格洛寧根天然氣田是歐洲最大的天然氣產地，多年來一直提供驅動荷蘭經濟的能源，而且穩定供應北歐。

But a half-century of extraction has reduced the field’s natural pressure , and seismic shifts from geological settling have set off increasingly frequent earthquakes — more than 120 last year, and at least 40 this year. Though most of the tremors have been small, and resulted in no reported deaths or serious injuries, they have caused widespread damage to buildings, endangered nearby dikes and angered residents.

然而長達半世紀的開採已使它的天然壓力下降，地質沉澱產生的地震變化導致地震更頻繁，去年超過120次，今年至少已有40次。雖然多數地震規模不大，亦未聞有人死亡或重傷，卻使建築物廣泛受損，同時危及附近的堤防，引起居民強烈不滿。

Now the Dutch government is demanding that the field’s operator, a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, curtail production, making the Groningen field much more than a local worry. The field accounts for about one-third of the natural gas produced in the European Union. Any reduction in output might be especially hard for the European economy to bear now that tension in Ukraine is making the receipt of gas from Russia uncertain and Moscow is pivoting its energy attention toward China.

荷蘭政府已經要求負責經營的皇家荷蘭殼牌與埃克森美孚石油公司合資企業減產。這導致格洛寧根天然氣田不只引起當地人的憂慮。它的天然氣產量約占歐盟的1/3。在烏克蘭的緊張局勢造成俄國天然氣供應不確定，俄國並將能源供應焦點轉向中國大陸之際，減產可能對歐洲經濟造成尤其嚴重的衝擊。

People living atop the Groningen field are trying to cope with the on-the-ground consequences. Nienke Pastoor and her husband, Jaap, spent years restoring a 110-year-old farmhouse. But an earthquake in 2012 left cracks in the walls and inflicted more serious structural damage to the home of Mr. Pastoor’s parents across the road, causing them to suspend plans to swap homes to be closer to their farmland. “I have four children,” Mrs. Pastoor said. “If they go to sleep and it starts to shake, what is going to happen?”

住在格洛寧根天然氣田上的民眾正在設法應付地面所受影響。妮安姬•帕斯托與丈夫傑普以數年時間整修一棟已有110年歷史的農舍，然而2012年的一次地震使農舍的牆壁出現裂痕，同時使帕斯托父母在對街的住處受到嚴重的結構性破壞，迫使他們暫緩互換房屋以便更接近自家農地的計畫。妮安姬說：「我有四個孩子。如果他們睡覺時發生地震，會怎麼樣？」

The geological problems posed even by the traditional drilling techniques used here could provide fodder for critics of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which is being used elsewhere to extract gas from shale rock and has caused quakes in Britain.

傳統開採技術在這裡造成地質問題，可能使水裂開採法的批評者更有反對的理由。有些其他地區以水裂法開採頁岩的天然氣，曾在英國引起地震。

As part of a three-year test, the Dutch government has ordered the joint venture that operates the Groningen field, Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij, or NAM, to cut production by about 20 percent from last year’s level. It has also demanded other corrective measures, including reinvesting some profits into the local economy.

荷蘭政府推出三年實驗計畫，要求經營格洛寧根天然氣田的NAM公司將今年的產量降至去年的4/5，同時採取多項補救措施，包括將部分利潤轉投資於當地經濟。

About 150,000 people live above the field, which occupies about 900 square kilometers. The field contributes as much as 12 billion euros, or $16.4 billion, to the national government each year, or more than 4 percent of its revenue. Shell and Exxon are thought to split around ?1 billion a year in earnings from the field.

大約15萬人住在這片約900平方公里的天然氣田上。天然氣田每年為荷蘭政府帶來120億歐元（約164億美元）的收入，占歲入的4%以上。估計殼牌與埃克森公司每年可平分10億美元利潤。

Jan Willem Jacobs, NAM’s project director for the field, said the company accepted responsibility for the earthquakes and for fixing the damage they caused.

NAM的格洛寧根天然氣田計畫經理雅各斯說，該公司承擔地震的責任與損害修補的開銷。

Many residents remain skeptical that anything will change .

不過許多居民還是認為，現狀不太可能改變。

“NAM has spoiled trust over the last 20 to 30 years, ” said Jacques Wallage, a former member of the Dutch cabinet and a former mayor of Groningen .

曾經入閣並擔任過格洛寧根市長的華勒吉說：「過去二、三十年間，NAM糟蹋了人們對它的信任。」

For much of Groningen’s first 50 years, the field was so prolific that it required little additional drilling after the initial development.

