So I've had the great privilege of traveling to some incredible places, photographing these distant landscapes and remote cultures all over the world. I love my job.
Bio sam veoma povlašten putovati na neka nevjerojatna mjesta, fotografirati te udaljene pejsaže i daleke kulture diljem svijeta. Volim svoj posao.
But people think it's this string of epiphanies and sunrises and rainbows, when in reality, it looks more something like this.
No, ljudi misle da je to serija epifanija i izlazaka sunca i duga, dok u stvarnosti, više izgleda ovako.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
This is my office.
Ovo je moj ured.
We can't afford the fanciest places to stay at night, so we tend to sleep a lot outdoors. As long as we can stay dry, that's a bonus. We also can't afford the fanciest restaurants. So we tend to eat whatever's on the local menu. And if you're in the Ecuadorian Páramo, you're going to eat a large rodent called a cuy.
Ne možemo si priuštiti najskuplja mjesta za prenoćiti, tako da često spavamo na otvorenom. Dok god možemo ostati suhi, to je bonus. Također, ne možemo si priuštiti najbolje restorane. Tako da često jedemo sa lokanog menija. A ako ste u ekvadorskom Páramu, jest ćete ogromnog glodavca imena cuy.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
But what makes our experiences perhaps a little bit different and a little more unique than that of the average person is that we have this gnawing thing in the back of our mind that even in our darkest moments, and those times of despair, we think, "Hey, there might be an image to be made here, there might be a story to be told."
No, ono što čini naša iskustva možda malo drukčijima i malo više jedinstvenima od onih prosječne osobe je da imamo tu upornu stvar u pozadini uma da čak i u najmračnijim trenucima, i vremenima očaja, pomislimo, "Hej, možda možemo napraviti koju sliku ovdje, možda postoji priča za ispričati."
And why is storytelling important? Well, it helps us to connect with our cultural and our natural heritage. And in the Southeast, there's an alarming disconnect between the public and the natural areas that allow us to be here in the first place. We're visual creatures, so we use what we see to teach us what we know.
A zašto je pričanje priča bitno? Pomaže nam povezati se sa našom kulturnom i prirodnom baštinom. A na jugoistoku, postoji alarmantan jaz između javnih i prirodnih površina, koje su nam prvenstveno omogućile da budemo ovdje. Mi smo vizualna bića, pa koristimo ono što vidimo da bismo naučili ono što znamo.
Now the majority of us aren't going to willingly go way down to a swamp. So how can we still expect those same people to then advocate on behalf of their protection? We can't.
Većina među nama neće dobrovoljno otići sve do močvare. Dakle, kako onda možemo očekivati da ti isti ljudi zagovaraju njihovu zaštitu? Ne možemo.
So my job, then, is to use photography as a communication tool, to help bridge the gap between the science and the aesthetics, to get people talking, to get them thinking, and to hopefully, ultimately, get them caring.
Tako da je moj posao da koristim fotografiju kao komunikacijsko sredstvo, koje će premostiti jaz između znanosti i estetike, potaknuti ljude da pričaju, da razmišljaju, i nadajmo se, konačno, da počnu mariti.
I started doing this 15 years ago right here in Gainesville, right here in my backyard. And I fell in love with adventure and discovery, going to explore all these different places that were just minutes from my front doorstep. There are a lot of beautiful places to find. Despite all these years that have passed, I still see the world through the eyes of a child and I try to incorporate that sense of wonderment and that sense of curiosity into my photography as often as I can.
Počeo sam ovo raditi prije 15 godina upravo ovdje u Gainesvilleu, upravo ovdje u svom dvorištu. I zaljubio sam se u pustolovinu i otkrića, dok sam istraživao sva ova različita mjesta koja su samo minutama udaljena od mog kućnog praga. Mnoštvo je prekrasnih mjesta za otkrivanje. Usprkos svim tim godinama koje su prošle, još uvijek vidim svijet kroz oči djeteta i pokušavam predočiti taj osjećaj začuđenosti i taj osjećaj znatiželje u svojim fotografijama koliko god često mogu.
