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In 1845, Ireland's vast potato fields were struck by an invasive fungal disease that rapidly infested this staple crop.
在1845年，爱尔兰大量土豆受到一种入侵真菌疾病的侵袭，并迅速影响了这个主要作物。
The effect was devastating.
后果是灾难性的。
One million people died of famine, and over a million more were forced to leave Ireland.
100万人死于饥饿，并且超过100完万人被迫离开爱尔兰。
Nowadays, we avoid such agricultural catastrophes with the help of pesticides.
今天，农药的使用避免了这种农业灾难。
Those are a range of manmade chemicals that control insects,
农药是各种人造化学品，用来控制昆虫、
unwanted weeds, funguses, rodents, and bacteria that may threaten our food supply.
杂草、真菌植物、田鼠以及细菌等威胁我们食物供应的东西。
They've become an essential part of our food system.
农药已经成为我们食物链中的一个重要组成部分。
As populations have grown, monoculture, single crop farming, has helped us feed people efficiently.
随着人口增长，单作、单种作物农业，有助于高效地供应食物。
But it's also left our food vulnerable to extensive attack by pests.
可也使得我们的食物很脆弱，易于受到害虫的威胁。
In turn, we've become more dependent on pesticides.
反过来，我们也更加依赖农药。
Today, we annually shower over 5 billion pounds of pesticides across the Earth to control these unwanted visitors.
今天，全球每年喷洒农药50亿磅来控制对农业的威胁。
The battle against pests, especially insects, has marked agriculture's long history.
对害虫的防治，特别是昆虫，已经有很长的历史。
Records from thousands of years ago suggest that humans actively burned some of their crops after harvest to rid them of pests.
几千年前的记录记载，人们会在收获后焚烧庄稼来杀死害虫。
There's even evidence from ancient times that we recruited other insects to help.
甚至古代证据表明，我们可以利用昆虫天敌。
In 300 A.D., Chinese farmers specially bred ferocious predatory ants in orange orchards to protect the trees from other bugs.
公元300年，中国农民养殖一种食肉蚂蚁，来保护桔园中的果树免受害虫威胁。
Later, as large-scale farming spread, we began sprinkling arsenic, lead, and copper treatments on crops.
之后，随着农业的规模化，我们开始对农作物喷洒砷、铅和铜等化学品。
But these were incredibly toxic to humans as well.
可这也不可避免地使人类受到毒害。
As our demand for more, safer produce increased,
随着需求的增加，安全性也在提高，
so did the need for effective chemicals that could control pests on a grander scale.
于是，对有效化学品的需求大规模地控制了害虫。
This ushered in the era of chemical pesticides.
农业进入了化学农药时代。
In 1948, a Swiss chemist named Paul Hermann Müller
在1948年，一位名叫保罗·赫尔曼·穆勒的瑞士化学家
was awarded a Nobel Prize for his discovery of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, also known as DDT.
因发现二氯二苯三氯乙烷，也叫滴滴涕，而获得了诺贝尔奖。
This new molecule had unparalleled power to control many insect species until the 1950s, when insects became resistant to it.
这种新的分子具有前所未有的功能，可以杀死各种昆虫，直到20世纪50年代，昆虫才开始对它产生抗体。
Worse, the chemical actually drove dramatic declines in bird populations, poisoned water sources,
糟糕的是，农药显著地减少了鸟类，污染了水源，
and was eventually found to cause long-term health problems in humans.
而且最终发现引起了人类的长期健康问题。
By 1972, DDT had been banned in the United States, and yet traces still linger in the environment today.
到1972年，DDT在美国被禁止使用，然而在今天的环境中仍能找到它的残留。
Since then, chemists have been searching for alternatives.
从那开始，化学家在不断地寻找替代化学品。
With each new wave of inventions, they've encountered the same obstacle -- rapid species evolution.
每一波新的发明，总能遇到同样的问题--物种的迅速进化。
As pesticides destroy pest populations, they leave behind only the most resistant individuals.
随着农药摧毁了害虫，有抗体的昆虫得以存活。
They then pass on their pesticide-resisting genes to the next generation.
他们遗传他们的抗基因给后代。
That's lead to the rise of super bugs, such as the Colorado potato beetle,
这导致了超级害虫的出现，诸如科罗拉多土豆甲虫，
which is resistant to over 50 different insecticides.
他们对50多种不同的农药有抗体。
Another downside is that other bugs get caught in the crossfire.
另一个问题是和其它的害虫互相影响。
Some of these are helpful predators of plant pests or vital pollinators,
其中一些是植物害虫的天敌，或者是重要的传粉者，
so erasing them from agriculture wipes out their benefits, too.
所以把它们从农业中清除出去，也就丧失了它们的益处。
Pesticides have improved over time and are currently regulated by strict safety standards,
农药在不断改进，并且目前有着严格的安全标准，
but they still have the potential to pollute soil and water, impact wildlife, and even harm us.
可是他们仍然对土壤和水有着潜在的污染，影响野生动物，甚至危害人类。
So considering all these risks, why do we continue using pesticides?
可是考虑到这些风险，我们为什么仍然使用农药呢？
Although they're imperfect, they currently may be our best bet against major agricultural disasters, not to mention mosquito-born diseases.
虽然他们不是十全十美，但是它是目前防治主要农业灾害的最好产品，不包括与蚊子相关的疾病。
Today, scientists are on a quest for alternative pest control strategies
今天，科学家仍在寻找控制害虫的替代方案
that balance the demands of food production with environmental concerns.
来平衡食物供应与环境的关系。
Nature has become a major source of inspiration,
自然已经成为主要的灵感来源，
from natural plant and fungal chemicals that can repel or attract insects, to recruiting other insects as crop bodyguards.
从抵制或吸引昆虫的天然植物和真菌化学，到利用害虫的天敌保护农作物。
We're also turning to high-tech solutions, like drones.
我们正在转向高科技的解决途径，比如无人机。
Programmed to fly over crops, these machines can use their sensors and GPS
程序控制它们在作物上空飞行，这些设备用传感器和GPS
to carry out more targeted sprays that limit a pesticide's wider environmental impact.
来执行多目标喷洒，以此限制农药对环境的广泛影响。
With a combination of biological understanding, environmental awareness, and improved technologies,
通过对生物理解、环境意识以及技术改进的组合，
we have a better chance of finding a holistic solution to pests.
我们有更好的机会来找到控制害虫的重要方案。
Chemical pesticides may never shake their controversial reputation,
化学农药备受争议的名声从来没有动摇，
but with their help, we can ensure that agricultural catastrophes stay firmly in our past.
可是在他们的帮助下，我们能确保农业灾害不再出现。
