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But there is still hope.
但我们仍有希望。
As Professor Richard Betts puts it: “if this if deforestation is more of a direct human action, we have a more immediate chance of stopping it, we're holding back on deforestation.”
正如理查德·贝茨教授所说：“如果砍伐森林更多的是人类的直接行为，我们有一个更直接的机会，即忍住不砍伐森林来阻止它。”
So, while deforestation is speeding us along to a tipping point, it also represents a very tangible intervention point that if halted could give us ample time to prevent catastrophic dieback.
因此，尽管砍伐森林正在加速我们走向一个临界点，但它也代表了一个非常具体的干预点，如果停止，可以给我们足够的时间来防止灾难性的枯萎。
But even if we act quickly to prevent the dying of the Amazon, there's another ominous tipping point on the horizon that could lock in a hotter world for centuries to come.
但是，即使我们迅速采取行动以防止亚马逊的消亡，在地平线上还有另一个不祥的临界点，可能会在未来几个世纪里遇到一个更热的世界。
The Arctic is warming rapidly.
北极正在迅速变暖。
Temperatures there have been increasing almost twice as fast as the global average, and just this summer a Siberian town within the Arctic circle experienced a sweltering 118 degrees Fahrenheit or 47.8 degrees Celsius on the ground.
那里的温度上升速度几乎是全球平均水平的两倍，就在今年夏天，北极圈内的一个西伯利亚小镇的地面温度高达华氏118度或摄氏47.8度，令人窒息。
The Arctic is quite literally on fire.
北极地区实际上是在燃烧。
For a region that's usually supposed to be cold most of the year, this spells disaster.
对于一个通常在一年中大部分时间都应该是寒冷的地区，这意味着灾难。
Especially for the layers of permafrost that coat the Arctic.
特别是对于覆盖在北极地区的永久冻土层。
Permafrost is any ground that stays frozen for more than two years straight.
永冻层是指任何连续冻结两年以上的地面。
In most cases, especially if you dig down underneath the top soil that melts and refreezes every year, you'll find permafrost that has been in a frozen state for thousands of years.
在大多数情况下，特别是如果你在每年融化和重新冻结的表土下深入挖掘时，你会发现永久冻土已经处于数千年的冻结状态。
It's essentially the deep freezer of the world, and covers almost a quarter of the land area of the Northern Hemisphere.
它基本上是世界上的深层冷冻库，几乎覆盖了北半球陆地面积的四分之一。
It holds organic remains of plants, animals, and microbes in a state of frozen stasis.
它保存着植物、动物和微生物的有机残骸，处于冰冻的静止状态。
Unable to properly decompose, this organic matter has built up over hundreds of thousands of years.
由于无法正常分解，这些有机物已经积累了几十万年。
Some scientists have estimated that as much as 1.6 trillion metric tons of carbon or the equivalent of double the amount of carbon dioxide now in our atmosphere is currently trapped in permafrost.
一些科学家估计，目前有多达1.6万亿公吨的碳或相当于现在大气中二氧化碳的两倍被困在永久冻土中。
This means that if a substantial amount of permafrost begins to thaw, and the organic matter within it decomposes, global emissions could quickly accelerate.
这意味着，如果大量的永久冻土开始解冻，其中的有机物质分解，全球排放可能迅速加速。
A 2019 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. states that this thawing "could be releasing an estimated 300 to 600 million tonnes of net carbon per year to the atmosphere."
美国国家海洋和大气管理局2019年的一份报告指出，这种解冻 "可能每年向大气层释放约3-6亿吨的净碳"。
But what makes the melting of the permafrost so daunting is that once it thaws and microbes start breaking down the organic matter and releasing methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, there's no going back.
但是，使永久冻土的融化如此令人生畏的是，一旦它解冻，微生物开始分解有机物并向大气中释放甲烷和二氧化碳，且不能得到处理。
You can't just refreeze thawed organic matter, in much the same way you wouldn't put partially decomposed raw chicken back into the freezer to make it more edible.
