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There is one gas present in the air we breathe that is essential to life. Unfortunately, one can have too much of a good thing and the growth in carbon dioxide threatens to warm up our planet to a dangerous extent. Isaac Asimov introduces us to this villain in the atmosphere, explaining how it works and what can be done about it.
在我们呼吸的空气中，有一种气体对生命是必不可少的。遗憾的是，一样好东西我们可能会拥有得太多，而二氧化碳的增长威胁着使我们的地球变暖到一种危险的程度。艾萨克·阿西莫夫向我们介绍了大气层中的这个坏蛋，向我们解释了它是怎样活动的以及对付它的办法。
The Villain in the Atmosphere
大气层中的恶棍
Isaac Asimov
艾萨克·阿西莫夫
The villain in the atmosphere is carbon dioxide.
大气层中的恶棍乃是二氧化碳。
It does not seem to be a villain. It is not very poisonous and it is present in the atmosphere in so small a quantity — only 0.034 percent — that it does us no harm.
二氧化碳看上去不像一个恶棍。它毒性不大，在大气层中的含量极小——只占0.034%——不会对我们造成任何伤害。
What's more, that small quantity of carbon dioxide in the air is essential to life. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into their own tissue, which serve as the basic food supply for all of animal life （including human beings, of course）. In the process they liberate oxygen, which is also necessary for all animal life.
再者，空气中的那一点点二氧化碳对生命至关重要。植物吸收二氧化碳并将其转化成他们自己的组织，充当所有动物(当然也包括人类)的基本食物供给。在这一过程中，植物释放氧气，而氧气又是所有动物生命不可缺少的。
But here is what this apparently harmless and certainly essential gas is doing to us:
然而，这一看上去无害而且无疑又必不可少的气体却正在对我们产生影响。
The sea level is rising very slowly from year to year. In all likelihood, it will continue to rise and do so at a greater rate in the course of the next hundred years. Where there are low-lying coastal areas （where a large fraction of the world's population lives） the water will advance steadily, forcing people to retreat inland.
年复一年，海平面正在慢慢上升。它很可能继续上升，而在今后数百年间，会以更快的速度上升。在那些低洼的沿海地区(在这些地区居住着世界上很大一部分人口），海水会稳步向前推进，迫使人们向内陆退居。
