時差N小時:植物遏制全球變暖

Don: You know, Yael, no matter how much we talkabout the need to stop global warming, sometimesit seems impossible. I mean, what are we actuallydoing about it?

唐：知道嗎，雅艾爾，無論我們口頭上多么需要遏制全球氣候變暖，但有時似乎是不可能的。我的意思是，我們實際都做了些什么?

Yael: Well Don, I suppose there's no one solution,but things like hybrid cars can make a difference.And scientists are busy developing biofuels thatcould reduce our use of gasoline derived from oil.And then there are crops...

雅艾爾：好吧，唐，我覺得沒有萬能的解決辦法，但混合動力汽車能讓事情有所不同。而且科學(xué)家們正忙于開發(fā)生物燃料，以減少使用從石油提煉出來的汽油。還有農(nóng)作物...

Don: You mean crops and plants that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

唐：你是說農(nóng)作物和植物能吸收大氣中的二氧化碳?

Yael: That, but also crops like corn and wheat with leaves that reflect sunlight back intospace. Scientists have used computer models to show that in major croplands in the UnitedStates and in Europe, planting crops with waxier leaves reflects more sunlight. In fact,switching to these crops could lower temperatures by about a degree during the summer.

雅艾爾：是，但像玉米和小麥這種有葉農(nóng)作物能夠?qū)㈥柟夥瓷浠卮髿狻？茖W(xué)家就曾利用電腦模擬了美國和歐洲的大型農(nóng)田，演示了葉子更光亮的作物會反射更多的光線。事實上，改種這種作物會使夏季氣溫下降一度。

Don: So are farmers switching to these plants?

唐：那么農(nóng)民們會改種這類植物嗎?

Yael: Not yet, because right now they exist only as experiments. But with selective breedingand maybe genetic engineering it would be pretty simple to end up with seeds that produceplants with waxier and more reflective leaves.

雅艾爾：還不會，因為目前處于試驗階段。但通過選擇性繁殖和基因工程能培育葉子更光亮、反射性更強的種子，這就使事情變得很簡單。

Don: Cool. But there's only so much cropland on the planet? How would more reflective cropshelp stop global warming?

唐：極妙。但地球上農(nóng)田是有限的?反射性更強的作物如何幫助減緩全球氣候變暖呢?

Yael: It wouldn't, at least not globally. But in places where there's lots of wheat, corn andother crops, waxier leaves could make a regional difference.

雅艾爾：不會減緩，至少從全球范圍來說。但是那些大量種植小麥，玉米還有其他農(nóng)作物的地帶會因光亮的葉子變得有所不同。

Don: I guess that's something.

唐：我想是這樣的。