採取行動,遏止極地冰層融化 Taking Action to Stop the Melting Polar Ice

英國新聞組（原文為英文）
By UK News Group (Originally in English)

「全球暖化已過了臨界點，但尚未到無可挽回的地步，我們仍可及時力挽狂瀾，但是要立即採取行動，趕緊回頭。」～詹姆士‧韓森博士（美國太空總署首席氣候學家）
“We have passed the tipping points, but, we have not passed a point of no return. We can still roll things back in time but it is going to require a quick turn in direction.” Dr. James Hansen - top climatologist of NASA

許多人都意識到全球暖化已嚴重波及地球的一切生物。畜牧業、燃燒石化能源的工廠、發電廠、汽車和其他各種交通工具，排放出大量的二氧化碳和甲烷等各種氣體，這些氣體使太陽的熱能無法釋放至外太空，而產生溫室效應，造成地球和大氣層的溫度上升。然而很少人知道這種情況正對地球造成立即的影響，您可知從2007 年的9月3日至9日，僅僅六天的時間而已，北極冰層已經有六萬九千平方英里融化消失了？消失的冰塊約為佛羅里達州的面積那麼大。美國太空總署最近發佈的衛星影像顯示，單是2007年夏天，格陵蘭冰原就有五千五百二十億噸的冰融化了。太空總署的氣候科學家傑‧齊瓦利（Jay Zwally）說：「以這種融化的速度，到了2012年夏末時，北冰洋的冰將會消失殆盡，比先前預測的快了許多。」
Many people are aware that global warming has serious implications for all life on our planet. Animal farming, the burning of fossil fuels by factories, power stations, cars and other forms of transport release huge amounts of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These gases create a “green house” effect by trapping the Sun’s heat and warming our planet and atmosphere. However, few people know of the immediate effect that this is having on our Earth. Did you know that from September 3 to 9, 2007, (in just 6 days) 69,000 square miles of Arctic ice melted and disappeared? That’s a piece of ice the size of the state of Florida, USA. The American space agency, NASA, recently revealed satellite images showing that this summer alone, 552 billion tons of ice had melted from the Greenland ice sheet. NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said, “At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer 2012, much faster than previous predictions.”


與美國前任副總統艾爾‧高爾（Al Gore）同獲2007年諾貝爾和平獎的跨政府氣候變遷小組（IPCC），正呼籲世人重視這個緊急情況。2008年元月15日星期二，該小組的主席帕卓里博士（Dr. Rajendra Pachauri）在一場記者會上宣佈了這個問題的緊迫程度，並表示「改變生活方式」可遏止氣候變遷，他大聲明確地疾呼：「不吃肉、騎腳踏車、少消費，就可協助遏止全球暖化。」
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with US former Vice-President Al Gore, is bringing attention to this critical situation. On Tuesday, January 15, IPCC Chairman, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, announced at a press conference the urgency of the matter and stated that “lifestyle changes” are one thing that can halt climate change. His message was loud and clear: Don’t eat meat, ride a bike, and be a frugal shopper -- that’s how you can help put the brake on global warming.

海平面上升與棲息地消失
科學家們憂心忡忡，因為冰層融化正加速全球暖化，並且直接改變氣候和天氣體系。造成這種情況的原因在於，極地冰層就像一面鏡子，可將八成的太陽熱能反射回太空，如果把鏡子拿掉，海洋就會直接吸收太陽的熱能，造成海水溫度上升，水溫上升又會融化更多冰，如此惡性循環更加速地球和海洋的暖化。
Rising sea level and loss of habitats
Scientists are extremely worried because the melting ice is causing a faster rate of global warming as well as immediate changes in climate and weather systems. The reason is because the sea ice acts as a mirror, reflecting about 80% of the Sun’s heat energy back into space. If you take away this mirror, the Sun’s heat will be absorbed directly into the oceans, raising the water temperature more, which in turn melts more ice and causes more warming of the Earth and the seas.

主持「北極氣候影響評估報告」（Arctic Climate Impact Assessment）的科學家羅伯特‧柯瑞爾（Robert Correll）說：「如果沒有冰層，海洋的溫度將會持續上升，進而加速全球暖化的過程。」事實上，根據華盛頓大學麥可‧史帝爾（Michael Steele）的研究顯示，北冰洋表層在夏天的溫度，創下有史以來最高的紀錄，有些地方還高於常溫達華氏八度之多。
Robert Correll, a scientist who chairs the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, said, “If there is no ice, the ocean is going to continue to heat, and that is going to accelerate the global warming process.” In fact, according to research from University of Washington’s Michael Steele, summer surface temperatures of the Arctic Ocean are the highest ever in recorded history, with some places being 8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

曾任政府各部門首長的地質學家約翰‧亞其森（John Atcheson）表示，極地冰帽融化和隨之而來的海水暖化，可能引起極為嚴重的後果。他的研究指出，四千億噸的甲烷氣被封存於海底下的冰凍層，如果海水溫度上升個幾度的話，這些氣體就會釋放到大氣層中，後果將不堪設想。因為就溫室氣體而言，甲烷的威力是二氧化碳的二十倍，所以這些巨量的甲烷如果釋放到大氣層中，很可能使全球暖化的情況如脫韁的野馬，為地球帶來毀滅性的後果。
The melting of the polar ice caps and the consequent warming of the Earth’s seas could have very serious ramifications according to John Atcheson, a geologist who has headed various government agencies. According to his research, 400,000 million tons of methane gas are trapped in ice structures beneath the ocean floors, which might be released into the atmosphere if the water’s temperature increases by a few degrees. This could be disastrous because methane is 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. So, if this massive amount of trapped methane were to be released in to the atmosphere, it would likely cause run-away global warming with devastating consequences for our planet.