And we're pretty lucky because here in the South, we're still blessed with a relatively blank canvas that we can fill with the most fanciful adventures and incredible experiences. It's just a matter of how far our imagination will take us. See, a lot of people look at this and they say, "Oh yeah, wow, that's a pretty tree." But I don't just see a tree -- I look at this and I see opportunity. I see an entire weekend. Because when I was a kid, these were the types of images that got me off the sofa and dared me to explore, dared me to go find the woods and put my head underwater and see what we have.
Prilično smo sretni jer smo ovdje na Jugu, još uvijek blagoslovljeni sa relativno praznim platnom kojeg možemo ispuniti sa najnestvarnijim pustolovinama i nevjerojatnim iskustvima. Pitanje je samo koliko daleko nas naša mašta može odvesti. Puno ljudi gleda na to i kaže, "Da, vau, to je lijepo drvo." Ali ja ne vidim samo drvo -- ja gledam i vidim priliku. Vidim cijeli vikend. Kad sam bio dijete, to su bile slike koje su me podigle sa sofe i izazvale da idem istraživati, izazvale me da odem naći šumu i stavim glavu pod vodu i vidim što imamo.
And folks, I've been photographing all over the world and I promise you, what we have here in the South, what we have in the Sunshine State, rivals anything else that I've seen. But yet our tourism industry is busy promoting all the wrong things. Before most kids are 12, they'll have been to Disney World more times than they've been in a canoe or camping under a starry sky. And I have nothing against Disney or Mickey; I used to go there, too. But they're missing out on those fundamental connections that create a real sense of pride and ownership for the place that they call home.
Društvo, bavim se fotografijom diljem svijeta i obećajem vam, ono što imamo ovdje na Jugu, ono što imamo u Sunčanoj državi, rival je svemu što sam ikad vidio. No, naša turistička industrija promovira sve krive stvari. Prije nego navrše 12 godina, većina djece posjeti Disney World više puta nego što sjedne u kanu ili kampira pod zvjezdanim nebom. Nemam ništa protiv Disney ili Mickeya; i ja sam ih posjetio. No, propuštaju ove temeljne veze koje stvaraju stvarni osjećaj ponosa i vlasništva za mjesto koje nazivaju dom.
And this is compounded by the issue that the landscapes that define our natural heritage and fuel our aquifer for our drinking water have been deemed as scary and dangerous and spooky. When our ancestors first came here, they warned, "Stay out of these areas, they're haunted. They're full of evil spirits and ghosts." I don't know where they came up with that idea. But it's actually led to a very real disconnect, a very real negative mentality that has kept the public disinterested, silent, and ultimately, our environment at risk. We're a state that's surrounded and defined by water, and yet for centuries, swamps and wetlands have been regarded as these obstacles to overcome. And so we've treated them as these second-class ecosystems, because they have very little monetary value and of course, they're known to harbor alligators and snakes -- which, I'll admit, these aren't the most cuddly of ambassadors.
Ovo je popraćeno problemom što se predjeli, koji definiraju našu prirodnu baštinu i dolijevaju gorivo u naš vodotok pitke vode smatraju strašnima i opasnima i sablasnima. Kad su naši preci prvi put došli ovdje, upozorili su, "Nemojte ići u ova područja, opsjednuta su. Puna su zlih duhova." Ne znam odakle im ta ideja. No, dovela je do vrlo stvarnog odmaka, vrlo stvarnog negativnog mentaliteta koji je držao javnost nezainteresiranom, tihom, i, konačno, našu okolinu pod rizikom. Mi smo država okružena i definirana vodom, no ipak, stoljećima, su močvare i bare smatrane preprekama koje treba preći. Tretirali smo ih kao ekosustav druge klase, jer imaju vrlo nisku novčanu vrijednost i naravno, poznate su po tome da sakrivaju aligatore i zmije -- koji, priznajem, i nisu baš najumiljatiji ambasadori.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
So it became assumed, then, that the only good swamp was a drained swamp. And in fact, draining a swamp to make way for agriculture and development was considered the very essence of conservation not too long ago.
Tako da se pretpostavlja, da je jedina dobra močvara ona isušena. Zapravo, isušivanje močvare, da bi se napravilo prostora za poljoprivredu i razvoj, se do nedavno smatralo samom suštinom očuvanja.
