(单词翻译:单击)
Our soil is dying.
我们的土地正在流失。
We tend to focus on issues such as fossil fuels or water in our fight for climate action and often the issue of soil quality gets left in the dust.
在气候行动中，我们倾向于关注化石燃料或水等问题，而土壤质量问题往往被抛在脑后。
But it takes an average of 500 years to naturally build an inch of topsoil.
但自然界平均要用500年的时间才能形成一英寸厚的表层土壤。
And we're losing it at 17 times that rate.
而土壤的流失速度比形成速度快17倍。
Although soil degradation can be caused by a number of natural factors, increasingly soil quality is affected by human actions.
虽然土壤退化可能是由许多自然因素引起的，但土壤质量越来越受到人类活动的影响。
Today I'm going to narrow in on one of the bigger human-caused factors—industrial agriculture in order to answer what soil degradation is, why it's happening and why we need to strive for better soil health.
今天，我将会集中讨论一个更大的人为因素——农业工业化，以回答什么是土壤退化，为什么会发生这种情况，以及为什么我们需要为更好的土壤健康而努力。
So first what is soil degradation?
首先，什么是土壤退化？
Quite simply it means a decline in soil health as a result of misuse or poor management.
简单地说，土壤退化就是指由于滥用或管理不善而导致的土壤健康状况下降。
Soil can vary widely in its depth depending on whether it's young or stable and old.
土壤的厚度可能大不相同，这取决于土壤是年轻或稳定的还是老的。
But it's generally teeming with life.
但它通常充满了生命。
According to the Earth Institute at Columbia University, it's estimated that an acre of soil may contain 900 pounds of earthworms, 2,400 pounds of fungi, 1,500 pounds of bacteria, 133 pounds of protozoa, 890 pounds of arthropods and algae and even sometimes small mammals.
据哥伦比亚大学地球研究所估计，一英亩土壤中可能含有900磅蚯蚓，2400磅真菌，1500磅细菌，133磅原生动物，890磅节肢动物和藻类，有时甚至还有小型哺乳动物。
And when soil health is affected, this biodiverse system wanes.
当土壤健康受到影响时，这种生物多样性系统就会衰退。
Why then is soil degradation such a big issue now?
那么，为什么现在土壤退化是一个如此大的问题呢？
Well the quality of topsoil can definitely be damaged by natural occurrences like floods or wind.
表层土壤的质量肯定会受到洪水或风等自然灾害的破坏。
The rate of topsoil loss has increased radically over the last 200 years in the United States as a result of modern agricultural practices.
在过去的200年里，由于现代农业的耕作方式，美国表层土壤的流失率急剧上升。
In Pimentel study on the economics of soil erosion and conservation they estimate that in the United States soil has been lost at about 17 times the rate at which its formed.
在皮门特尔的关于土壤侵蚀和保护的经济学研究中，他们估计，在美国，土壤流失的速度大约是其形成速度的17倍。
We can pin some of the soil loss to the intensive cultivation practices and mono cropping of industrial agriculture.
我们可以将部分土壤流失归因于工业化农业的集约化耕作和单一种植。
When we till and turn over a field for the next season's crop using large combines, the topsoil is decimated much in the same way habitat is lost when clear-cutting a forest.
当我们使用大型联合收割机为下一季的作物翻地时，表层土壤遭到大量破坏，就像森林被砍伐后动物们失去栖息地一样。
Tillage aerates the soil by breaking up its composition but in the process compacts the soil underneath and kills the wealth of microorganisms hidden to the naked eye.
翻地通过分解土壤的组成成分使土壤通气，但在此过程中，土壤会被压实，并杀死肉眼看不见的大量微生物。
As a result of many years of industrial cultivation practices, the topsoil lives void of life and then needs to be injected with nutrient filled fertilizer and chemicals, which in turn alter the chemical makeup of the soil and make it even harder for essential organisms to survive.
由于多年的工业化耕作，表层土壤缺失了微生物，需要注入充满养分的肥料和化学品，这反过来改变了土壤的化学组成成分，使重要的微生物更难生存。
In short, cultivating the soil always results in the decline of its fertility and health.
总之，进行土壤耕作总是会导致土壤的肥力和健康下降。
And the continual use of intensive cultivation over the last century has left the United States with a looming soil crisis.
在过去的一个世纪里，集约化耕作模式的持续使用给美国留下了迫在眉睫的土壤危机。
So why does degraded topsoil even matter and will it even affect me?
那么，为什么退化的表层土壤会如此重要？它甚至会影响到我吗？
Yes, it will, and even more than you think.
是的，它会的，甚至比你想象的还要多。
Healthy soil is the foundation for healthy plants which are obviously crucial for our survival.
健康的土壤是健康植物的基础，而健康的植物显然对我们的生存至关重要。
This means that when we continually abuse soil structure and quality to pump out massive amounts of corn and soybeans, we are making it harder to grow nutrient-dense food in the future.
这意味着，当我们不断滥用土壤结构和质量来生产大量的玉米和大豆时，我们将使未来种植营养密度高的食物变得更加困难。
Right now almost 33% of the world soil has been moderately or highly degraded according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
根据联合国粮食及农业组织的数据，目前世界上近33%的土壤已经中度或高度退化。
And when you consider that soil can store almost 3 times more carbon than forests and other vegetation, killing it could lead to our inability to mitigate climate change.
当你考虑到土壤可以储存的碳几乎是森林和其他植被的3倍时，破坏土壤可能会导致我们无法减缓气候变化。
In order to halt this process we need to reconsider the way we approach agriculture.
为了阻止土壤继续退化，我们需要重新考虑我们对待农业的方式。
In Pimentel study they argue that the total investment for US erosion control would be about 8.4 billion dollars per year.
在皮门特尔的研究中，他们认为美国每年控制土壤侵蚀的总投资约为84亿美元。
Considering that erosion causes 44 billion dollars in damages each year and could very well cause more, this is a no-brainer.
鉴于土壤侵蚀每年造成440亿美元的损失，而且很可能会造成更多的损失，这是毋庸置疑的。
But on a more basic level we should look towards the examples of innovators like Curtis Stone was able to create a comfortable lifestyle on a low till, intensive urban farm.
但在更基本的层面上，我们应该看看像柯蒂斯·斯通这样的创新者的例子，他能够在低耕，集约化的城市农场创造出舒适的生活方式。
His farm builds soil health by adding compost and natural fertilizer like turkey manure to the soil as well as keeping the cultivation of the land to a minimum.
他的农场通过在土壤中添加堆肥和天然肥料(如火鸡粪)，以及将土地耕作降至最低，从而促进土壤健康。
Yes, industrial agricultural practices have provided a large amount of food to North America.
是的，农业工业化耕作为北美提供了大量食物。
But when we consider the long-term negative effects of those practices and the fact that our food system now relies heavily on just a few crops, the positives of supposed abundance merely seem like a flimsy patch for a leaky ship.
但当我们考虑到这些做法的长期负面影响以及现实情况（即我们的食品系统现在严重依赖于少数几种作物）时，所谓的富足的好处就像是一艘漏水的船的脆弱补丁。
Soil is our hidden lifeline and if we destroy it, we lose our ability to feed ourselves and protect our environment.
土壤是我们隐藏的生命线，如果我们破坏它，我们就失去了养活自己和保护环境的能力。