我们不能只是重新冻结解冻的有机物，就像你不会把部分分解的生鸡肉放回冰箱使其更可食用一样。
Unlike other tipping points, however, researchers are observing that permafrost doesn't drive itself or cascade quickly on a large scale.
然而，与其他临界点不同的是，研究人员正在观察，永久冻土融化不会自行驱动或大规模地迅速串联起来。
Most likely it will thaw at a steady pace with occasional regional collapse and quick declines.
最有可能的是，它将以稳定的速度解冻，偶尔会出现区域性的崩溃和快速下降。
This means that if we are able to slow and mitigate climate change, we could potentially slow down or stop large-scale permafrost melt.
这意味着，如果我们能够减缓和缓解气候变化，我们有可能减缓或阻止大规模的永久冻土融化。
Ultimately keeping billions, if not trillions of carbon in the ground.
最终将不到数万亿，就数十亿的碳保留在地下。
But to do that, we need a complete political, economic, and cultural transformation on an unprecedented scale.
但要做到这一点，我们需要一个规模空前的完整的政治、经济和文化转型。
We are barrelling towards the edge of countless tipping points from the rapid melt of the Greenland ice sheet to the disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet.
我们正朝着无数临界点的边缘急速前进，从格陵兰岛冰层的迅速融化到南极洲西部冰层的瓦解。
If we tip over the edge there's very little possibility of returning to our current state, which means that prevention is essential.
如果我们越过了这个边缘，就很难再回到我们目前的状态，这意味着预防是至关重要的。
We need to slam on the brakes right now.
我们现在需要踩下刹车。
We need to treat the climate crisis like it really is, a crisis.
我们需要像对待真正的气候危机那样对待它，一个危机。
Tipping points show us that there are very real consequences if we continue on our current course, but they also show us that taking transformational action right now is not a radical act, it's a necessary one.
临界点向我们表明，如果我们继续目前的路线，会有非常真实的后果，但它们也向我们表明，现在采取转型行动不是一个激进的行为，而是一个必要的行为。
Milquetoast emissions cuts and lukewarm net-zero goals from multinationals will not stop us from tipping over the edge.
乏味的减排和跨国公司不温不火的零排放目标不会阻止我们翻越边缘。
These schemes are akin to trying to stop a truck with a pebble.
这些计划就像试图用小石子来阻止一辆卡车。
So, we need to address the root cause of the climate crisis in order to avoid these potential cascading catastrophes.
因此，我们需要解决气候危机的根本原因，以避免这些潜在的连带灾难。
Global capitalism must end.
全球资本主义必须结束。
I've made a whole video on why capitalism is not only not the answer to the climate crisis but also the main driver of it.
我做了一个视频，说明为什么资本主义不仅不是解决气候危机的答案，而且也不是是气候危机的主要驱动力。
In short, for the last 50 years we've known of the spectre of climate change, and global capitalism has failed to achieve any large-scale emissions reductions needed to stop a warming world.
总之，在过去的50年里，我们已经知道了气候变化的幽灵，而全球资本主义未能实现阻止世界变暖所需的任何大规模减排。
New paradigms, then, are essential.
因此，新的范式是必不可少的。
Ideas and movements like ecosocialism, indigenous sovereignty, solarpunk and a red new deal, all have the potential to not only stop climate change but to build a flourishing world.
像生态社会主义、本土主权、阳光朋克和红色新政这样的想法和运动，都有可能不仅会阻止气候变化，还会建立一个繁荣的世界。
A world wherein tipping points are taken seriously and the vast resources and knowledge of our communities are mobilized to prevent them.
在这个世界上，我们要认真对待临界点，我们要动员社区的大量资源和知识以阻止它们。
The dieback of the Amazon and permafrost melt are not the only tipping points we're at risk of triggering.
亚马逊河的枯萎和永久冻土的融化并不是我们面临的唯一的临界点。
