involved in nature

人類已被強有力且長時間地

捲入自然

in a very influential way for a very long time.

Now, just recently, someone told me,

最近，有人跟我說

"Oh, but there are still wild places."

但還是有些原始的地方呀

我說：「哪裡？哪裡？我想去！」

And I said, "Where? Where? I want to go."

And he said, "The Amazon."

他說：「亞馬遜叢林」

And I was like, "Oh, the Amazon. I was just there.

我當時想，喔！ 亞馬遜叢林啊！我剛去過

It's awesome. National Geographic sent me to Manú National Park,

那地方美極了 國家地理雜誌派我到

which is in the Peruvian Amazon,

位於秘魯亞馬遜叢林的馬努國家公園

but it's a big chunk of rainforest, uncleared, no roads,

但那是一大片未砍伐 沒有路的森林

protected as a national park,

以國家公園的名目保護著

one of the most, in fact, biodiverse parks in the world.

它是世界上生物多樣化極高的公園

And when I got in there with my canoe, what did I find, but people.

但當我划著輕舟 到達那裏時卻看見了人

People have been living there for hundreds and thousands of years.

人們已經在那裏居住了千百年

People live there, and they don't just float over the jungle.

人們在那裏生活 但他們並不只是在叢林中隨處閒逛

They have a meaningful relationship with the landscape.

他們與那裏的地景 有著一種意義重大的關係

They hunt. They grow crops.

他們打獵，耕種

They domesticate crops.

他們歸化作物

They use the natural resources to build their houses,

他們使用自然資源去建造房屋

to thatch their houses.

用茅草做屋頂

They even make pets out of animals that we consider to be wild animals.

甚至把我們認為的野生動物養作寵物

These people are there

那裏的人

and they're interacting with the environment

以一種意義深遠且可見的方式

in a way that's really meaningful and that you can see in the environment.

影響著自然環境

Now, I was with an anthropologist on this trip,

這次旅程我和一名人類學家一起

and he told me, as we were floating down the river,

當我們順河而下時

he said, "There are no demographic voids in the Amazon."

他對我說：「亞馬遜雨林 沒有人口空隙。」

他的這句話著實令我吃了一驚

This statement has really stuck with me,

因為他的意思是 整個亞馬遜也像這樣

because what it means is that the whole Amazon is like this.

There's people everywhere.

到處都是人

And many other tropical forests are the same,

並且很多熱帶雨林也一樣

and not just tropical forests.

甚至不僅是熱帶雨林

People have influenced ecosystems in the past,

人們過去已經影響了生態系統

並且還在繼續

and they continue to influence them in the present,

even in places where they're harder to notice.

甚至在難以發覺的地方

So, if all of the definitions of nature that we might want to use

所以，如果我們在定義什麼是自然時

that involve it being untouched by humanity

排除人類的涉足

or not having people in it,

人類的存在

if all of those actually give us a result where we don't have any nature,

如果依據我們的定義 根本無法找尋到任何真正的自然

then maybe they're the wrong definitions.

那麼這些定義便可能是錯誤的

也許我們應該以有多少生物種類存在

Maybe we should define it by the presence of multiple species,

by the presence of a thriving life.

生命是否繁榮而定義

Now, if we do it that way,

如果現在，我們照這個思路前進

what do we get?

我們會發現什麼呢

Well, it's this kind of miracle.

奇蹟般地

All of a sudden, there's nature all around us.

立刻，我們便被大自然所包圍

剎那，我們便看到了帝王蝶幼蟲

All of a sudden, we see this Monarch caterpillar

munching on this plant,

咀嚼著葉子

and we realize that there it is,

於是，我們發現大自然就在此

and it's in this empty lot in Chattanooga.

大自然就在查塔諾加市這片空地中

And look at this empty lot.

看看這空地

I mean, there's, like, probably,

我是說，那裏可能會有

a dozen, minimum, plant species growing there,

至少十多種植物生長著

supporting all kinds of insect life,

維持著各種昆蟲的生命

and this is a completely unmanaged space, a completely wild space.

那是一片完全沒有整理的空地 一片完全的荒地

這就是自然的野性，就在我們眼前

This is a kind of wild nature right under our nose,

我們卻從未察覺

that we don't even notice.

And there's an interesting little paradox, too.

這兒還有個有趣的悖論

那麼這種大自然

So this nature,

this kind of wild, untended part

這種出現在我們的城市、郊區、農場

of our urban, peri-urban, suburban agricultural existence

荒蕪、無人管理的大自然

that flies under the radar,

無人在意的地方

it's arguably more wild than a national park,

可以說是一個 比國家公園更野生的環境

因為在 21 世紀下

because national parks are very carefully managed

in the 21st century.

