Colonialism did not just create slavery: it changed geology
殖民带来的不仅是奴隶制，它还改变了地质特征
Colonialism didn't just produce slavery and cigarettes, it changed the geological composition of our planet. This is the view of two UK scientists who believe the impact of colonialism was so profound it can be detected in Earth’s air and rocks, an idea revealed in The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene, by Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin, published last week.
殖民不仅带来了奴隶制和香烟，它也改变了我们星球的地质构成。这是两位英国科学家的观点，他们认为殖民主义的影响非常深刻，它可以在地球的空气和岩石当中被探测到。这一猜想见诸上周发行的《人类星球：我们如何创造人类世》，它的创作者是西蒙·刘易斯和马克·麦斯林。
“The arrival of Europeans, in particular the British and Spanish, had a profound impact on central and southern America,” Maslin told the Observer. “They carried germs for smallpox, measles, flu, typhoid and many other diseases that led to the deaths of more than 50 million Americans. Society in America collapsed and subsistence farming there was wiped out.”
“欧洲人的到来，尤其是英国人和西班牙人，给中美洲和南美洲带来了深远的影响，”麦斯林和《观察者》这样说道。“他们携带着天花、麻疹、流感、伤寒和其它疾病的病菌，致使超过 5 千万美洲人死亡。美洲的社会就此土崩瓦解，生存农业也将彻底消失。”
Forests returned to land that had been abandoned by humans. “We can detect this in Antarctic ice cores,” added Maslin. “These provide a history of the atmosphere for thousands of years and show carbon dioxide levels reached a distinct minimum around 1610 because forests, which are much better than farm crops at absorbing carbon dioxide, were now covering vastly increased areas of the American landscape – thanks to the eradication of the people who had once farmed there.” This effect continued for decades until America’s population of humans was restored.
长久以来被人类抛弃的土地又变回了森林。“我们可以在南极冰芯里检测出殖民对地质结构的影响，”麦斯林补充道。“这些冰芯为我们提供了数千年来大气变化的历史，并且告诉我们大约在 1610 年，二氧化碳水平达到了毫无争议的最低点。因为森林吸收二氧化碳的能力远远强于农作物，而当时美洲大陆上被森林覆盖的区域越发广袤，原因是曾经在这片土地上耕种的人们都不复存在了。”这一影响持续了数十年，直到美洲的人口恢复成原来的水平。
Just how the Anthropocene will change and affect our planet is less clear, they admit. “We have become a new force of nature, dictating what lives and what goes extinct. Although in one crucial respect we are unlike any other force of nature: our power, unlike plate tectonics or volcanic eruptions, is reflexive – it can be used, modified or even withdrawn.”
只是人类世将如何改变和影响我们的星球，现在并不清楚，他们承认。“我们变成了自然的一股新力量，支配物种的生死存亡。然而，在很重要的一个方面，我们和任何其他自然力量都不同：我们的力量，不像是板块构造或者火山喷发，它是自反的。它可以拿来使用、被更改，甚至完全收回。”
————— 文章来源 / 卫报
重点词汇
colonialism /kəˈloʊniəlɪzəm/
n. 殖民，殖民主义
slavery /ˈsleɪvəri/
n. 奴隶制度，奴役
e.g.
to abolish slavery
Anthropocene /ˈanθrəpəˌsiːn/
n. 人类世（纪）
smallpox /ˈsmɔːlpɑːks/
n. 天花
measles /ˈmiːzlz/
n. 麻疹
typhoid/ˈtaɪfɔɪd/
n. 伤寒
eradication /ɪˌrædɪˈkeɪʃn/
n. 摧毁，根除
dictate /ˈdɪkteɪt/
v. 支配，控制
reflexive /rɪˈfleksɪv/
adj. 反射性的
subsistence farming
自给农业，自给性农业
wipe out
彻底消灭，彻底摧毁
ice cores
冰芯
plate tectonics
板块构造学
