教育專題深入報導─智邦公益電子報─台灣最大公益電子報發行中心

教育專題 ◎ 國際專版有人類文明，就沒有自然生態？

═【立報】════════════════════════════

教育專題深入報導

═══════════════════════《2003/03/21》═════

*****【本期內容】 **********************************************

教育專題 ◎ 國際專版有人類文明，就沒有自然生態？

【教育小報報】

********************************************************************

◎ 國際專版有人類文明，就沒有自然生態？

人類為了延續自己的文明，積極地開發和利用自然資源，不過人類在開發的過程，卻改變和破壞了生態體系，造成某些存在於地球甚久的物種消失或瀕臨絕種。根據聯合國環境規畫署的一份報告，目前世界上每分鐘有1種植物滅絕，每天有1種動物滅絕。這份數據怎叫人類不心驚呢！

國際時事

A.布希政府欲開挖北極石油

文▓世界野生動物基金會

美國總統布希執意對伊拉克發動戰爭，許多分析家認為，這與美國欲掌控伊拉克儲藏的龐大石油有關。美國對石油的依賴極深，全世界每年生產的石油中，美國就消耗了25％；到了2025年，美國的石油消耗量將更高達全球年總產量的40％，而其中的70％，必須從外國進口。為了減低美國對進口石油的依賴，達成能源自主的目標，布希政府有意開挖阿拉斯加北極保護區的儲油。據估計，北極保護區的儲油高達32億桶。

可否讓石油公司開採北極保護區的儲油，引發美國參議院的激烈辯論。去年，美國參議院就曾否決布希政府的開採議案，並且要求布希政府應開發替代能源及減少石油消耗。然而，環保人士指出，布希政府迄今未有積極的行動。例如，布希在今年1月28日對國會發表的國情咨文中雖然強調要花12億美元發展氫動力汽車工業，以及另外投入12億美元開發替代能源，但這24億美元的來源卻是開挖和販售北極保護區儲油所得。環保人士就直斥這筆錢是一項骯髒的交易。

環保人士指出，事實上，北極保護區32億桶的儲油僅能滿足美國6個月的需求，也無法阻抑油價的攀升，而開挖儲油對阿拉斯加北極生態的危害，可能遠高於售油所得。環保人士因此呼籲布希政府三思，並主張美國要達成能源自主的目標，方法不在於開發國內儲油，而是努力開發替代能源、提高燃油效率及減少石油消耗。

Once again there is loud and passionate debate in the US over opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge（阿拉斯加北極保護區） to oil companies. This issue should have been settled last year when a bipartisan group of lawmakers rejected a drilling（鑽孔開挖） proposal in the US Senate. The debate should have shifted to explore alternative ways of reducing US dependence on foreign oil, such as developing renewable energy and reducing oil consumption. But it has not.

Instead, the Bush administration seems interested in exploring only one avenue: finding new ways to open the reserve（保護區）. Drilling proponents in Congress have included potential revenues from oil leases（租貸） in the refuge in this year's US budget resolution, a backdoor manoeuvre（後門政治行動） that would set the stage for opening the refuge to drilling without full and open debate in Congress.

This continued focus on developing domestic oil supplies is doing nothing to accomplish US energy independence, one of President Bush's stated policy goals. The reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge cannot significantly contribute to this, nor provide relief to the current high price of oil. It would take at least ten years before the reserve's oil came on the market, and even then the estimated 3.2 billion barrels are only enough to meet US energy needs for six months.

Indeed, the US has only 2-3 percent of the world's known petroleum reserves, but consumes 25 percent of the world's annual oil production. Current predictions are that by 2025, US energy use - already the highest in the world - will rise by 40 percent, with a projected 70 percent of the oil imported from abroad.

Clearly, real solutions to address US dependence on foreign oil do not lie in developing Alaskan, or other domestic, oil sources. Instead, they lie in reducing the US addiction to energy, and oil in particular, and in shifting to alternative energy sources.

Here, the Bush administration has made few real commitments.

It's true that in his 2003 State of the Union address（國情咨文）, President Bush announced a US$1.2 billion initiative to develop technology and infrastructure for commercially viable hydrogen-powered fuel cells（氫動力燃油電池）. But this money comes at the expense of money for developing energy efficiency and other clean, renewable energy sources. On top of this, the president failed to mention that fossil fuels（石化燃料） would still be used to produce the hydrogen.

It's also true that President Bush has promised half the US$2.4 billion in oil lease sales from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to research on solar, wind, geothermal（地熱的）, and other alternative energy. But funds for alternative energy should not be linked to such a dirty deal. They should be allocated independently as part of dedicated commitment to developing cleaner, renewable energy.

There also has been no commitment to intermediate（中程的） solutions for reducing oil consumption. Effective measures for this have already been shown to work. The first President Bush implemented a US$36.6 million education campaign urging Americans to save energy, which helped cut oil use by approximately 100,000 barrels a day.

