finite resources and we're kind of using them up really fast.

資源有限，而我們很快就會用盡這些資源

But what if we didn’t conserve?

如果我們不節約能源呢？

What would happen if the Earth ran out of food and water?

如果地球上沒有食物和水，會發生什麼事呢？

So, the good news is Earth isn’t going to run out of water anytime soon.

好消息是，地球不會在短時間內沒有水

The water we have doesn’t exactly do a disappearing act, it just changes state, evaporating into

地球上的水不會真的消失，它只會改變狀態，蒸發

the atmosphere then raining or snowing back down.

到大氣中，然後透過雨或雪的方式回到地球

The problem is, most of that water -- about 77 percent -- is salt water.

問題是，大部分的水 -- 大約百分之 77 -- 是有鹽分的水

And the fresh water we need is mostly frozen at the poles.

我們真正需要的淡水大多在南北極結成了冰山

But some exists in rivers and streams, which is good for us!

但是，河川與溪流中還有一些淡水，這對我們而言是好消息

And those sources get replenished from rainfall, which is even better.

而這些河川與溪流能夠從降雨補充水量，是更好的消息

But as populations grow and more people rely on these sources, we have to start literally

但是，隨著人口增加，越來越多的人仰賴這些資源，我們必須開始

digging into other resources, namely underground aquifers.

尋找別的資源，也就是地下水

These subterranean wells carry us through droughts so we don’t have to curb our habits,

這些地下井讓我們度過乾旱，讓我們不必停止用水的習慣

but new climate data is showing that we’re draining the largest water reserves in Africa,

但是新的氣候資料顯示，我們很快將會用盡非洲、歐亞大陸

Eurasia, and the Americas faster than they’re replenished by rain.

及美國最大的水資源，比降雨補充的速度還快

So much of the groundwater we use is lost to evaporation or ends up in the oceans meaning

大部分的地下水都因為蒸發而散失，或直接流到海洋

it doesn’t get reused, and that’s leaving billions of people without clean water.

意思是，這些地下水沒有重複使用到，導致數十億人沒有乾淨的水資源可以使用

Not only is there less water, but these dwindling resources don’t exactly abide by geographic boundaries.

不只水資源少，這些日益減少的資源也並未依照地理國界分佈

So nations are fighting for control over limited resources, and it’s sparking wars.

所以國與國之間為了掌控有限資源而戰，進而引發戰爭

The conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan began as a local dispute over access to clean

蘇丹達爾富爾地區的衝突，起因於當地非洲農民與阿拉伯牧民社區間

water between African farmers and Arab pastoralist communities.

為了爭奪乾淨水資源而產生的糾紛

Then it escalated into an all-out war that has caused hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced

然後，演變成一場全面性的戰爭，自 2003 年以來，有數十數百萬人

an millions since 2003.

因此流離失所

Yemen is also seeing increased riots over access to water.

葉門也因為爭奪水資源而有越來越多的暴動

In both cases water will solve the conflict but that magical peace-bringing water doesn’t

在這兩個狀況中，水可以解決衝突，但是這神奇的、可以帶來和平的水

exactly exist.

並不真的存在

So who is the biggest user of water and the people feeling these shortages the most?

所以誰是用水最多、最能感受到水資源缺乏的人？

That would be farmers, the people who also bring us food.

農夫，也是給我們食物的人

As water becomes more scarce the price will go up, which will in turn drive up food prices.

隨著水資源越來越貧乏，水價會上漲，食物的價格也會增加

And then we’re in the same position with groups fighting for access to a vital but limited commodity.

然後，我們將會變得跟那些為了有限卻重要的日用品而鬥爭的團體一樣

We’re going to see food wars the same way we’re seeing water wars.

我們未來將會看到爭奪食物的戰爭，就像爭奪水資源的戰爭一樣

And war has a nasty habit of destroying land, meaning we could destroy all our crops in

戰爭是一種摧毀土地的令人厭惡的行為，意思是，我們在戰爭中會摧毀所有的農作物

the process, leaving us with nothing at all to share once there is peace.

一旦戰爭結束回歸和平，什麼都沒有了

But don't worry too much, scientists are already thinking about protecting us from ourselves with seed vaults.

但是不用太擔心，科學家已經想到要用種子庫來保護我們

There are vaults all over the world that stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity of food,

世界各地都有為了保存食物基因多樣性而儲存種子的保險庫

and the global backup is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.

而且全球的備份保險庫位於挪威的 Svalbard 全球種子備料庫

This will not only give us diverse food, but it will give us a way to preserve our ecosystem

這不只提供我們多樣化的食物，也提供了一個保存生態系統的方法

so we can grow the crops that sustain us.

讓我們可以種植維持人類生存的農作物

Because without some forethought into preserving our ecosystem, well, we could go the way of

因為如果沒有這些保護生態系統的遠見，我們可能會走上

the dinosaurs.

和恐龍滅絕一樣的路

The Earth will be fine; our planet is pretty resilient.

地球不會滅絕；我們的星球其實挺有恢復力的

Us and the environment that sustains us?

那我們以及我們賴以為生的環境呢？

Not so much.

並不完全是這樣

So unless we want a future of wars over the snacks on your desk right now, we should probably

除非我們想在未來引發戰爭，爭奪眼前桌上這些零食，否則我們應該

start taking conservation initiatives very seriously.

認真採取保護措施

This video was written by space historian Amy Shira Teitel.

這部影片是由太空歷史學家 Amy Shita Teitel 所撰寫的

On the topic of water, she just made a video about releasing water into space!

關於水的議題，她剛剛製作了一部關於將水釋放到太空的影片

Check it out.

大家可以去看看