The vitality of the earth[1]

Forty-five years ago, in the forest edge of black spruce ^[2] in Canada, I witnessed a warning scene in "Silent Spring" ^[3] (also translated: "Silent Spring"). Back in time to the spring of 1970, the scene is a natural forest of black spruce in New Brunswick ^[4] .

After finally surviving the mid-winter in the northern country where the snow is as high as the bungalow, the murmuring of the melting ice under the gray snowdrift outside the window has lasted for several days, and spring has finally come. Within a few days, I will be traveling to twenty different types of natural forests across the province to survey and sample forest soil and measure and record the annual growth of trees.

Soon, my junior brother Richard Brown ^[5] and I packed up and set off. We each carried shovels and other equipment that were almost as high as people, and drove from Fredericton, where the school is located, to Bathurst, the northernmost point ^of New Brunswick, 200 kilometers away. ^[7] .

Although the snow on the road has disappeared, the road in early spring is still quite uneven with the alternation of day and night freezing, especially on the road in the valley, there are still many depressions with thin ice floating on the road. With the wheel slipping off the road, Richard was driving quite intently.

New Brunswick has the reputation of being the most picturesque province in Canada. Along the way, I saw a little green buds on the branches of the fallen leaves trees, like green flames about to burst. Away from the roadside is a piece of northern cold coniferous forest. Although the snow on the road has melted away, the ground in the forest by the roadside is full of snow, like a black velvet carpet embedded with white cotton. I have been living in a warm house for several months, and now I can enjoy the slightly cooler but fresh air. I expect good results and new achievements this year.

It was about seven degrees Celsius on departure in the morning and nearly five degrees Celsius when we arrived in Bathurst in the north near noon, which was pleasant. The cold winter has just passed, the water temperature of the stream is still low, and the tiny ink flies ^[8] that disturb people in the forest have not yet poured out. Spring this month is a good time for fieldwork.

After driving for nearly three hours, the car finally left the road that had been pressed by Xueling for half a year, and turned into a slightly wet dirt road. About ten minutes later, the car stopped in front of a row of old bungalows, which was the lumber station of the Irving Pulp and Paper Enterprise ^[9] . The company owns Canada's largest forestry company, with 1.4 million hectares of forest land in New Brunswick, almost a quarter of all forest land in the province. The location we are going to investigate is the company's woodland.

In front of the bungalow is a large square, where a lot of material trucks for the winter are parked. At the end of the square is a black spruce forest, like a black and flat wall blocking my vision. I vaguely glimpsed something greenish-yellow scattered on the ground, sort of like small buds. I walked quickly to the edge of the forest, and curiously took a closer look, wow! It turned out to be a dozen green-yellow birds, lying quietly on the mud with their stomachs up. Richard said it was a species of chaffinch.

I walked back to the row of bungalows, trying to get warm, and asked what happened to the pile of birds on the ground. A bearded man sat behind the entry counter. We told him we were from the Forestry School at the University of New Brunswick to do our research and asked him what was going on with the pile of dead birds in the square. He said that those were the yellow-bellied flycatchers ^[10] . The plane was sprayed with insecticide last week to remove the larvae of the spruce leaf roller moth ^[11] . Spring is the time when the larvae start to eat spruce needles, and spraying them with an airplane saves time and money and works best.

The yellow-bellied flycatcher is a small migratory bird. Every year, it travels between northeastern North America and Central America. Every spring, it takes a three-day direct flight from near Cuba to southeastern Canada, with a round trip of about 1,200 kilometers. Some yellow-bellied flycatchers breed in the forests I investigated.

In the 1970s, the forestry division of the Irving Enterprise Group had largely stopped DDT, but sprayed its woodlands with about 300 metric tons of other organic pesticides each year. When I saw this scene, Carson's "Silent Spring" gradually turned into concrete evidence and lay before me.

Forty-five years later, I am still concerned about changes in the environment. Acid rain has been studied since the 1970s. Acid rain kills temperate coniferous forests and drains nutrients from forest catchments. Later, I became concerned about how deforestation changes the hydrology of streams and the process of transporting sediment and nutrients. I know that the biggest and most difficult problems to solve today are global-scale pollution, global warming, and loss of diversity of life, and these three have a complex relationship of positive feedback.

