评论
打印
Take a moment to look at this graph, what you're looking at should scare you.
花点时间看看这个图表，你看到的应该会吓到你。
This is the new reality of American coastlines and for that matter the world's coastlines.
这是美国海岸线面临的新现实，同样也是世界海岸线所面临的新现实。
Compiled by the New York Times, these two series of data points show the drastic coastal encroachment in American cities: Miami, Boston, Annapolis and Charleston.
由《纽约时报》汇编的这两组数据显示了迈阿密、波士顿、安纳波利斯和查尔斯顿这四个美国城市遭受的严重的沿海海岸侵蚀。
Each set reveals a trend in the rise of sea level combined with increased sunny-day or nuisance flooding, all of which is currently happening as we speak.
每一组都显示了海平面上升的趋势，及因此而增加的晴天淹水或滋扰性洪水，所有这些都在我们说话的时候正在发生。
And these high tide floods will continue to get worse.
而这些涨潮洪水还会继续恶化。
These graphs show that sea level rise is not just a problem for the future it's here already in its affecting communities globally and locally, which means that today we're going to unpack sea level not as an amorphous indicator of future apocalyptic doom but as a real problem that is beginning to impact American cities along the coast.
这些图表表明，海平面上升不只是未来的一个问题，它已经在影响全球和当地社区，这意味着今天我们将揭开海平面的面纱，不是作为未来世界末日的无定形指标，而是作为一个真正的问题，这个问题开始影响美国沿海城市。
According to NASA, the sea's level has risen over 7 inches in the past 100 years as a result of two factors: melting of land ice at the poles and the expansion of the ocean as it heats up.
根据美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的说法，在过去的100年里，海平面上升了超过7英寸，这是两个因素的结果：两极陆地冰的融化和海洋升温时的扩张。
Now 7 inches may not seem drastic.
现在7英寸可能看起来不太严重。
But according to oceanographer John Englander, it's more substantial than it seems.
但根据海洋学家约翰·英格兰德的说法，它比看上去的要多得多。
But the ratio is surprising.
但这一比例令人惊讶。
For each foot of rise, the average global shoreline moves inland about 300 feet, the length of a football field.
海平面每上升一英尺，全球海岸线平均向内陆移动约300英尺，相当于一个足球场的长度。
With more greenhouse gases in the air than in human history, global temperatures will inevitably begin to rise and with it sea level.
随着空气中的温室气体比人类历史上的更多，全球气温将不可避免地开始上升，海平面也将随之上升。
But really why is this important to know now?
但为什么现在知道这一点很重要呢？
In order to answer that we need to return to those graphs to get a sense of what sea level looks like on the ground level.
为了回答这个问题，我们需要回到这些图表来了解海平面在地面上的样子。
And its core the data shows the increased presence of nuisance flooding in coastal cities, which in this case is the city of Annapolis in Maryland.
其核心数据显示，沿海城市的滋扰性洪水有所增加，发生这种情况的沿海城市是马里兰州的安纳波利斯市。
Nuisance floods also known as sunny-day floods or high tide flooding are the result of higher sea levels combined with a high tide.
滋扰性洪水也被称为晴天洪水或涨潮洪水，是海平面上升和涨潮共同作用的结果。
In other words, because the sea level has increased over the last 100 years and no longer takes a storm to breach protective city barriers instead merely high tide can be enough to push water onto roads and flood neighborhoods.
换句话说，由于海平面在过去100年里一直在上升，因此不再需要暴风雨来突破城市的防护屏障，相反，仅仅是涨潮就足以将水推到道路上，淹没居民区。
Take for example, Miami. In Miami, as the tide begins to rise, water is pushed up through storm drains and back onto the streets, which on a sunny day can be a bit concerning for citizens.
以迈阿密为例。在迈阿密，随着潮水开始上涨，水会被推到排水沟里，流回到街道上，在阳光明媚的日子里，这可能会让市民感到有点担忧。
And this is not only happening along Miami shore, it's also happening inland in low-income neighborhoods.
