Nearly half the species on the planet are failing to cope with global warming the world has already experienced, according to an alarming new study that suggests the sixth mass extinction¹ of animal life in the Earth's history could take place in as little as 50 years.

一项令人震惊的最新研究表明，地球上近一半的物种无法应对当前发生的全球变暖，地球离史上第六次物种大灭绝可能只有50年了。

A leading evolutionary² biologist, Professor John Wiens, found that 47 percent of nearly 1,000 species had suffered local extinctions linked to climate change with populations absent from areas where they had been found before.

约翰•韦恩斯教授是一位杰出的进化生物学家，他发现在近1000种物种中，有47%的物种出现了与气候变化相关的局部灭绝，一些物种在他们原来生存的区域消失了。

Professor Wiens, who is editor of the Quarterly Review of Biology and a winner of the American Society of Naturalists³' Presidential Award, said the implications for the future were serious because his review showed plants and animals were struggling to deal with the relatively⁴ small amount of global warming experienced to date.

韦恩斯教授是《生物学季刊》的编辑，也是《美国博物学家》杂志主席奖的获得者。他认为，种种迹象表明未来的局势十分严峻，因为研究显示，动植物正勉强应对着当前相对轻微的全球变暖问题。

So far the world has warmed by about 1℃ above pre-industrial levels, but it is expected to hit between 2.6 and 4.8C by 2100 if nothing is done to reduce greenhouse gases.

与工业化前相比，全球气温目前为止已经升高了1℃，但如果不减少温室气体，那么到2100年气温将升高2.6℃至4.8℃。

Another problem facing life on Earth is the election of climate science denier Donald Trump⁵ as US president.

地球生物面临的另一个麻烦是，气候科学否定者唐纳德•特朗普当选美国总统。

Professor Wiens, of Arizona University, described this as a "global disaster" and, when asked what he would say to the President-elect if he met him, he joked grimly: "Kill yourself immediately."

在亚利桑那州立大学执教的韦恩斯称，特朗普当选是一场“全球性灾难”，当被问及如果遇见这位候任总统想对他说点什么时，韦恩斯开玩笑道：“赶紧狗带吧。”

In his study, published in the journal PLOS Biology, the scientist examined academic papers about 976 different species from all over the world that had been studied at least twice, once about 50 years ago and again within the last 10 years.

韦恩斯的研究被发表在《公共科学图书馆•生物学》期刊上，他查阅了全球976个不同物种的相关学术论文。这些物种至少都被研究过两次，一次是在约50年前，另一次是在近10年内。

"In almost half the species looked at, there have been local extinctions already," he said.

他说，“接近一半的被观察物种已经局部灭绝。”

"What it shows is species cannot change fast enough to keep up with a small change in climate. That's the big implication - even a small change in temperature and they cannot handle it."

“这说明生物的进化速度跟不上轻微的气候变化。这背后的重大寓意是——气温即使发生一点变化这些生物也无法适应。”

The study looked at 716 different kinds of animals and 260 plants from Asia, Europe, North and South America, and elsewhere.

该研究观察了来自亚洲、欧洲、北美、南美以及其他地区的716种不同动物和260种不同植物。

There were few areas of the planet that were unaffected.

地球上很少有未受影响的地区。

The current rate of global extinction of animals and plants is believed to be faster than some of the five great extinction events in the Earth's history, but so far the total number lost does not compare to the species lost when the dinosaurs⁶ were wiped out about 65 million years ago.

人们认为，与地球历史上前五次物种大灭绝中的几次相比，目前全球动植物的灭绝速度要更迅速，但是目前为止灭绝的物种数还无法与6500万年前恐龙灭绝时期的数量相提并论。

However one reason geologists⁷ are considering declaring a new epoch⁸ in the planet's history is the rapid loss of flora⁹ and fauna¹⁰ that will have a noticeable effect on the fossil record.

不过，动植物的迅速灭绝将对化石记录产生显著影响，这是地质学家们正考虑宣告地球历史迎来新纪元的一个原因。

Professor Wiens said: "It's true that in terms of global extinction of entire species that have already happened, I think we're not there [at the sixth mass extinction] yet.

韦恩斯教授称，“就全球所有物种发生灭绝的情况而言，我认为第六次物种大灭绝的确还没有发生。”

"But I think unfortunately we are on track for that to happen.

“但不幸的是，我认为事情正朝着这个方向发展。”

There were already "two bad signs" that Mr Trump's election would make things worse, Professor Wiens said.

韦恩斯称，已经有“两个坏迹象”显示，特朗普当选会让事情雪上加霜。

"One would be this person he's assigned to head the EPA (renowned climate science denier Scott Pruitt) and the other thing is pulling out of the Paris accord," he said.

“其一是特朗普任命的环保局局长（出名的反气候科学者斯考特•普鲁伊特），另一件事就是退出《巴黎协定》。”

Asked what he would really say to Mr Trump if they met, Professor Wiens said: "I guess I would tell him 'what would you think if there was a country on the other side of the world that was releasing gas that was going to cause extinctions in our country, to hurt our crops and make people starve'.

在被问及如果二人相遇他会对特朗普真正说些什么时，韦恩斯教授说：“我想我会问他‘如果在世界的另一边，有一个国家正在排放的气体将使美国的物种灭绝，农作物遭到破坏，让人们饿死，你对此怎么看’”。

"He would say, 'tell me where it is and we'll bomb them tomorrow'. Then I'd say, 'this is what we're doing to other countries because we are the big polluters.'

“他会说，‘告诉我是哪个国家，明天我们就炸了那里’。然后我会说，“这就是我们正在对其他国家做的事情，因为我们就是最大的排污国。”