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TheBountyoftheSeaDuringthepastthirtyyears,Ihaveobservedandstudiedtheoceansclosely,andwithmyowntwoeyesIhaveseenthemsicken.Certainreefsthatteemedwithfishonlytenyearsagoarenowalmostlifeless.Theoceanbottomhasbeenrapedbytrawlers.Pricelesswetlandshavebeendestroyedbylandfill.Andeverywherearestickyglobsofoil,plasticrefuse,andunseencloudsofpoisonouseffluents.Often,whenIdescribethesymptomoftheoceans'sickness,Ihearremarkslikethey'reonlyfishorthey'reonlywhalesorthey'reonlybirds.ButIassureyouthatourdestiniesarelinkedwiththeirsinthemostprofoundandfundamentalmanner.Foriftheoceansshoulddie—bywhichImeanthatalllifeintheseawouldfinallycease—thiswouldsignaltheendnotonlyformarinelifebutforallotheranimalsandplantsofthisearth,includingman.过去的三十年间，我近距离的观察和学习海洋，用我自己的双眼看到了它们的恶化。有些暗礁十年前有很多鱼，而现在几乎没有生命。海洋底部已经被拖网渔船破坏。无价的湿地已经被填埋的垃圾破坏。到处都是粘稠的油污，废弃的塑料和看不见的有毒污水。很多时候，当我描述海洋恶化的征兆时会听到像“他们只是鱼”，“它们只是鲸”或者“它们只是鸟”的评论。但是，我确信我们的命运和海洋生物的命运有深远、重要的联系。因为，如果海洋灭亡，我的意思是海洋中所有的生命将最终消失，这将不仅是海生生命的灭亡的标志，更是包括人类在内，地球上的所有动物和植物的灭绝。Withlifedeparted,theoceanwouldbecome,ineffect,oneenormouscesspool.Billionsofdecayingbodies,largeandsmall,wouldcreatesuchaninsupportablestenchthatmanwouldbeforcedtoleaveallthecoastalregions.Butfarworsewouldfollow.生命离开了，海洋实际上将会变成一个巨大的污水坑。数十亿腐烂的或大或小的尸体，将产生恶臭，这迫使所有人类离开沿海地区。但是，更糟糕的还在后面。Theoceanactsastheearth'sbuffer.Itmaintainsafinebalancebetweenthemanysaltsandgaseswhichmakelifepossible.Butdeadseaswouldhavenobufferingeffect.Thecarbondioxidecontentoftheatmospherewouldstartonasteadyandremorselessclimb,andwhenitreachedacertainlevelagreenhouseeffectwouldbecreated.TheheatthatnormallyradiateoutwardfromtheearthtospacewouldbeblockedbytheCO2,andsealeveltemperatureswoulddramaticallyincrease.海洋作为地区的缓冲，保持生命所需的盐和水的良好平衡。但是，死海不再有缓冲作用。大气中的二氧化碳将稳定无情的上涨，当达到特定的水平时，“温室效应”就会产生。通常，地球向外太空放射的热量将被二氧化碳封锁，海平面会急剧上升。OnecatastrophiceffectofthisheatwouldbemeltingoftheicecapatboththeNorthandSouthPoles.Asaresult,theoceanwouldriseby100feetormore,enoughtofloodalmostalltheworld'smajorcities.Theserisingwaterswoulddriveone-thirdoftheearth'sbillionsinland,creatingfamine,fighting,chaos,anddiseaseonascalealmostimpossibletoimagine.热量产生的一个灾难将是南极和北极冰盖的融化。结果就是海洋上升100英尺甚至更多，这足以淹没全世界大部分城市。上升的水将把地球三分之一几十亿人口赶到内陆，造成饥荒、战争、混乱和疾病，几乎想象不到的程度。Meanwhile,thesurfaceoftheoceanwouldhavescummedoverwithathickfilmofdecayedmatter,andwouldnolongerbeabletogivewaterfreelytotheskiesthroughevaporation.Rainwouldbecomeararity,creatingglobaldroughtandevenmorefamine.同时，海洋表面将会被厚厚的腐烂物覆盖，将不能通过蒸发让水到达天空。雨将变为稀有物，造成全球干旱甚至更大的饥荒。Butthefinalactisyettocome.Thewretchedremnantofthehumanracewouldnowbepackedcheekbyjowlontheremaininghighlands,bewildered,starving,strugglingtosurvivefromhourtohour.Thenwouldbevisiteduponthemthefinalplague,anoxia(lackofoxygen).Thiswouldbecausedbytheextinctionofplanktonalgaeandthereductionoflandvegetation,thetwosourcesthatsupplytheoxygenyouarenowbreathing.但是最后一幕还没有到来。在仅有的高地上，可怜的剩余的人将面颊挨着颚骨，不知所措，饱受饥饿之苦，以小时计算努力使自己生存下来。然后，瘟疫，缺氧将光顾他们。这是浮游生物水藻的灭绝和植被减少造成的，这两种资源提供呼吸所需的氧气。Andsomanwouldfinallydie,slowlygaspingouthislifeonsomebarrenhill.Hewouldhavesurvivedtheoceansbyperhapsthirtyyears.Andhisheirswouldbebacteriaandafewscavengerinsects.人类最终将死亡，在某个荒芜的山上慢慢喘息。他本可以比海洋多活大概三十年，他的继承人将是细菌和少量食腐昆虫。