这不仅发生在迈阿密海岸，也发生在内陆的低收入社区。
It's gonna to do value to the home eventually.
它最终会影响房子的价值的。
If people are gonna come by and see it, then there's no interest in buying a property like that.
如果人们过来看，那就没有兴趣买这样的房子了。
You're surrounded by stinky water.
你周围都是臭水。
So for many, these floods are no longer just a nuisance but pose a very real threat to their homes and livelihoods.
因此，对许多人来说，这些洪水不再只是一种麻烦事，而是对他们的家园和生计构成了非常现实的威胁。
Recognizing that these floods are happening across the country's coastlines is important, because it's one of the first tangible markers of a changing climate, which means that how we react to the problem of tidal flooding might help set the tone for navigating the growing list of consequences of climate change.
认识到整个国家的海岸线上正在发生这些洪水是很重要的，因为它是气候变化的首批有形的标志之一，这意味着我们对涨潮洪水问题的反应可能会为找到正确的方法来应对气候变化的一系列后果定下基调。
Miami's mayor is by no means turning a blind eye to the water on the streets.
迈阿密市长绝不会对街道上的水视而不见。
But like many coastal cities around the U.S., often the issue is tied up in ideological gridlock.
但与美国许多沿海城市一样，这个问题往往与意识形态僵局息息相关。
And the difficulty we're having is convincing the governor and the Secretary of Transportation that they need to fix their roads.
我们面临的困难是说服州长和交通部长，他们需要修复道路。
But unfortunately the administration in Tallahassee doesn't believe in sea level rise.
但不幸的是，塔拉哈西政府不相信海平面上升。
So despite the very real consequences of sea level rise like road closures and flooded homes, an effort to quell and mitigate the growing tide is lackluster at best.
因此，尽管海平面上升造成了道路封闭和房屋被淹等非常现实的后果，但平息和缓解不断上涨的潮水的努力充其量也是杯水车薪。
There are solutions to tidal flooding and a growing ocean.
有办法来应对涨潮洪水和不断上升的海洋。
But in Miami most of these look like 30 to 40-year patches, which lean heavily on the hope that innovation will be the savior of coastal property owners.
但在迈阿密，其中大多数办法看起来像是30年到40年的补丁，它们严重依赖于创新将成为沿海房主的救星的希望。
So when we consider the challenges of a rising sea level, we should look towards the solutions of countries like the Netherlands, which has dealt with the consequences of flooding since it was first settled.
因此，当我们考虑海平面上升带来的的挑战时，我们应该考虑像荷兰这样的国家所采取的解决方案，荷兰自洪水第一次得到解决以来就一直在应对洪水带来的后果。
The Netherlands is considered a leader in climate change hydrology because they are offering and implementing a holistic vision for living with rather than against rising tides.
荷兰被认为是气候变化水文学的领先者，因为他们提出并实施了一种与上升的潮汐共存而不是对抗的整体愿景。
As the New York Times puts it many of the Dutch view climate change not as a problem but as an opportunity.
正如《纽约时报》所言，许多荷兰人并不把气候变化视为一个问题，而是一个机遇。
Their solutions to climate adaptations seek to build richer communities in a stronger healthier country.
他们的气候适应解决方案寻求在一个更强大、更健康的国家建设更富裕的社区。
This means forgoing larger sea walls and instead creating public parks that double as flood zones to allow rivers room to flow in a sense giving the water a place to go and simultaneously providing more recreational space for its citizens.
这意味着放弃更大的海堤，转而建立起兼作洪泛区的公园，让河流有一定的流动空间，从某种意义上说，给水一个去处，同时为公民提供更多的休闲空间。
The point is this sea level rise is very real and affecting cities in the United States and abroad right now by way of tidal floods.
问题是，海平面上升是非常真实的，它现在正通过涨潮洪水影响着美国和其他国家的城市。
But there are solutions that are being enacted in places like the Netherlands that might help both mitigate the damages of increased water level and build more resilient communities.
但在荷兰等地正在实施的解决方案可能有助于减轻水位上升造成的破坏，并建立更有弹性的社区。
