PIXABAY
Language matters when it comes to climate change.
在气候变化这一问题上，语言十分重要。
In December 2018, The Guardian changed its wording – using “global heating” instead of “global warming” – after scientists found that Earth’s temperature is set to rise from between 2.5C and 4.5C. There had been a goal to keep the rise within 2C. And on May 1, the UK parliament declared a “climate emergency”, becoming the first parliament to do so.
2018年12月，《卫报》将“全球变暖”改为“全球变热”，在此之前，科学家们发现，地球的温度将上升2.5 – 4.5摄氏度。而先前的目标是将气温上升幅度控制在2摄氏度之内。5月1日，英国议会率先宣布进入“气候紧急状态”。
It’s true that “global heating” and “climate emergency” are – in terms of language – two simple phrases. But they send out plenty of messages.
的确，从语言角度来看，“全球变热”和“气候紧急状态”只是两个简单的短语。但它们传递出了许多信息。
If with “global warming” we’re still inside our comfort zone of handling the situation, entering the state of “global heating” is like heading to a point where the delicate balance of nature is disturbed so much that there is no turning back. Everything will be changing: Coral will die, polar bears will lose their habitats completely, and extreme weathers like droughts and heavy storms will happen at a higher frequency. There is no denying that we’re entering a “climate emergency”.
如果说“气候变暖”意味着我们尚能在舒适区中掌握局势，那么“全球变热”的状态就像是大自然微妙的平衡已经受到严重干扰，无法复原了。一切都变了：珊瑚将会死亡，北极熊将完全失去他们的栖息地，干旱、风暴等极端天气将更加频发。毫无疑问，我们正在进入“气候紧急状态”。
“Decades ago when the science on the climate issue was first increasing, the impacts could be seen as an issue for future generations,” but, as Katharine Mach, a Stanford University climate scientist, told The New York Times, now it’s definitely our issue, “a shift we all are living together”.
“几十年前关于气候问题的学科首次出现时，这些影响被认为是未来几代人所要面对的问题，”而正如斯坦佛大学的气候科学家凯瑟琳·马赫在接受《纽约时报》采访时所说的那样，如今这无疑成为我们要面对的问题，“我们都生活在这场变化之中”。
However, getting these messages through is far from enough. It depends on each and every one of us to find a solution – if there are any solutions left to find.
但理解这些信息是远远不够的。我们每个人都要去寻找应对之道 —— 如果还有办法可寻的话。
“We have no time to waste,” said the UK’s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, according to the BBC. Corbyn urged that “we take rapid and dramatic action now”.
据英国广播公司报道，英国工党领袖杰里米·科尔宾表示：“刻不容缓，”科尔宾呼吁“我们现在该采取迅速有效的行动”。
Indeed, language matters. But action matters even more.
的确，语言表述很重要。但行动更重要。
