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PaulGilding_2012-_地球已满_
Let me begin with four words that will provide the context for this week, four words that will come to define this century. 让我用四个字 来概括本周的主要内容 这四个字 将诠释着这个世纪
context:n.环境;上下文;来龙去脉; define:v.定义;使明确;规定;
Here they are: 这四个字就是
The Earth is full. 地球已满
It's full of us, it's full of our stuff , full of our waste, full of our demands. 地球装满了我们人类 我们的东西 我们的废物 我们的需求
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
Yes, we are a brilliant and creative species , but we've created a little too much stuff -- so much that our economy is now bigger than its host, our planet. 的确 我们是一个集智慧与创造力于一身的物种 但我们创造的东西有些过多了 以至于使我们的经济 超过了其寄主即地球的承受力
creative:adj.创造性的; species:n.[生物]物种;种类; economy:n.经济;节约;理财;
This is not a philosophical statement , this is just science based in physics, chemistry and biology . 这可不是一句哲言 而是科学 建立在物理学 化学和生物学的基础上
philosophical:adj.哲学的(等于philosophic);冷静的; statement:n.声明;陈述,叙述;报表,清单; biology:n.(一个地区全部的)生物;生物学;
There are many science-based analyses of this, but they all draw the same conclusion -- that we're living beyond our means. 对此 有许多科学分析 而这些分析的结果都是相同的 我们的生活超越了我们的能力
analyses:n.分析;解析;分解;梗概(analysis的复数形式); conclusion:n.结论;结局;推论;
The eminent scientists of the Global Footprint Network, for example, calculate that we need about 1.5 Earths to sustain this economy. 举个例子 根据环球足迹网络杰出的科学家们的计算 我们需要1.5个地球 才能维系这个经济
eminent:adj.杰出的;有名的;明显的; Global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; Footprint:n.足迹;脚印; sustain:v.支持;支撑;遭受;证实;
In other words, to keep operating at our current level, we need 50 percent more Earth than we've got. 换句话说 照这样的水平运行下去 我们还需要半个地球
In financial terms, this would be like always spending 50 percent more than you earn, going further into debt every year. 用财政术语来说 这就好比支出总比收入多50% 这样每年欠的债就越来越多
financial:adj.金融的;财政的,财务的; debt:n.债务;借款;罪过;
But of course, you can't borrow natural resources , so we're burning through our capital, or stealing from the future. 当然我们借不来自然资源 于是我们就坐吃山空 或超前消耗
resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数);
So when I say full, I mean really full -- well past any margin for error, well past any dispute about methodology . 所以当我说地球已满 我没有半点夸张 千真万确 毫无疑问 毫无争议
margin:n.边缘;利润,余裕;页边的空白;v.加边于;加旁注于; dispute:n.纠纷;争端;争论;辩论;v.争论;争执;辩论;争夺; methodology:n.方法学,方法论;
What this means is our economy is unsustainable . 这意味着我们的经济不是可持续的
unsustainable:adj.无法支撑的;不可证实的;不能成立的;
I'm not saying it's not nice or pleasant or that it's bad for polar bears or forests, though it certainly is. 我并不是说这不是件好事 也不是说这对北极熊或森林不利 尽管这的确对它们不利
polar:adj.极地的;南极(或北极)的;n.极线;极面;
What I'm saying is our approach is simply unsustainable. 我的意思是 我们的做法是不可持续的
approach:n.方法;路径;v.接近;建议;着手处理;
In other words, thanks to those pesky laws of physics, when things aren't sustainable, they stop. 换句话说 多亏了那些讨厌的物理规律 当事物不具可持续性 它们就会停止发展
pesky:adj.讨厌的;麻烦的;adv.极端;
But that's not possible, you might think. 你可能会认为 这不可能
We can't stop economic growth. 我们不能让经济增长停下来
economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的;
Because that's what will stop: economic growth. 这是因为停下来的是:经济增长
It will stop because of the end of trade resources. 经济增长会因为贸易资源的终结而停止
It will stop because of the growing demand of us on all the resources, all the capacity , all the systems of the Earth, which is now having economic damage. 会因为我们对地球上所有资源 所有空间 所有系统的需求而停止 地球正在遭受经济破坏
capacity:n.能力;容量;资格,地位;生产力;
When we think about economic growth stopping, we go, "That's not possible," 一想到经济增长将停止 我们就说:“ 那是不可能的。”
because economic growth is so essential to our society that is is rarely questioned. 因为经济增长对于我们的时候至关重要 这是毋庸置疑的
essential:n.要点;要素;实质;必需品;adj.完全必要的;必不可少的;极其重要的;本质的; rarely:adv.很少地;难得;罕有地;
Although growth has certainly delivered many benefits, it is an idea so essential that we tend not to understand the possibility of it not being around. 尽管增长的确带来了许多好处 但是这个概念就因为过于重要 以至于让我们不会去想 它消失的可能性
Even though it has delivered many benefits, it is based on a crazy idea -- the crazy idea being that we can have infinite growth on a finite planet. 尽管它带来了许多好处 但是它却建立在一个疯狂的想法上 这个想法就是 我们可以在一个有限的地球上 进行无限的发展
infinite:adj.无限的,无穷的; n.无限;
And I'm here to tell you the emperor has no clothes. 我在这里告诉你们这些穿新衣的皇帝
That the crazy idea is just that, it is crazy, and with the Earth full, it's game over. 这个想法就是这样 非常疯狂 地球已满 游戏玩完了
Come on, you're thinking. 你在想 少来了
That's not possible. 那是不可能的
Technology is amazing. People are innovative . 科技是如此神奇 人们善于创新
Technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; innovative:adj.革新的,创新的;
There are so many ways we can improve the way we do things. 我们有很多办法来提高做事的方式
improve:v.改进;改善;
We can surely sort this out . 我们一定可以解决这个问题
sort this out:调查清楚;
That's all true. 这都对
Well, it's mostly true. 应该说多数情况下是对的
We are certainly amazing, and we regularly solve complex problems with amazing creativity. 我们的确很厉害 我们经常用神奇的创造力 解决复杂的问题
regularly:adv.经常地;有规律地;定期的 complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施;
So if our problem was to get the human economy down from 150 percent to 100 percent of the Earth's capacity, we could do that. 如果我们的问题 是把人类经济 从150%缩减到100%的地球承载力 那么我们可以做到的
The problem is we're just warming up this growth engine. 问题是我们一直在 给这台增长发动机预热
We plan to take this highly-stressed economy and make it twice as big and then make it four times as big -- not in some distant future, but in less than 40 years, in the life time of most of you. 打算让这个高度紧绷的经济 翻一番 再翻一番 不是再遥远的未来 而是在四十年之内 在在座大多数人的有生之年
distant:adj.遥远的;远处的;久远的;
China plans to be there in just 20 years. 中国打算只用20年来实现那个目标
The only problem with this plan is that it's not possible. 这个计划的唯一缺点就是 它是不可行的
In response , some people argue, but we need growth, we need it to solve poverty . 对此 有人就反驳了 我们需要增长 需要增长来消除贫困
response:n.响应;反应;回答; poverty:n.贫困;困难;缺少;低劣;
We need it to develop technology. 来发展科技
We need it to keep social stability . 来维持社会稳定
stability:n.稳定性;坚定,恒心;
I find this argument fascinating , as though we can kind of bend the rules of physics to suit our needs. 我发现这些论调都非常神奇 仿佛我们可以扭曲物理法则 来适应我们的需求
fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词) bend the rules:通融;
It's like the Earth doesn't care what we need. 这就好比地球并不在乎我们的需要
Mother nature doesn't negotiate; she just sets rules and describes consequences . 大自然从不妥协 她只是规定一系列法则并告诉违反法则的后果
Mother nature:n.大自然;自然界; describes:v.描述;形容;把…称为;画出…图形;(describe的第三人称单数) consequences:n.后果,结果;影响(consequence的复数);
And these are not esoteric limits. 这并不是什么隐藏的局限
esoteric:adj.秘传的;限于圈内人的;难懂的;
This is about food and water, soil and climate, the basic practical and economic foundations of our lives. 这是关于我们生活所需的食物 水 土壤 气候 基本的可用的和经济上的 基础
practical:adj.实际的;真实的;客观存在的;n.实习课;实践课; foundations:n.基础;地基;基金会;粉底;(foundations是foundation的复数)
So the idea that we can smoothly transition to a highly-efficient , solar-powered , knowledge-based economy transformed by science and technology so that nine billion people can live in 2050 a life of abundance and digital downloads is a delusion . 我们能够顺利地过渡到 一个高效的 太阳能发电的 以知识为基础的经济 科学技术实现其转型 让90亿人口 到2050年 能够过上富足的生活并享受数字下载 这只是个幻想
smoothly:adv.平稳地,平滑地;流畅地,流利地; transition:n.过渡;转变;变革;变迁;v.经历转变过程;过渡; highly-efficient:高效的; solar-powered:adj.太阳能的; transformed:v.使改变形态;使改变外观(或性质);(transform的过去分词和过去式) abundance:n.丰度;丰富;大量;富足; digital:adj.数字的;手指的;n.数字;键; delusion:n.迷惑,欺骗;错觉;幻想;
It's not that it's not possible to feed, clothe and house us all and have us live decent lives. 我并不是说我们不可能 过上衣食无忧的美好生活
decent:adj.正派的;得体的;相当好的;
It certainly is. 当然是有可能的
But the idea that we can gently grow there with a few minor hiccups is just wrong, and it's dangerously wrong, because it means we're not getting ready for what's really going to happen. 但是 单纯地认为我们能够 不费吹灰之力就达到那样到增长 就错了 大错特错 因为这意味着 我们并没有 为真正即将发生的结果做好准备
gently:adv.轻轻地;温柔地;温和地; minor:adj.未成年的; n.未成年人; vi.副修; hiccups:n.[医]打嗝,[内科]呃逆; dangerously:adv.危险地;不安全;
See what happens when you operate a system past its limits and then keep on going at an ever-accelerating rate is that the system stops working and breaks down. 试想一下 如果你超负荷运行一个系统 会发生什么情况 接着以越来越快的速度 不停运行下去 这个系统会停止运转继而崩溃
And that's what will happen to us. 这就是我们的结局
Many of you will be thinking, but surely we can still stop this. 许多人可能会想 我们肯定可以阻止这样的情况发生
If it's that bad, we'll react . 如果情况真有这么早 我们就进行应对
react:v.起反应;回应;(对食物等)有不良反应,过敏;起化学反应;
Let's just think through that idea. 我们思考一下这个想法
think through:彻底地想清楚;
Now we've had 50 years of warnings. 在过去的五十年中 我们不停地收到警示
We've had science proving the urgency of change. 科学证实 做出改变的急迫性
urgency:n.紧急;催促;紧急的事;
We've had economic analysis pointing out that, not only can we afford it, it's cheaper to act early. 经济分析指出 我们不仅有能力做到 而且越早采取措施 成本越低
analysis:n.分析;分解;验定; afford:v.给予,提供;买得起;
And yet, the reality is we've done pretty much nothing to change course. 然而 事实是 我们基本上没有做出任何改变
We're not even slowing down. 我们甚至没有放慢速度
Last year on climate, for example, we had the highest global emissions ever. 举个例子 去年在气候方面 全球的碳排放量达到了历史最高值
emissions:n.(光、热、气等的)发出,排放;排放物;散发物;(emission的复数)