國家公園被人類細心的管理著

Crater Lake in southern Oregon, which is my closest national park,

離我最近的俄勒岡州南部的 火山口湖國家公園

is a beautiful example of a landscape that seems to be coming out of the past.

是個美好的例子 風景就像從過去延續下來似的

但人們細心地管理著那裏

But they're managing it carefully.

One of the issues they have now is white bark pine die-off.

但他們現在正面臨著一大問題 高山白皮松都枯了

White bark pine is a beautiful, charismatic --

高山白皮松美麗而富有魅力

我說它是一種富有魅力的大型植物群

I'll say it's a charismatic megaflora

生長在高海拔地帶

that grows up at high altitude --

and it's got all these problems right now with disease.

現在枯死的原因是染上疾病

There's a blister rust that was introduced,

銹病傳染進來

bark beetle.

小蠹蟲

So to deal with this, the park service has been planting

為了解決這個問題

公園管理局開始在公園種植 抗銹病的白皮松幼苗

rust-resistant white bark pine seedlings in the park,

even in areas that they are otherwise managing as wilderness.

他們甚至種在野地

And they're also putting out beetle repellent in key areas

我在上次登山時看到

他們在一些關鍵地區噴灑殺蟲劑

as I saw last time I went hiking there.

And this kind of thing is really much more common than you would think.

這種事情比你想像的要平常得多

國家公園是被嚴格監管的

National parks are heavily managed.

The wildlife is kept to a certain population size and structure.

野生動物的族類和數量也受嚴格限制

Fires are suppressed.

野火要撲滅

Fires are started.

又要起火控管森林

Non-native species are removed.

外來物種被移走

Native species are reintroduced.

並且重新引入本土物種

And in fact, I took a look,

事實上，我看了看

and Banff National Park is doing all of the things I just listed:

班芙國家公園也做了這些事情

滅火、起火

suppressing fire, having fire,

radio-collaring wolves, reintroducing bison.

把狼帶上無線追蹤項圈 再引入野牛

It takes a lot of work to make these places look untouched.

要花很多功夫才能使這些地方 看似野生自然

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

（掌聲）

(Applause)

更諷刺的是我們最喜歡的這些地方

And in a further irony, these places that we love the most

are the places that we love a little too hard, sometimes.

有時候是我們愛得太過頭的地方

A lot of us like to go there,

很多人愛去那裏

and because we're managing them to be stable

只因我們在不斷變化的地球

in the face of a changing planet,

試圖讓這些地方保持穩定

they often are becoming more fragile over time.

使這些環境變得越來越脆弱

Which means that they're the absolute worst places

這代表著那裏將變成

to take your children on vacation,

帶你的孩子去度假最糟糕的地方

because you can't do anything there.

因為你什麼都不能做

You can't climb the trees.

你不可以爬樹

你不可以釣魚

You can't fish the fish.

You can't make a campfire out in the middle of nowhere.

你不可以在渺無人煙處點燃營火

你不可以帶松果回家

You can't take home the pinecones.

There are so many rules and restrictions

規則和限制數不勝數

that from a child's point of view,

而從孩子們的角度來看

this is, like, the worst nature ever.

這是最最糟糕的「自然」

Because children don't want to hike

因為孩子們才不想

through a beautiful landscape for five hours

長途跋涉五小時翻過一道山嶺

and then look at a beautiful view.

然後一覽景色

That's maybe what we want to do as adults,

那大概是大人想做的事

but what kids want to do is hunker down in one spot

但小孩子只想在隨意一處席地而坐

搞東搞西，胡亂拼堆

and just tinker with it, just work with it,

just pick it up, build a house, build a fort, do something like that.

撿個東西，搭棟房子 建個堡壘，諸如此類

另外，那些像伊甸園的地方

Additionally, these sort of Edenic places

are often distant from where people live.

通常也離我們住的地方很遠

去那些地方花費很高，也並不容易

And they're expensive to get to. They're hard to visit.

So this means that they're only available to the elites,

所以唯有精英才可以去那些地方

and that's a real problem.

這是問題的癥結所在

美國自然保育協會 對年輕人做了一項調查

The Nature Conservancy did a survey of young people,

and they asked them, how often do you spend time outdoors?

採訪的人問到： 「你們有多常到戶外？」

只有五分之二的人

And only two out of five spent time outdoors

at least once a week.

