The Unseen Toll of a Warming World

Experts and psychologists are racing to understand how a volatile, unpredictable planet shapes our minds and mental health. In February, a major new study of climate change highlighted the mental health effects for the first time, saying that anxiety and stress from a changing climate were likely to increase in the coming years.

專家和心理學家正加速想要了解，一個劇烈變化且無法預測的星球如何形塑我們的心智和心理健康。在2月，新的一項氣候變遷重要研究首度強調心理健康的影響，它指出變遷中氣候造成的焦慮和壓力未來幾年可能增加。

In addition to those who have lost their homes to floods and megafires, millions have endured record-breaking heat waves. The crisis also hits home in subtle, personal ways — withered gardens, receding lakeshores and quiet walks without the birdsong that once accompanied them.

除了那些在洪水和大火中失去家園的人，還有數百萬人曾經歷破紀錄的熱浪。這個危機也以微小、個人化的方式打擊家庭；枯萎的花園，後退中的湖岸，還有曾經相伴現在卻沒有的鳥鳴的寂寥散步。

To understand what the effects of climate change feel like in America today, we listened to hundreds of people. In cities already confronting the long-term effects of climate change, and in drought-scarred ranches and rangeland, many are trying to cope with the strains of an increasingly precarious future. As temperatures rise, extreme weather events will become more and more common.

為了解今日在美國，氣候變遷的影響是何種光景，我們聽取數百人的想法。在已經對抗氣候變遷長期影響的都市，還有因旱災受害的牧場和放牧地，許多人正嘗試應對一連串益發不穩定的未來。當氣溫上升之際，極端天氣事件將愈來愈常見。

The feelings are complex.

大家的感受相當複雜。

Some people grieve the loss of serene hiking trails that have been engulfed by wildfire smoke while others no longer find the same joy or release from nature. Some are seeking counseling. Others are harnessing their anxiety for change by protesting or working to slow the damage.

有些人對被野火煙霧吞沒的寧靜健行步道消失覺得感傷，也有些人再也找不到在大自然的相同喜悅或放鬆。有些人尋求諮商，也有些人利用自己的焦慮轉為抗議或投入減緩損害工作。

“This is becoming a No. 1 threat to mental health,” said Britt Wray, a Stanford University researcher and author of “Generation Dread,” a forthcoming book about grappling with climate distress. “It can make day-to-day life incredibly hard to go on.”

「這已成為心理健康的頭號威脅」，史丹福大學研究者雷伊說，他在即將出版的新書「憂慮世代」（暫譯）提到處理氣候導致的憂慮，「它可能讓日常生活很難過下去。」

Psychologists and therapists say the distress of a changing climate can cause fleeting anxiety for some people but trigger much darker thoughts for others. In a 2020 survey, more than half of Americans reported feeling anxious about the climate’s effect on their mental health, and more than two-thirds said they were anxious about how climate change would affect the planet.

心理學家和治療師說，氣候變遷的煩惱對一些人可能會造成短暫焦慮，但對其他人可能會刺激出更黑暗的念頭。在2020年一項調查中，超過半數美國人表示，對於氣候變遷影響他們的心理健康感到焦慮，而超過三分之二的人說，他們對氣候變遷會如何影響地球感到憂心。

Young people say they are especially upset.

年輕人說，他們覺得特別不安。

A survey of people 16 to 25 in 10 countries published in The Lancet found that three-quarters were frightened of the future. More than half said humanity was doomed. Some feel betrayed by older generations and leaders. They say they feel angry but helpless as they watch people in power fail to act swiftly.

一項訪問10個國家16至25歲民眾、刊載於「刺胳針」期刊的調查發現，四分之三的人對未來感到驚恐，過半數說人類難逃毀滅。有些人感覺被年長世代和領袖背叛。他們說，眼看著有權力的人未能迅速行動，感到憤怒卻無助。

Almost 40% of young people say they are hesitant about having children. If nature feels this unmoored today, some ask, why bring children into an even grimmer future?