In the late 1950s, when Carson set about collecting information and writing "Silent Spring", according to Bill. According to McKibben's "The End of Nature" ^[12] , Carson found that fish, animals and plants in several areas of the Arctic were not contaminated by DDT, that is to say, there is still an inch of pure land on the earth, and the pollution phenomenon may still be in its infancy. It did not spread into an unmanageable situation. "Nature's End" was hailed by the Baltimore Sun ^[13] as: "Mckey and his Nature's End are most likely to rank alongside Carson and Silent Spring."

Back then, in 1960 the world's population was less than three billion, but it has grown to seven billion in fifty years. During this 50-year period, human beings have exploited a large number of various natural resources and rapidly transformed them into a large number of non-essential products, producing a large amount of various wastes that cannot be processed by nature, and the quantity is exponentially higher. surge. For example, the production of chemical synthetic fertilizers, the production of automobiles, and the construction of dams have increased by about five, nine and seven times, respectively. During this period, about 700 million hectares were deforestation, the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere increased by 40%, and the sea surface temperature in the northern hemisphere increased by 0.6 degrees Celsius.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, this trend has intensified, bringing the fate of mankind to an unpredictable future. Since this century, in the face of the unbearable consequences of human activities, many knowledgeable people have made statements and written books to warn the world. For example, "The Age of Man: The World We Made" ^[14] , "The Sixth Mass Extinction" ^[15] , "The Collapse of Western Civilization" ^[16] , "Climate Shock: The Economic End of a Warming Planet" ^[17] and other books, all of which are cautionary books published in the last year, are placed on the most eye-catching shelves in bookstores, and their cover designs are shocking. However, those who speak earnestly and those who listen are contemptuous, despite the deterioration of the environment and the destruction of the common people, people still go their own way.

In order to stop global warming, it is necessary to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Humans have also done a lot of things with half the effort. For example, signing international agreements, developing green and renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, enacting new environmental laws and environmental protection policies, establishing new environmental protection agencies, implementing "carbon cap and trade" programs, and other economic incentives. However, as of today, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has continued to rise, climate warming has not slowed down, the intensity and frequency of extreme climates have continued to rise, and efforts to combat climate change have not yet achieved concrete results, and it is not clear that there will be a day when they will achieve results in the future. , what is the crux of this problem?

Taking the United States as an example, a sample survey conducted by The New York Times in cooperation with Stanford University and the Future Resource Research Organization earlier this year pointed out that about half of the Republicans agree with the anti-global warming policy adopted by the Democratic government ^[17] . They do not support the measures taken by the government. Matthew Feinberg, a psychologist at the University of Toronto in Canada, points out that the crux of the problem lies in the divergent views of the two parties on "the moral responsibility for global warming." Those in favor and supporters believe that carbon reduction and anti-heating are a matter of "right and wrong" moral responsibility, while those in favor but disapproval believe that environmental protection (such as recycling) has nothing to do with morality, but a matter of value, related to politics and economics.

The gap in American views on this environmental issue began in the 1960s, when "Silent Spring" came out. By the 1970s, when Republican President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency, environmental protection had become a hot topic among political parties. For example, on the issue of global warming, the Democratic Party (liberal) believes that protecting the health of citizens and ecosystems is a moral responsibility and must be taken seriously. However, the moral responsibility of the Republican Party (conservatives) refers to patriotism, respect for the elderly, and self-love. How to allow the two parties to fight side by side in carbon reduction and warming policies and actions , promote mutual trust, sincerity and respect, and jointly undertake the consequences of comprehensive collective action.

For the global carbon reduction and warming issues, most countries still lack action. Many economists believe the problem lies in the "free-rider problem" of human nature. "Free-rider" means that individuals and countries that immediately act to protect the atmosphere gain only a small portion of the benefits, while others and countries that do not participate in the action enjoy the benefits. So, who will volunteer to clean up the warming situation? In this way, even if there are environmental protection ideals without talking about the results of economic benefits, there is only a good opportunity to miss protection.

In response to this, two economists, Hernat Wagner of Harvard University and Martin Weizmann of the "Environmental Defense Foundation", sought ways to break through this bottleneck and published "Climate Shock: A Warming Planet" The Economic End of the World” (2015) ^[17] . They believe that idealism combined with the novel application of economic theory may reach the thorny problem of global warming that has not been resolved by international negotiations.

They proposed the "Copenhagen Theory of Change" and said: We should ask everyone to take many small actions of their own accord to save everyone's atmosphere. For example, persuading people to change a few small habits can fight big climate change. Copenhagen citizens have consciously changed their behavior since the oil crisis in the 1970s, and now half of the citizens use bicycles to go to work. Taipei City's "Citizen Bicycles" is also a measure for citizens to reduce carbon, which is worthy of encouragement. Of course, this kind of movement needs social support (such as the municipal government's more attractive subsidies), but also pressure from society (peer or advocacy pressure, such as other municipalities to follow suit, some carbon reduction measures may prevail .