But now we're backpedaling, because the more we come to learn about these sodden landscapes, the more secrets we're starting to unlock about interspecies relationships and the connectivity of habitats, watersheds and flyways. Take this bird, for example: this is the prothonotary warbler. I love this bird because it's a swamp bird, through and through, a swamp bird. They nest and they mate and they breed in these old-growth swamps in these flooded forests. And so after the spring, after they raise their young, they then fly thousand of miles over the Gulf of Mexico into Central and South America. And then after the winter, the spring rolls around and they come back. They fly thousands of miles over the Gulf of Mexico. And where do they go? Where do they land? Right back in the same tree. That's nuts. This is a bird the size of a tennis ball -- I mean, that's crazy! I used a GPS to get here today, and this is my hometown.
No, sada odstupamo, jer što smo više naučili o ovim natopljenim predjelima, više smo tajni počeli otključavati o međusobnim vezama između vrsta o povezanosti staništa, slivova i migracijskih puteva. Pogledajte ovu pticu, na primjer: ovo je Protonotaria citrea. Volim ovu pticu jer je močvarna ptica, skroz naskroz, močvarna ptica. Prebivaju i množe se i rađaju u ovim močvarama starog rasta u ovim popavljenim šumama. Nakon proljeća, nakon što mladi narastu, lete tisućama kilometara preko Meksičkog zaljeva u Središnju i Južnu Ameriku. Nakon zime, proljeće se dokotrlja i one se vrate. Lete tisućama kilometara preko Meksičkog zaljeva. Gdje idu? Gdje slete? Na potpuno isto drvo. To je ludo. Ovje ptica veličine teniske loptice -- Mislim, to je ludo! Koristio sam GPS da bih danas ovdje došao, a ovo je moj rodni grad.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
It's crazy. So what happens, then, when this bird flies over the Gulf of Mexico into Central America for the winter and then the spring rolls around and it flies back, and it comes back to this: a freshly sodded golf course?
Ludost! No, što se dogodi kad ova ptica preleti Meksički zaljev i dođe u Središnju Ameriku na zimu i onda s proljećem doleti natrag, i vrati se natrag ovome: svježe postavljenom golf terenu?
This is a narrative that's all too commonly unraveling here in this state. And this is a natural process that's occurred for thousands of years and we're just now learning about it. So you can imagine all else we have to learn about these landscapes if we just preserve them first. Now despite all this rich life that abounds in these swamps, they still have a bad name.
To je priča koja se prečesto odvija u ovoj državi. To je prirodni proces koji se pojavljuje tisućama godina a mi tek sad saznajemo o njemu. Možete zamisliti što još sve moramo naučiti o tim predjelima kad bi ih prvo očuvali. Usprkos bogatstvu života koji obiluje u ovim močvarama, još uvijek ih prati loš glas.
Many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of wading into Florida's blackwater. I can understand that. But what I loved about growing up in the Sunshine State is that for so many of us, we live with this latent but very palpable fear that when we put our toes into the water, there might be something much more ancient and much more adapted than we are. Knowing that you're not top dog is a welcomed discomfort, I think. How often in this modern and urban and digital age do you actually get the chance to feel vulnerable, or consider that the world may not have been made for just us?
Mnogima ideja da zagaze u Floridine crne vode nije ugodna. Mogu to razumijeti. No, ono što sam ja volio odrastajući u Sunčanoj državi je da mnogi od nas, žive sa skrivenim, ali vrlo opipljivim, strahom da kad stavimo prste u vodu, tamo možda postoji nešto mnogo starije i mnogo prilagođenije od nas. Znanje da niste najviši autoritet je dobrodošla neugodnost, ja mislim. Koliko često u ovom modernom i urbanom i digitalnom dobu zapravo imate priliku osjećati se ranjivo, ili uzeti u obzir da svijet napravljen samo za nas?
So for the last decade, I began seeking out these areas where the concrete yields to forest and the pines turn to cypress, and I viewed all these mosquitoes and reptiles, all these discomforts, as affirmations that I'd found true wilderness, and I embrace them wholly. Now as a conservation photographer obsessed with blackwater, it's only fitting that I'd eventually end up in the most famous swamp of all: the Everglades.
