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.
我曾有幸遊覽過 一些非常不可思議的地方, 並為這些遍佈全球的 遙遠風景和邊緣文化 拍攝照片。 我熱愛我的工作。
But people think it's this string of epiphanies and sunrises and rainbows, when in reality, it looks more something like this.
大家都以為我的工作 應該伴隨著一連串的頓悟、 日出和彩虹, 可是在現實中,往往是這樣的。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
This is my office.
這就是我的辦公室。
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.
我們無法提供最理想的過夜之所, 所以我們常常露宿野外。 只要我們能保持乾燥, 就是一種福利。 我們也沒錢吃最高級的餐館。 所以我們要入鄉隨俗地吃當地食物。 如果你去到厄瓜多的 Páramo, 你將能吃到一種超大的天竺鼠。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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."
但是真正鑄就我們那些 與眾不同獨特經驗的, 也許就是哪種扎根 在我們的腦海中的想法, 那就是即使在我們最黑暗的時刻, 和那些絕望的瞬間, 我們都還會想到: 「嗨,我們該為這裡拍張照片, 這裡的故事應該讓更多人知道。 」
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.
為什麼講故事如此重要? 因為,故事是我們與自身文化 和自然遺產的連接紐帶。 但是在美國東南部, 公眾與自然區域之間 響起了彼此失聯的警鐘, 而這片自然區域 恰是我們能進入這裡的大門。 我們都是視覺生物, 所以我們用親眼所見的 去教導我們所知的。
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.
我們中的大多數人 都非常不願意 走入一片沼澤。 所以我們要如何繼續期待這些人, 會成為提倡保護濕地的表率呢? 我們做不到。
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.
所以我的工作就是, 用攝影作為傳達工具, 在科學與美學之間 搭起一座橋樑。 讓人們交談, 讓人們思考, 然後最終希望, 讓他們關心自然。
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.
15年前,我就在蓋恩斯維爾 這裡從事攝影工作, 就在我家後院中。 我熱愛冒險、發現, 以及去探索所有的那些 離我家只有幾分鐘路程的不同地方。 在那裡,可以找到許多美麗的地方。 即便這麼多年過去, 我依然用孩童的目光 去看待這個世界, 並且我每次都盡我所能地 嘗試將那些驚歎和好奇的感受, 用我的攝影描繪出來。
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.
而且我們非常幸運,因為在南部, 我們何其有幸地擁有 這麼一塊空白的畫布, 讓我們得以在上面填滿 最富有想像力的冒險, 和難以置信的體驗。 想像力有多遠,我們就走多遠。 很多人看著這張照片說道: 「哇哦,這棵樹真漂亮。」 可是我看到的不僅僅是樹, 當我望著這張照片時, 我看到的是契機, 和一整個愉快的週末。 因為在我的孩提時代, 正是這類照片 讓我離開沙發激勵我去探索, 激勵我去尋找森林, 讓我潛入水底去探查裡面裝著什麼。
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.
諸位,我的攝影足跡遍佈全球。 我向你們保證, 我們在南部所擁有的, 我們在陽光之州佛羅里達所擁有的, 足以媲美我見過的任何風景。 但是我們的旅遊業卻在 極力推銷那些錯誤的東西。 大部分的孩子在12歲前 去迪士尼世界的次數, 遠遠超出他們在佈滿繁星的星空下, 乘駕獨木舟或露營的次數。 當然我並非反對迪士尼和米老鼠; 我以前也去過。 但是他們因此錯失了 可以創造他們與故鄉之間那種 驕傲感與認同感的基礎連結。
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.
這是一系列互相關聯的問題: 風景塑造了我們的自然遺產, 並且補充著我們的地下蓄水層, 以供給被我們認為是 可怕、危險, 和令人毛骨悚然的飲用水。 當我們的祖先第一次踏上這片土地, 他們警告說: 「遠離那些區域,那裡鬧鬼, 那裡充滿了惡靈與幽魂。」 我不知道他們這些想法 是從哪得來的。 但它確實造成了一種分離、 一種非常消極的心理, 讓公眾對這裡漠不關心和沉默, 以致最終, 讓我們的環境處於危險之中。 我們是一個由水 包圍和構成的州, 可是幾個世紀以來, 沼澤與濕地被視為是 我們需要克服的障礙。 因此我們將其當做是 次要的生態系統, 因為它們在金錢上的價值很小。 當然,裡面也是短吻鱷 和蛇類的避風港。 我不得不承認, 牠們並非這片土地最可愛的使者。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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.
所以大家會認為,最好的沼澤 應該是一片乾涸的沼澤。 但事實上, 為了農業和開發鋪路 而排乾沼澤的做法, 不久前還被認為是一種 保護濕地的絕對手段。
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.
