世界地球日：看《道德經(jīng)》里怎么保護環(huán)境？

2019年4月22日是第50個世界地球日。地球，不僅是人類的家園，也是無數(shù)野生動植物共同的家園。為了呵護我們共同的家園，我們不僅需要有所為，也需要有所不為。

On April 22, people in 190 countries around the world will celebrate Earth Day. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the environmental holiday initiated in 1970 to bring attention to the plight of our ailing mother, Earth, and our fellow creatures, whose health and longevity are threatened by human activity.

4月22日，全球190個國家將共同慶祝第50個世界地球日。致力于保護環(huán)境的世界地球日于1970年發(fā)起，以使人們關注環(huán)境日益衰退的地球母親及生物所處的困境，這些生物的健康和壽命受到人類活動的威脅。

plight [pla?t]：n.困境;境況

ailing ['e?l??]：adj.生病的，身體不舒服的;體衰的

【小知識：世界地球日】

世界地球日(Earth Day)即每年的4月22日，是一個專為世界環(huán)境保護而設立的節(jié)日，旨在提高民眾對于現(xiàn)有環(huán)境問題的意識，并動員民眾參與到環(huán)保運動中，通過綠色低碳生活，改善地球的整體環(huán)境。

地球日由蓋洛德·尼爾森和丹尼斯·海斯于1970年發(fā)起?，F(xiàn)今，地球日的慶?；顒右寻l(fā)展至全球190多個國家，每年有超過10億人參與其中，使其成為世界上最大的民間環(huán)保節(jié)日。

中國從20世紀90年代起，每年都會在4月22日舉辦世界地球日活動。今年世界地球日宣傳主題為“珍愛美麗地球 守護自然資源”。

The Earth Day Network sponsors numerous events with organizations across the globe to increase environmental awareness on this occasion, like teach-ins with scientists and trash cleanup projects. If you’re planning to attend one of these events, by all means do so. You will be part of what the sponsors call “the largest civic observance in the world,” joining more than a billion people who participate in this common cause that affects us all.

地球日網(wǎng)絡與全球各地的幾家機構一起贊助了很多活動，以在這一天提升人們的環(huán)保意識，比如科學家座談會，以及垃圾清理項目等。如果你計劃參加其中一項活動，一定要去。你將參加贊助者所說的“全球最大的民間節(jié)日”，與全球10億多人一起加入到這項影響全人類的共同事業(yè)中來。

teach-in：宣講會，座談會

However, if you haven’t yet made plans and wish to take a stand, there is one activity that you can do alone at home that will help you and the planet. It ensures that ever-so-briefly you are not contributing to climate change, and are doing what you can to save endangered species. Don’t drive or fly. Don’t buy anything. Do no laundry. Turn off the lights. Avoid going online. Depending on where on Earth you are, shut down the air-conditioning or heaters (unless you’ve got solar panels!).

如果你還沒有制定計劃，但還是希望表示一下立場，你可以獨自在家進行一項對自己和地球都有益處的活動。它能確保你起碼在短期內(nèi)不會造成氣候的變化，并且盡自己所能保護瀕危物種。不要開車，也不要搭乘飛機;不要購物;不要洗衣服;關掉電燈;不要上網(wǎng)。根據(jù)你所處的地理位置而定，關掉空調或者暖氣(除非你用的是太陽能電池板)。

Breathe deep and take a seat.

深吸一口氣，坐下來。

Doing nothing is also a way to do something. That is why contemplative types have practiced the fine art of sitting in meditation for millennia. While many of us are action-oriented and want to be involved in solving the world’s problems, some philosophers have argued that deliberate inaction provides necessary balance. Activism and ambition are great, but stirring the pot is not the only way to make a difference when it comes to being green.

什么也不做也是參與的一種方式，所以一千年以來，冥想者一直在練習靜坐沉思的藝術。盡管我們很多人以行動為導向，想要參與到解決全球問題的進程中，但一些哲學家認為，有意的不作為能提供必需的平衡。行動主義和雄心壯志很好，但一直有所行動并不是讓地球更環(huán)保的唯一方式。

In the Tao Te Ching, one of the world’s oldest and best-read philosophical texts, the sixth-century Chinese thinker Lao Tzu provided, “[t]he sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action and practices the teaching that uses no words.” While he acknowledged that there are occasions for doing—if action is well-timed—he emphasized the importance of not doing because so much of society’s messaging is about drive. “Do that which consists in taking no action and order will prevail.”

在全球最古老且最具可讀性的哲學名著《道德經(jīng)》中，中國6世紀的思想家老子說：“圣人處無為之事，行不言之教。”盡管他承認有時需要有意為之(在行為正合時宜時)，但他強調了無為的重要性，因為這個社會傳遞的太多信息都與欲望有關。“為無為，則無不治。”

In the context of environmentalism, this message is especially important. It’s human doing that has jeopardized the planet, our hustle and bustle, our innovation and consumption, our fuel use, our shopping, our relentless drive and ceaseless wanting. And even when we try to do the right thing, it often turns out we ignore the consequences of alleged improvements.

在環(huán)境保護論的語境中，這種想法尤其重要。正是人類的行為威脅到了地球，比如我們的忙碌、創(chuàng)新和消費、燃料使用、購物、無盡的欲望和無休止的需求。甚至當我們嘗試做正確的事時，我們也經(jīng)常會忽視所謂改善產(chǎn)生的影響。

Take the growing debate over replacing canvas totes with single-use plastic bags, for example. Growing cotton taxes precious water resources. Manufacturing processes contribute to carbon emissions. It turns out, you have to use an organic cotton tote 20,000 times over to make up for the impact of its production.

以日益激烈的關于用帆布手提袋取代一次性塑料袋的爭論為例。種植棉花會使用珍貴的水資源。制造過程會產(chǎn)生碳排放。其結果就是，你需要使用一個有機棉手提包2萬次才能彌補制造過程對環(huán)境產(chǎn)生的影響。

canvas totes：帆布手提包

Or, consider the fact that every time you wash your clothes, it releases micro plastics from synthetic fabric that eventually make their way into the ocean, and that these tiny particles travel long distances in the wind, possibly across continents. These invisible bits that you don’t see are damaging sea-dwelling species and ultimately also turning up in the fish we eat, as well as polluting previously pristine wild areas.

或者，想一想你每次洗衣服的情景，這會將微塑料從混合纖維中釋放出來，最終流入海洋，這些微粒隨風飄逝，可能穿越各大洲。這些肉眼不可見的微粒正在破壞海洋生物，并最終進入我們食用的魚類體內(nèi)，還會污染之前處于原始狀態(tài)的野生區(qū)域。

pristine ['pr?stin]：adj.未開發(fā)的，原始的

That doesn’t mean you should just throw your hands up and despair, give up on trying to be a force for good. And it certainly doesn’t mean that you may as well chuck your plastic water bottles in the sea and trash the planet because it’s all too complicated.

這并不意味著你應該放棄抵抗，心生絕望，不再嘗試為保護環(huán)境而努力。這當然也不意味著因為過于復雜，你最好把塑料瓶丟到大海里，隨處扔垃圾。

chuck [t??k]：vt.丟棄，拋擲

It simply means that one good thing you can do is take a day to contemplate the complexity and interconnectedness of all living things, including the Earth herself, and just do less. As Lao Tzu put it, “The sage…accomplishes without having to act…When one does nothing at all there is nothing that is undone.”

簡單來說，這意味著你能做的一件有益之事就是用一天時間沉思蕓蕓眾生的復雜性和關聯(lián)性，包括地球本身，然后少做一些事。正如老子所說，“圣人不為而成。無為而無不為。”