The 80s were all about big hair, neon, MTV.

80年代都是關於大頭髮、霓虹燈、MTV。

And then there was this:

然後有了這個。

"Every October a hole appears in the ozone layer over the south pole."

"每年十月，南極上空的臭氧層都會出現一個洞"。

"...hole in the ozone shield is the size of the continental United States."

"......臭氧盾牌上的洞有美國大陸那麼大。"

"The protective ozone layer is being threatened as never before."

"保護性的臭氧層正受到前所未有的威脅"。

"We are all at risk."

"我們都處於危險之中"。

Scientists warned that humanity was on track to completely destroy the ozone layer by 2050.

科學家們警告說，人類有望在2050年前完全破壞臭氧層。

Without it ecosystems would collapse,

沒有它，生態系統就會崩潰。

skin cancer rates would skyrocket,

皮膚癌的發病率會急劇上升。

and life as we knew it would cease to exist.

而我們所知的生命將不復存在。

But today, the ozone layer is healing.

但是今天，臭氧層正在癒合。

In an unprecedented act, the world came together to prevent an environmental catastrophe.

在一個史無前例的行動中，世界走到了一起，防止了一場環境災難。

So how did we do it?

那麼，我們是如何做到的呢？

And what can we learn from it?

我們又能從中學到什麼？

The ozone layer is a sort of “belt” around the Earth made up of gaseous molecules.

臭氧層是地球周圍由氣態分子組成的一種 "帶"。

It protects every living thing

它保護著每一個生命體

by absorbing two types of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

通過吸收來自太陽的兩種類型的紫外線輻射。

It's a powerful shield, but it's also fragile.

這是一個強大的盾牌，但它也是脆弱的。

In 1985, scientists discovered a massive loss of ozone here:

1985年，科學家發現這裡的臭氧大量流失。

right over Antarctica.

就在南極洲上空。

40% of the layer had dissipated, creating a “hole”.

該層的40%已經消散，形成一個 "洞"。

Scientists realized the hole formed in the spring and every year it got worse.

科學家們意識到這個洞是在春天形成的，而且每年都在惡化。

This was a wake up call.

這是個醒目的信號。

It wasn't small and far in the future.

它並不小，而且是在遙遠的未來。

It was now and way bigger than anybody ever imagined.

現在，它比任何人想象的都要大。

That's Dr. Solomon, an atmospheric chemist.

那是所羅門博士，一位大氣化學家。

In 1986, she flew to Antarctica, along with other scientists

1986年，她與其他科學家一起飛往南極洲

to investigate the cause of the ozone hole.

以調查臭氧洞的原因。

“Leading the team is Susan Solomon,

"上司該團隊的是蘇珊-所羅門。

a young atmospheric chemist from Boulder, Colorado."

一位來自科羅拉多州博爾德的年輕大氣化學家"。

You know once you step off the plane in Antarctica,

你知道一旦你在南極洲走下飛機。

if you've never been there before,

如果你以前從未去過那裡。

your main goal is to get out without getting frostbite.

你的主要目標是在不被凍傷的情況下出去。

"Do you want to do the next one?"

"你想做下一個嗎？"

But what really our goal was to take measurements,

但我們真正的目標是進行測量。

not just of ozone, but also of different chemicals that would help to show why it was going away.

不僅僅是臭氧，還有不同的化學物質，這將有助於說明為什麼它正在消失。

Some scientists released balloons in the sky to take ozone measurements.

一些科學家在天空中放出氣球來測量臭氧。

While others took measurements on the ground.

而其他人則在地面上進行測量。

And they all came to the same conclusion.

而且他們都得出了同樣的結論。

The biggest problem was chlorine from a man-made compound called Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs.

最大的問題是來自一種叫做氯氟烴的人造化合物的氯，即CFCs。

On the ground CFCs aren't harmful.

在地面上，CFCs並不有害。

But once they float up to the stratosphere the Sun breaks them down into chlorine.

