每日英語跟讀 Ep.K388: The Unseen Toll of a Warming World

Experts and psychologists are racing to understand how a volatile, unpredictable planet shapes our minds and mental health. In February, a major new study of climate change highlighted the mental health effects for the first time, saying that anxiety and stress from a changing climate were likely to increase in the coming years.

專家和心理學家正加速想要了解，一個劇烈變化且無法預測的星球如何形塑我們的心智和心理健康。在2月，新的一項氣候變遷重要研究首度強調心理健康的影響，它指出變遷中氣候造成的焦慮和壓力未來幾年可能增加。

In addition to those who have lost their homes to floods and megafires, millions have endured record-breaking heat waves. The crisis also hits home in subtle, personal ways — withered gardens, receding lakeshores and quiet walks without the birdsong that once accompanied them.

除了那些在洪水和大火中失去家園的人，還有數百萬人曾經歷破紀錄的熱浪。這個危機也以微小、個人化的方式打擊家庭；枯萎的花園，後退中的湖岸，還有曾經相伴現在卻沒有的鳥鳴的寂寥散步。

To understand what the effects of climate change feel like in America today, we listened to hundreds of people. In cities already confronting the long-term effects of climate change, and in drought-scarred ranches and rangeland, many are trying to cope with the strains of an increasingly precarious future. As temperatures rise, extreme weather events will become more and more common.

為了解今日在美國，氣候變遷的影響是何種光景，我們聽取數百人的想法。在已經對抗氣候變遷長期影響的都市，還有因旱災受害的牧場和放牧地，許多人正嘗試應對一連串益發不穩定的未來。當氣溫上升之際，極端天氣事件將愈來愈常見。

The feelings are complex.

大家的感受相當複雜。

Some people grieve the loss of serene hiking trails that have been engulfed by wildfire smoke while others no longer find the same joy or release from nature. Some are seeking counseling. Others are

harnessing their anxiety for change by protesting or working to slow the damage.

有些人對被野火煙霧吞沒的寧靜健行步道消失覺得感傷，也有些人再也找不到在大自然的相同喜悅或放鬆。有些人尋求諮商，也有些人利用自己的焦慮轉為抗議或投入減緩損害工作。

“This is becoming a No. 1 threat to mental health,” said Britt Wray, a Stanford University researcher and author of “Generation Dread,” a forthcoming book about grappling with climate distress. “It can

make day-to-day life incredibly hard to go on.”

「這已成為心理健康的頭號威脅」，史丹福大學研究者雷伊說，他在即將出版的新書「憂慮世代」（暫譯）提到處理氣候導致的憂慮，「它可能讓日常生活很難過下去。」

Psychologists and therapists say the distress of a changing climate can cause fleeting anxiety for some people but trigger much darker thoughts for others. In a 2020 survey, more than half of Americans

reported feeling anxious about the climate’s effect on their mental health, and more than two-thirds said they were anxious about how climate change would affect the planet.

心理學家和治療師說，氣候變遷的煩惱對一些人可能會造成短暫焦慮，但對其他人可能會刺激出更黑暗的念頭。在2020年一項調查中，超過半數美國人表示，對於氣候變遷影響他們的心理健康感到焦慮，而超過三分之二的人說，他們對氣候變遷會如何影響地球感到憂心。

Young people say they are especially upset.

年輕人說，他們覺得特別不安。

A survey of people 16 to 25 in 10 countries published in The Lancet found that three-quarters were frightened of the future. More than half said humanity was doomed. Some feel betrayed by older generations and leaders. They say they feel angry but helpless as they watch people in power fail to act swiftly.

一項訪問10個國家16至25歲民眾、刊載於「刺胳針」期刊的調查發現，四分之三的人對未來感到驚恐，過半數說人類難逃毀滅。有些人感覺被年長世代和領袖背叛。他們說，眼看著有權力的人未能迅速行動，感到憤怒卻無助。

Almost 40% of young people say they are hesitant about having children. If nature feels this unmoored today, some ask, why bring children into an even grimmer future?

將近40%年輕人說，對於生小孩感到遲疑。有些人問，如果現在的自然如此失序，為何還要把孩子帶到一個更令人憂心的未來？Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6260390