What it feels like to see Earth from space | Benjamin Grant

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

It's Christmas Eve, 1968.

在 1968 年的聖誕夜，

The Apollo 8 spacecraft has successfully completed

阿波羅八號太空船

已成功圍繞月球軌道飛行三圈。

its first three orbits around the moon.

Launched from Cape Canaveral three days before,

它是三天前從卡納維爾角發射的，

this is the first time

這是頭一回

that humans have ever traveled beyond low Earth orbit.

人類遠離低軌道去旅行。

On the vessel's fourth pass,

當太空船繞行第四圈時，

the Earth slowly comes into view

地球緩緩出現在視線中，

and reveals itself above the Moon's horizon.

浮出月球的地平線。

Astronaut Bill Anders frantically asks his crewmates where their camera is,

太空人比爾安德斯瘋狂地 問他的組員照相機在哪裡，

grabs the Hasselblad, points it towards the window,

一把抓起哈蘇相機，對著窗戶，

presses the shutter,

按下快門，

and takes one of the most important photographs of all time:

拍下了有史以來最重要的照片之一：

"Earthrise."

「地出。」

When the crew was safely home a few days later,

幾天後，組員安全返家，

they were asked about the mission.

他們被問及了這次任務。

Anders famously replied,

安德斯著名的回覆是：

"We went to the moon,

「我們去了月球，

but we actually discovered Earth."

但事實上我們發現了地球。」

What did he and his fellow crewmates feel

在這不凡的一刻，他和同組伙伴

in this incredible moment?

是什麼感覺？

In a study released just this past year,

在去年刊出的一篇研究中，

a team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania

賓州大學的一組研究者

examined the testimonies of hundreds of astronauts

探究了數百名有機會從太空

who had the opportunity to view the Earth from space.

看地球的太空人的說詞。

Their analysis uncovered three common feelings:

他們的分析發現了三種共同的感受：

first, a greater appreciation for Earth's beauty;

第一，更欣賞地球之美；

second, an increased sense of connection to all other living beings;

第二，對其他所有生物的 連結感增加了；

and third, an unexpected, often overwhelming sense of emotion.

第三，生起意外強烈的情感。

The researchers believe that seeing the Earth from a great distance

研究者相信，從遠距離看地球

provokes someone to develop new cognitive frameworks

能激發一個人發展出新的認知框架，

to understand what they are seeing.

來了解他們所看見的景象。

They believe these astronauts were forever changed

他們相信，這些太空人被新景象、

by this new view,

新視角、

this new perspective,

新的透視遠景

this new visual truth.

給永遠改變了。

This feeling is commonly referred to as the "overview effect."

這種感覺通常被稱為「總觀效應」。

Only 558 people have ever been to outer space.

只有 558 人曾去過外太空。

558 people had the opportunity

558 人有機會

to gaze down in awe,

能懷著敬畏心向下凝視

to wonder at our planet

我們星球的奇觀，

floating in an infinite sea of darkness.

看它漂浮在無盡的黑暗之海中。

But what if that number were bigger?

但如果更多人看見這視野呢？

Three years ago, I set off on my own mission:

三年前，我開始自己的任務：

to see if I could bring this feeling of overwhelming scale and beauty

嘗試看能否把這規模驚人的美麗感受

to many more people

帶給更多人，

just by using one small computer

只用我紐約小公寓中的一台小電腦。

in my small New York City apartment.

It was then, in 2013, that I launched "Daily Overview."

我在 2013 年推出了 「每日總觀」。

Every day, I have used satellite imagery

每天，我用衛星影像

to create one expansive overhead view of our planet.

製作一張我們星球的遼闊俯視圖。

More than 1,000 of these images have been created thus far,

目前已經製作出超過一千張影像，

and more than 600,000 people

有超過六十萬人

tune in for this daily dose of perspectives.

收看這每日透視遠景。

I create the imagery by curating photos from the massive archive

我把「數位全球」這家衛星公司的

of a satellite company called Digital Globe.

大量照片策劃製成影像。

They operate a constellation of five satellites,

他們旗下一共有五個衛星在運行，

each roughly the size of an ambulance,

每個的尺寸大約是救護車的大小，

that is constantly taking pictures of the Earth

這些衛星不斷拍攝地球的照片，

as they orbit at 28,000 kilometers per hour.