The story on food, on water, on soil, on climate is all much the same. 关于粮食 水 土壤 气候方面的情况 都没有得到什么改善
I actually don't say this in despair . 我并不是在说丧气话
despair:v.绝望;失去希望;丧失信心;n.绝望;
I've done my grieving about the loss. 我对于那些损失已经表示了惋惜
grieving:v.悲伤,悲痛,伤心;使悲伤;使伤心;(grieve的现在分词)
I accept where we are. 我接受现状
It is sad, but it is what it is. 现状是悲哀的 但事已至此
But it is also time that we ended our denial and recognized that we're not acting, we're not close to acting and we're not going to act until this crisis hits the economy. 但我们现在 不能再逃避 而应认识到 我们并没有采取行动 没打算采取行动 而且在危机撞击经济之前 我们也不会采取任何行动
denial:n.否认;否定;剥夺(应有的权利);拒不承认(令人不快、痛苦的事); recognized:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到;(recognize的过去分词和过去式) crisis:n.危机;危险期;决定性时刻;adj.危机的;用于处理危机的;
And that's why the end of growth is the central issue and the event that we need to get ready for. 这就是为什么 增长的停止 是我们应当做好应对准备的核心问题
issue:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;发行;
So when does this transition begin? 那么这个转型期何时开始呢
When does this breakdown begin? 瓦解何时开始
breakdown:n.分解;损坏;分类;(关系)破裂;adj.专门修理故障的;
In my view, it is well underway . 在我看来 它早就开始了
underway:adj.进行中的;起步的;航行中的;n.[公路]水底通道;
I know most people don't see it that way. 我知道大多数人不这么认为
We tend to look at the world, not as the integrated system that it is, but as a series of individual issues . 我们不倾向于 把世界看做一个统一的系统 而是一系列独立的问题
integrated:adj.综合的; v.整合; (integrate的过去式和过去分词) series:n.系列,连续;[电]串联;级数;丛书; individual:n.个人;有个性的人;adj.单独的;个别的; issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数)
We see the Occupy protests , we see spiraling debt crises , we see growing inequality, we see money's influence on politics , we see resource constraint , food and oil prices. 我们看到占领华尔街 看到愈演愈烈的负债危机 看到持续扩大的不平等现象 看到金钱对政治的影响 看到资源约束 粮食和石油价格问题
Occupy:v.占据,占领;居住;使忙碌; protests:v.抗议;反对(protest的三单形式);n.抗议(protest的复数); spiraling:adj.盘旋的; v.盘旋着上升或下降; (spiral的现在分词) crises:n.危机,紧要关头;危险期(crisis的复数形式); influence:n.影响;势力;感化;有影响的人或事;v.影响;改变; politics:n.政治;钩心斗角;政治观点;v.(贬)从事政治活动;(politic的第三人称单数) constraint:n.[数]约束;局促,态度不自然;强制;
But we see, mistakenly , each of these issues as individual problems to be solved. 但是 我们错误地 将这些问题当作独立的问题分别解决
mistakenly:adv.错误地;曲解地,被误解地;
In fact, it's the system in the painful process of breaking down -- our system, of debt-fueled economic growth, of ineffective democracy , of overloading planet Earth, is eating itself alive. 实际上 这是一个 处于崩溃过程的体系 这个以债务驱动经济增长的体系 这个无效民主的体系 这个让地球超载的体系 正自食恶果
painful:adj.痛苦的;疼痛的;令人不快的; process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的; ineffective:adj.无效的,失效的;不起作用的; democracy:n.民主,民主主义;民主政治; overloading:v.[电]超负荷,过载(overload的现在分词形式);
I could give you countless studies and evidence to prove this, but I won't because, if you want to see it, that evidence is all around you. 我可以举出无数项研究 和证据来证明 但我不这么做 你们想看证据 证据随处可见
countless:adj.无数的;数不尽的; evidence:n.证据,证明;迹象;明显;v.证明;
I want to talk to you about fear. 我想谈谈恐惧
I want to do so because, in my view, the most important issue we face is how we respond to this question. 这是因为 在我看来 我们面临的最大问题 就是 如何应对这个问题
