About 65 million years ago,
大约六千五百万年前
a mass extinction event occurred,
发生了一场毁灭性的灾难
wiping out more than 75% of all species on Earth.
地球上超过75%的物种灭绝了
There have only been 5 mass extinctions
在地球45亿年的历史中
in our planet’s 4.5 billion year history.
只发生过5次大规模灭绝事件
But the next one has already started.
然而下一次的灭绝已经开始了
By the end of this century,
到本世纪末
one in six species on Earth could be gone.
地球上六分之一的物种会消失
Will humans go with them?
人类会和它们一起消失吗？
How could we survive a sixth mass extinction?
我们要如何在第六次大灭绝中活下来？
How could we prevent one?
我们怎么才能预防下一次的大灭绝？
this is what if
这里是《自然无常》
and here’s what would happend if we set aside half our planet for wildlife
如果我们保留半个地球给野生动物会如何？
The reason we’re all still alive on this planet is thanks to biodiversity
多亏生物多样性 我们依然活在地球上
From the tallest trees,
从最高的树
to the biggest animals,
到最大的动物
to the weirdest plants,
最奇怪的植物
to the grossest fungi,
最恶心的真菌
to the buzziest bugs,
最吵闹的虫子
and, even the creatures you can’t see,
甚至还有你看不到的生物
we all rely on each other to make life on Earth possible!
我们依靠彼此使地球上的生命成为可能！
And our world would be harmonious
我们的世界将会是和谐的
except that humans are unreliable
只不过——人类不太靠谱
Thanks to our unstable practices,
由于我们不停的制造污染
the world’s wildlife is inching towards an extinction rate
世界上的野生生物走向灭绝的速度
that’s 10000 times faster than what is considered to be natural
比没有人类干预时 快一万倍
Without taking drastic action,
不采取严格的措施
we might be facing extinction ourselves.
我们自己可能也要面临灭绝
But how far are we willing to go?
然而 我们愿意做多少贡献呢？
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and biologist
获得普利策奖的作家和生物学家
Leo Wilson came up with
利奥·威尔逊提出了
what is now known as the”Half-Earth” idea.
如今被称为 “半个地球”的想法
It involves making half the planet a ”human-free”zone,
意思是将地球的一半变为“无人区”
leaving nature to do what it can to stabilize itself.
让大自然尽其所能 构建稳定生态
This means that the current global population of roughly 7.7 billion people
这意味着目前全球大约77亿人口
would have to make do with half the space we currently have.
只能住在我们现有空间的一半
And for a lot of people, that’s just not feasible.
对很多人来说 这根本行不通
Cordoning off half the world for extreme conservation
封锁了半个地球进行极端保护
would displace roughly one billion people.
会让大约10亿人流离失所
Most of them from low income backgrounds.
他们大多数来自低收入家庭
Think of those parts of the world where overpopulation is severe,
想想世界上那些人口过剩的地方
and then imagine that situation everywhere!
然后想象一下 到处都是这种情况！
But housing isn’t our only concern.
但是住房不是我们唯一担心的问题
We also need food and fresh water to survive!
我们还需要食物和淡水来生存
today one third of the Earth’s land surface and 75% of its freshwater resources
如今 地球1/3陆地面积以及3/4的淡水资源
are used for crop and livestock production.
都用于农作物和畜牧业的生产上
Yet at least 10% of Earth’s population doesn’t have enough food
然而全球至少10%的人口并没有足够的粮食
How many more people will go hungry
当我们无法再获取那些资源时
when we no longer have access to those resources
又会有多少人挨饿呢？
Economically speaking,
从经济上来说
the forest and fuel industries could collapse
因为能够使用的土地变少
because there’d be less land to work with.
森林和燃料工业可能会崩溃
This would leave millions of people out of work.
这将导致数百万人失业
But the losses might be recouped
但在更可持续发展的领域里
in the form of new opportunities in more sustainable fields.
损失可能会以新机会的方式到得补偿
In fact, setting aside half the planet for enviromental protevtion
事实上 留出一半的地球用于环境保护
wouldn’t be a total financial disaster.
并不会是一场金融灾难
$577 billion (US) in annual global crops are
全球每年5770亿美元的农作物
currently at risk due to pollinator loss,
正因为传粉昆虫的消失而处在危险中
while roughly 40% of the world’s economy as a whole
而全球经济大约40%
relies on biological resources.
都依赖于生物资源
If we continue down the path we’re on,
如果继续这样下去
we risk depleting the bee population in it’s entirety
我们可能面临整个蜂群消失殆尽的风险
as well as the other biological resources we depend on
连同我们所依赖的其它生物资源
But by protecting them,
但是通过保护它们
their declining numbers may have the opportunity to regenerate
它们减少的数量可能有机会再生
so that we can continue to benefit from their output in a sustainable way
这样我们可以持续地从它们的产出中受益
Of course, it’s not just about the money.
当然 这不仅仅是钱的问题
The fact is that
事实上
the more biodiverse an ecosystem is, the healthier it is.
生态系统的生物多样性越强 它就越健康
A healthy ecosystem can clean water,
一个健康的生态系统可以净化水
help to purify the air we breathe,
帮助净化我们呼吸的空气
regulate the climate,
调节气候
maintain the soil needed for crops and food,
维持作物和食物所需的土壤
plus recycle nutrients while we’re at it.
此外 我们还可以回收营养物质
In short, we can’t afford to continuing living in a way that
简言之 我们承担不起
accelerates the extinction of other species
以其它物种加速灭绝的方式继续生活的风险
Because we need them
因为 我们需要它们
as much as they need us.
正如它们需要我们一样
The Half-Earth idea, might be too much.
一半地球的想法可能太过了
In fact, it’s virtually impossible to implement.
事实上 这几乎是不可能做到的
But the consequences of doing the bare minimum would be even worse.
但只做最低限度的事 后果会更糟
We’ve got to spread the word,
我们要传播这种观点
and remind each other thatwe’re all in this together
互相提醒 我们是一体的
No matter how big,
无论多大
no matter how small.
无论多小
Because every time a species goes extinct,
因为每一次某个物种的灭绝
it brings humans closer to our own extinction.
都会使人类更接近自身的灭绝
Don’t believe me?
不相信？
Have you ever wondered what would happen to us
你有没有想过如果世界上
if all the world’s insects disappeared?
所有的昆虫都消失了 我们会怎样？
Well, that’s a story for another WHAT IF.
好吧 那是另一个《自然无常》的故事了