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To make matters worse, Earth's forests have been disappearing, slowly at first, but in the last couple of centuries quite rapidly. Right now it is disappearing at the rate of sixty-four acres per minute.
更糟的是，地球上的森林在不断消失，起先是慢慢地消失，但在近一两个世纪里其消失的速度相当快。现在，森林消失的速度是每分钟64英亩。
Whatever replaces the forest — grassland or farms or scrub — produces plants that do not consume carbon dioxide at an equal rate. Thus, not only is more carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere through burning of fuel, but as the forests disappear, less carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere by plants.
不管取代森林的是草地、农田，还是灌木丛，其生产的植物消耗二氧化碳的速率与森林是不相等的。因此，不仅是通过燃料的燃烧使更多的二氧化碳被加到大气中，而且，随着森林的消失，植物从大气中清除的二氧化碳也减少了。
But this gives us a new perspective on the matter. The carbon dioxide is not rising by itself. It is people who are burning the coal, oil, and gas. It is people who are cutting down the forests. It is people, then, who are the villains.
但是这也给了我们一个新的视角来考察这个问题。大气中二氧化碳并不是自行上升的。是人在烧煤、烧油和烧气。是人在砍伐森林。所以，人才是真正的元凶。
What is to be done?
怎么办呢？
First, we must save our forests, and even replant them.
首先，我们必须拯救森林，乃至重植森林。
Second, we must have new sources of fuel that do not involve the production of carbon dioxide. Nuclear power is one of them, but if that is thought too dangerous, there are other alternatives. There is the energy of waves, tides, wind, and the Earth's interior heat. Most of all, there is the direct use of solar energy.
第二，我们必须有新的不产生二氧化碳的燃料源。核能就是其中之一，如果认为核能太危险，也还有其他选择。有波浪能，潮汐能，风能，还有地球内部的热能。尤其是，还可以直接利用太阳能。
All of this will take time, work, and money, to be true, but nations spend more time, work, and money in order to support competing military machines that can only destroy us all. Should we object to spending less time, work, and money in order to save us all?
诚然，这一切将需要时间、努力和金钱，但是，各个国家却把更多的时间、努力和金钱花在了对抗性的军事器械上，而这些军备只能毁灭我们大家。为了拯救我们大家而减少在这方面时间、努力和金钱的花费，难道我们应该反对吗？