This is just like Liu Bei's last edict said, "Don't make good things small and don't do them." Accumulating small good things may become great good things that benefit the world. The next step is to expand individual self-initiated small acts of kindness to communities, countries, countries, and even the world to combat climate change. Of course, successful social movements are not enough, but concrete structures on a global scale are also needed. This framework clarifies the ins and outs of "global climate change," its impact and how to mitigate it.

William Nordhouse, a professor of economics at Yale University, based on the "club theory" of economics, proposed another new idea to combat climate change ^[19] . He proposes to organize a concrete "climate club" with members from the few countries that agree to create incentives for carbon reduction in their countries. At the same time, it imposes trade barriers on imports to non-club member countries. Such clubs can gradually expand their lineup of member states, and they will not repeat the "Kyoto Protocol" when they are implemented. Nearly 200 countries have signed the agreement at every turn, and they will fail because of the inability to reach a consensus among the countries.

Another economics professor at Yale University, Robert Shiller, believes that to solve the extremely difficult problem of climate change, it may rely on both "Copenhagen Theory of Change" and "Club Theory". Without common ideals and building the same dream, it is impossible to create an atmosphere for global change.

In terms of the current level of technological sophistication and the phenomenon of globalization, we have to admit that human beings have unparalleled power, full free will to act, endless ideals and creativity, very diverse choices, and the desire to pursue environmental ethics. . These traits should be used to a certain degree to save a deteriorating environment.

Advanced mathematical simulation programs show that in the face of severe environmental changes and the loss of life diversity, if human beings immediately take effective countermeasures, understand the root cause of the rapid changes and grasp the opportunity to save them, they may be able to turn the dangers into the flat, and the course may be possible. sustainable future. Edward Wilson's words in his recent book The Meaning of Human Being ^[20] are indeed the twilight drum and the morning bell. He said: If human beings do not ponder the true meaning of human existence as a planet in this universe, and shoulder the great responsibility of taking care of other life in the world, how can we safely believe that human beings have a promising future?

From the accusation of "Silent Spring" to the warning of "The End of Nature", to the publication of "The Meaning of Human Existence", human beings have gone through half a century and witnessed the great changes of this planet and the extinction of life. This is definitely our generation. The fault of our generation is also the responsibility of our generation.

Notes

[1] Preface: "Earth's Vitality", "The Fighter Who Creates a New World of Environmental Protection with Pens" Collection of the 50th Anniversary of Carson's Death. Jin Hengbi and Su Zhenglong, editor-in-chief. Wang Ruixiang, etc., Shulin Publishing Company, May 2015

^[2] Picea mariana

^[3] Silent Spring , by Rachel Carson, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1962

Many publishing houses have published different Chinese translations, Silent Spring.

^[4] New Brunswick Province

^[5] Richard Brown

^[6] Fredericton

^[7] Buthurst, New Brunswick, Canada

^[8] dipteran

^[9] Irving Pulp & Paper Limited, New Brunswick, Canada

^[10] Empidonax flaviventris

^[11] Choristoneura fumiferana

^[12] The End of Nature, by Bill McKibben, Random House, 1989

^[13] The Baltimore Sun

^[14] The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us , By Diane Ackerman, Norton. 344 pp.

Sanlian Publishing House has published a Chinese translation, "The Age of Humanity".

^[15] The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, by Elizabeth Kolbert, Henry Holt and Company, LLC Publishers, 2014.

Taiwan's Tianxia Culture Publishing House has published a Chinese translation, "The Sixth Mass Extinction".

^[16] The Collapse of Western Civilization by Naomi Reskes and Erik M. Conway, Columbia University Press, 2014

^[17] Climate Shock: The economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet by Gernot Wagner and Martin L. Weitzman, Princeton University Press, 2015

^[18] Coral Davenport and Marjorie Connelly. Most Republicans Say They Back Climate Action, Poll Finds. January 30, 2015, New York Times.

^[19] Robert J. Shiller, HowIdealism Expressed in Concrete Steps Can Fight. March27, 2015, New York Times

^[20] The Meaning of Human Existence. By Edward O. Wilson, Liveright, New York, 2014

Zhejiang People's Publishing House has published a Chinese translation, "The Meaning of Human Existence".