但是現在我們改變了想法, 因為我們越深入去了解 這些豐澤的景色, 我們解鎖的奧秘便越多, 關於各個物種間的關係, 牠們棲息地之間的關聯, 分佈流域和遷徙路線。 以這種鳥為例。 這是一隻蘭翅黃森鶯。 我喜歡這種鳥,因為牠是沼澤鳥。 徹徹底底的沼澤鳥。 牠們從築巢到交配到繁育 都在這片古老的沼澤, 和被水浸沒的森林中。 春天過後等牠們把雛鳥哺育成年, 牠們將飛越數千英里 橫跨墨西哥灣, 進入美國中南部。 然後渡過寒冬, 春天重臨大地,牠們便會返航。 牠們再次飛越數千英里 橫跨墨西哥灣。 牠們去了哪裡?牠們在哪著陸? 牠們回到了同一顆樹。 這太迷人了。 這種鳥的體型只有網球大小。 我覺得,這太神奇了! 我今天靠GPS導航才能來到這, 而且這還是在我的家鄉。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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?
太不可思議了。 所以,當這種鳥橫跨墨西哥灣, 進入美國中南部過冬, 然後春天重返時,牠會再飛回來, 回來所看到的卻是這種景象: 一個新鮮的草地高爾夫球場?
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.
這種事情對於我們這個州來說, 再尋常不過了。 這一自然歷程存在數千年之久, 但我們最近才學會了解它。 所以你可以想像這片風景中 還有多少這樣的事情需要去了解, 但前提是我們要保護它們。 現在雖然有如此豐富的物種 生活在沼澤中, 它們卻始終惡名昭彰。
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?
許多人想到自己跋涉在 佛羅里達的黑水河中時, 他們會覺得不舒服。 我理解這種感受。 但是在陽光之州長大的我, 喜歡這裡的原因是, 我們之中的大多數人, 樂於與顯見的潛在恐懼 一同生活, 當我們將腳趾深入水中, 那裡可能存在著某些 比我們更加古老、 比我們更加適應這個環境的生物。 當你了解到自己並非這裡的主宰時, 這是非常難受和不安的。 在這個現代化、 城市化和數位化的時代, 你有多少機會去體驗脆弱感, 或者思考這個世界 未必是專為我們而建造的?
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.
所以在過去的十年間, 我在探尋從鋼筋叢林到真正的森林, 從松樹林到柏木林的區域, 然後我看遍了所有的蚊子和爬蟲類, 所有這些讓人不舒服的生物, 我肯定我找到了真正的荒野, 我擁抱它們所有的一切。 身為一個著迷於黑水河的 環境保護攝影師, 我最終找到了唯一適合我的地方, 也是所有的沼澤地中最著名的地方: 大沼澤地。
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.
在佛羅里達長大, 這裡總有一些充滿魔力的地名, 像洛克瑟哈和斐克瑟哈, 螺絲錐、大絲柏等。 我開始了一個 後來耗時五年的計畫, 希望以一種嶄新、 且更具啟發性的角度, 向世人重新介紹大沼澤地。 但我知道這會非常辛苦,因為這裡, 大致有佛羅里達州的三分之一大, 它太大了。 當我說到大沼澤地的時候, 可能大部分人會說: 「哦,對,國家公園。」 但是大沼澤地不僅僅是公園, 它是一整片流域, 發源於北方湖泊的基西米河流域。 當夏天雨季來臨, 傾盆大雨注入奧科喬比湖, 奧科喬比湖水滿漲時會漫過堤岸, 順著地勢緩慢向南方流去, 最後進入青草之湖 索格拉斯大草原, 之後再進入大片松柏林, 然後一直向北方蔓延 流入紅樹林沼澤, 最終抵達佛羅里達灣, 猶如大沼澤地上的祖母綠寶石, 這片壯闊的港灣, 有著850平方英里。
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.
所以可以確定的是,國家公園只是 這整個系統的最南端, 但是讓它變得與眾不同的是, 那些從100英里外的北方 奔騰而至的淡水。 沒有政策或是那些看不見的約束 可以保護公園遠離水汙染或乾旱。 所以不幸的是,會有這樣的結果 也是我們造成的。 過去60年中, 我們泄水、築垻、挖掘大沼澤地, 以至於現在抵達佛羅里達灣的水量, 只有過去的三分之一。 所以不幸的是, 這個故事不全是陽光和彩虹 無論好壞與否, 大沼澤地的故事, 本質上與人類和大自然關係的起伏好壞 是緊密相連的。
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.
