The Ultimate Roller Coaster Ride

終極的雲霄飛車之旅

An abbreviated history of fossil fuels

石化燃料的簡史

It all started with a Big Bang.

所有一切都始於大爆炸

Wait, we don't have to go back that far.

等等 我們不需回溯至那麼遠

The Earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago.

地球是在45億年前形成

No, still too far.

不 這個時間點仍然太遠了

Try this: It's the Middle Ages.

試試看這個: 中世紀

People in Britain run out of firewood

英國人耗盡了生火木材

and start burning coal, but they use up the coal on the ground.

並開始燃燒煤炭 但他們用光了平地上的煤

Miners dig deep. Coal mines fill with water.

於是礦工往深處挖掘 煤礦裡充滿了水

Samuel Newcomen invents a coal-burning steam engine

托瑪斯·紐科門發明一種燃煤的蒸汽引擎

to pump out water so miners can keep digging.

把水抽出去 好讓礦工們能夠繼續挖礦

.

.

James Watt makes it practical for other uses.

詹姆斯·瓦特把此引擎改進 用於其它用途

Now we have ingredients for the Industrial Revolution

於是就有了工業革命的誕生條件

fossil fuels and a way to put them to work.

即石化燃料與有效利用的方式

All hell breaks loose.

此時天下開始大亂了

Coal miners bog down lugging coal. Rails make it easier.

礦工們陷入使勁挖礦的泥沼 但鐵路使事情變簡單些

.

.

Rails and steam engine combined make a railroad.

鐵軌和蒸汽引擎的結合造就了鐵路

Michael Faraday makes the first electric motor.

麥可·法拉第製造了第一個電動馬達

Nicola Tesla invents alternating current.

尼古拉·特斯拉發明了交流電

Soon, utility companies start burning coal to generate electricity.

很快地 公共企業開始燃燒煤以產生電力

Meanwhile, Edwin Drake drills the first Rock Oil well in Pennsylvania.

同時 埃德溫·德雷克在賓夕法尼亞州開鑿了第一個石油井

and Carl Daimler builds an automobile running on petroleum.

然後卡爾·本茨和戈特裡布·戴姆勒 建造了靠石油運作的汽車

Coal tar and oil are turned into industrial chemicals

煤焦油和石油變成工業的化學材料

and pharmaceuticals that prolong life. More population growth.

而藥物延長人的壽命 人口增長更多了

The Wright brothers start oil fueled aviation.

萊特兄弟開始以油為燃料的飛行嘗試

Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch make fertilizer from fossil fuels.

弗裡茨·哈伯和卡爾·博施從石化燃料中製造肥料

Fertilizer and oil powered tractors

肥料和石油驅動的拖拉機

expand food production, feeding more people.

擴大了食物的產量 養活更多人

World War I is the first fossil fueled conflict.

第一次世界大戰 是第一個使用石化燃料的衝突

Then comes World War II, giving us guided missiles and atom bombs.

接著第二次世界大戰 更帶來了導彈和原子彈

In between is a great depression partly caused by overproduction.

在兩次戰爭期間的大蕭條 部份原因是由於生產過剩

Powered assembly lines make products faster than people need them.

由電力驅動的生產線 製造產品的速度比人們所需還快

Advertising executives invent consumerism to soak up overproduction.

廣告主管們創造了消費主義來吸收過剩的生產

It's the 1950's.

這是1950年代

Advertisers use television to hook new generations of consumers.

廣告商利用電視來引誘新一代的消費者

In the 70's there's an oil shock.

在70年代有一個石油危機

Everyone's shocked to realize how dependent they are on oil.

每個人都嚇壞了 並意識到他們是多麼依賴石油

With the energy crisis, the environmental movement is born.

隨著能源危機的發生 環保運動誕生了

But oil prices fall and everyone forgets energy shortages.

但油價下降 然後每個人又忘了能源的短缺

There's a showdown between market and planned economies.

在市場和計劃經濟之間有一個最終決戰

Market wins. Goodbye evil Soviet Empire.

市場贏了 邪惡的蘇聯帝國掰了

Politicians decide the market will solve everything.

政客們相信市場將會解決一切問題

Personal computers arrive.

個人電腦出現了

Globalization takes over when the market notices

當市場意識到時 全球化已接管了世界

labor is cheaper in China.

在中國的勞動力較便宜

Suddenly everyone has a cell phone. But world oil production stalls out.

突然間 人人都擁有手機 但世界的石油生產減緩

China's now burning half the world's coal to make export products.

中國現在燃燒世界上一半的煤 用以製造出口產品

But where will China get more coal and oil to fuel more growth?

但中國將能得到更多的煤和石油 以刺激更多成長嗎?

Environmental problems everywhere!

環境問題到處都是!

