In the summer of 1888, Bertha Benz (yes, that Benz) became the first person to take an automobile

在1888的夏天，Bertha Benz(就是那個賓士)成為第一位搭乘汽車的人

on a long distance road trip.

在長途旅行中

She also became the first person to have their car run out of fuel.

她也成為第一位開到沒汽油的人

If her steed were a horse, she'd have been able to stop at any of the stables that peppered

如果她騎的是匹馬，那麼她可以停在任何一個美如畫的驛棧

the landscape to get oats or hay.

來獲取燕麥或乾草

But she needed car fuel, and the gas station hadn't yet been invented.

但她需要的是汽車燃料，而當時還並沒有發明加油站

Fortunately, pharmacies of the era sold a petroleum product called ligroin – a common

幸運的是，在當時的藥房有賣另一種石油產物，揮發油(ligroin)

stain remover that also happened to be the fuel source for Bertha's car – so she

這種常見的去漬劑也可以當作 Bertha汽車的燃料

visited a pharmacy and was able to finish her journey.

所以她就去了藥房以完成她剩下的旅程

And as automobiles spread - in part due to the efforts of Bertha and her husband Karl

隨著汽車的擴散，也歸因於 Bertha和她先生 Karl Benz的努力

Benz - pharmacies and other stores began selling ligroin and other petroleum-based fuels to

藥房與其他商店開始販售揮發油(ligroin)跟其他的石油燃料

car drivers in larger and larger quantities, and in the early 1900s, the world's first

給越來越多的汽車駕駛，在1900年代初期

dedicated gasoline stations were built.

世界上第一個專用加油站完工了

Today, gas stations pepper the landscape and make it possible for over a billion of us

今天，加油站遍布在我們的景觀，讓數十億的駕駛開著自家車子

to drive our cars long distances with little fear of running out of fuel.

不必擔心會因為距離過長而沒油

And while horse stables still exist, they mostly support recreational riding and niche

但是馬場仍然存在，它們主要給予休閒和職業騎士，在這些領域中，馬仍然非常有用

professions where horses are still really useful; in general, horse power has been replaced

在這些領域中，馬還是非常有用。一般而言"馬"還是被"馬力(horsepower)"所取代

by “horsepower”.

但這，沒有理由認為馬力只能靠車子燃燒燃料

But there's no reason for that horsepower to come only from cars burning fuel.

有汽車的動力來自電池、氫動力電池還有甚至是壓縮空氣

There are automobiles powered by electric batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and even compressed

在這些石油的替代品中，以電動汽車為主

air.

搭配大量出現的電池交換站

Among these non-gas alternatives, electric cars are the most dominant, with charging

這不難想像在不久的將來，電動車

stations popping up all over.

或者是不同動力來源的車輛，將接管而加油站會步向驛棧的後塵

It's not hard to imagine that at some point in the near future, electric cars - or vehicles

人們只有在休閒的時候會去拜訪

powered by a different fuel - take over, and gas stations go the way of the stable, with

但也別讚美得太早

people only visiting them for recreational rides.

目前上路的車輛每200台只有一台是電動車，且購買的新車也只有每40台有一台是

But don't eulogize the gas station just yet.

雖然這個比例有在上升

Only 1 of every 200 cars on the road today is electric and 1 of every 40 new cars purchased

不過，考慮人們並不常買車，預計要20年

is electric, although that rate is increasing.

路上才會有四分之一的車是電動車

Given how rarely people buy cars, though, it's projected that it might take 20 years

而且在過渡到使用非石油燃料時，加油站可能依然會是燃料的中心

before even a quarter of the cars on the road are electric.

一百年前，許多驛棧最終都轉變為經銷店

And when (or if) a full transition to non-petroleum fuels arrives, gas stations may still be at

與修理廠，為了不同的運輸方式

the center of it all.

相同的方式，現在的加油站可能只是轉變為不然類型的燃料站

A hundred years ago, lots of stables ended up getting converted into dealerships and

換句話說，加油站未來會很像驛棧

repair shops for the new type of carriage.

這部影片是與Bill Gates合作的，藉由 Breakthrough Energy

In the same way, our gas stations may simply get converted into stations for selling new

致力於擴大乾淨能源的投資並支持創新朝向零碳排的世界

types of fuel.

想了解更多，可以拜訪 GatesNotes.com，或者是下方簡介的連結

In other words, the future of gas stations may be quite stable.

This video was made in partnership with Bill Gates, who, through Breakthrough Energy, is

working to expand clean-energy investment and support the innovations that will lead

the world to net-zero carbon emissions.

To learn more, visit: GatesNotes.com or click the link in the description.