respond:vi.回答;作出反应;承担责任;n.应答;唱和;
The crisis is now inevitable . 危机是不可避免的
inevitable:adj.必然的,不可避免的;
This issue is, how will we react? 问题在于我们如何应对
Of course, we can't know what will happen. 当然 我们不知道会发生什么情况
The future is inherently uncertain . 未来本就变幻莫测
inherently:adv.内在地;固有地;天性地; uncertain:adj.无常的;含糊的;靠不住的;迟疑不决的;
But let's just think through what the science is telling us is likely to happen. 我们好好思考 根据科学推断 将有什么情况发生
Imagine our economy when the carbon bubble bursts , when the financial markets recognize that, to have any hope of preventing the climate spiraling out of control, the oil and coal industries are finished. 设想一下 经济会发生什么情况 当碳泡沫爆炸 当金融市场意识到 想要阻止 气候变化变得一发不可收拾 石油和煤炭行业就要关门
carbon:n.[化学]碳;碳棒;复写纸;adj.碳的;碳处理的; bubble:n.泡;气泡;肥皂泡;一点感情;v.起泡;冒泡;洋溢着(某种感情); bursts:[天]爆发;破裂(burst的第三人称单数);
Imagine China, India and Pakistan going to war as climate impacts generate conflict over food and water. 想象一下 中国 印度和巴基斯坦打起仗来 因为气候影响会造成 争夺粮食和水的冲突
impacts:n.影响; v.有影响,有作用; generate:v.产生;引起; conflict:n.冲突;矛盾;争执;抵触;v.抵触;
Imagine the Middle East without oil income, but with collapsing governments. 想象一下 中东没有了石油收入 而政府却分崩离析了
Middle East:n.中东(包括亚洲西南部和非洲东北部); collapsing:v.倒塌,坍塌; (collapse的现在分词)
Imagine our highly-tuned, just-in-time food industry and our highly-stressed agricultural system failing and supermarket shelves emptying. 想象一下 我们高度灵敏的 准时制的食品业 和高度紧绷的农业体系都失灵了 超市货架都空了
just-in-time:n.刚好及时;恰好够用;adj.及时生产的; agricultural:adj.农业的;农艺的;
Imagine 30 percent unemployment in America as the global economy is gripped by fear and uncertainty . 想象一下 美国的失业率达到30% 因为全球经济 被恐惧与不确定性所遏止
unemployment:n.失业;失业率;失业人数; gripped:vt.紧咬,夹住;紧握(grip过去时形式); uncertainty:n.不确定,不可靠;
Now imagine what that means for you, your family, your friends, your personal financial security. 现在 想象一下 这对于你 你的家庭 你的朋友 你个人的财务安全 意味着什么
personal:adj.个人的;身体的;亲自的;n.人事消息栏;人称代名词;
Imagine what it means for your personal security as a heavily armed civilian population gets angrier and angrier about why this was allowed to happen. 想象一下 这对于你的个人安全意味着什么 一群全副武装的民众 对于面前所发生的事情 愈发变得愤怒
civilian:adj.民用的;百姓的,平民的;n.平民,百姓;
Imagine what you'll tell your children when they ask you, "So, in 2012, Mom and Dad, what was it like when you'd had the hottest decade on record for the third decade in a row, when every scientific body in the world was saying you've got a major problem, when the oceans were acidifying, when oil and food prices were spiking , when they were rioting in the streets of London and occupying Wall Street ? 想象一下 当你的孩子 问你 爸爸妈妈 2012年 会是什么样子的 当你们经历了 史上最热的三十年 当世界上每一个科学团体 都认为你们面临一个重大问题 当海洋不断酸化 当石油和粮食的价格不断疯长 当人们在伦敦的大街上发动骚乱 占领华尔街
scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; spiking:n.尖峰形成;强化;v.以大钉钉牢,使...失效(spike的ing形式); rioting:v.发生骚乱;闹事;(riot的现在分词) occupying:v.占用;使用;居住;占领;占据;(occupy的现在分词) Wall Street:n.华尔街(美国纽约金融中心和证券交易所所在地);
When the system was so clearly breaking down, Mom and Dad, what did you do, what were you thinking?" 当这个体系明显在分崩离析的时候 爸爸妈妈 你们做了什么 你们都在想什么
