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北極熊夢想著銀色聖誕──如果牠們消失了  下一個將會是倫敦

Polar bears dream of a white Christmas
If they go, London could be next

作者:綠色和平

by Greanpeace
28 Nov 2004

  一個沒有冰的北極,北極熊自荒原絕跡,大群馴鹿因饑餓而死亡。並且因為牠們的冰雪世界開始融化,將提高全球海平面上升的毀滅程度。這是你看過災害最嚴重的災難片,但現在卻成真了。

因夏日之後雪季逐漸地延後,所以在加拿大的曼尼托巴省契吉爾的北極熊必須被施打鎮靜劑,然後空運至北方,讓牠們能夠進入自然棲息地。

因夏日之後雪季逐漸地延後,所以在加拿大的曼尼托巴省契吉爾的北極熊必須被施打鎮靜劑,然後空運至北方,讓牠們能夠進入自然棲息地。

  一份新的報告《北極暖化的衝擊:北極氣候影響評估》,是由過去4年來300位科學家共同研究的成果,而結果並不樂觀。研究顯示北極暖化的速度遠超過任何人所能想像,而且幾乎是世界上其它地區的兩倍。這是首次有評估報告預言一個沒有冰的北極,將可能發生在距今的70年間,而不是發生在數百年後。

冰塊的重要性

  北極的冰帽會使地球的大氣溫度降低,調節鯨魚食物來源的海流,使得西歐地區溫暖,並供應地球上5%的淡水。萬一格陵蘭島的冰原完全融化的話,那麼我們目前所處世界的許多部份也將不復存在。

  研究預估由於融化,全球海平面將會因此上升7公尺。在海平面的城市,像洛杉磯、倫敦和阿姆斯特丹將會被淹沒。在美國,佛羅里達和路易斯安那的海岸線會因此往內陸移動。

  海平面若上升6公尺,將會淹沒邁阿密、羅德岱堡、坦帕和佛羅里達沿著海岸線的地區,再加上奧蘭多的部份區域和其它內陸地區。孟加拉會沉到海平面下從此消失。尼羅河三角洲將成為人們心中的回憶。

救救人類

  如果說世界正面臨著挑戰,那便是要拯救北極熊。因為如果我們能夠救牠們,才有可能救自己。

  北極熊完全依賴著海面上的浮冰層生存。在夏季時許多北極熊被困在陸地上,等著海面上的浮冰層變得夠厚實時,牠們才能到較遠的地方尋找獵物。但是當海面的冰層消失地更快,出現的更晚時,熊群在狩獵開始前,將面臨更長時間的挨餓。

  如果這段缺少浮冰層的時期拉長的話,對需要儲存足夠脂肪,度過懷孕時期的母熊來說,是個非常嚴重的問題。其實這樣的情形已經出現在牠們棲息地的南部地區。覓食季節時間的縮減可能對北極熊的繁衍有著嚴重的影響。

  在過去的20年來,北極冰帽所覆蓋的範圍已經退後了5%,崩落漂流的冰山也失去了至少30%的厚度。平均來說,北極熊的授獵季節因此減少了兩個星期。

  在缺乏海上浮冰層的這段時期,北極熊只好在有人居住的地區尋找貯藏食物的箱子或倉庫,而常被契吉爾和曼尼托巴等地的居民視為麻煩。因此幾乎每個冬天他們都必須將北極熊抓起來,安置牠們直到雪季來臨時,或是將牠們空運到更北的地方,讓牠們能夠繼續地狩獵覓食。

  在今年12月,許多國家將在阿根廷聚會,討論著全球針對氣候變遷所作的努力─京都議定書的未來。俄羅斯已同意批准京都議定書,而自2005年2月16日起,京都議定書將正式生效,並成為具備有約束力的國際公法。我們對這些國家有一些話要說:如果你們想要讓倫敦、洛杉磯和阿姆斯特丹免於被水淹沒的命運,那就救救北極熊吧。我們希望工業國家在到了西元2020年時能減少排放至少30%的溫室氣體,而在2050年時能減少70~80%。我們需要一場潔淨能源革命,唯一解決之道是大幅轉換為使用可再生能源,並且開發節能技術。希望我們的起步不會太晚─為了北極熊,也為了我們的孩子。

An Arctic without ice. Polar bears extinct in the wild. Mass starvation of reindeer. And as a result of their snowy world melting, the possibility of a global sea-level rise of devastating proportions. It's the worst disaster film you've ever seen. Made real.

因夏日之後雪季逐漸地延後,所以在加拿大的曼尼托巴省契吉爾的北極熊必須被施打鎮靜劑,然後空運至北方,讓牠們能夠進入自然棲息地。

Polar bears in Churchill in Manitoba, Canada have to be tranquillised then airlifted north in order to access their natural habitat as the snow is returning later and later after the summer months.

A new report, "Impacts of a Warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment," is the result of four years of work by 300 scientists. And the results aren't pretty. They tell us that the Arctic is warming far more rapidly than anyone thought, and at nearly twice the rate as the rest of the world. For the first time we're hearing projections of an Arctic without ice not on a timescale of hundreds of years, but within 70.

What's so cool about ice?

The Arctic ice cap chills the planet's atmosphere, regulates the ocean currents that feed the whales and keeps western Europe warm, and holds 5 percent of the world's fresh water supply. Should the Greenland ice sheet melt completely, we can say goodbye to much of the world as we know it.

Studies estimate that a 7m (23 foot) rise in global sea level would result from this melt. Cities at sea level, such as Los Angeles, London and Amsterdam would be inundated. In the US, the coastlines of Florida and Louisiana would move inland.

A 6m (20 foot) rise would swamp Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and the entire Florida coastline, in addition to parts of Orlando and other inland areas. Bangladesh would virtually vanish beneath the waves. The Nile delta would be a memory.

Save the Humans

If the world has a challenge at this moment, it's to save the polar bears. Because if we can save them, we just might be able to save ourselves.

Polar bears depend entirely on sea-ice to survive. Many are stranded on land during the summer months, where they await the return of sea-ice strong enough for them to travel and hunt upon. But as the sea ice retreats sooner and returns later, the bears are facing prolonged fasts before the hunts start again.

If this ice free period gets any longer, it will be most problematic for female bears who need to store enough fat to last throughout a pregnancy, as indeed it is already in the southern part of their range. An ever-decreasing feeding season could seriously damage the bear's reproduction.

In the last two decades, Arctic ice cover has retreated 5 percent and the ice that has left has lost at least 30 percent of its thickness; and an average of two weeks have been lost from the bear's hunting season.

During this lost period the bears are reduced to scavenging through bins in built up areas and are seen as nuisances by local communities such as Churchill in Manitoba. Here almost every winter they have to 'arrest' the polar bears and either keep them contained until the snow comes or airlift them further north so that they can start their hunt again.

Countries are meeting this December in Argentina, to discuss the future of the world's only international effort against climate change, the Kyoto Protocol. Because Russia has ratified it will become binding international law on 16 February 2005. We have a message to them: if you want to save London, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam, save the polar bears. We want industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 30 percent by 2020, and 70-80 percent by 2050. We need a clean energy revolution. The only answer is a huge switch to renewable energy and investing in energy efficiency - let's hope we don't leave it too late - for the polar bears, and our children.


全文與圖片詳見:綠色和平網站
版權歸屬Greenpeace,台灣環境資訊協會(林俊呈 譯,郭啟彬 審校)
中英對照譯稿請見:http://e-info.org.tw/topic/greenman/2004/gr04122101.htm

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