AnInconvenientTruth
穆罕默德·尤努斯/MuhammadYunus
穆罕默德·尤努斯（1940— ），孟加拉窮人銀行家、經濟學家、格拉明銀行（又稱孟加拉鄉村銀行）創始人。曾留學美國，獲得經濟學碩士和博士學位。回國後執教於吉大港大學，創辦格拉明銀行。該銀行開創和發展了「微額貸款」的服務，專門提供給因貧窮而無法獲得傳統銀行貸款的創業者，因此使數百萬人受益，為消除世界貧困做出了重要貢獻。
AceintheHole
Understandthesenewwordsbeforeyoureadthisarticle.
1.confrontv.遭遇；比較；面對
2.extinctionn.消滅；消失；廢止
3.forgev.偽造；做鍛工；鍛造
4.conceitn.自負；狂妄；幻想
YourMajesties,YourRoyalHighnesses,honorablemembersoftheNorwegianNobelCommittee,Excellencies,LadiesandGentlemen,
Ihaveapurposeheretoday.ItisapurposeIhavetriedtoserveformanyyears.IhaveprayedthatGodwouldshowmeawaytoaccomplishit.
Sometimes,withoutwarning,thefutureknocksonourdoorwithapreciousandpainfulvisionofwhatmightbe.Onehundredandnineteenyearsago,awealthyinventorreadhisownobituary,mistakenlypublishedyearsbeforehisdeath.Wronglybelievingtheinventorhadjustdied,anewspaperprintedaharshjudgmentofhislife,swork,unfairlylabelinghim「TheMerchantofDeath」becauseofhisinvention—dynamite.Shakenbythiscondemnation,theinventormadeafatefulchoicetoservethecauseofpeace.
Sevenyearslater,AlfredNobelcreatedthisprizeandtheothersthatbearhisname.
Sevenyearsagotomorrow,Ireadmyownpoliticalobituaryinajudgmentthatseemedtomeharshandmistaken—ifnotpremature.Butthatunwelcomeverdictalsobroughtapreciousifpainfulgift:anopportunitytosearchforfreshnewwaystoservemypurpose.
Unexpectedly,thatquesthasbroughtmehere.EventhoughIfearmywordscannotmatchthismoment,IpraywhatIamfeelinginmyheartwillbecommunicatedclearlyenoughthatthosewhohearmewillsay,「Wemustact.」
We,thehumanspecies,areconfrontingaplanetaryemergency—athreattothesurvivalofourcivilizationthatisgatheringominousanddestructivepotentialevenaswegatherhere.Butthereishopefulnewsaswell:Wehavetheabilitytosolvethiscrisisandavoidtheworst—thoughnotallofitsconsequences,ifweactboldly,decisivelyandquickly.
Sotoday,wedumpedanotherseventymilliontonsofglobal-warmingpollutionintothethinshellofatmospheresurroundingourplanet,asifitwereanopensewer.Andtomorrow,wewilldumpaslightlylargeramount,withthecumulativeconcentrationsnowtrappingmoreandmoreheatfromthesun.Asaresult,theearthhasafever.Andthefeverisrising.Theexpertshavetoldusitisnotapassingafflictionthatwillhealbyitself.Weaskedforasecondopinion.Andathird.Andafourth.Andtheconsistentconclusion,restatedwithincreasingalarm,isthatsomethingbasiciswrong.
Inthelastfewmonths,ithasbeenharderandhardertomisinterpretthesignsthatourworldisspinningoutofkilter.MajorcitiesinNorthandSouthAmerica,AsiaandAustraliaarenearlyoutofwaterduetomassivedroughtsandmeltingglaciers.Desperatefarmersarelosingtheirlivelihoods.PeoplesinthefrozenArcticandonlow-lyingPacificislandsareplanningevacuationsofplacestheyhavelongcalledhome.Unprecedentedwildfireshaveforcedahalfmillionpeoplefromtheirhomesinonecountryandcausedanationalemergencythatalmostbroughtdownthegovernmentinanother.Climaterefugeeshavemigratedintoareasalreadyinhabitedbypeoplewithdifferentcultures,religions,andtraditions,increasingthepotentialforconflict.StrongerstormsinthePacificandAtlantichavethreatenedwholecities.MillionshavebeendisplacedbymassivefloodinginSouthAsia,Mexico,andeighteencountriesinAfrica.Astemperatureextremeshaveincreased,tensofthousandshavelosttheirlives.Wearerecklesslyburningandclearingourforestsanddrivingmoreandmorespeciesintoextinction.Theveryweboflifeonwhichwedependisbeingrippedandfrayed.
Weneverintendedtocauseallthisdestruction,justasAlfredNobelneverintendedthatdynamitebeusedforwagingwar.Hehadhopedhisinventionwouldpromotehumanprogress.Wesharedthatsameworthygoalwhenwebeganburningmassivequantitiesofcoal,thenoilandmethane.
Seventyyearslater,myteacher,RogerRevelle,andhiscolleague,DaveKeeling,begantopreciselydocumenttheincreasingCO2levelsdaybyday.Butunlikemostotherformsofpollution,CO2isinvisible,tastelessandodorless—whichhashelpedkeepthetruthaboutwhatitisdoingtoourclimateoutofsightandoutofmind.Moreover,thecatastrophenowthreateningusisunprecedented—andweoftenconfusetheunprecedentedwiththeimprobable.