至少一週一次去戶外

The other three out of five were just staying inside.

其餘的都只待在室內

And when they asked them why, what are the barriers to going outside,

當調查人員問及原因 為什麼他們不出去的時候

61% 的人回答

the response of 61 percent was,

我家附近沒有自然景觀

"There are no natural areas near my home."

And this is crazy. This is just patently false.

這真不可思議！ 這絕對是大錯特錯的！

I mean, 71 percent of people in the US

在美國，71% 的人

live within a 10-minute walk of a city park.

住所徒步十分鐘內都能到市區公園

And I'm sure the figures are similar in other countries.

我相信這樣的比例 在其他國家也差不多

And that doesn't even count your back garden,

而且這還不計你房子的後花園

the urban creek, the empty lot.

都市人造河川、空地

每個人都住在自然旁邊

Everybody lives near nature.

每個小孩都住在自然旁邊

Every kid lives near nature.

We've just somehow forgotten how to see it.

我們只是不知為何 對那些自然之景視而不見

We've spent too much time watching David Attenborough documentaries

我們花太多時間 看大衛·艾登堡祿的紀錄片

覺得片中的大自然十分誘人

where the nature is really sexy --

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

and we've forgotten how to see the nature that is literally right outside our door,

但是我們卻忘了看看門外的大自然

the nature of the street tree.

行道樹的自然之景

So here's an example: Philadelphia.

舉一個例子：費城

There's this cool elevated railway

這條架高的鐵道很酷

that you can see from the ground, that's been abandoned.

但已經被棄置了

Now, this may sound like the beginning of the High Line story in Manhattan,

這聽來像曼哈頓城 高線公園故事的開端

and it's very similar, except they haven't developed this into a park yet,

二者十分相似 儘管前者還沒發展成公園

但是他們正計劃著

although they're working on it.

So for now, it's still this little sort of secret wilderness

迄今為止，那裏仍是個 位於費城中心地帶

in the heart of Philadelphia,

秘密的野外之景

and if you know where the hole is in the chain-link fence,

如果你知道鐵絲網的破洞在哪裏

you can scramble up to the top

你可以爬上頂部

and you can find this completely wild meadow

然後找到這片荒草地

just floating above the city of Philadelphia.

懸浮在費城之上

Every single one of these plants grew from a seed

每一棵植物都由種子長成

that planted itself there.

在這裏自行繁殖

This is completely autonomous, self-willed nature.

這是一個完全自然繁衍的地方

And it's right in the middle of the city.

而它恰在這城市的中心

他們送人上去做一些生物調査

And they've sent people up there to do sort of biosurveys,

and there are over 50 plant species up there.

那裡有超過五十種植物

And it's not just plants.

而且並不只是植物

This is an ecosystem, a functioning ecosystem.

它是一個生態系统 一個正在運作的生態系統

It's creating soil. It's sequestering carbon.

它創造土壤，行碳封存

There's pollination going on.

有生物在授粉

I mean, this is really an ecosystem.

這才是一個真正的生態系統

So scientists have started calling ecosystems like these "novel ecosystems,"

科學家把這樣的地方 稱為新型生態系統

because they're often dominated by non-native species,

因為非本土生物佔系统的大部份

and because they're just super weird.

並且極為奇特

They're just unlike anything we've ever seen before.

它們和我們原來所見的事物都不一樣

長久而來，我們把這些新型生態系統 當作垃圾一般擱置一旁

For so long, we dismissed all these novel ecosystems as trash.

我們在談論自然復育的耕地

We're talking about regrown agricultural fields,

timber plantations that are not being managed on a day-to-day basis,

人工林場停止管理後重新生長的林地

second-growth forests generally, the entire East Coast,

可以說整片東岸的次生林就是這樣

where after agriculture moved west, the forest sprung up.

在農業西移後，森林重新生長

當然，夏威夷也差不多如此

And of course, pretty much all of Hawaii,

where novel ecosystems are the norm,

新型生態系統很常見

where exotic species totally dominate.

完全被外來物種佔領

這片森林有昆士蘭楓樹

This forest here has Queensland maple,

it has sword ferns from Southeast Asia.

東南亞的劍蕨

你也可以創造自己的新型生態系統

You can make your own novel ecosystem, too.

It's really simple.

非常簡單

You just stop mowing your lawn.

別再修剪你的草坪就行了

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

Ilkka Hanski was an ecologist in Finland, and he did this experiment himself.