Posljednje desetljeće, počeo sam tražiti ova područja gdje beton ustupa pred šumom a borovi postaju čempresi, i vidio sam sve te komarce i gmazove, sve te nelagodnosti, kad potvrdu da sam našao pravu divljinu, i prihvatio sam ih u cijelosti. Sada, kao fotograf koji zagovara očuvanje, opsjednut crnom vodom, prikladno je što sam završio u najslavnijoj močvari: Evergladeu.
Growing up here in North Central Florida, it always had these enchanted names, places like Loxahatchee and Fakahatchee, Corkscrew, Big Cypress. I started what turned into a five-year project to hopefully reintroduce the Everglades in a new light, in a more inspired light. But I knew this would be a tall order, because here you have an area that's roughly a third the size the state of Florida, it's huge. And when I say Everglades, most people are like, "Oh, yeah, the national park." But the Everglades is not just a park; it's an entire watershed, starting with the Kissimmee chain of lakes in the north, and then as the rains would fall in the summer, these downpours would flow into Lake Okeechobee, and Lake Okeechobee would fill up and it would overflow its banks and spill southward, ever slowly, with the topography, and get into the river of grass, the Sawgrass Prairies, before meting into the cypress slews, until going further south into the mangrove swamps, and then finally -- finally -- reaching Florida Bay, the emerald gem of the Everglades, the great estuary, the 850 square-mile estuary.
Odrastajući ovdje u Sjevernoj središnjoj Floridi, uvijek je imala očaravajućih imena, mjesta kao Loxahatchee i Fakahatchee, Corkscrew, Veliki čempres. Počeo sam ono što je preraslo u petogodišnji projekt s nadom da ću Everglade prikazati u novom svjetlu, u nadahnutijem svjetlu. No, znao sam da će to biti težak zadatak, jer ovdje imate površinu koja čini trećinu veličine Floride, ogromna je. I kad kažem Everglade, većina ljudi pomisli, "O, da, nacionalni park." No, Everglade nije samo park; već cjelokupni sliv, počevši od lanca jezera Kissimmee na sjeveru, i kako kiše padaju ljeti, slijeva se u jezero Okeechobee, jezero Okeechobee se napuni te prelijeva iz korita i prolijeva prema jugu, lagano, prati topografiju, i ulazi u rijeku trave, Preriju trske, dok se ne sastane s mnoštvom čempresa, prije nego krene dalje na jug u močvare mangrova, i konačno -- konačno -- dosegne Floridski zaljev, smaragdni dragulj Evergladea, veliko ušće, estuarij dug 2200 km kvadratnih.
So sure, the national park is the southern end of this system, but all the things that make it unique are these inputs that come in, the fresh water that starts 100 miles north. So no manner of these political or invisible boundaries protect the park from polluted water or insufficient water. And unfortunately, that's precisely what we've done. Over the last 60 years, we have drained, we have dammed, we have dredged the Everglades to where now only one third of the water that used to reach the bay now reaches the bay today. So this story is not all sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately. For better or for worse, the story of the Everglades is intrinsically tied to the peaks and the valleys of mankind's relationship with the natural world.
Tako da, naravno, nacionalni park je južni kraj ovog sustava, no ono što ga čini jedinstvenim su sve stvari koje ulaze, svježa voda koja kreće 160 km sjeverno. Nikako ove političke ili nevidljive granice ne štite park od zagađene vode ili nedostatka vode. A nažalost, to je upravo ono što smo napravili. Tijekom posljednjih 60 godina, isušili smo, pregradili, prokopali Everglade do granice da samo trećina vode koja je dolazila do zaljeva danas stiže do njega. Ova priča nije samo pozitivna, nažalost. Bilo kako bilo, priča Evergladea je usko povezana sa vrhuncima i neuspjesima ljudskog odnosa sa prirodnim svijetom.