但是我要給你們展示一些美麗的照片, 因為這樣才能讓你們進入狀態。 當你們的注意力被吸引過來時, 我將告訴你們真正的故事。 我們最初看到的是這樣, 但我們以驚人的速度 把它變成了這番景象。 很多人沒有意識到的是 我們正在探討的範圍有多麼大。 因為大沼澤地所承載的不僅僅是 為七百萬佛羅里達居民提供飲用水; 現在它還灌溉大量農田, 以全年種植番茄和橘子, 供應超過三億美國人。 同樣的夏季季節性洪水, 在六千年前形成了青草之河。 諷刺的是,今天它同樣 承載著超過50萬英畝、 一望無際的甘蔗田之河。 這也意味著在同樣 這片土地和流域中, 施用了極為過量的肥料, 且永遠改變了這裡的生態系統。
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.
為了讓你們不僅僅是了解 這一系統如何運作, 同樣能與它產生更切身的聯繫, 我決定把故事打亂 放進幾段不同的故事中。 我想從奧科喬湖比開始我們的故事, 它是大沼澤地生態系統裡 跳動的心臟。 為了這樣做,我挑選了一個親善大使, 一種標誌性的生物。 牠是大沼澤地食螺鳶。 一種非常漂亮的鳥, 牠們以前的數量成千上萬, 在沼澤地的北方。 可現在牠們的數量 已經下降到大約400對左右。 為什麼會這樣? 因為牠們食物單一,只吃蘋果螺, 一種大小如乒乓球的水生腹足動物。
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:
所以當我們開始排乾大沼澤地時, 當我們疏導奧科喬比湖 並排乾濕地時, 我們毀掉了螺類的棲息地。 因此,食螺鳶的數量隨之下降。 因此,我想要拍的照片 不僅僅是表達這種 濕地、螺類與鳥類的關係, 而且我還希望照片中能表達 這種關係的不可思議性, 和牠們之間的相互依存性, 對於健康的濕地和鳥類來說 是多麼重要。 為此,我想到了這個辦法。 我開始起草了這個拍攝計劃, 並把它傳給一名 在奧基喬比野生生物學家, 這是一種瀕臨滅亡的鳥類 所有需要特別許可才行。 所有我製造了一個沉在水中的平台 這樣就會把蘋果螺固定到水下。 我花了幾個月的時間 去籌備這個瘋狂的計劃。 我把這個平台放入奧科喬比湖, 並在水裡待了一個多星期, 水深及腰,從拂曉到黃昏 九個小時的移動, 只為拍下一張能表達 我的構想的照片。 這是我最終得償所願的那天。
[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!]
影片:(史東旁白) 「平台佈置好後, 我注視著它, 然後我看到有一隻鳶飛過香蒲。 牠一直在掃視和搜尋著。 當牠越過這個陷阱後, 我看到牠有所察覺。 然後牠直奔陷阱而去。 在那一刻,這數月來的籌劃、等待, 以及所有的曬傷和蚊蟲叮咬, 瞬間,都值得了。」 (史東在影片中說道:) 「天啊,我簡直不敢相信!」
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.
你們可以想像當時的我有多麼激動。 但是這個計劃是針對那些 從未見過這種鳥、 也沒有任何理由去關心這種鳥的人, 這些照片、這些新的認知, 將提供一個新的視角, 單單一個物種 就讓這片流域變得如此不可思議, 如此珍貴和重要。 我知道,我不能來到蓋文斯維爾, 跟大家談大沼澤地裡的野生動物時, 卻沒提到短吻鱷。 我愛短吻鱷,從小到大一直都愛著。 我的父母常說 我和短吻鱷有不正常的關係。 但我喜歡牠們的原因是, 牠們和鯊魚一樣喜愛淡水。 人們恐懼牠、厭惡牠, 牠們一直悲慘地被誤解。 因為牠們是一種獨特的生物, 而不僅僅是頂尖的獵食者。 在大沼澤地, 牠們是大沼澤地出色的建築師, 因為當冬季水位下降, 進入枯水期, 牠們開始挖掘短吻鱷洞穴。 牠們這樣做的原因是 當水位下降, 我們依然可以保持潮濕 而且牠們可以覓食。 當然,這不止造福牠們, 其他的動物也依賴這種關係, 所以牠們成了一種關鍵性的生物。 所以這些頂尖獵食者、 古老的爬行生物, 乍看之下,好像主宰著這一生態系統, 但同時,要怎麼讓牠們 看起來也是弱勢的一群? 好吧,不然你進去一個 有120隻短吻鱷的坑試試, 之後你會希望自己做出了正確的決定。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
I still have all my fingers, it's cool.
我的手指都還在,這很酷。
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.
