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The word ‘mother’ holds great power. It evokes memories of the women who gave us life, nurtured us as infants and helped mould us into who we are today. The Earth is the ultimate mother – an astounding planet that has, since time immemorial, supported life in myriad forms. As humans, we outgrow the need for constant maternal care. But we can never outgrow our reliance on Mother Earth. As long as we live, we need air, water, fertile soil and the countless other gifts this planet bestows.
“母亲”一词蕴含着巨大的力量。它使我们联想到妇女，她们赋予我们生命，把我们从婴儿养育成人，并帮助塑造我们的人格。地球是终极的母亲，这个神奇的星球自远古以来就一直承载着万物。生而为人，我们长大以后就不再需要母亲的持续呵护，却永远不能摆脱对地球母亲的依赖。只要活着，我们就需要空气、水、肥沃的土壤以及这个星球赐予我们的万物。
This dependence makes it all the more astonishing that we have allowed rapid and often unwise human development to disrupt so many of the delicate systems that have functioned harmoniously for millennia. We are increasingly aware of the damage our species has wrought – the pollution, the dwindling resources, the species of flora and fauna forever gone, the rush towards tipping points that may alter the way our planet functions. Even with this knowledge, we have yet to change our ways.
我们如此依赖，却又允许开展快速、并且经常不明智的人类开发活动，破坏这么多已经和谐运行了几千年的微妙系统，岂不更加令人吃惊？我们日益意识到我们这个物种已经造成的损害：污染、资源日益减少、永远消失的动植物物种，并且我们正在急速走向可能会改变我们这个星球运行方式的临界点。我们即便已经认识到这一点，却还没有改变我们的行为方式。
But we can change, and 2015 brings a critical opportunity to do just that. This year, the world aims to finalize the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and reach a new and meaningful universal climate change agreement. These processes have the potential to redefine our future for the better, by eradicating extreme poverty in all its forms and resetting our relationship with this planet and every living being it sustains.
但我们是可以改变的，2015年就是实现改变的一个关键机会。今年，全世界的目标是最后敲定2015年后可持续发展议程，并达成一个新的、有意义的普遍性气候变化协议。这些进程有可能通过消除各种形式的极端贫困，调整我们与这个星球及其维系的每一个生命的关系，从而重塑我们的未来，使之向更好的方向发展。
But the big decisions that lie ahead are not just for world leaders and policy-makers. Today, on Mother Earth Day, I ask each one of us to be mindful of the impacts our choices have on this planet, and what those impacts will mean for future generations. Not everyone is able to make sustainable choices, but for those who can, simple decisions such as switching to energy-efficient lighting or buying only what you will consume – when accumulated across billions of people – can transform our world. The power to change begins with you.
但摆在面前的重大决定不仅要由世界各国的领导人和决策者做出。在今天的地球母亲日上，我要求我们每一个人都要注意到我们的选择对这个星球的影响，以及这些影响对子孙后代将意味着什么。不是每个人都能够做出可持续的选择，但对于那些能够做出这类选择的人而言，可以做出采用节能照明以及用多少就买多少等简单决定，数十亿人做出的这类决定累积起来，就足以改变我们的世界。改变产生的力量从你我开始。
As a global community, we have the opportunity to make 2015 a turning point in human history. This can be the year our children and grandchildren will remember as when we chose to build a sustainable and resilient future – both for Mother Earth and all those that development has until now left behind. Let us seize this historic opportunity together.
我们作为一个全球社会，有机会让2015年成为人类历史的转折点。我们要让子孙后代记住今年，因为我们在今年选择建设一个可持续、有复原力的未来，既要有利于地球母亲，也要有利于所有那些迄今为止在发展大潮中被拉下的人。让我们共同抓住这一历史机遇。