But I'll show you these beautiful pictures, because it gets you on board. And while I have your attention, I can tell you the real story. It's that we're taking this, and we're trading it for this, at an alarming rate. And what's lost on so many people is the sheer scale of which we're discussing. Because the Everglades is not just responsible for the drinking water for 7 million Floridians; today it also provides the agricultural fields for the year-round tomatoes and oranges for over 300 million Americans. And it's that same seasonal pulse of water in the summer that built the river of grass 6,000 years ago. Ironically, today, it's also responsible for the over half a million acres of the endless river of sugarcane. These are the same fields that are responsible for dumping exceedingly high levels of fertilizers into the watershed, forever changing the system.
No, ja ću vam pokazati ove predivne slike, jer privlače vašu pažnju. Dok imam vašu pozornost, mogu vam ispričati stvarnu priču. A to je da uzimamo ovo, i mijenjamo za ovo, alarmantnom brzinom. Ono što mnogi ljudi ne shvate je sam razmjer onoga o čemu raspravljamo. Everglade je, ne samo odgovoran za pitku vodu 7 milijuna Floriđanina; već snabdijeva poljoprivredna zemljišta, rajčicama i narančama cijele godine za preko 300 milijuna Amerikanaca. A u pitanju je isti sezonski puls vode ljeti koji je zaslužan za rijeku trave prije 6000 godina. Ironično, danas je odgovoran i za preko pola milijuna jutara beskrajnog niza šećerne trske. To su ista polja odgovorna za bacanje prekomjerno visoke razine gnojiva u slijev, zauvijek mijenjajući sustav.
But in order for you to not just understand how this system works, but to also get personally connected to it, I decided to break the story down into several different narratives. And I wanted that story to start in Lake Okeechobee, the beating heart of the Everglade system. And to do that, I picked an ambassador, an iconic species. This is the Everglade snail kite. It's a great bird, and they used to nest in the thousands, thousands in the northern Everglades. And then they've gone down to about 400 nesting pairs today. And why is that? Well, it's because they eat one source of food, an apple snail, about the size of a ping-pong ball, an aquatic gastropod.
No, da bi, ne samo razumjeli kako ovaj sustav radi, već da se i osobno povežete s njim, odlučio sam priču podijeliti u nekoliko različitih pripovijesti. I želio sam da priča krene od jezera Okeechobee, kucajućeg srca sustava Everglade. Da bi to uspio, izabrao sam ambasadora, ikonsku vrstu. Ovo je Evergladeski Rostrhamus sociabilis. Divna ptica, nekad su se gnijezdile tisuće, tisuće ovih ptica na sjeveru Evergladea. Njihova brojka je opala na otprilike 400 parova danas. A zašto je tako? Zato što jedu samo jednu vrstu hrane, puža jabučara, veličine ping-pong loptice, vodeni gastropod.
So as we started damming up the Everglades, as we started diking Lake Okeechobee and draining the wetlands, we lost the habitat for the snail. And thus, the population of the kites declined. And so, I wanted a photo that would not only communicate this relationship between wetland, snail and bird, but I also wanted a photo that would communicate how incredible this relationship was, and how very important it is that they've come to depend on each other, this healthy wetland and this bird. And to do that, I brainstormed this idea. I started sketching out these plans to make a photo, and I sent it to the wildlife biologist down in Okeechobee -- this is an endangered bird, so it takes special permission to do. So I built this submerged platform that would hold snails just right under the water. And I spent months planning this crazy idea. And I took this platform down to Lake Okeechobee and I spent over a week in the water, wading waist-deep, 9-hour shifts from dawn until dusk, to get one image that I thought might communicate this. And here's the day that it finally worked:
Kako smo krenuli pregrađivati Everglade, kako smo izgradili nasipe u jezeru Okeechobee i isušili močvare, izgubili smo stanište ovog puža. Pa je i populacija jastreba opala. Želio sam sliku koja bi, ne samo komunicirala ovaj odnos između močvare, puža i ptice, nego sam htio sliku koja bi predočila koliko je nevjerojatan taj odnos, koliko je bitan da su zdrava močvara i ova ptica počeli ovisiti jedna o drugoj. Da bih to uspio, došao sam na ovu ideju, počeo sam skicirati ove planove za sliku, i poslao sam ih biologu za divljinu iz Okeechobeea -- ovo je ugrožena vrsta i potrebna je posebna dozvola za to. Napravio sam ovu uronjenu platformu koja drži puža tik ispod vode. Proveo sam mjesece planirajući ovu ludu ideju. Odnio sam tu platformu dolje do jezera Okeechobee i proveo više od tjedan dana u vodi, uronjen do struka, u smjenama po 9 sati od zore do sumraka, da bih dobio sliku koja će prenijeti ovu poruku. Ovo je dan kad je napokon uspjelo:
[Video: (Mac Stone narrating) After setting up the platform, I look off and I see a kite coming over the cattails. And I see him scanning and searching. And he gets right over the trap, and I see that he's seen it. And he beelines, he goes straight for the trap. And in that moment, all those months of planning, waiting, all the sunburn, mosquito bites -- suddenly, they're all worth it. (Mac Stone in film) Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!]
