Greenhouse Gas Levels Breaking All Records
VOA News
October 24, 2016 8:25 AM Lisa Schlein (source)
Greenhouse Gas Levels Breaking All Records
溫室氣體濃度破歷史紀錄
October 24, 2016 8:25 AM
Lisa Schlein
GENEVA — The World Meteorological Organization reports the level of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere has reached a record high this year, driven in part by the powerful El Nino event, which started in 2015 and continued well into 2016.
According to WMO, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 400 parts per million for the first time in 2015 and surged to new records this year.
WMO Secretary General, Petteri Taalas says this symbolic, but significant milestone bodes ill for the planet as these CO2 emissions will stay in the atmosphere for generations.
“At the moment, we are not moving in the right direction. We are actually moving in the wrong direction and this warming potential of the planet has been growing," Taalas said.
Carbon dioxide results from the burning of fossil fuels and other human activity. Meteorologists say CO2 accounts for 65 percent of the warming effect on our climate.
Two other greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide contribute about 17 percent and six percent respectively to the long-lived warming of earth's climate.
Taalas tells VOA it is not possible to tackle climate change without tackling CO2 emissions because the lifetime of this greenhouse gas is very long.
“There have been some scientific studies estimating that the return back to pre-industrial levels may take tens of thousands of years. And, therefore, it is really urgent that we start reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide and if we do not do so, then this problem will remain with us for thousands, even tens of thousands of years," Taalas said.
Taalas welcomes the Paris Climate agreement. But, he notes its impact may be limited as emissions reductions are voluntary and not legally binding. He says the world still has a chance to turn things around in the coming decades if it moves from political will to concrete action.
He says negative trends will continue for several decades. But, he adds improvements in the climate will be seen by 2060 if nations start reducing their C02 emissions now.
世界氣象組織(World Meteorological Organization, WMO)報導，今年在大氣中的二氧化碳排放量已創造了歷史新高紀錄(reach a record high)，其部分原因是受2015年開始並持續到2016年的強大的聖嬰現象(El Nino)所致。
據世界氣象組織的說法，大氣層中的二氧化碳濃度(concentration)在2015年已首次達到400 ppm (parts per million)，今年仍持續急遽上升(surge)至新高紀錄。
世界氣象組織的秘書長佩蒂瑞‧塔拉斯(Petteri Taalas)表示，這個濃度雖是象徵性的，但對地球來說，卻是意義深遠且預示惡兆(bode ill for…)的重大事件(milestone)，因為排放出的二氧化碳會在我們的大氣層裡存在好幾個世代之久。
「但我們現在仍未走往正確的方向。事實上，我們走錯了方向，使得地球暖化的可能性越來越大。」塔拉斯如此表示。
二氧化碳是由化石燃料燃燒和其他的人類活動所產生。氣象學家認為，目前65%的氣候暖化是由二氧化碳所造成。
另兩種溫室氣體甲烷(methane)與一氧化二氮(nitrous oxide)則分別造成了17%與6%的長期的地球氣候暖化。
塔拉斯接受《美國之音》(VOA)訪問時表示，因為二氧化碳這種溫室氣體的壽命很長（即會長期累積於大氣中），只處理氣候變遷問題而不處理二氧化碳的排放問題是不可能的。
塔拉斯說：「有一些科學研究預估，地球要回到工業化前的濃度，至少要數萬年以上的時間。因此我們現在就必須趕緊開始，減少排放二氧化碳。如果我們不這麼做，這個問題將跟著我們數千或數萬年。」
塔拉斯樂見巴黎的氣候協定。但他也說明，因為各國對於實行二氧化碳減排是自願性的(voluntary)，而非受法律約束的(legally binding)，這會使得協定的效果有限。不過他也認為，只要把這個政治意願化為具體行動，在未來的數十年間，我們仍有機會反轉現在的情況(turn things around)。（編按：2015年12月12日共有195個國家在聯合國氣候峰會(2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference)中通過一份氣候協議《巴黎協定》(Paris Agreement)，以此氣候協議取代1997年的《京都議定書》(Kyoto Protocol)，期望世界各國能共同改善全球氣候暖化的問題。）
他表示，負面趨勢也許仍將持續數十年。不過，他也補充說道，如果各國現在開始減少二氧化碳的排放，在2060年之前就能看到氣候的改善。
Language Notes
meteorological [͵mitɪərə`lɑdʒɪk!] (a) 氣象的
*meteorology [͵mitɪə`rɑlədʒɪ] (n) 氣象學
concentration (n) 濃度
*本字動詞為concentrate，為「專注於、專心於」等意思；名詞concentration除了保留動詞「專心、專注」之含意外，也有「濃度」的意思
parts per million (phr) 百分萬率；百萬分之一
*現在新聞中不常把此單位翻譯成中文，而是直接於數字後使用英文縮寫 “ppm” 表示
surge (v) 陡增，遽增，急遽上升
bode ill for (v phr) 對……預示惡兆
*bode (v) 預示；為……的兆頭
methane [`mɛθen] (n) 甲烷
nitrous oxide (n) 一氧化二氮；氧化亞氮
*nitrogen [`naɪtrədʒən] (n) 氮；nitric oxide (n) 一氧化氮。請注意nitric和nitrous兩形容詞的差別：nitric用於只有一個氮原子的化合物，即「一氮」，nitrous則為「二氮」
respectively (adv) 分別地，各自地
voluntary (a) 自願的，志願的
turn . . . around (v phr) 使……好轉，使扭轉
Check your vocabulary!
Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary changes. After you finish, highlight the blanks to reveal the hidden answers.
The company's profits have surged.
High concentrations of toxic elements were found in the polluted areas.
These recently published figures bode ill for the company's future.
She does voluntary work for the Red Cross two days a week.
Accurate meteorological records began 100 years ago.
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