削弱或對人類造成傷害

Weakening the Endangered Species Act could harm humans, too

削弱《瀕危物種法案》或對人類造成傷害

On August 12th, the Trump Administration issued crucial changes to the Endangered Species Act, which — if implemented next month — will affect both people and wildlife. Critics of the new measures, announced by the Fish and Wildlife Service, say the changes weaken protections for many species, and potentially open up huge areas of land for oil development, even as carbon dioxide emissions continue to heat the planet.

8月12日，特朗普政府對《瀕危物種法案》進行了重大修訂——若修訂後的法案於下月實施——將對人類和野生動物產生影響。美國魚類及野生動植物管理局批評了這一新舉措，認爲這些改變削弱了對許多物種的保護，可能還會加大人類對石油的開發力度，而二氧化碳排放會加劇氣候變暖。

The Endangered Species Act was created in 1973 under President Nixon with bipartisan support to help conserve wildlife at risk of extinction because of human activity. Since then, it's been credited with preventing the eradication of 99 percent of the 1,650 species it has guarded. The latest changes to the law place many species' survival at risk, conservationists contend.

《瀕危物種法案》於1973年在兩黨的支持下由美國前總統尼克松簽署，以保護因人類活動而面臨滅絕的野生動物。該法案規定1650個物種受其保護，至今已保護99%的物種免遭滅絕。自然環境保護主義者認爲，對法案的修訂或使許多物種面臨生存風險。

"The law is extremely successful and has helped in the recovery of species like the bald eagle over the last 40 years. And so we should allow it to work instead of crippling it," Kirin Kennedy, deputy legislative director for public lands and wildlife protection at Sierra Club, told The Verge.

“該法案十分成功，過去40年來已幫助禿鷹等物種重建家園。我們應繼續支持該法案，而非對其進行削弱，”塞拉俱樂部公共土地和野生動植物保護所副主任麒麟·肯尼迪（Kirin Kennedy）對The Verge雜誌說道。

The changes make it harder to argue that climate change poses a risk to a species' survival, which is particularly alarming given a recent United Nations report that found that up to a million species face extinction thanks to human activity including burning fossil fuels. Another change weakens protections for species listed as threatened — the step below endangered — in the future. Currently, all threatened species have most of the same protections as endangered species under the law. But soon, protections for each threatened species listed in the future could instead be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

這些改動使人們更難以判斷：氣候變化是否在威脅物種生存。聯合國最近的一份報告令人震驚——包括燃燒化石燃料在內的人類活動已使多達100萬個物種面臨滅絕。這也是一項削弱受威脅物種保護的舉措——加速未來瀕危物種的滅絕。目前，在該法案下，人類對所有受威脅物種採取的保護措施都與瀕危物種相同。但很快，相關人員將根據具體情況評估每一種受威脅物種的保護措施。

But there are also ramifications for humans and the planet if the Endangered Species Act is weakened. By making it easier to kick species off the list of officially endangered and threatened wildlife, land that was once off limits is likely to become fair game for digging up more fossil fuels that contribute to pollution and climate change.

如果《瀕危物種法案》遭到削弱，人類和地球也會受到影響。若修訂後的法案得以實施，將某些物種從瀕危野生動物和受威脅野生動物的正式名單中剔除將變得更爲容易，而曾經禁止涉足的土地也很有可能成爲挖掘更多化石燃料的競爭目標，從而造成環境污染和氣候變化。