亚马逊森林砍伐正走向危险的“临界点”
亚马逊森林砍伐正走向危险的“临界点”
The rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon is being cleared so quickly that deforestation is nearing a "tipping point" from which the area may never recover.
巴西亚马逊地区的雨林正在被迅速清除，森林砍伐正接近一个“临界点”，该地区可能永远无法恢复。
Deforestation is occurring at such a rate that three football fields worth of tree cover are lost every minute, reports The Guardian. (A FIFA soccer/football field is 110 to 120 yards long by 70 to 80 yards wide.)
据《卫报》报道，森林砍伐的速度如此之快，每分钟就有三个足球场的树木被砍伐殆尽。(国际足联的足球场长110至120码，宽70至80码。)
As more trees are lost, researchers are worried that large areas of the rainforest could become unable to make their own rainfall through evaporation and transpiration and thereby transform into savanna, according to Newsweek. Because the rainforest absorbs so much carbon from the atmosphere, this change could have a major impact on global warming.
据《新闻周刊》报道，随着越来越多的树木消失，研究人员担心大面积的雨林将无法通过蒸发和蒸腾作用产生降雨，从而变成热带稀树草原。由于雨林从大气中吸收了如此多的碳，这种变化可能对全球变暖产生重大影响。
Photo: Tarcisio Schnaider/Shutterstock
"It's very important to keep repeating these concerns. There are a number of tipping points which are not far away," Philip Fearnside, a professor at Brazil's National Institute of Amazonian Research, told The Guardian. "We can't see exactly where they are, but we know they are very close. It means we have to do things right away. Unfortunately that is not what is happening. There are people denying we even have a problem."
“不断重复这些担忧非常重要。巴西亚马逊国家研究所教授Philip Fearnside在接受《卫报》采访时表示。“我们不能确切地看到它们在哪里，但我们知道它们非常接近。这意味着我们必须马上采取行动。不幸的是，事实并非如此。有些人甚至否认我们有问题。”
In July so far, more than 519 square miles (1,345 square kilometers) have already been cleared. That's a third higher than the previous monthly record monitored by the Deter B satellite system, which started in 2015. It's more disheartening when you consider the progress made from 2006 to 2012, when there was an 80% reduction in the rate of deforestation, according to The Guardian.
今年7月到目前为止，已经清理了519平方英里(1345平方公里)的土地。这比2015年开始的awe B卫星系统监测的前一个月记录高出三分之一。据《卫报》报道，从2006年到2012年，森林砍伐率下降了80%。
Some environmentalists say the sharp increase confirms fears that President Jair Bolsonaro is encouraging activities such as illegal logging, burning and mining, all of which are contributing to deforestation.
一些环保人士说，这一急剧增长证实了人们的担忧，总统博尔索纳罗正在鼓励非法砍伐、焚烧和采矿等活动，而这些活动都助长了森林砍伐。
“Unfortunately, it is absurd, but it should not catch anyone by surprise. President Jair Bolsonaro and minister Ricardo Salles are dismantling our socio-environmental policies,” Carlos Rittl, the executive secretary of the environmental nonprofit Climate Observatory, told The Guardian.
不幸的是，这是荒谬的，但不应该让任何人感到意外。美国总统博尔索纳罗和部长里卡多·萨利斯正在废除我们的社会环境政策。
July's noteworthy highlight — the loss of almost 600 square miles, an area larger than Greater London or Houston, so far — is a trend that's likely to continue.
7月份值得注意的亮点是，到目前为止，损失面积接近600平方英里，比大伦敦或休斯顿还要大，这一趋势很可能会继续下去。