同時以時速兩萬八千公里繞行地球。

Now, what does this mean?

這是什麼意思？

Each of these satellites is equipped with a camera

每一個衛星都裝有照相機，

that has a focal length of 16 meters,

相機焦距是 16 公尺，

so that's roughly 290 times greater

大約是配備標準 55mm 鏡頭的

than a DSLR camera equipped with a standard 55 millimeter lens.

數位單眼相機的 290 倍。

So if were able to attach one of their satellites

如果我們把其中一顆衛星

to the roof of this theater in Oxford,

裝在牛津這家劇院的屋頂上，

we could take a picture of a football,

我們就能清楚拍到阿姆斯特丹

clearly, on the pitch at the stadium in Amsterdam.

體育場中足球比賽的照片。

That's 450 kilometers away.

那是 450 公里以外的比賽。

That's incredibly powerful technology.

那是威力非常強大的技術。

And I decided at the beginning of this project

在這個專案開始時，

that I would use that incredible technology

我決定要把這不可思議的技術

to focus on the places

專注在人類衝擊這星球的地方。

where humans have impacted the planet.

As a species, we dig and scrape the Earth for resources,

我們人類物種

靠著挖掘和刮削地球來取得資源，

we produce energy,

我們產生能源，

we raise animals and cultivate crops for food,

我們養育動物並耕作作物來當食物，

we build cities, we move around,

我們建立城市，我們四處移動，

we create waste.

我們產生廢物。

And in the process of doing all of these things,

在做這些事情的過程中，

we shape landscapes and seascapes

我們越來越掌控和塑造

and cityscapes with increasing control and impunity.

地景、海景、和城市景， 且還能免於受罰。

So with that in mind,

考量到那一點，

I would like to share a few of my overviews with you now.

我現在想與各位分享一些我的總觀。

Here we see cargo ships and oil tankers

這裡我們看到的是貨輪和油輪，

waiting outside the entry to the port of Singapore.

在新加坡的港口入口外等待。

This facility is the second-busiest in the world by terms of total tonnage,

就船舶總噸數來看， 這是世界上第二忙碌的港口，

accounting for one-fifth of the world's shipping containers

佔全世界運輸貨櫃的五分之一，

and one half of the annual supply

以及原油年供應量的一半。

of crude oil.

If you look closely at this overview, you'll see a lot of little specks.

如果你近看這張總觀圖， 你會看到很多小斑點。

Those are actually cows at a feedlot

它們其實是飼育場中的牛隻，

in Summerfield, Texas, in the United States.

位在美國德州的薩莫菲爾德。

So once cows reach a particular weight,

一旦牛隻達到了一定的重量，

roughly 300 kilograms,

大約 300 公斤，

they are moved here and placed on a specialized diet.

牠們就會被遷到這裡， 給予特殊飲食。

Over the next three to four months, the cows gain an additional 180 kilograms

在接下來的三到四週， 這些牛隻會再增加 180 公斤，

before they are shipped off to slaughter.

然後才會被送去宰殺。

You're also probably wondering about this glowing pool at the top there.

你們可能在想上面 這個發光的池子是什麼。

That gets its color from a unique combination of manure, chemicals

它的顏色這麼獨特， 是因為結合了糞肥、化學物質、

and a particular type of algae that grows in the stagnant water.

及一種只生長在靜水中的水藻。

This is the Mount Whaleback iron ore mine

這是惠爾巴克山的鐵礦，

in the Pilbara region of Western Australia,

位在澳洲西部的皮爾巴拉地區，

a beautiful yet scary scar on the face of the Earth.

是地表一道美麗又可怕的疤痕。

Of the world's mined iron ore,

世界上被開採出來的鐵礦中，

98 percent is used to make steel

有 98% 被用來做鋼鐵，

and is therefore a major component in the construction of buildings,

是建築建設、汽車、電器──

automobiles or appliances such as your dishwasher or refrigerator.

如洗碗機或冰箱──的主要成份。

This is a solar concentrator in Seville, Spain.

