全球变暖给人类的生存带来了巨大挑战。考虑到地球从太阳的辐射中获得了很多热量,如果把太阳光遮住一小部分(比如说1%或2%),能不能解决全球变暖这个大问题呢?
Should we dim the sun?
by Brian Kahn
When it comes to geoengineering the planet to cool the climate, there's rightfully a lot of hesitation. Blocking incoming sunlight might seem like a quick fix to rising temperatures, but doing so could quickly tie up humanity in a decades-long project with alarming side effects like shifting precipitation(降水) patterns and changes in hurricane season.
geoengineer /ˌdʒiːəʊˌendʒɪˈnɪə(r)/ v. 利用科技手段改变整个地球的气候
cool /kuːl/ v. 冷却、使变凉
rightfully /ˈraɪtf(ə)li/ adv. 正当地、应当地(由right加后缀-ful变成形容词rightful,再加后缀-ly变成副词)
hesitation /ˌhezɪˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 犹豫、迟疑
block /blɒk/ v. 阻挡
incoming /ˈɪnˌkʌmɪŋ/ adj. 到达某地的(这里指达到地球的)
sunlight /ˈsʌnlaɪt/ n. 太阳光(由sun和light组成)
fix /fɪks/ n. 解决办法
tie up 困住、使无法逃脱
humanity /hjuːˈmænəti/ n. 人类
decade /ˈdekeɪd/ n. 十年
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 项目
alarming /əˈlɑːmɪŋ/ adj. 令人担忧的、令人惊慌的
side effect 副作用
shifting /ˈʃɪftɪŋ/ adj. 易变的
pattern /ˈpæt(ə)n/ n. 模式、方式
hurricane /ˈhʌrɪkən/ n. 飓风
That is what makes a new paper released on Monday in Nature Climate Change so alluring. It shows that undertaking half measures to block the sun could end up providing the benefit of a cooler planet without many of the adverse impacts on other parts of the climate system.
paper /ˈpeɪpə(r)/ n. 论文
release /rɪˈliːs/ v. 发布、发表
alluring /əˈljʊərɪŋ/ adj. 有吸引力的、让人兴奋的
undertake /ˌʌndəˈteɪk/ v. 从事、着手做
measure /ˈmeʒə(r)/ n. 措施
end up 以…而告终
adverse /ˈædvɜːs/ adj. 不利的、有害的
impact /ˈɪmpækt/ n. 重大影响
The results suggest there could be a role for geoengineering to play in saving us from a climate catastrophe, though it's hardly the last word on what that role could be, or even if it's worth the risk.
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 表明
role /rəʊl/ n. 角色、作用
catastrophe /kəˈtæstrəfi/ n. 灾难
risk /rɪsk/ n. 风险
Most research on geoengineering has focused on how humans could offset all the global warming associated with greenhouse gas pollution. The new study takes a different path, though. Using high resolution climate models, researchers first doubled the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They then used the models to reduce incoming sunlight enough to offset half of the warming associated with the rise in carbon pollution. Basically it's like two steps forward, one step back.
focus /ˈfəʊkəs/ on 专注于
offset /ɒfˈset/ v. 抵消
global /ˈɡləʊb(ə)l/ adj. 全球的、世界的
associate /əˈsəʊʃieɪt/ v. 联系、关联
greenhouse /ˈɡriːnhaʊs/ n. 温室(由green和house组成)
gas /ɡæs/ n. 气体
resolution /ˌrezəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ n. 分辨率
model /ˈmɒd(ə)l/ n. 科学模型、数学模型
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者(由research加上表示人的后缀-er)
double /ˈdʌb(ə)l/ v. 翻倍、变成两倍
concentration /ˌkɒns(ə)nˈtreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 浓度
carbon /ˈkɑːb(ə)n/ dioxide /daɪˈɒksaɪd/ 二氧化碳
atmosphere /ˈætməsfɪə(r)/ n. 大气、大气层
carbon /ˈkɑːb(ə)n/ n. 碳(这里指二氧化碳)
basically /ˈbeɪsɪk(ə)li/ adv. 基本上(由basic加后缀-ally变成副词)
They then looked at geoengineering's impact not just on temperature but precipitation, evaporation(蒸发), and tropical cyclones. Precipitation and evaporation are crucial components of the hydrological cycle that humanity relies on for drinking water, agriculture and more, while cyclones can cause massive amounts of damage and suffering.
tropical /ˈtrɒpɪk(ə)l/ adj. 热带的
cyclone /ˈsaɪkləʊn/ n. 旋风、气旋(台风、飓风等都属于气旋)
crucial /ˈkruːʃ(ə)l/ adj. 至关重要的
component /kəmˈpəʊnənt/ n. 组成部分
hydrological /ˌhʌɪdrəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l/ cycle (整个地球的)水循环
rely /rɪˈlaɪ/ on 依靠、依赖
massive /ˈmæsɪv/ adj. 巨大的
suffering /ˈsʌf(ə)rɪŋ/ n. 痛苦、折磨
The new findings show, though, that using a geoengineering half measure could reduce temperature and moderate the adverse impacts on the hydrological cycle associated with both climate change and full-on geoengineering. According to the study, tropical cyclone intensity would be reduced as well.
moderate /ˈmɒd(ə)reɪt/ v. 缓和
full-on 最大程度的
intensity /ɪnˈtensəti/ n. 强度(由intense加后缀-ity变成名词)
as well = too
"Surprisingly we find only a very small fraction of places see the effects of climate change exacerbated(恶化)," said Peter Irvine, a postdoctoral researcher who led the new study. "If you kept cooling, you'd keep getting benefits of temperature but diminishing returns on hydrological variables. Offsetting all warming, and you're beginning to introduce problems that are new."
surprisingly /səˈpraɪzɪŋli/ adv. 令人惊讶地(由surprise的现在分词加后缀-ly变成副词)
fraction /ˈfrækʃ(ə)n/ n. 一小部分
postdoctoral /pəʊstˈdɒkt(ə)r(ə)l/ adj. 博士后的
diminish /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/ v. 减小、降低
return /rɪˈtɜːn/ n. 回报
variable /ˈveəriəb(ə)l/ n. 变量
introduce /ˌɪntrəˈdjuːs/ v. 引入
That doesn't mean sun-dimming will be coming to a stratospheric(极高的) location near you anytime soon. And it doesn't offer a substitute for what really needs to be done to address climate change. Irvine was blunt in his assessment that it's only one piece of the puzzle, and a speculative one. "This can't solve climate change," he said.
dim /dɪm/ v. 变暗(sun-dimming指遮住一小部分从太阳到地球的光)
substitute /ˈsʌbstɪtjuːt/ n. 替代品
address /əˈdres/ v. 应对
blunt /blʌnt/ adj. 直言不讳的
assessment /əˈsesmənt/ n. 评估(由assess加后缀-ment变成名词)
puzzle /ˈpʌz(ə)l/ n. 拼图(引申为难题)
speculative /ˈspekjulətɪv/ adj. 推测的、猜测的
(如果您使用的是火狐浏览器,可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了,这是简书系统的Bug,换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。)
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