芬蘭生物學家伊爾卡‧漢斯基 做了一個實驗

He just stopped mowing his lawn,

他停止修剪自家的草坪

and after a few years, he had some grad students come,

幾年後，他帶了幾個研究生

and they did sort of a bio-blitz of his backyard,

在他的後園做生物多樣性速查

他們找到了 375 種植物

and they found 375 plant species,

including two endangered species.

包括兩個瀕危絕種品種

So when you're up there on that future High Line of Philadelphia,

所以當你爬上未來的費城高線公園

被這片荒地包圍

surrounded by this wildness,

surrounded by this diversity, this abundance, this vibrance,

被這片多樣性、繁茂 勃勃生機包圍時

you can look over the side

你可以從旁向下看

and you can see a local playground for a local school,

你會看到一個學校的遊樂場

and that's what it looks like.

就是照片上那個樣子

These children have, that --

那些孩子有......

You know, under my definition,

你知道，在我的觀念下

there's a lot of the planet that counts as nature,

這片星球上有很多地方 可以算是大自然

但這是少數幾個 不能被算進去的地方

but this would be one of the few places that wouldn't count as nature.

那裡除了人什麼也没有 沒有植物，沒有其他動物

There's nothing there except humans, no other plants, no other animals.

And what I really wanted to do

而我最想做的

was just, like, throw a ladder over the side

就是扔一把梯子下去

and get all these kids to come up with me into this cool meadow.

讓所有孩子上來和我享受這片草地

我感到這是我們要面對的抉擇

In a way, I feel like this is the choice that faces us.

If we dismiss these new natures as not acceptable or trashy or no good,

如果我們不接受新型自然 視它們作垃圾或沒用的東西

我們可能會鋪上水泥把它們蓋掉

we might as well just pave them over.

And in a world where everything is changing,

在這個不斷改變的世界

we need to be very careful about how we define nature.

我們要小心去定義自然

In order not to steal it from our children,

為了避免從我們的後代手中奪走自然

we have to do two things.

我們要做兩件事

First, we cannot define nature as that which is untouched.

第一，我們不可定義自然 為未經接觸的事物

This never made any sense anyway.

因為這從來都不合理

Nature has not been untouched for thousands of years.

自然被人類親密地接觸了數千年

And it excludes most of the nature that most people can visit

而且這個定義排除了大部份人能去

and have a relationship with,

且和人類建立了關係的自然

including only nature that children cannot touch.

卻包含了小孩不能接觸的自然

Which brings me to the second thing that we have to do,

因此我們要做的第二件事

就是讓我們的孩子接觸大自然

which is that we have to let children touch nature,

because that which is untouched is unloved.

因為沒有接觸即沒有愛

（鼓掌）

(Applause)

We face some pretty grim environmental challenges on this planet.

在這個地球上，此刻我們 面臨著蠻嚴苛的環境挑戰

氣候變化是其中之一

Climate change is among them.

There's others too: habitat loss is my favorite thing

還有其他的：比如失去棲息地

我最愛用這個在深夜嚇人

to freak out about in the middle of the night.

But in order to solve them,

但是為了解決這些問題

we need people -- smart, dedicated people --

我們需要人，聰明、投入的人

真正在意自然的人

who care about nature.

And the only way we're going to raise up a generation of people

而唯一能養育下一代

關心大自然的方法

who care about nature

就是讓他們接觸自然

is by letting them touch nature.

I have a Fort Theory of Ecology,

我有一個生態堡壘理論

Fort Theory of Conservation.

保育生物堡壘論

Every ecologist I know, every conservation biologist I know,

我認識的生學態家，保育生物學家

every conservation professional I know,

保育專家

built forts when they were kids.

小時候都會砌堡壘

If we have a generation that doesn't know how to build a fort,

如果我們有一代人不懂砌堡壘

we'll have a generation that doesn't know how to care about nature.

我們將會有一代不懂關心大自然的人

而我不想告訴這名孩子

And I don't want to be the one to tell this kid,

他參加一個

who is on a special program

帶著費城貧窮的孩子

that takes Philadelphia kids from poor neighborhoods

到市區公園的專案

and takes them to city parks,

I don't want to be the one to tell him that the flower he's holding

我不想告訴他，他手中的花

is a non-native invasive weed that he should throw away as trash.

是非本土的入侵種雜草 該當垃圾扔掉

I think I would much rather learn from this boy

我想我會向這名男孩學習

that no matter where this plant comes from,

無論這株植物從何處而來

it is beautiful, and it deserves to be touched and appreciated.

它是美麗的，它值得被接觸和欣賞

Thank you.

謝謝

（鼓掌）

(Applause)