但我知道,我並沒要慫恿你們, 我不是在對你們宣揚說: 「為了短吻鱷去拯救大沼澤地吧!」 這不可能發生, 因為牠們活得很好, 現在我們到處都可以看見牠們, 牠們是美國環境保護的成功典範。 但大沼澤地裡有一種生物 無論你是誰, 都不禁會關愛牠,那就是玫瑰琵鷺。 這種鳥極其美麗,但是牠們 在大沼澤的生存卻極其艱難, 因為牠們最初在佛羅里達灣 有數以千計的數量, 但到了20世紀, 卻僅剩二——兩對。 為什麼? 因為女人認為這種鳥 在她們帽子上 比飛在天上更好看。 於是我們禁止了羽毛裝飾, 所以牠們的數量開始回升。 當牠們的數量開始回升後, 科學家開始注意到這種鳥類, 他們開始研究。
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.
他們的研究發現, 這些鳥的行為, 本質上與大沼澤地每年水位下降, 及流域一切的循環週期息息相關, 他們發現, 這種鳥在冬天水位下降時開始築巢, 因為牠們是感知型的進食動物, 所以牠們必須觸碰食物。 所以牠們會等待這些濃縮後的魚池, 這樣牠們才有足夠的食物哺育雛鳥。 所以這種鳥成了大沼澤地的象徵—— 一種顯示著整個生態系統 是否健康的風向指標性生物。 牠們數量一直回升到二十世紀中葉—— 數量上升到 900、 1000、1100、1200, 數量開始回升的時候, 我們開始排乾南部的大沼澤地。 我們阻斷了三分之二 流向北部的水。 而這造成了巨大的影響。 就當這種鳥的數量達到頂峰時, 非常不幸的是,今天, 真實的玫瑰琵鷺, 真正關於牠們生存現狀的照片 卻是這樣的。 今天佛羅里達灣僅有不到70對琵鷺, 因為我們將這一生態系統破壞殆盡。 所以所有的環保組織 都在吶喊,都在高呼: 「大沼澤地岌岌可危!岌岌可危!」 並不是的, 它是可以恢復的。 因為無論我們掠奪多少, 無論我們對它做過什麼, 無論我們排乾、築珼或是挖掘, 那些殘留仍然在這, 等待我們將其復原。
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.
這就是我熱愛南佛羅里達的原因。 在這,人們有著無法阻擋的魄力, 去接觸那些熱情自然裡 無法撼動的事物。 在這片新的疆域 我們被迫重新審視。 荒野有什麼價值? 生物多樣性和飲用水的價值是什麼? 幸運的是,經過數十年思考。 我們終於開始踐行這些問題。 我們開逐漸實行這些計劃 將更多的淡水注入海灣。 但這取決於我們, 作為公民,作為居民,作為管理者, 去監督我們選出的官員 能履行他們的承諾。
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.
你能幫什麼呢? 非常簡單。 只要走出去,走出戶外。 帶著你朋友,帶著你的孩子, 帶上你的家人一起走出去。 雇一個釣魚顧問。 讓政府看到保護荒野 不僅僅是生態上合理, 在經濟上也合理。 那很有趣,做就對了, 把你的腳伸入水中吧! 我保證,沼澤會改變你的。
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.
過去的這些年, 我們對國內的其它風景如此慷慨, 將它們擁簇成美國之光, 那些代表美國的地方: 大峽谷、優勝美地國家公園、 黃石公園。 我用這些國家公園和自然區域 作為美國的燈塔和文化指南。 可悲的是,大沼澤地 常常被人們所遺忘。 但我相信它至少是一種經典和象徵, 象徵著我們整個國家, 也像其它的荒野一樣。 只不過是另一種與眾不同的荒野。
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.
但是我很欣慰, 因為或許我們終於明白, 因為那個曾被人視為沼澤的濕地, 今天已經成了世界自然遺產。 它是世界級重要的濕地。 過去的六十年我們有所進展。 作為世界上最龐大 且最富雄心的濕地復原計劃, 全世界的目光 都聚焦在我們陽光之州。 因為如果我們能修復這個生態系統, 它將成為一個全球性的 濕地修復典範。 但這一切都取決於哪一項遺產 是我們想要印入旗幟的。
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.
他們說保護大沼澤地 是我們最偉大的考驗。 如果我們通過了, 我們就是在保護地球。 我喜歡這段話, 因為這是一項挑戰,是一種激勵。 我們能做到嗎?我們願意去做嗎? 我們必須這樣。 因為大沼澤地並非只是一次考驗。 它也是一件禮物, 而最終,是你我的義務。
Thank you.
謝謝大家。
(Applause)
(掌聲)