將近40%年輕人說，對於生小孩感到遲疑。有些人問，如果現在的自然如此失序，為何還要把孩子帶到一個更令人憂心的未來？

卡車燃料未來誰主導 電池或氫能？

Even before war in Ukraine sent fuel prices through the roof, the trucking industry was under intense pressure to kick its addiction to diesel, a major contributor to climate change and urban air pollution. But it still has to figure out which technology will best do the job.

在烏克蘭戰爭導致燃料價格飆漲之前，卡車運輸業就面臨擺脫柴油成癮的巨大壓力，但它仍須弄清楚哪種技術最能勝任此事。柴油是氣候變遷與城市空汙的主要原因。

Truck makers are divided into two camps. One faction, which includes Traton, Volkswagen’s truck unit, is betting on batteries because they are widely regarded as the most efficient option. The other camp, which includes Daimler Truck and Volvo, the two largest truck manufacturers, argues that fuel cells that convert hydrogen into electricity — emitting only water vapor — make more sense because they would allow long-haul trucks to be refueled quickly.

卡車製造商分為兩個陣營，包括福斯卡車部門Traton在內的一派看好電池，因電池被廣泛認為是最有效率的選項。另一個陣營則包括戴姆勒卡車和富豪這兩家最大的卡車製造公司，他們認為將氫轉化為電能僅排放水蒸氣的燃料電池更有意義，因為它們可讓長途卡車快速充電。

The choice companies make could be hugely consequential, helping to determine who dominates trucking in the electric vehicle age and who ends up wasting billions of dollars on the Betamax equivalent of electric truck technology, committing a potentially fatal error. It takes years to design and produce new trucks, so companies will be locked into the decisions they make now for a decade or more.

這些公司做出的選擇可能會帶來重大影響，並且有助於確認在電動車時代，誰將主宰卡車運輸業以及誰最終會在電動卡車版的Betamax技術浪費數十億美元，犯下潛在致命錯誤。設計和生產新的卡車需耗時數年，因此企業在未來10年或更長時間裡，將受制於現在做出的決定。

“It’s obviously one of the most important technology decisions we have to make,” said Andreas Gorbach, a member of the management board of Daimler Truck, which owns Freightliner in the United States and is the largest truck maker in the world.

全球卡車製造龍頭戴姆勒卡車的管理層成員哥爾巴赫說：「這顯然是我們必須做出的最重要技術決策之一。」該公司在美國擁有福萊納卡車品牌。

The stakes for the environment and for public health are also high. If many truck makers wager incorrectly, it could take much longer to clean up trucking than scientists say we have to limit the worst effects of climate change. In the United States, medium- and heavy-duty trucks account for 7% of greenhouse gas emissions.

環境和公眾健康面臨的風險也很高。若許多卡車製造商押錯寶，清理卡車運輸業所需的時間，恐比科學家所說人類必須限制氣候變遷最壞影響的時限還要長。在美國，中型與重型卡車占溫室氣體排放量的7%。

Although sales of electric cars are exploding, large truck makers have only begun to mass-produce emission-free vehicles. Daimler Truck, for example, began producing an electric version of its heavy-duty Actros truck, with a maximum range of 240 miles, late last year. Tesla unveiled a design for a battery-powered semitruck in 2017 but has not set a firm production date.

儘管電動車銷量爆炸性成長，但大型卡車製造商才剛開始大規模生產零碳排車輛，例如戴姆勒卡車公司去年底開始生產重型卡車Actros的電動版本，最大行駛里程達240英里。特斯拉在2017年發布一款電池動力的卡車Semi，但具體生產日期未定。

Cost will be a decisive factor. Unlike car buyers, who might splurge on a vehicle because they like the way it looks or the status it conveys, truck buyers carefully calculate how much a rig is going to cost them to buy, maintain and refuel.

價格將會是一項決定性因素。卡車買家會仔細計算整套配備的價格、維護及補充燃料費用，不像汽車買家，可能會因為喜歡車的外觀或者能夠顯示他們的地位而揮霍。