So how do you feel when the lights go out on the global economy in your mind, when your assumptions about the future fade away and something very different emerges ? 当你们头脑中的全球化 黑灯瞎火的时候 你有什么感受 当你对未来的预想 灰飞烟灭 大为不同的另一种结果发生时 你有什么感受
assumptions:n.假定;假设;承担;获得;(assumption的复数) fade away:逐渐消失; emerges:vi.浮现;摆脱;暴露;
Just take a moment and take a breath and think, what do you feel at this point?
Perhaps denial.
Perhaps anger.
Maybe fear.
Of course, we can't know what's going to happen and we have to live with uncertainty.
But when we think about the kind of possibilities I paint, we should feel a bit of fear.
We are in danger, all of us, and we've evolved to respond to danger with fear to motivate a powerful response, to help us bravely face a threat.
evolved:v.(使)逐渐形成;进化;进化形成;(evolve的过去分词和过去式) motivate:v.激励;激发;成为…的动机;是…的原因; bravely:adv.勇敢地;华丽地;
But this time it's not a tiger at the cave mouth.
You can't see the danger at your door.
But if you look, you can see it at the door of your civilization .
civilization:n.文明;文明社会;文明世界;(特定时期和地区的)社会文明;
That's why we need to feel our response now while the lights are still on, because if we wait until the crisis takes hold, we may panic and hide.
panic:adj.恐慌的;n.惊恐;恐慌;惶恐不安;v.惊慌失措;
If we feel it now and think it through, we will realize we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Yes, things will get ugly , and it will happen soon -- certainly in our lifetime -- but we are more than capable of getting through everything that's coming.
ugly:adj.丑陋的;邪恶的;令人厌恶的; capable:adj.能干的,能胜任的;有才华的;
You see, those people that have faith that humans can solve any problem, that technology is limitless , that markets can be a force for good, are in fact right.
faith:n.信心;信任;宗教信仰; limitless:adj.无限制的;无界限的;
The only thing they're missing is that it takes a good crisis to get us going.
When we feel fear and we fear loss we are capable of quite extraordinary things.
extraordinary:adj.非凡的;特别的;离奇的;临时的;特派的;
Think about war.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor , it just took four days for the government to ban the production of civilian cars and to redirect the auto industry, and from there to rationing of food and energy.
Pearl:n.珍珠; v.使成小圆粒; adj.珍珠(制)的; Harbor:n.港口;港湾;(比喻)避难所;[军]坦克掩蔽场;v.停泊;包含;隐匿;怀抱(恶意); ban:v.下令禁止;查禁;n.禁令; redirect:vt.使改方向;重新寄送;adj.再直接的;n.再直接询问; auto:n.汽车;v.坐汽车; rationing:n.[计划]定量配给;
Think about how a company responds to a bankruptcy threat and how a change that seemed impossible just gets done.
responds:v.(口头或书面)回答,回应;作出反应;响应;(respond的第三人称单数) bankruptcy:n.破产;
Think about how an individual responds to a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness and how lifestyle changes that previously were just too difficult suddenly become relatively easy.
diagnosis:n.诊断; life-threatening:adj.威胁生命的; previously:adv.先前;以前; relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地;
We are smart, in fact, we really are quite amazing, but we do love a good crisis.