這是西班牙塞維亞的太陽能聚光器。

So this facility contains 2,650 mirrors

這個設施包含了 2,650 面鏡子，

which are arrayed in concentric circles around an 140-meter-tall tower

以同心圓的方式擺放在 設施中心的一座 140 公尺

at its center.

高塔上。

At the top of the tower,

在塔頂

there is a capsule of molten salt

有個熔鹽容器，

that gets heated by the beams of light reflected upwards

它會被下面鏡子 向上反射的光線加溫。

from the mirrors below.

From there, the salt circulates to a storage tank underground,

鹽就會從那裡循環到地下的儲存槽，

where it produces steam,

在那裡產生蒸氣，

which spins turbines

讓渦輪轉動，

and generates enough electricity to power 70,000 homes

產生的電力足以供給七萬個家庭，

and offsets 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

並抵消掉每年三萬噸的 二氧化碳排放量。

This overview shows deforestation in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

這張總觀圖是玻利維亞 聖克魯斯的森林砍伐，

immediately adjacent to untouched tracts of rainforest.

緊鄰著還未受影響的大片雨林。

Deforestation in the country has primarily been driven

砍伐該國森林的動機主要來自於

by the expansion of mechanized agriculture

擴張的機械化農業和養牛牧場，

and cattle ranching,

so as the country tries to meet the demand of its growing population

試圖滿足該國人口成長的糧食需求。

and feed them,

the sacrificial destruction of its rainforest

這麼做的代價就是雨林

has taken place to do so.

被犧牲、被摧毀。

It is estimated that the country lost 4.5 million acres of rainforest

估計該國僅僅在 2000 年 到 2010 年的十年間，

in one decade alone

就損失了450 萬英畝的雨林。

from 2000 until 2010.

This is the Eixample district in Barcelona, Spain.

這是西班牙巴賽隆納的擴展區。

So the overview perspective can be incredibly helpful

總觀的視角是很有幫助的，

to help us understand how cities function

能讓我們了解城市如何運作，

and how we can devise smarter solutions for urban planning,

及如何能為都市計畫 想出更聰明的解決方案，

and this will become only more relevant

且這將來只會變得更重要，

as it is expected that 4.9 billion people will live in cities around the world

因為預期到 2030 年時， 全世界會有 49 億人

by the year 2030.

住在城市中。

This area of Barcelona is characterized by its strict grid pattern,

巴賽隆納這個區域的特色 包括工整的格狀排列、

apartments with communal courtyards

公寓配有社區公有的庭院、

and these octagonal intersections

以及八角形的交叉口，

which allow for more sunlight, better ventilation

這種設計能帶進更多陽光、 更流通的空氣、

and additional parking at street level.

以及更多的街邊停車位。

And here we see that grid pattern but under much different circumstances.

我們在這張圖裡看到那種格狀模式，

但狀況卻很不同。

This is the Dadaab Refugee Camp in northern Kenya,

這是肯亞北部的達達阿布難民營，

the largest such facility of its kind in the world.

是世上同類型設施中規模最大的。

To cope with the influx of refugees who are fleeing Somalia,

為要處理逃離索馬利亞的難民

where there is famine and conflict,

湧入所造成的饑荒與衝突問題，

the UN has built this area gridded out at left

聯合國建立了左邊的這個區域，

called the LFO extension

稱為難民法令 (LFO) 延伸區，

to house more and more refugees

來讓更多的難民居住，

who are arriving and occupying these white dots,

他們到達之後就佔據了這些白點，

which are actually tents

其實就是帳篷，

which will slowly fill up the area over time.

隨時間，它們緩緩地佔滿整個區域。

So if you have one of these overviews,

因此，一張這樣的總觀圖

you have a moment in time.

顯示一個時刻；

If we have two overviews, however,

如果有兩張總觀圖，

we are able to tell stories about changes in time.

我們就能述說隨著時間改變的故事。

I call that feature of the project "Juxtapose,"

我稱專案的這項特徵為 「並列 (Juxtapose)」，

and we'll share a few examples of it with you now.

現在我們就來看幾個例子。

So the tulip fields in Netherlands bloom every year in April.