但是一旦它們漂浮到平流層，太陽就會把它們分解成氯氣。

They bind with ozone to make oxygen and chlorine monoxide.

它們與臭氧結合，產生氧氣和一氧化氯。

Then the loose oxygen atoms bump the chlorine atom out,

然後，鬆散的氧原子將氯原子撞出去。

freeing it to destroy more ozone molecules.

釋放出它來破壞更多的臭氧分子。

And that causes a chain reaction.

而這將導致連鎖反應。

The long lifetime of the chlorofluorocarbons is a big part of the problem.

氯氟化碳的長壽命是問題的一個重要部分。

They live anywhere between 50 and 150 years in our atmosphere so...

它們在我們的大氣層中的壽命在50到150年之間，所以...

It means that every year that you use

這意味著，你每年使用的

what you use the year before is almost entirely still there.

你前一年使用的東西幾乎完全還在。

So it just builds up and builds up exponentially.

是以，它只是在不斷積累，並以指數形式增長。

And back then we used a lot of CFCs.

而在那時，我們使用了大量的CFCs。

The US had already moved away from CFCs in aerosol cans.

美國已經擺脫了氣霧劑罐中的氟氯化碳。

But most of the world hadn't yet.

但世界上大多數人還沒有。

And they were still in everything from refrigerators and air conditioners and styrofoam.

而且它們仍然存在於從冰箱、空調到發泡膠的所有東西中。

The entire world needed to make a big change quickly or we'd face--

整個世界需要迅速做出重大改變，否則我們將面臨--

Catastrophe.

災難。

Catastrophe.

災難。

Unmitigated catastrophe.

無可避免的災難。

In 1987, ozone levels had dropped by 50 percent.

1987年，臭氧水準已經下降了50%。

This growing threat led to some of the fastest collective action on climate we've ever seen.

這種日益增長的威脅導致了我們所見過的一些最快的氣候問題集體行動。

So I like to think of it as, there's three P's that when, they're met we do very well

是以，我喜歡把它想成，有三個P，當它們被滿足時，我們做得非常好。

at addressing environmental problems.

在解決環境問題方面。

So it was personal.

所以這是個人的事。

It was perceptible and the solutions were practical.

這是可以感知的，解決方案也很實用。

If you've been sunburned, you know that skin cancer is not a good thing.

如果你被晒傷過，你知道皮膚癌不是一件好事。

So everybody understands skin cancer.

所以大家都瞭解皮膚癌。

The personal nature of the threat is huge.

威脅的個人性質是巨大的。

The perceptible was easy to do with satellite measurements.

用衛星測量很容易做到可感知的。

You can just watch it get completely destroyed and go to zero

你可以看著它被完全摧毀並歸於零

where there should have been a lot of ozone.

那裡應該有大量的臭氧。

And we have practical solutions.

而且我們有切實可行的解決方案。

It was easy to find substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons in spray cans that took,

在噴霧罐中很容易找到氯氟化碳的替代品，而這種替代品需要。

you know, less than a year to do.

你知道，不到一年的時間就可以完成。

It was a very straightforward switch,

這是一個非常直接的轉換。

And I think the main unifying factor in all of that is the public.

而我認為所有這些的主要統一因素是公眾。

Scientists like Dr. Solomon held press conferences to inform the public.

像所羅門博士這樣的科學家舉行了新聞發佈會，向公眾宣傳。

"I think we will eventually see large scale depletions of the ozone layer in other latitudes."

"我認為我們最終會在其他緯度地區看到臭氧層的大規模消耗。"

The ozone hole started showing up in TV shows and movies.

臭氧洞開始出現在電視節目和電影中。

“It's those damn fluorocarbons, they've been kicking the hell out of the ozone.”

"是那些該死的碳氟化合物，它們一直在把臭氧踢出地獄。"

“Macaroni, it will burn off.”

"通心粉，會燒掉的。"

“Well so will the ozone, eventually.”

