正文

2030年人类将需要两个地球

2010-10-18来源:和谐英语

Human demands on natural resources have doubled in under 50 years and are now outstripping what the Earth can provide by more than half, a new report has warned.

And humanity carries on as it is in use of resources, globally it will need the capacity of two Earths by 2030, the biennial Living Planet Report said.

Wildlife in tropical countries is also under huge pressure, with populations of species falling by 60 per cent in three decades.

And the report, from the WWF, the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network, said British people are still consuming far more than the Earth can cope with.

If everyone lived such a lifestyle, humans would need 2.75 planets to survive, it warned.

The world's people are now living lifestyles which would require one and a half planets to sustain, though there are significant differences between rich and poor nations.

The study's authors looked at 8,000 populations of 2,500 species and studied the change in land use and water consumption across the globe.

The UK comes 31st in a list of countries based on their 'ecological footprint' - the amount of land and sea each person needs to provide the food, clothes and other products they consume and to absorb the carbon dioxide they emit.

The country has fallen down the league table from having the 15th biggest footprint in the last report two years ago, but WWF attributes this to an increase in other countries' impact rather than a reduction in the UK's use of resources.

Ireland has the 10th highest ecological footprint in the world, while the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Denmark, Belgium and the US are the five worst countries for over-consumption of resources.

Much of the 'ecological overshoot' is caused by the world's rising carbon footprint, which has increased 11-fold since 1961.

It also carried a warning about the loss of wildlife and ecosystems which people depend on for food, fuel, clean water and other resources - with populations of species declining by 30 per cent worldwide between 1970 and 2007.

一份新报告警告称，人类对自然资源的需求量在不到50年内翻了一番，目前已超出地球供应能力的一半。

这份每两年出版一次的《地球生命力报告》称，如果人类继续以这种方式消耗资源，到2030年，全球人口将需要两个地球才能满足其需求。

热带国家的野生动物也面临着巨大的压力，其物种数量在30年内减少了60%。

该报告称英国人对资源的消耗量依然远远超过地球的供应能力。这份报告由世界自然基金会、伦敦动物学会和环球足迹网络共同完成。

报告告诫道，如果人人都以这种方式生活，人类将需要2.75个地球才能维持生存。

以目前的生活方式，世界人口需要1.5个地球才能维持，不过富国和穷国人口的生活方式存在着巨大差异。

该研究的作者对2500多个物种、8000个种群的生存状况进行了观察，并对全球土地和水资源消耗方式的变化进行了研究。

在依据“生态足迹”对多个国家做出的排名中，英国排在第31位。“生态足迹”即维持一个人生存所需的衣食等消费品以及吸收一个人排出的二氧化碳所占用的土地和海洋的面积。

英国的“生态足迹”排名比两年前的第15名有所下降。但世界自然基金会将其归功于其它国家影响作用的增加，而非英国资源消耗量的减少。

爱尔兰的“生态足迹”在世界上排名第十，阿联酋、卡塔尔、丹麦、比利时和美国是过度消耗资源情况最糟的五个国家。

全世界大部分“生态超载”都是由“碳足迹”的不断增长引起的，自1961年以来，“碳足迹”已增长了11倍。

该报告还针对野生动植物的减少和生态系统的破坏提出了警告——这是人类获取食物、燃料、淡水和其它资源的来源。1970年至2007年间，全球的物种数量减少了30%。