在格洛寧根天然氣田運作前50年的許多歲月，蘊藏量大到在最初開發規模外，幾乎不需再做額外鑽採。

The 20 or so production centers scattered about the countryside quietly did their work , sending gas into the national pipeline network and points beyond. Then came the earthquakes, beginning in the early 1990s, with increasing frequency and intensity.

約20個生產中心散布於鄉間，靜靜運作，把天然氣源源送到全國的管線系統與國外。後來，在1990年代初地震出現了。越來越多，也越來越大。

In August 2012, a quake with a magnitude of 3.6, the largest so far, frightened residents and caused widespread damage .

2012年8月，一場至今最大的芮氏規模3.6地震嚇壞當地居民，同時造成廣泛損壞。

“At that time, the region awoke to the real danger for this area,” said Albert Rodenboog, the mayor of Loppersum, who has helped coordinate efforts urging the government and NAM to take action.

洛普桑市長羅登柏格曾經協調民眾督促荷蘭政府與NAM公司採取行動。他說：「當時，整個區域驚覺本地區面臨的真實威脅。」

The gas is trapped in porous sandstone deep beneath the ground. When the fuel flows to the surface, the rock contracts like a squeezed sponge.

天然氣鎖在地底深處的多孔沙岩內。天然氣流到地面時，岩石有如受到擠壓的海綿般收縮。

In some places in the Groningen area, this contraction has caused the surface of what is already a low-lying area drained by numerous canals to sink as much as 35 centimeters. NAM has invested heavily in new water pumping stations .

在格洛寧根地區的部分地方，這種收縮導致原已因為許多運河吸水而形成的低海拔地帶下沉，最多達35公分。NAM挹注重資興建新的抽水站。

NAM ’s new production ceiling, at 42.5 billion cubic meters, would still be higher than the 38 billion cubic meters a year that Russia recently agreed to supply to China.

NAM的生產上限已降為每年425億立方公尺，但仍高於俄國最近同意供應中國大陸的380億立方公尺。

The Dutch government also is placing Groningen’s most accessible gas further out of reach. It has ordered the company to sharply curtail production at five sites in the Loppersum area, the epicenter of the quakes.

荷蘭政府正在使格洛寧根最容易取得的天然氣更難以取得，要求在地震震央洛普桑地區的五個地點大幅減產。

The company and various authorities have also agreed on a five-year, ?1.2 billion package to repair and reinforce homes and other buildings that have sustained damage.

該公司與各有關當局已決定以五年時間投入12億歐元，整修並強化在地震中受損的民宅與其他建築。

The test is one that many say Groningen cannot afford to fail.

許多人表示，格洛寧根非通過這個考驗不可，否則後果不堪設想。

“If there is one casualty, everything is different here,” said Daniella Blanken of the citizens group Groninger Bodem Beweging, or Groningen Earth Movement. “One casualty is going to put the region on fire.”

公民團體「格洛寧根地球運動」的布蘭肯說：「只要有一人死傷，一切就會完全不同。一人死傷就會使整個區域變成一片火海。」

Uber共乘服務最近在全歐洲成為抗議對象，人們控訴它輕忽安全、對乘客哄抬車資、讓許多計程車司機失業又逃避監督。Uber是否有投資人相信的170億美元價值無從斷定。這家公司雖然在36國100多個城市有據點，卻仍可能像任何新創公司一樣垮掉。

But for all its flaws, Uber could well transform transportation the way Amazon has altered shopping — by using slick, user-friendly software and mountains of data to completely reshape an existing market, ultimately making many modes of urban transportation cheaper, more flexible and more widely accessible to people across the income spectrum.

Uber縱有缺點，卻可能如亞馬遜改變購物方式般大幅改變運輸形態：藉著使用聰明好用的軟體和大量資料，徹底重塑現有市場，最終讓許多都市運輸方式更便宜、更有彈性，讓各種收入的人更負擔得起。

In its long-established markets, like San Francisco, using Uber every day is already arguably cheaper than owning a private car. And now that Uber, Lyft and other rivals are embroiled in a vicious match for dominance across the globe, ride-sharing in more areas may become cheaper and more convenient than owning a car .

在Uber經營多年的市場，如舊金山，每天用Uber已經可以說比擁車更便宜。既然Uber、Lyft和其他競爭對手都捲入全球爭霸的險惡競賽，共乘服務可能會在更多地方變得更便宜，也比擁車方便。

And some experts say the increased use of ride-sharing services could also spawn renewed interest in and funding for public transportation, because people generally use taxis in conjunction with many other forms of transportation. “In many cities and even suburbs, it’s becoming much easier to organize your life car-free or car-lite,” said David A. King, an assistant professor of urban planning at Columbia University in New York .