"嗯，臭氧也將如此，最終。"

And all this public awareness put pressure on leaders around the world to act.

而所有這些公眾意識給世界各地的領導人帶來了採取行動的壓力。

“We are here today because we recognize that urgent action is necessary.”

"我們今天在這裡，因為我們認識到有必要採取緊急行動"。

And the Montreal Protocol made it official.

而《蒙特利爾議定書》使之成為正式文件。

It recognized “that world-wide emissions can significantly deplete the ozone layer

它認識到 "世界範圍內的排放可以顯著消耗臭氧層

and result in adverse effects on human health and the environment."

並導致對人類健康和環境的不利影響"。

It listed control measures to reduce ozone depleting substances in a series of steps.

它列出了在一系列步驟中減少臭氧消耗物質的控制措施。

Including help for developing countries

包括對開發中國家的幫助

who need alternative technology and substituting products.

需要替代技術和替代產品的人。

Every single country eventually signed the protocol.

每個國家最終都簽署了該議定書。

Making it the only universal treaty to ever be ratified.

使其成為有史以來唯一被準許的普遍條約。

And the most successful environmental agreement in human history.

也是人類歷史上最成功的環境協議。

Soon after, the world's largest CFC producer began to phase them out.

不久之後，這個世界上最大的氟氯化碳生產商開始逐步淘汰它們。

Since the protocol went into effect on January 1st, 1989

自議定書於1989年1月1日生效以來

the consumption of ozone-depleting substances

消耗臭氧層物質的消費

including CFCs, plummeted.

包括氯氟化碳，急劇下降。

Today, more than thirty years after the Montreal Protocol was signed

今天，在《蒙特利爾議定書》簽署三十多年後的今天

the ozone hole has stopped growing and is now shrinking.

臭氧洞已經停止增長，現在正在縮小。

And by 2065 it is expected to have recovered completely.

而到2065年，預計它將完全恢復。

But there's more to be done.

但還有更多的工作要做。

After the CFC ban we began using Hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs.

在CFC禁令之後，我們開始使用氫氟碳化物或HFCs。

HFCs don't deplete the ozone layer but they are a potent greenhouse gas

氫氟碳化物不會破壞臭氧層，但它們是一種強大的溫室氣體

that contributes to climate change.

導致了氣候變化。

And it's the fastest growing one.

而且它是增長最快的一個。

So in 2016, the Montreal Protocol was amended to include HFCs

所以在2016年，《蒙特利爾議定書》被修正，以包括HFCs

and now they are being phased out too.

而現在它們也被逐步淘汰了。

But they are only one part of a larger issue.

但它們只是一個更大問題的一部分。

"Climate change is already happening, right here, right now."

"氣候變化已經在發生，就在這裡，就在現在"。

"Experts say that we have until 2030 to avoid catastrophe."

"專家說，我們在2030年之前有機會避免災難。"

"People are suffering."

"人們正在遭受痛苦"。

"People are dying."

"人們正在死去。"

"Entire ecosystems are collapsing."

"整個生態系統正在崩潰"。

"Unprecedented and even irreversible changes are happening to this planet."

"這個星球正在發生前所未有的甚至是不可逆轉的變化。"

"It is beyond any doubt that human activity is to blame."

"毫無疑問，人類活動是罪魁禍首"。

Climate change, our most challenging environmental problem is still in need of big solutions.

氣候變化，我們最具挑戰性的環境問題，仍然需要大的解決方案。

So I think people in most parts of the world, now understand

所以我認為世界上大部分地區的人，現在都明白

and are concerned about, the personal impact.

並關注其個人影響。

They found it to be perceptible.

他們發現這是可感知的。

And we are finding practical solutions.

而且我們正在尋找實際的解決方案。

It's not true that we can't do it anymore.

我們不能再這樣做了，這是不對的。

We need to keep our eye on the ball on climate change.

我們需要繼續關注氣候變化問題。

And if we do we will get the environment that we demand.

如果我們這樣做，我們將得到我們所要求的環境。