Raising fuel efficiency standards for new vehicles by 3 mph would save more oil than may be found in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Not only has the current administration made no attempt to do this, but its new economic stimulus plan includes tax incentives for small businesses to acquire sport utility vehicles (SUVs)（運動休旅車） effectively for free, a move that will only increase the number of petrol-guzzling（耗油） vehicles on the road. Tax incentives to encourage green buildings, hybrid-engine（混合能源引擎） cars, and other affordable innovations in energy efficiency - not to mention incentives to help renewable energy power plants compete against traditional power plants - are, however, conspicuously absent.

If the Bush administration is serious about achieving national security through energy independence, then it needs to adopt aggressive programs that reduce US oil consumption and give renewable energy a competitive jump start. Other countries have already done so, most notably Germany and the UK, demonstrating that such programs can begin if there is political will. The leaders of these countries also see that two goals can be achieved simultaneously by reducing dependence on oil: energy security and reduction of CO2 pollution, the main cause of global warming.

Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is, and always has been, more about politics than energy issues. There is no need to develop one of America's last great wilderness areas when intermediate

solutions to US energy consumption are already available and renewable energy sources remain unharnessed - and especially not via a backdoor political tactic. Already cynical about the role of oil in US policy, the world will be interested to see how far American political leaders will go in sacrificing the natural environment and the development of renewable energy in pursuit of oil industry profit.

B.賽加羚羊瀕臨滅絕

文▓路透社

俄羅斯的賽加羚羊面臨了絕種的危機。根據倫敦帝國學院米納戈蘭教授的研究，因雄性賽加羚羊的角具藥材價值，經常遭到獵捕，導致雌性羚羊找不到伴，難以繁衍後代。賽加羚羊已被保護動物組織列為瀕臨絕種動物，過去10多年來，牠們的數量已銳減到5萬隻。

A lack of males is pushing the saiga antelope（賽加羚羊，如圖） in Russia to the brink of extinction, scientists said on Wednesday. A demand for male horns in traditional Chinese medicine has resulted in a shortage of males and although they have harems（女眷，在此指雌性羚羊） of 12-30 there are not enough males to mate with all the females.

"Until now, in polygamous（一夫多妻） systems, it has been assumed that even when males are in short supply their ability to inseminate（使受孕） many females secures the viability of the population," said Dr E.J. Milner-Gulland, of Imperial College London. "But our observations indicate that if the percentage of males in the population falls below one percent, reproductive collapse will result," he

added.

The saiga antelope is already on the most endangered species list of the World Conservation Union. In a report in the science journal Nature, Milner-Gulland and his colleagues said the antelope population is halving each year and could soon be lost. Their numbers have dropped to 50,000 over the past decade -- five percent of what it was previously.

A strict hunting ban saved the saiga antelopes from a similar population crash about a century ago and the scientists suggested similar measures are needed now.

"There is only one viable herd in captivity and the species is difficult to breed because of their nomadic existence and diet in the wild. Efforts must be focused on involving rural people in conservation and providing resources to train and equip local law enforcement agents," Milner-Gulland added in a statement.

C.冰島打算恢復科學用途的捕鯨行為

文▓路透社

從1989年開始就下令不得捕鯨的冰島政府表示，它將恢復科學用途的捕鯨行動。依照國際捕鯨協會的規定，為了保護鯨免於滅絕，商業目的捕鯨行為必須等到2006年才開放，而研究目的捕鯨行為則不受限，但需繳交詳細具體的研究計畫。冰島政府3月將向國際捕鯨協會遞交具體的研究計畫，而協會各會員國也將在6月展開討論。冰島政府的決定，獲得漁民的支持。捕鯨是冰島的傳統，且作為研究用途的捕鯨，將可為漁民帶來一筆收益；但保育人士則擔心，開放捕鯨將使鯨的生態再受浩劫，而且賞鯨活動是捕鯨收益的2倍，冰島政府應三思而行。

Iceland said on Wednesday it would submit plans to resume scientific whaling to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) later this month -- a key step towards restarting its controversial whale hunting. Iceland, which has not hunted the marine mammals since 1989, said after rejoining the IWC in October it planned to start hunting again. It said commercial whaling would not begin until 2006 but that whaling for scientific purposes could come sooner.

Stefan Asmundsson, the fishing ministry's whaling commissioner, said the government would submit a plan for scientific whaling to the IWC later in March."We have made no decision on when we will start scientific whaling," he added. He said the IWC, which requires member states to present detailed research plans before they can begin hunting for research purposes, would discuss Iceland's proposal at its annual meeting in June. No decision would be made before that.

A vast majority of Icelanders support the resumption of whaling, which has long traditions in the country, and advocates argue that a rising whale population in north Atlantic waters deprives fishermen of their catch.

Environmental groups disagree and tour operators fear whaling would put an unfavourable spotlight on Iceland, which has become a trendy destination. They say tourism revenues from whale-watching are twice what whaling yielded before Iceland began enforcing a ban in 1989.

Asmundsson said Iceland was investigating whether there would be a market for the whale products. He said scientific whaling would be very expensive if Icelanders could not sell those parts of their catch not earmarked for research labs.

Whale meat and other products are popular in Japan, which also carries out what it calls scientific research whaling. Iceland refused to sign up to the 1986 commercial whaling moratorium（暫停） and stormed out of the IWC a decade ago in anger over the ban, before rejoining last year. It stopped whaling in 1989 amid international pressure.

網海深深：