[Video: (Mac Stone priča) Nakon postavljanja platforme, Pogledam i vidim jastreba kako dolazi preko rogoza. Vidim da skenira i pretražuje. I dođe točno iznad zamke, i vidim da ju je primjetio. i strmoglavi se najkraćim putem do zamke. U tom trenutku svi ti mjeseci planiranja, čekanja, sve te opekline od sunca, ugrizi komaraca -- iznenada, sve je vrijedilo toga. (Mac Stone u filmu) O moj Bože, ne mogu vjerovati!]
You can believe how excited I was when that happened. But what the idea was, is that for someone who's never seen this bird and has no reason to care about it, these photos, these new perspectives, will help shed a little new light on just one species that makes this watershed so incredible, so valuable, so important. Now, I know I can't come here to Gainesville and talk to you about animals in the Everglades without talking about gators. I love gators, I grew up loving gators. My parents always said I had an unhealthy relationship with gators. But what I like about them is, they're like the freshwater equivalent of sharks. They're feared, they're hated, and they are tragically misunderstood. Because these are a unique species, they're not just apex predators. In the Everglades, they are the very architects of the Everglades, because as the water drops down in the winter during the dry season, they start excavating these holes called gator holes. And they do this because as the water drops down, they'll be able to stay wet and they'll be able to forage. And now this isn't just affecting them, other animals also depend on this relationship, so they become a keystone species as well. So how do you make an apex predator, an ancient reptile, at once look like it dominates the system, but at the same time, look vulnerable? Well, you wade into a pit of about 120 of them, then you hope that you've made the right decision.
Ne možete vjerovati koliko sam uzbuđen bio kad se ovo dogodilo. Ideja je bila da, nekome tko nikada nije vidio ovu pticu i nema razloga mariti za nju, ove slike, ova nova gledišta, pomažu vidjeti u novom svjetlu samo jednu vrstu koja čini ovaj slijev toliko nevjerojatnim, toliko dragocjenim, toliko bitnim. Ne mogu doći ovdje u Gainesville i pričati vam o životinjama u Evergladeu bez da spomenem aligatore. Ja volim aligatore, volio sam ih tijekom odrastanja. Roditelji su mi uvijek govorili da imam nezdrav odnos s aligatorima. No, ono što volim kod njih je, što su ekvivalent slatkovodnim morskim psima. Ljudi ih se boje, mrze ih, a tragično su neshvaćeni. Jer su jedinstvena vrsta, nisu samo vrsni grabežljivci. U Evergladeu, upravo su oni arhitekti Evergladea, jer kako voda opada zimi tijekom suhe sezone, oni kreću iskopavati ove rupe, koje se zovu aligatorske rupe. A to rade da bi, kako voda opada, ostali vlažni i mogli tragati za hranom. A ovo ne utječe samo na njih, i ostale životinje ovise o ovom odnosu, te oni postaju ključna vrsta, također. Dakle, kako da prikažete vrsnog grabežljivca, antičkog gmaza, kako dominira sustavom, a da u isto vrijeme izgleda ranjivo? Pa, zagazite u jamu sa oko 120 aligatora, i nadate se da ste donijeli ispravnu odluku.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
I still have all my fingers, it's cool.
Još uvijek imam sve prste, sve je u redu.
