But, without even considering that threat, shouldn't it startle us that we have now put these c1ouds in the evening sky which glisten with a spectral light?
但是，即使不考虑那种威胁，单就我们现在把这些云放人夜空让它像鬼火似地发出一闪一闪的亮光这一点而论，难道还不应该使我们大吃一惊吗？
Or have our eyes adjusted so completely to the bright lights of civilization that we can't see these clouds for what they are-a physical manifestation of the violent collision between human civilization and the earth?
或者是我们的眼睛已经完全适应了这种象征着文明的亮光，以致看不到这些云的本质—人类文明与地球之间猛烈碰撞的具体表现？
Even though it is sometimes hard to see their meaning, we have by now all witnessed surprising experiences that signal the damage from our assault on the environment-whether it's the new frequency of days when the temperature exceeds 100 degrees, the new speed with which the sun burns our skin, or the new constancy of public debate over what to do with growing mountains of waste.
即使有时很难看清这些云的意义，但是到目前为止我们全都目睹了许多标志着我们对环境的攻击给地球造成破坏的惊人情况—不论是气温超过100度的天气的出现率比以前高、太阳烧灼我们皮肤的速度比以前快还是公众就如何处理日益增多的堆积如山的垃圾这个问题进行的辩论比以前多。
But our response to these signals is puzzling. Why haven't we launched a massive effort to save our environment?
但是我们对这些标志着破坏地球的现象所作出的回应令人迷惑不解。为什么我们没有 作出巨大努力来拯救我们的环境？
To come at the question another way: Why do some images startle us into immediate action and focus our attention on ways to respond effectively?
让我们换一个方式来提这个问题：为什么有些景象使我们大吃一惊因而立即采取行动 并且集中注意力寻找作出有效回应的方式？
And why do other images, though sometimes equally dramatic, produce instead a kind of paralysis, focusing our attention not on ways to respond but rather on some convenient, less painful distraction?
而为什么另一些景象，虽然有时同样引人注目，我们的回应却是一种麻木不仁，不是集中注意力寻找作出回应的方式，而是集中注意力去干容易做的、不那么费力气的别的什么事情？
Still, there are so many distressing images of environmental destruction that sometimes it seems impossible to know how to absorb or comprehend them.
然而，破坏环境的令人悲痛的景象是如此之多，以致有时人们似乎不可能知道如何接 受或理解它们。
Before considering the threats themselves, it may be helpful to classify them and thus begin to organize our thoughts and feelings so that we may be able to respond appropriately.
在考虑这些威胁本身之前先把它们分类，从而开始把我们的思想和感觉组织得有条有理，以便我们也许能够作出适当的回应—这样做也许是有益处的。