海洋中的毒氣
全球暖化對海水溫度的影響，已導致海洋中出現「無生命地帶」，這些廣大的水域由於氧氣被剝奪，又釋放出硫化氫這種毒氣，因此已經沒有任何生物了。根據聯合國的報告指出，全球目前已經出現兩百多處「無生命地帶」。有一處出現在太平洋的「無生命地帶」，距離美國奧勒岡州的海岸不遠，其範圍在去年已擴大了四倍。奧勒岡州立大學海洋生物學教授珍‧魯茜科（Jane Lubchenco）表示，這個區域幾乎已經完全缺氧了，當氧氣消失時，一種新細菌就會取而代之，並產生硫化氫這種令大多數海陸生物致命的毒氣。兩個使海水中含氧量降低的主因都與全球暖化有關，其一：由於水溫越來越高，導致海水吸收氧氣的能力變差；其二：洋流和天氣的變化使氧氣無法被帶到該區域；有些科學家更指出，這種情況可能是地球上的海洋即將發生變化的前兆。
我們可以扭轉大局！
Oceanic poisonous gases
The effects of global warming on the sea’s temperatures have lead to the occurrence of “dead zones” in the ocean. These are massive areas of water that have no life due to oxygen deprivation and the release of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). According to reports from the United Nations, over 200 of these dead zones now exist. One that emerged in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Oregon, USA, in the last year has increased four times in size. Jane Lubchenco, a professor of marine biology at Oregon State University said that there is nearly a complete absence of oxygen in this area. When the oxygen disappears a new bacteria takes over and produces hydrogen sulfide gas, which is lethal to most marine and terrestrial life. The two main reasons for the lower levels of oxygen in the water are both related to global warming: (1) As the water gets warmer it has less ability to absorb oxygen; (2) The disruption of the water currents and weather prevents oxygen being transported to the area. Some scientists say that this could be a sign of things to come for the Earth’s oceans.

值得慶幸的是，扭轉情勢，時猶未晚。研究全球暖化的頂尖專家之一，也是美國太空總署氣候研究的首席科學家詹姆士‧韓森博士（Dr. James Hansen），在最近的一封信函中寫道：「情況尚未到無可挽回的地步，我們仍可及時力挽狂瀾，但是要立即採取行動，趕緊回頭。」許多政府與組織已經在採取行動，並盡力尋求進一步的因應之道。最近在印尼峇里島舉行了一場國際會議，全球各國的外交官代表自己的國家出席會議，大家齊聚一堂努力尋求拯救地球的方法。
We can reverse this!
The good news is that, it’s not too late to turn things around. One of the top experts on global warming and the head of NASA’s climate research, Dr. James Hansen, wrote in a recent letter: “We have not passed a point of no return. We can still roll things back in time but it is going to require a quick turn in direction.” Various governments and organizations have been taking action and trying to find further solutions. Most recently in Bali, Indonesia, an international conference brought together diplomats representing nations around the world who came together to try and find ways to save the planet.

然而，一如韓森博士經常用以提醒人們的話，解決之道就是每個人都要為自己的行為負責。因此，改變我們的生活方式是很重要的，這表示我們要多搭乘大眾交通工具、步行或騎腳踏車，以生質燃料取代石化燃料，使用省電產品而且不用的時候要拔掉插頭，只購買真正需要的東西，這些都是每個人舉手之勞就可以拯救這個美麗星球的方法，而最重要的改變，就是跨政府氣候變遷小組的主席帕卓里博士所強調的--不吃肉。
However, as Dr. Hansen often likes to remind people, the answer is for every person to take personal responsibility for their actions. Hence, changes to our lifestyle are significant. That means taking public transport more and walking or using a bicycle, using bio-fuels instead of fossil fuels, using energy-efficient appliances and unplugging when not in use and buying only what we really need. These are all small steps that every individual can take to save this beautiful planet. The most important change, as emphasized by IPCC Chairman Dr. Pachauri, is to stop eating meat.

因此，為了協助化解地球危機，每個人都應該採行慈悲而且更環保的素食或純素飲食。讓我們一起努力，使2008年成為協助保護地球及其一切生物的一年。
So to be part of the solution, encourage everyone to adopt the compassionate and distinctly more “eco-friendly” vegetarian or vegan diet! Let’s make 2008 the year to help preserve our Earth and the lives of all Her inhabitants.

參考資料：
References:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iIVBkZpOUA9Hz3Xc2u-61mDlrw0Q http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1215-24.htm http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=3ef937b0-01db-4b32-a7eb-e1256e5b5624&k=3152 http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/07/healthscience/ice.phphttp://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3991705http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=3582433&page=1 http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/08/12/dead_zone_startles_scientists_graveyard http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_22_167/ai_n14791407 http://www.livescience.com/environment/ap_060727_dead_zone.html




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