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如果没有如果
—─读《破坏容易修复难》有感, 北京大学环境学院施雪



      从远古人类学会钻木取火到奴隶社会金属工具的使用,从中世纪铁器的普及到18世纪蒸汽机的发明,直至现代电子、空间科技的发展,现在的人类几乎无所不能。是的,有着聪慧头脑和勤劳双手的我们可以待在冬暖夏凉的屋子里、可以填海造田、可以登月、可以到火星考察,可以克隆出一只羊甚至在技术上可以克隆我们人类自己,但是,我们至今却无法建造一个与地球相似的生态系统,哪怕是一个小小的“生物圈2号”?;但同时我们又觉得怎么天越来越灰、鸟儿越来越少、水越来越贵,人却越来越多?原来,我们从地球母亲那儿拿的太多,而我们给她的,只会使她越来越老。

      幸好,我们已经知道做错了事,于是开始忙碌起来,因为这是我们的责任。铃木先生在《破坏容易修复难》中提及的旨在保护臭氧层的《蒙特利尔议定书》于1987年签订后,各国政府积极采取措施削减氟利昂的产量,因为科学已经证明氟利昂的使用会导致臭氧层的耗竭,而臭氧层能够保护地球上的生命免受有害辐射,空洞的加大则会导致皮肤癌发病率的提高以及尚不知晓的其他后果,所以《蒙特利尔议定书》成为迄今为止履行效果最好的国际环境公约。我们在经济利益与环境利益间适当地权衡,可以说是为了可持续发展,为了地球,但最终还是为了人类自己,因为谁都不愿意慢性自杀。

      铃木先生写道:“绝大多数加拿大人已习惯快节奏的生活。我们随身带着手提电话以便别人随时可以找到我们,我们使用电子邮件在眨眼之间将文本或照片传送出去,……一旦我们做出决定就想马上看到结果。但不幸的是,地球上的其他生物却并不遵循我们的法则。大自然的进化需要成百年、上千年甚至数百万年的时间。对我们人类而言,短时间里把地球搞得一团糟不成问题,但在恢复时人们却显得一点耐心都没有……很多人问:‘臭氧层空洞还没有恢复吗?’……但是,我们必须记住解决这些问题的时间远比我们造成这些问题的时间要长得多。”可能公众还不是很清楚这些环境问题的由来,即使明白也可能因为急功近利的习惯而显得没有耐心。环境问题不同于其他问题,它有着自身的规律,所以,我们必须一步一步地努力,直至问题的最终解决。

      面对环境问题,将共识化为行动很难,着手后坚持下去更难,然而,如果根本不愿意采取行动,我们的未来又会是怎样?某些化石燃料消耗大国至今仍拒绝签署《京都议定书》??,以致议定书迟迟不能启动。这些国家的理由是:现在尚无确凿的科学证据证明气候变化主要是由于人为排放大量的温室气体造成。但是,现在的我们不能因科学上的不确定性而不采取任何防范措施,难道非得等到问题无法挽回时才后悔吗?当海水刚刚浸入泰坦尼克部分船舱时,自恃船体设计坚固的船长不以为然,但海水越灌越多,局势无法控制,巨轮最终沉没。理性的人都在叹息:如果当初减速行驰、如果发现冰山后全速转舵、如果预备充足的救生艇、如果早些发出求救信号,如果……但是,如果没有如果呢?因为有些事情是没有如果的。

      为了拯救地球,人类已做出许多的努力,从国际社会到各个国家、从管理到技术、从宏观到微观,然而,解决问题的根源还要从我们思想和观念的转变开始。因为只有具备环境意识,我们才会明白要做些什么、为什么要这么做、如何去做。正如铃木先生在文章最后说的:“这就是为什么我们必须现在就开始行动的原因,我们不能要求地球自我修复,大自然母亲没有移动电话,她不用E-mail,也不会注意即时的信息,她以自己的方式度过,不管喜欢与否,我们最好适应她的节奏,因为我们在她的进度表中。”

      就让我们时刻记住:善待地球,这个我们唯一的家园。

     

    Messing up a planet is easy, fixing it takes time

    Most Canadians are used to life moving at break-neck speed. We carry cell phones so we can be reached instantly. We use email so we can transmit text and photos in the blink of an eye. We eat at fast food chains so we can get our food immediately. We drive everywhere to get there faster. Once we've made a decision, we want results — now.

    Unfortunately, the rest of life on our planet doesn't work that way. Things take time. Processes evolve over hundreds, thousands, or millions of years. As a result, humanity has no problem messing things up quickly but little patience when it comes to fixing them.

    A perfect example is the ozone layer. Nearly 20 years ago, scientists discovered a massive hole in the ozone layer, the protective layer of ozone gas high in the atmosphere that helps shield all living things from the Sun's harsh rays. The hole was growing and threatened to cause increased skin cancer in humans and a host of unknown environmental problems.

    Over the next few years, scientists determined the cause of the problem: a group of chemical compounds called CFCs that were used in solvents, aerosols, and as coolants in refrigeration units and air conditioners. When CFCs find their way up into the stratosphere and react with ultraviolet light, it creates chlorine free radicals, which are potent scavengers of ozone. In an unprecedented move, nations around the world quickly agreed to phase out CFCs and the Montreal Protocol was born.

    It is a well-known and unqualified success. As one researcher points out in a recent edition of the journal Nature, even schoolchildren today are familiar with the story. Unfortunately, our instant-fix mentality is so ingrained that many people are still confused when stories about the ozone hole continue to appear every year. "Didn't we fix that?" is a common refrain.

    In fact, the Montreal Protocol is working. CFC production has dropped to near zero levels and the ozone layer seems to be gradually repairing itself. But CFCs can persist in the atmosphere for 50 to 100 years. So some of the CFCs manufactured 40 years ago are still destroying ozone today. It will take decades before the protective layer fully heals. Until then, the size of the hole will fluctuate from year to year.

    Another class of chemicals that will continue to haunt us for decades, even though a number of them were banned in 2001, are persistent organic pollutants. These toxic chemical compounds, which include PCBs, DDT, and dioxin, are easily transported by air and ocean currents and have found their way into even the most remote regions of the planet. They did not exist 75 years ago, but today traces of these compounds can be found in the bodies of every person on Earth. No one knows what long-term effect these substances are having on our health.

    As humanity's influence on the environment and natural systems continues to grow, we have to remember that it can take far longer to solve our problems than it does to create them. We cannot just switch a problem off like a remote-control television. Global warming, for example, will not be solved instantly. The carbon dioxide we are pumping into the atmosphere today will stay in our air for several hundred years. Even if we stopped producing heat-trapping gases today, the Earth will continue to warm, and we will continue to have more extreme weather events and other climate-related problems for generations.

    That's why it's so important to get started now. Our planet cannot be commanded to fix itself. Mother Nature does not have a cell phone. She doesn't use email, and she's not too keen on instant messaging either. She takes her time, and we'd better get used to it because like it or not, we're on her schedule.

    Take the Nature Challenge and learn more at http://www.davidsuzuki.org/


    Source: David Suzuki Foundation

 



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