有些專家說，共乘服務使用者增加也許會引發對大眾運輸又一波的興趣和投資，因為人們通常會把計程車和其他多種交通工具搭配使用。紐約哥倫比亞大學都市計畫助理教授金恩說：「在許多都市，甚或郊區，過著沒有自用車或很少開車的生活變得容易多了。」

Susan Shaheen, a director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that car-sharing and bike-sharing services have already led to a significant net reduction of car ownership among users.

柏克萊加州大學永續運輸研究中心主任蘇珊•夏辛發現，共乘汽車和公共自行車服務讓使用者擁車率淨下降。

In one recent study based on GPS data from New York City cabs, Dr. King and his colleagues found that many taxi trips are “multimodal,” meaning that riders mix taxis with other forms of transportation.

最近金恩博士和同事研究紐約市計程車全球衛星定位系統資料，發現許多計程車趟次都是「多重形式」，也就是乘客把計程車和別種交通工具混合使用。

“The one-way travel of taxis allows people to use transit, share rides and otherwise travel without a car,” the researchers wrote. “In this way taxis act as a complement to these other modes and help discourage auto ownership and use.”

研究人員寫道：「計程車單向移動的特性讓人們可以使用大眾運輸系統和共乘，不必擁車就能旅行。如此一來，計程車成了這些交通方式的補充，有助降低汽車自有率和使用率。」

A survey commissioned by regulators in San Francisco found that if taxis were more widely available, people would use public transit more often, and would consider getting rid of one or more cars.

舊金山監理單位委託製作的調查報告顯示，如果計程車更普及，人們會更常使用大眾運輸系統，並考慮出脫一輛或更多輛車。

But taxi service is generally capped by regulation, and in many cities the number of taxis has not been increased substantially in decades, despite a vast increase in the number of kilometers people travel. In some places this has led to poor service: For instance, one out of four San Francisco residents rated the city’s taxi service as “terrible.”

不過，計程車業常受管制，許多城市數十年來數量並未大幅放寬，人們旅行的里程卻已大增。這在某些地方已使服務品質低落，例如舊金山，四分之一居民對計程車服務的評價是「糟透了」。

Ride-sharing services substantially increase the supply of for-hire vehicles on the road, which puts downward pressure on prices. As critics say, Uber and other services do this by essentially evading regulations that cap taxis. This has led to intense skirmishes with regulators and questions over who has oversight to maintain the safety of the blossoming new industry.

共乘服務讓路上出租車的供給量大增，對車資造成下修壓力。就如批評者說的，Uber和其他服務能增加供給，基本上是因為逃避了對計程車的監理。這使得共乘服務公司與監管單位劇烈衝突，也引發了「誰有責任維護這個繁榮新行業的安全」的問題。

These questions are likely to be worked out as these services mature; like most new technologies, this one too will attract increased legal oversight .

這些問題應該會在這些服務成熟時解決。就像多數新科技一樣，共乘服務也會受到更多法律監督。

But Uber has done more than increase the supply of cars in the taxi market. Thanks to technology, it has also improved their utility and efficiency. By monitoring ridership, Uber can smartly allocate cars in places of high demand, and by connecting with users’ phones, it has automated the paying process. When you’re done with an Uber ride, you just leave the car; there’s no fiddling with a credit card and no tipping. Even better, there’s no parking.

不過，Uber做的不只是在計程車市場增加汽車供給。拜科技之賜，Uber也增進了計程車市場的功用和效率。藉由偵測乘客流量，Uber可以聰明地把汽車分配到需求多的地方；藉由與乘客手機連線，Uber把付款過程自動化。當你用Uber服務搭到目的地後，只要下車，不用刷卡也不必給小費，更棒的是不用把車停好。

Compared with that kind of convenience, a car that you own — which you have to park, fill up, fix, insure, clean and pay for whether you use it or not — begins to seem too troublesome .

跟這樣的便利相比，你自己的車得找地方停、加油、修理、投保、清潔、付那些不開也得交的錢，開始顯得太麻煩了。

“And if your car sits there five out of seven days, suddenly you’re starting to look at that fixed cost as being a waste,” Dr. King said.

金恩博士說：「如果你的車一星期有五天停著沒開，你會突然覺得那些固定開銷是浪費錢。」