But I understand, I know I'm not going to rally you guys, I'm not going to rally the troops to "Save the Everglades for the gators!" It won't happen because they're so ubiquitous, we see them now, they're one of the great conservation success stories of the US. But there is one species in the Everglades that no matter who you are, you can't help but love, too, and that's the roseate spoonbill. These birds are great, but they've had a really tough time in the Everglades, because they started out with thousands of nesting pairs in Florida Bay, and at the turn of the 20th century, they got down to two -- two nesting pairs. And why? That's because women thought they looked better on their hats then they did flying in the sky. Then we banned the plume trade, and their numbers started rebounding. And as their numbers started rebounding, scientists began to pay attention, they started studying these birds.
No, razumijem, neću vas zaskočiti, neću podići trupe i navijati: "Spasite Everglade za aligatore!" To se neće dogoditi jer su sveprisutni, vidimo ih sada, oni su jedna od uspješnijih priča o očuvanju u SAD-u. No, postoji jedna vrsta u Evergladeu koju bez obzira tko ste, ne možete ne voljeti, a to je ružičasta žličarka. Ove ptice su izvrsne, no imale su tegoba u Evergladeu, jer su brojali tisuće parova u Floridskom zaljevu, a na početku 20. stoljeća, su spali na dva -- dva para za gniježđenje. A zašto? Zato što su žene mislile da izgledaju bolje na njihovim šeširima nego u letu na nebu. Onda smo zabranili trgovinu perjem, i njihov broj se krenuo oporavljati. Kako se njihov broj krenuo oporavljati, znanstvenici su počeli obraćati pažnju, počeli su proučavati ove ptice.
And what they found out is that these birds' behavior is intrinsically tied to the annual draw-down cycle of water in the Everglades, the thing that defines the Everglades watershed. What they found out is that these birds started nesting in the winter as the water drew down, because they're tactile feeders, so they have to touch whatever they eat. And so they wait for these concentrated pools of fish to be able to feed enough to feed their young. So these birds became the very icon of the Everglades -- an indicator species of the overall health of the system. And just as their numbers were rebounding in the mid-20th century -- shooting up to 900, 1,000, 1,100, 1,200 -- just as that started happening, we started draining the southern Everglades. And we stopped two-thirds of that water from moving south. And it had drastic consequences. And just as those numbers started reaching their peak, unfortunately, today, the real spoonbill story, the real photo of what it looks like is more something like this. And we're down to less than 70 nesting pairs in Florida Bay today, because we've disrupted the system so much. So all these different organizations are shouting, they're screaming, "The Everglades is fragile! It's fragile!" It is not. It is resilient. Because despite all we've taken, despite all we've done and we've drained and we've dammed and we've dredged it, pieces of it are still here, waiting to be put back together.
Pronašli su da je ponašanje ovih ptica suštinski povezano sa godišnjim ciklusom povlačenja vode u Evergladeu, to je stvar koja definira slijev Evergladea. Pronašli su da se ove ptice kreću gnijezditi zimi kako se voda povlači, jer su taktilni hranioci, moraju dodirnuti ono što jedu. Tako da čekaju ove koncentrirane bazene riba da bi bili siti nahraniti mlade. Upravo ove ptice su postale ikone Evergladea -- vrsta koja je pokazatelj sveukupnog zdravlja sustava. No, kako se njihov broj krenuo oporavljati sredinom 20. stoljeća -- na 900, 1000, 1100, 1200 -- kako se to počelo događati, krenuli smo isušivati južni Everglade. Zaustavili smo dvije trećine vode koja ide na jug. To je imalo drastične posljedice. I kako su ti brojevi dosegnuli svoj vrhunac, nažalost, danas, stvarna priča ružičaste žličarke, stvarna slika današnjeg stanja izgleda ovako. Danas smo spali na manje od 70 parova u Floridskom zaljevu, jer smo previše poremetili sustav. Sve te različite organizacije vrište, oni vrište, "Everglade je krhak! Krhak je!" Nije. Otporan je. Usprkos svemu što smo uzeli, usprkos svemu što smo učinili i isušili i pregradili i iskopali, dijelovi su i dalje tamo, čekaju da ih se ponovno sastavi.