Rising CO2-levels lead to record heat waves,

上升的二氧化碳含量 導致了破記錄的熱浪

floods, droughts. Oceans acidify.

洪水 乾旱 海洋酸化

Top soil erodes by 25 billion tons a year from industrial agriculture.

由於產業化的農業 導致地表土壤每年被腐蝕250億噸

Ancient forests disappear.

古老的森林消失了

Species go extinct at a thousand times normal rates.

物種以快於正常速率的一千倍滅絕

Fresh water's scarce or polluted.

可用淡水變得稀少或受污染

Oil companies drill in miles of sea water because the easy oil is gone.

石油公司在海底數英里以下開挖 因為石油不再容易開採

But a deep water oil platform explodes and fouls the Gulf of Mexico.

然而深海的鑽油平台發生爆炸 把墨西哥灣搞糟了

Manufacturing moves to polluting countries where labor is cheap

製造業搬到勞動力廉價的國家 進而製造污染

while the US becomes a casino.

美國變成了賭場

The financial sector is forty percent of the economy!

金融部門佔了經濟成長的40%!

But Wall Street is over-leveraged.

華爾街過度槓桿操作化

Banks fail. Unemployment soars. Credit evaporates!

銀行失靈 失業率飆升 信用蒸發!

The economy is on the verge of collapse!

經濟處於崩潰的邊緣!

Ok, present time. It's amazing how far we've come

好吧 回到現在 令人驚訝的是 我們在兩百年間

in two hundred years. Just three human lifetimes

走了多遠 從工業主義開始到現在的

from the beginning of industrialism until now.

三個人類主要階段

But where are we headed?

可是我們要去往何處?

We can't keep doubling human population.

我們不能繼續讓人口倍增

We can't keep dumping carbon in the atmosphere.

我們不能繼續釋放大氣中的碳

We can't keep ruining top soil.

我們不能繼續毀壞表土

We can't keep growing population and consumption

我們不能繼續增加人口和消費

or basing our economy on depleting fossil fuels.

或把經濟奠基於耗盡石化燃料

We can't just print more money to solve the debt crisis.

我們不能靠印更多的錢來解決債務危機

It's been an exhilarating ride but there are limits.

這一直以來都是讓人興奮的旅途 但有極限

No, it's not the end of the world but we have to do four things fast.

不 這不是世界末日 但我們必須立刻做四件事

Learn to live without fossil fuels.

1.學習如何不靠石化燃料過活

Adapt to the end of economic growth as we've known it.

2.適應我們所謂"經濟增長"的終結

Support seven billion humans and

3.以永續的水平養活70億人

stabilize population at a sustainable level,

並保持人口穩定

and deal with our legacy of environmental destruction.

4.處理環境破壞的爛攤子

In short, we have to live within nature's budget

簡言之 我們必須在自然中量力而為

of renewable resources at rates of natural replenishment.

靠著可再生能源的自然回復速率

Can we do it?

我們能做到嗎?

We have no choice!

我們別無選擇了!

Alternative energy sources are important

替代能源的來源是重要的

but none can fully replace fossil fuels in the time we have.

但目前沒有一種能完全取代石化燃料的能源

Also, we've designed and built our infrastructure

同樣 我們設計並建造了基礎設施

for transport, electricity and farming to suit oil, coal and gas.

比如交通 電力 農業 以適用石油 煤 瓦斯

Changing to different energy sources will require us to

為了適應使用不同的能源 我們必須

redesign cities, manufacturing processes, health care and more.

重新設計城市 製造流程 醫療保健等

We'll also have to rethink some of our cultural values.

我們也必須重新思考一些文化價值觀

None of our global problems can be tackled in isolation

全球性問題沒有一個能夠單獨解決

and many cannot be fully solved.

而且許多不能完全解決

We have to prepare for business as unusual.

我們必須要準備面對不同以往的狀況

Our best goal is resilience,

最高目標是有彈性

the ability to absorb shocks and keep going.

能吸收衝擊的能力 並繼續走下去

If we do nothing, we still get to a post-carbon future

如果我們什麼都不做 我們仍然會面對後碳未來

but it will be bleak.

但情景將會淒慘無比

However, if we plan the transition,

然而 如果我們有過渡計劃

we can have a world that supports

我們的世界就可以支撐

robust communities of healthy, creative people

健康且具有創造力的社群

and ecosystems with millions of other species.

以及包含無數其它物種的生態系統

One way or the other, we're in for the ride of a lifetime.

不論如何 我們已在生命旅程之中

Understand the issues and pitch in.

要瞭解並參與解決問題

It's all hands on deck.

所有人都在同一艘船上

Post Carbon Institute - www.postcarbon.org

後碳機構

Narrated by: Richard Heinberg

旁白: 理查·海因伯格

Illustrated by: Monstro - www.monstrodesign.com

插畫: "怪物公司"