TED演讲 :石油真正的代价(1)

 The world's largest and most devastating  世上最大、最具破坏性的

environmental and industrial project  环境及工业计划
is situated 1 in the heart  发生于
of the largest and most intact forest in the world,  世上最大、保存最完整的森林当中
Canada's boreal forest.  加拿大北方森林
It stretches right across northern Canada, in Labrador,  它横跨加拿大北部的拉布拉多省
it's home to the largest remaining wild caribou 2 herd 3  为现存最大的野生驯鹿群家园
in the world, the George River caribou herd,  乔治河驯鹿群
numbering approximately 400,000 animals.  数量大约40万只
Unfortunately, when I was there I couldn't find one of them,  不幸的是 我前往当地时，并未见到任何一只
but you have the antlers as proof.  但有鹿角为证
All across the boreal, we're blessed with this  纵观整个北方森林，我们幸运地拥有
incredible abundance of wetlands.  丰富的湿地资源
Wetlands globally are one of the most endangered ecosystems 5.  湿地是全球濒临最严重危机的生态系统之一
They're absolutely critical ecosystems,  它们是十分重要的生态系统
they clean air, they clean water,  它们能净化空气和水源
they sequester 6 large amounts of greenhouse gases,  它们能吸收大量温室气体
and they're home to a huge diversity of species.  它们是许多物种的家园
In the boreal, they are also the home where  北方森林也是
almost 50 percent of the 800 bird species  北美所发现的800种鸟类中
found in North America migrate north to breed and raise their young.  半数为了抚育后代而北迁的鸟类家园
In Ontario, the boreal marches down south  在安大略省，北方森林向南延伸
to the north shore of Lake Superior.  直抵苏必利尔湖北岸
And these incredibly beautiful boreal forests  这片美不胜收的北方森林
were the inspiration for some of the most famous art  是加拿大历史中 某些著名艺术作品的灵感源泉
in Canadian history, the Group of Seven were very inspired  七人画派深受
by this landscape,  这片景观影响
and so the boreal is not just a really key part of our  因此，北方森林不仅是
natural heritage,  自然遗产的重要组成
but also an important part of our cultural heritage.  也是文化遗产的重要组成
In Manitoba, this is an image from the east side of Lake Winnipeg,  这是曼尼托巴省温尼伯湖东岸景观
and this is the home of the newly designated  它是联合国教科文组织新列的
UNESCO Cultural Heritage site.  世界文化遗产
In Saskatchewan, as across all of the boreal,  横跨北方森林的萨克其万省
home to some of our most famous rivers,  拥有一些著名湖泊
an incredible network of rivers and lakes  形成令人叹为观止的河流及湖泊网络
that every school-age child learns about,  这是每位学龄儿童都读过的知识
the Peace, the Athabasca, the Churchill here, the Mackenzie,  和平河、阿萨帕斯卡尔河 丘吉尔河、马更些河
and these networks were the historical routes  这些网络是具有历史意义的路线
for the voyageur and the coureur des bois,  对旅客和猎人来说
the first non-Aboriginal explorers of northern Canada  北加拿大第一位非原住民探险者
that, taking from the First Nations people,  仿效原住民的做法
used canoes and paddled to explore  使用独木舟
for a trade route, a Northwest Passage for the fur trade.  探索贸易路线，即进行毛皮交易的西北航道
In the North, the boreal is bordered by the tundra,  北方是被冻土带包围的北方森林
and just below that, in Yukon,  位于下方的育空省
we have this incredible valley, the Tombstone Valley.  拥有这座壮观的峡谷，墓碑谷
And the Tombstone Valley is home to the Porcupine 7 caribou herd.  墓碑谷是豪猪驯鹿 （Porcupine caribou herd）的家园
Now you've probably heard about the Porcupine caribou herd  你或许听说过，豪猪驯鹿的
in the context of its breeding ground  繁殖地
in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  位于北极国家野生动物保护区
Well, the wintering ground is also critical  事实上这片渡冬地亦十分重要
and it also is not protected,  却未受到保护
and is potentially, could be potentially, exploited  它面临一個潜在危机
for gas and mineral rights.  即天然气和矿物的开采
The western border of the boreal in British Columbia  位于卑诗省的北方森林西部边界
is marked by the Coast Mountains,  即海岸山脉
and on the other side of those mountains  这座山脉的另一侧
is the greatest remaining temperate 8 rainforest in the world,  是世上现存最大的温带雨林
the Great Bear Rainforest,  大熊雨林
and we'll discuss that in a few minutes in a bit more detail.  我们稍后会做详细介绍
All across the boreal, it's home for a huge  纵观整个北方森林，它是众多
incredible range of indigenous 9 peoples,  原住民族群荟萃之地
and a rich and varied 10 culture.  拥有丰富多样的文化
And I think that one of the reasons why  我认为大多族群
so many of these groups have retained a link to the past,  依然保有其固有文化的原因之一
know their native languages,  例如母语
the songs, the dances, the traditions,  歌曲、舞蹈、传统
I think part of that reason is because of the remoteness,  我认为部分原因在于它地处偏远
the span and the wilderness  幅员广大且依旧保持原始面貌
of this almost 95 percent intact ecosystem 4.  在这片将近95%生态系统尚未遭受破坏的土地当中。