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To understand climate change, think of the game 'Tetris.'
要了解气候变化，可以想一想“俄罗斯方块”游戏。
For eons, Earth has played a version of this game with blocks of carbon.
长期以来，地球一直在玩类似的一个“碳方块”的游戏。
They enter the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas from volcanoes,
碳方块以二氧化碳的形式进入大气，它们来自火山、
decaying plant matter, breathing creatures and the surface of the sea.
腐烂的植物会呼吸的生物以及海洋表面。
And they leave the atmosphere when they're used by plants during photosynthesis,
而碳方块离开大气的方式则是透过植物的光合作用
absorbed back into the ocean, or stored in soil and sediment.
被海洋吸收，或是被储存在土壤或沉积物中。
This game of Tetris is called the carbon cycle, and it's the engine of life on Earth.
这个类似俄罗斯方块游戏的过程称为碳循环，是地球上生命生存不可或缺的一环。
What's the connection to climate?
那这和气候又有何关系？
Well, when that carbon dioxide is in the air, waiting to be reabsorbed,
当二氧化碳在空气中等着被再次吸收时，
it traps a portion of the sun's heat, which would otherwise escape to space.
它会阻隔一部分原本会溢散到外空中的太阳热能。
That's why carbon dioxide is called a greenhouse gas.
因此二氧化碳被称为温室气体。
It creates a blanket of warmth, known as the greenhouse effect, that keeps our Earth from freezing like Mars.
它会产生许多暖空气，就是所谓的温室效应，能避免地球像火星一样冻结。
The more carbon dioxide blocks hang out in the atmosphere waiting to be cleared, the warmer Earth becomes.
漂浮在大气中等着被吸收的二氧化碳方块越多，地球就会越温暖。
Though the amount of carbon in the atmosphere has varied through ice ages and astroid impacts,
虽然大气中的碳含量在经过冰河时期与陨石撞击后有改变，
over the past 8,000 years the stable climate we know took shape, allowing human civilization to thrive.
在过去八千年来我们所知的稳定气候已成形，让人类能在此生生不息。
But about 200 years ago, we began digging up that old carbon that had been stored in the soil.
但是大约两百年前，我们开始挖出储存在土壤中许久的古老碳。
These fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas
这些石化燃料、煤矿和天然气，
are made from the buried remains of plants and animals that died long before humans evolved.
都是来自人类出现前就死亡许久、埋葬在土里的植物和动物的残骸。
The energy stored inside them was able to power our factories, cars and power plants.
储存于其中的能源能为工厂、汽车和发电厂提供动力。
But burning these fuels also injected new carbon blocks into Earth's Tetris game.
但是燃烧这些能源也会在地球的俄罗斯方块游戏中注入新的碳方块。
At the same time, we cleared forests for agriculture, reducing the Earth's ability to remove the blocks.
同时，我们为了农业而砍伐森林，也削弱了地球移除方块的能力。
And since 1750, the amount of carbon in the atmosophere has increased by 40%, and shows no sign of slowing.
自1750年开始，大气中的碳含量已增加了40%，而且丝毫没有减缓的迹象。
Just like in Tetris, the more blocks pile up, the harder it becomes to restore stability.
就像俄罗斯方块，当方块叠得越高，就越难恢复稳定。
The extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere accelerates the greenhouse effect
大气中多余的二氧化碳加速温室效应，
by trapping more heat near the surface and causing polar ice caps to melt.
通过困住更多地表上的热气，造成极地冰冠融化。
And the more they melt, the less sunlight they're able to reflect, making the oceans warm even faster.
然而冰层融化得越多，它们能反射的阳光就越少，使得海洋暖化更加快速。
Sea levels rise, coastal populations are threatened with flooding,
海平面上升，沿岸居民受到水灾威胁，
natural ecosystems are disrupted, and the weather becomes more extreme over time.
自然生态系统瓦解，极端气候的情况与日俱增。
Climate change may effect different people and places in different ways.
气候变迁会以不同方式影响世界各地的人类。
But, ultimately, it's a game that we're all stuck playing.
但是最终，那是一场我们都深受其影响的游戏。
And unlike in Tetris, we won't get a chance to start over and try again.
而和俄罗斯方块不同的是，我们没有机会重新来过。
