亞馬遜森林砍伐正走向危險的“臨界點”

亞馬遜森林砍伐正走向危險的“臨界點”

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.

巴西亞馬遜地區(qū)的雨林正在被迅速清除，森林砍伐正接近一個“臨界點”，該地區(qū)可能永遠無法恢復(fù)。

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.)

據(jù)《衛(wèi)報》報道，森林砍伐的速度如此之快，每分鐘就有三個足球場的樹木被砍伐殆盡。(國際足聯(lián)的足球場長110至120碼，寬70至80碼。)

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.

據(jù)《新聞周刊》報道，隨著越來越多的樹木消失，研究人員擔心大面積的雨林將無法通過蒸發(fā)和蒸騰作用產(chǎn)生降雨，從而變成熱帶稀樹草原。由于雨林從大氣中吸收了如此多的碳，這種變化可能對全球變暖產(chǎn)生重大影響。

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."

“不斷重復(fù)這些擔憂非常重要。巴西亞馬遜國家研究所教授Philip Fearnside在接受《衛(wèi)報》采訪時表示。“我們不能確切地看到它們在哪里，但我們知道它們非常接近。這意味著我們必須馬上采取行動。不幸的是，事實并非如此。有些人甚至否認我們有問題。”

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月到目前為止，已經(jīng)清理了519平方英里(1345平方公里)的土地。這比2015年開始的awe B衛(wèi)星系統(tǒng)監(jiān)測的前一個月記錄高出三分之一。據(jù)《衛(wèi)報》報道，從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.

一些環(huán)保人士說，這一急劇增長證實了人們的擔憂，總統(tǒng)博爾索納羅正在鼓勵非法砍伐、焚燒和采礦等活動，而這些活動都助長了森林砍伐。

“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，這是荒謬的，但不應(yīng)該讓任何人感到意外。美國總統(tǒng)博爾索納羅和部長里卡多·薩利斯正在廢除我們的社會環(huán)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月份值得注意的亮點是，到目前為止，損失面積接近600平方英里，比大倫敦或休斯頓還要大，這一趨勢很可能會繼續(xù)下去。