silent spring翻译 THE ABCs of GLOBAL WARMING.doc

silent spring翻译 THE ABCs of GLOBAL WARMING THE ABCs of GLOBAL WARMING [ Everything in nature changes, including the climate. This is a universal law of nature. Through the process of evolution, over very long periods of time, animal and plant species can adapt to these gradual changes. This is another universal law of nature. However, the speed with which the climate has been changing in t h e l a s t 2 0 o r s o y e a r s i s unprecedented. Human beings as a species are unique: we are a part of the natural world, but we are also apart from it in the sense that the actions of our species can dramatically change the world we live in. These changes are not always beneficial, either to humans or to other species. The Industrial Revolution in the West, which began nearly 200 years ago, provides the best example of this. During these last two centuries, human beings have been responsible for enormous technical developments which are transforming the natural world. The speed and magnitude of these changes are far too great to enable many of the earths living things, including humans, to adapt. Let us examine some of the ways in which this is occurring. Undisturbed by human action, the earths atmosphere has been able to maintain a delicate balance for thousands of years. The radiation from sunlight (solar energy) penetrates the atmosphere, a thin layer that encompasses the earth. Carbon dioxide, methane and other gases trap some of this energy, which makes the earth warm and habitable. The atmosphere of the earth serves as a kind of greenhouse which uses some of the heat from the sun to warm the planet. It also makes it possible for there to be life on earth. The remainder of the solar energy bounces back into space. Thus, there has been the right amount of heat to sustain life as we have known it. However, the Industrial Revolution, which saw the use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) in huge and ever-growing quantities, has been responsible for changing this d