荷蘭的鬱金香田每年四月會綻放。

So we take an image captured in March a few weeks before

我們取得開花前幾週，三月的照片，

and contrast it to one taken a few weeks later.

把它和幾週後拍的照片做比對。

We're able to watch the flowers bloom in this magnificent cascade of color.

我們就能觀賞花朵綻放

壯觀的顏色變化。

It is estimated that the Dutch produce 4.3 billion tulip bulbs every year.

估計荷蘭每年生產

43 億個鬱金香球莖。

In 2015, two dams collapsed

2015 年，有兩個水壩倒塌了，

at an iron ore mine in southeastern Brazil,

地點在巴西東南部的鐵礦區，

causing one of the worst environmental disasters

造成該國史上最慘烈的

in the history of the country.

環境災難之一。

It is estimated that 62 million cubic meters of waste

估計有六千兩百萬立方公尺的廢棄物

were released when the dams broke,

在水壩毀壞時被釋放出來，

destroying numerous villages in the process,

過程中摧毀了眾多村落，

including Bento Rodrigues, seen here before ...

包括班托羅德里格斯，

這張圖是潰堤之前，

and after the flood.

以及潰堤之後。

Ultimately, 19 people were killed in this disaster.

最終，有 19 人死於這場災難。

Half a million people did not have access to clean drinking water

後續很長一段時間，

有五十萬人無法取得乾淨飲用水，

for an extended period of time,

and the waste soon entered into the Doce River,

廢棄物很快就進入多西河，

extended for 650 kilometers

漫延了 650 公里長，

all the way into the sea,

一路到入海處，

killing unknowable amounts of plant and animal life along the way.

過程中害死了無法計數的 植物與動物。

And lastly, here is a story related to the crisis in Syria,

最後，這個故事和敘利亞危機有關，

a conflict which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people

一場衝突奪走了成千上百條人命，

and displaced millions.

迫使百萬人離開家園。

So this patch of desert is seen in Mafraq, Jordan in 2011,

2011 年可以看見 約旦馬弗拉克的這塊沙漠，

the year the conflict started,

衝突也是這年開始的，

and when we compare it to an image captured just this year in 2017,

我們將它與 2017 年的 影像做比對，

we see the construction of the Zaatari refugee camp.

可以看見扎泰里難民營的興建。

So just as the astronauts of Apollo 8

所以，就像阿波羅八號的太空人

watched the Earth rising above the lunar landscape for the first time,

初次看著地球從月亮的地景升起，

there is no way that you could have imagined

你想像不到

what the places I just showed you look like from outer space.

我剛剛展示的那些地方 從外太空看起來是什麼樣子。

And while you may enjoy the aesthetics of an image,

你可能欣賞影像的美感，

once you learn exactly what it is you're seeing,

一旦你了解看到的是什麼，

you may struggle with the fact that you still like it.

可能就會陷入 是否仍然喜歡的天人交戰了。

And that's the tension I want to create with my work,

那是我希望能造出的有張力的作品。

because I believe it is that contemplation,

因為我相信沉思、內在的對話，

that internal dialogue

that will lead to greater interest in our planet

會使我們對這星球更感興趣，

and more awareness of what we're doing to it.

並且更能意識到 我們加諸於這星球的種種。

I believe that viewing the Earth from the overview perspective

我相信，從總觀的視角來看地球，

is more important now than ever before.

當下遠比以前更為重要。

Through the incredible technology of these high-flying cameras,

透過這些高空相機的驚人科技，

we can see, monitor and expose

我們得以看見、監控、並揭露出

the unprecedented impact that we are having.

我們所造成的史無先例之影響。

And whether we are scientists

不論我們是科學家、

or engineers or policymakers

工程師、決策者、

or investors or artists,

投資者或藝術家，

if we can adopt a more expansive perspective,

如果我們能採用更廣闊的視角，

embrace the truth of what is going on

擁抱發生的真相，

and contemplate the long-term health of our planet,

並思忖我們星球的長期福祉，

we will create a better

我們就能創造一個更美好、

and safer and smarter future

更安全、更聰明的未來，

for our one and only home.

為了我們唯一的家園。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）