Climate change is killing people, but there's still time to reverse the damage

Climate change is killing¹ people, but there's still time to reverse the damage

Transcript²

Billions of people on every continent are suffering because of climate change, according to a major new United Nations report released on Monday. And governments must do a better job of protecting the most vulnerable communities while also rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions³.

The report by nearly 300 top scientists from around the world paints a picture of a planet already transformed by greenhouse gas emissions and teetering on the brink⁴ of widespread, irreversible damage.

"People are now suffering and dying from climate change," says Kristie Ebi, one of the lead authors of the report and an epidemiologist at the University of Washington.

That's because heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires, disease outbreaks and other dire⁵ effects of climate change are accelerating more rapidly than scientists expected in many parts of the world, including in North America. And as oceans, rainforests and polar regions heat up, nature is less and less able to help us with the task of adapting to a hotter Earth, the report finds.

Still, the authors of the report make clear, humans are not powerless. Repairing damaged ecosystems⁷ and reducing greenhouse gas emissions dramatically and immediately would spare billions of people from illness, poverty, displacement⁸ and death.

Some environmental changes are already irreversible

Some of the most delicate ecosystems have already been irreversibly altered by climate change with serious implications for global warming later this century.

For example, coral reefs initially⁹ adapted to warmer water, but as oceans kept getting hotter in recent years, the reefs were overwhelmed and many have died. The same is true of polar, mountain, wetland and rainforest ecosystems, where temperatures have risen too quickly for plants and animals to adapt. Instead, species have gone extinct or moved to places with cooler climates.

That ecosystem⁶ destruction will affect how much carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere, trapping heat.

For example, forests and tundra¹⁰ in North America and Siberia usually soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But the report notes that as those ecosystems thaw¹¹ and even burn, they suck up less carbon dioxide and, in some cases, even end up emitting it.

For that reason, protecting natural landscapes far from human settlements is an important way to protect human life and health, too, the report notes.

"We need to keep natural systems in better shape to suck up carbon," says Camille Parmesan, one of the lead authors of the report and a researcher at the University of Texas, Austin. "Emissions reductions alone are not going to be enough."

Climate change is harming human health

There have been big advances in climate science since the last report of this kind was published nearly a decade ago. Scientists are now able to see the fingerprints¹² of climate change on individual storms, wildfires and heat waves. Those connections allow epidemiologists, economists¹³ and social scientists to study the effects of global warming on human health and well-being¹⁴.

The results are sobering. "Climate change has already affected¹⁵ the physical and mental health of many Americans," says Sherilee Harper, one of the report authors and a researcher at the University of Alberta in Canada.

For example, climate change is dangerous for pregnant women, the report notes for the first time. Wildfire smoke exacerbates¹⁶ respiratory and cardiovascular disease. And the trauma¹⁷ of living through a weather disaster can cause long-term mental health problems.

The authors return again and again to the deadly effects of heat waves. Around the world, high temperatures are killing people and making them sick.

That is also true in the U.S. "Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer¹⁸ in the United States," says Juan Declet-Barreto of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "The effects of extreme heat aren't always visible, which is something that makes people forget about them. But they are dangerous precisely¹⁹ because of that relative invisibility."

Worldwide, poor people, Indigenous²⁰ people and others who are marginalized are at the highest risk from heat and from the effects of climate change more broadly, the report notes repeatedly.

"I think we have not done a good enough job focusing on the poor and vulnerable," says Ko Barrett, one of the co-chairs of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and a top climate official at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric²¹ Administration.

In the U.S., poor people and people of color are more likely to live and work in dense²² urban areas with limited green space where temperatures are significantly higher than the surrounding areas, with disastrous²³ consequences.

Heat waves are particularly dangerous when they hit areas that are historically temperate²⁴, such as the Pacific Northwest, where hundreds of people died in a heat wave last summer.

There is still time to control global warming

Scientists warn that humans must limit the rise in global average temperature to less than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit²⁵ (1.5 degrees Celsius²⁶) to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Global temperatures have already risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 1.1 degrees Celsius.

A previous U.N. report released last summer estimated there is at least a 50% chance that global temperatures will reach that 2.7 degree Fahrenheit threshold by mid-century. The new report digs into what that might look like. For example, there is a big difference between lingering briefly²⁷ in the danger zone and permanently²⁸ camping out there.

If the increase in some parts of the world exceeds 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit briefly, before dropping again by mid-century, it's still possible to avoid widespread irreversible changes. Damaged ecosystems could recover. Strained aquifers²⁹ could be replenished³⁰.

But, the report notes, if humans allow global warming to linger above 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit for decades, the world will be transformed for centuries. Ice sheets and glaciers³¹ will not soon refreeze. Extinct species will not come back to life.

Preventing that kind of runaway³² warming requires dramatic cuts to greenhouse emissions in the next decade, which would require that humans stop burning fossil fuels in cars, trucks and power plants. The U.S. has been slow to reduce emissions in part because misinformation about climate change and the politicization of climate science has caused widespread public confusion about the true risks of global warming, the report says.

In reaction to the report, U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres doubled down on that message, calling fossil fuels "a dead end."

"Coal and other fossil fuels are choking humanity," Guterres says. Fossil fuel companies, banks and investors³³ are all complicit, he argues. "Those in the private sector³⁴ still financing coal must be held to account. Oil and gas giants - and their underwriters – are also on notice."

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

4 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

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 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

8 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

11 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

12 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 exacerbates   

n.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的名词复数 )v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Stripping the land in these ways allows faster surface runoff and exacerbates flooding. 这些做法终将使土地裸露、地表径流加快，从而加重了洪水的威胁。 来自辞典例句
• This policy exacerbates the gap between rich and poor. 这项政策加剧了贫富差距。 来自互联网

17 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

18 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

19 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

20 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

21 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

22 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

23 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

24 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。

25 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

26 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

27 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

28 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

29 aquifers   

n.地下蓄水层，砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
• Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30％。 来自辞典例句

30 replenished   

补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满

参考例句：

• She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
• She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。

31 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

32 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

33 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

34 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。