And this is what I've loved about South Florida, that in one place, you have this unstoppable force of mankind meeting the immovable object of tropical nature. And it's at this new frontier that we are forced with a new appraisal. What is wilderness worth? What is the value of biodiversity, or our drinking water? And fortunately, after decades of debate, we're finally starting to act on those questions. We're slowly undertaking these projects to bring more freshwater back to the bay. But it's up to us as citizens, as residents, as stewards to hold our elected officials to their promises.
To je ono što volim kod Južne Floride, što na jednom mjestu imate nezaustavljivu silu čovječanstva gdje susreće nepokretne objekte tropske prirode. Upravo na toj novoj granici smo prisiljeni procijeniti. Koliko vrijedi divljina? Koja je vrijednost biodiverziteta ili naše pitke vode? Srećom, nakon desteljeća debate, napokon počinjemo djelovati u skladu s tim pitanjima. Poduzimamo ove projekte da se više svježe vode dovede do zaljeva. Na nama je, kao građanima, kao stanovnicima, kao nadzornicima da držimo naše izabrane službenike za riječ.
What can you do to help? It's so easy. Just get outside, get out there. Take your friends out, take your kids out, take your family out. Hire a fishing guide. Show the state that protecting wilderness not only makes ecological sense, but economic sense as well. It's a lot of fun, just do it -- put your feet in the water. The swamp will change you, I promise.
Što vi možete učiniti da pomognete? Jednostavno je. Samo izađite van, izađite tamo. Povedite svoje prijatelje, svoju djecu, svoju obitelj. Unajmite ribolovnog vodiča. Pokažite državi da zaštita divljine, uz ekološki, ima i ekonomskog smisla. Zabavno je, samo to napravite -- uronite stopala u vodu. Močvara će vas promijeniti, obećavam.
Over the years, we've been so generous with these other landscapes around the country, cloaking them with this American pride, places that we now consider to define us: Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone. And we use these parks and these natural areas as beacons and as cultural compasses. And sadly, the Everglades is very commonly left out of that conversation. But I believe it's every bit as iconic and emblematic of who we are as a country as any of these other wildernesses. It's just a different kind of wild.
Tijekom godina, bili smo toliko velikodušni prema ostalim predjelima diljem zemlje, obavijajući ih američkim ponosom, mjesta koja nas danas definiraju: Veliki kanjon Kolorada, Yosemite, Yellowstone. Koristimo ove parkove i prirodne površine kao svjetionike i kulturne kompase. Nažalost, Everglade se obično izostavlja iz ovog razgovora. Ja vjerujem da jednako ikonski i amblemski znači za ono tko smo kao država kao i bilo koja od ovih drugih divljina. Ovo je samo drugačija vrsta divljine.
But I'm encouraged, because maybe we're finally starting to come around, because what was once deemed this swampy wasteland, today is a World Heritage site. It's a wetland of international importance. And we've come a long way in the last 60 years. And as the world's largest and most ambitious wetland restoration project, the international spotlight is on us in the Sunshine State. Because if we can heal this system, it's going to become an icon for wetland restoration all over the world. But it's up to us to decide which legacy we want to attach our flag to.
No, ohrabren sam, možda konačno počinjemo shvaćati, jer ono što je smatrano močvarnom pustoši, danas je mjesto Svjetske kulturne baštine. Močvara internacionalne važnosti. Daleko smo napredovali u posljednjih 60 godina. Zbog najvećeg na svijetu i najambicioznijeg projekta obnove močvara, Sunčana država je u internacionalnom središtu pozornosti. Ako izliječimo ovaj sustav, postat će simbol obnove močvara diljem svijeta. Na nama je da odlučimo kojoj ostavštini želimo podići zastavu.
They say that the Everglades is our greatest test. If we pass it, we get to keep the planet. I love that quote, because it's a challenge, it's a prod. Can we do it? Will we do it? We have to, we must. But the Everglades is not just a test. It's also a gift, and ultimately, our responsibility.
Kažu da je Everglade naš najveći test. Ako ga prođemo, možemo zadržati planet. Volim taj navod, jer je izazovan, poticajan. Možemo li to? Hoćemo li to učiniti? Moramo, moramo. No, Everglade nije samo test. Nego je, također, i dar, i konačno, naša odgovornost.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)