And the good news, this one's a monster .
monster:n.怪物;恶魔;庞然大物;adj.巨大的;
(Laughter)
Sure, if we get it wrong, we could face the end of this civilization, but if we get it right, it could be the beginning of civilization instead.
And how cool would it be to tell your grandchildren that you were part of that?
There's certainly no technical or economic barrier in the way .
technical:adj.工艺的,科技的;技术上的;专门的; barrier:n.屏障;障碍;障碍物;关口;v.用栅围住; in the way:妨碍;挡道;
Scientists like James Hansen tell us we may need to eliminate net CO2 emissions from the economy in just a few decades.
eliminate:v.消除;排除;
I wanted to know what that would take, so I worked with professor Jorgen Randers from Norway to find the answer.
We developed a plan called "The One Degree War Plan" -- so named because of the level of mobilization and focus required.
mobilization:n.动员;调动;
To my surprise, eliminating net CO2 emissions from the economy in just 20 years is actually pretty easy and pretty cheap, not very cheap, but certainly less than the cost of a collapsing civilization.
eliminating:v.排除;清除;消除;淘汰;(eliminate的现在分词)
We didn't calculate that precisely, but we understand that's very expensive.
You can read the details, but in summary , we can transform our economy.
summary:adj.简易的;扼要的;n.概要,摘要,总结;
We can do it with proven technology.
We can do it at an affordable cost.
affordable:adj.负担得起的;
We can do it with existing political structures .
structures:n.结构; v.建造(structure的第三人称单数形式);
The only thing we need to change is how we think and how we feel.
And this is where you come in.
When we think about the future I paint, of course we should feel a bit of fear.
But fear can be paralyzing or motivating .
paralyzing:v.使瘫痪或麻痹;使惊愕;(paralyze的现在分词) motivating:v.激励;刺激;调动…的积极性(motivate的ing形式);
We need to accept the fear and then we need to act.
We need to act like the future depends on it.
We need to act like we only have one planet.
We can do this.
I know the free market fundamentalists will tell you that more growth, more stuff and nine billion people going shopping is the best we can do.
free market:自由市场; fundamentalists:n.原教旨主义者(fundamentalist的复数形式);基要派;
They're wrong.
We can be more, we can be much more.
We have achieved remarkable things since working out how to grow food some 10,000 years ago.
remarkable:adj.卓越的;非凡的;值得注意的;
We've built a powerful foundation of science, knowledge and technology -- more than enough to build a society where nine billion people can lead decent, meaningful and satisfying lives.
meaningful:adj.严肃的;重要的;重大的;意味深长的;
The Earth can support that if we choose the right path.
We can choose this moment of crisis to ask and answer the big questions of society's evolution -- like, what do we want to be when we grow up, when we move past this bumbling adolescence where we think there are no limits and suffer delusions of immortality ?
evolution:n.演变;进化;发展;渐进; bumbling:adj.装模作样的;笨手笨脚的;爱管闲事的;v.发嗡嗡声(bumble的现在分词); adolescence:n.青春期; delusions:n.[内科]妄想;错觉(delusion的复数形式); immortality:n.不朽;不朽的声名;不灭;
Well it's time to grow up, to be wiser, to be calmer, to be more considered.
Like generations before us, we'll be growing up in war -- not a war between civilizations , but a war for civilization, for the extraordinary opportunity to build a society which is stronger and happier and plans on staying around into middle age .
civilizations:n.文明(civilization的复数形式); middle age:中年;
We can choose life over fear.
We can do what we need to do, but it will take every entrepreneur , every artist, every scientist, every communicator , every mother, every father, every child, every one of us.
entrepreneur:n.企业家;承包人;主办者; communicator:n.传播者;发报机;通信员;
This could be our finest hour.
Thank you.
(Applause)