TED演讲:石油真正的代价(6)

 And the Athabasca River drains downstream to a range of Aboriginal¹ communities.  阿萨帕斯卡尔河下游即原住民聚集地。

In Fort Chippewa, the 800 people there,  奇普怀恩堡有800位居民，

are finding toxins² in the food chain,  食物链中含有毒性物质，

this has been scientifically proven.  已经科学证实。

The tar³ sands toxins are in the food chain,  食物链中含有沥青砂这种毒性物质，

and this is causing cancer rates up to 10 times what they are in the rest of Canada.  导致当地癌症发病率比加拿大其他地区高十倍。

In spite of that, people have to live,  尽管如此，人们需要生存，

have to eat this food in order to survive.  需仰赖食物维生。

The incredibly high price f flying food into these remote Northern Aboriginal communities and the high rate of unemployment makes this an absolute necessity for survival.  空运到这片遥远北方原住民小区的天价食物和当地的高失业率使当地物产成了赖以为生的必需品。

And not that many years ago, I was lent a boat by a First Nations man.  几年前，我向原住民借了一条船。

And he said, When you go out on the river,  他说，当你沿河航行时，

do not under any circumstances eat the fish.  千万别吃鱼。

It's carcinogenic.  那是致癌物。

And yet, on the front porch of that man's cabin,  然而，在那名男子家门口，

I saw four fish. He had to feed his family to survive.  我看见四条鱼，他必须藉此养家糊口。

And as a parent, I just can't imagine what that does to your soul.  身为父母的我，无法想象这对心灵的影响。

And that's what we're doing.  这正是我们目前所做的事。

The boreal forest is also perhaps our best defense⁴ against global warming and climate change.  北方森林或许亦是对抗全球暖化及气候变迁的最佳防线。

The boreal forest sequesters⁵ more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem⁶.  北方森林吸收的排碳量胜于任何现存的生态系统。

And this is absolutely key.  无疑是十分重要的生态环境。

So what we're doing is,  但我们所做的是，

we're taking the most concentrated greenhouse gas sink,  将温室气体吸收率最大的环境，

twice as much greenhouse gases are sequestered⁷ in the boreal per acre than the tropical rainforests. 每英亩北方森林吸收的温室气体比热带雨林多两倍。

And what we're doing is we're destroying this carbon sink, turning it into a carbon bomb.  我们所做的是，摧毁这个碳汇，将它转变成碳弹。

1 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

2 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 sequesters   

v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的第三人称单数 )；扣押

参考例句：

• The dentist sequesters the tooth he is working on. 牙科医生把他正研究的牙齿隔开了。 来自互联网

6 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

7 sequestered   

adj.扣押的；隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 )；扣押

参考例句：

• The jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months. 陪审团渴望被隔离至少两个月。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everything he owned was sequestered. 他的一切都被扣押了。 来自《简明英汉词典》