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There is something we desperately need that we cannot stop doing: it is breathing.
有一件事是我们绝对需要做，且要一直做下去的：那就是呼吸。
Do you want to try? Why don't we stop breathing together for, let's say, even 10 seconds.
你想试试吗？我们何不一起试试屏住呼吸10秒钟。
Is that OK? Let's do it. Get ready ... OK, now!
可以吗？让我们开始吧。准备好。现在，开始！
Oof, difficult, isn't it?
哦，这挺难的，不是吗？
Well, this is an incredible number that will again take your breath away: seven.
有一个惊人数字，会让你感到难以置信：7。
Seven what? Seven million premature deaths a year caused by exposure to the bad quality of the air we breathe.
7什么？每年会有700万人因为呼吸被污染的空气而早逝。
Imagine -- it's like more than the entire population of my dear Madrid will be wiped out in one year.
想象下--这比我热爱的马德里市的总人口都多，这么多人会在一年内消失。
And you may ask: Has this information been disclosed?
你可能会问：这个信息有被披露过吗？
Has this information been publicized, distributed? Well, yes.
这个信息有被公开宣传过吗？没错，有的。
We have at the moment more than 70,000 scientific papers examining the relationship between air pollution and our health,
现在我们有超过7万篇科研文章在研究空气污染与我们健康之间的关系，
and the global media has been regularly covering this issue.
全世界的媒体也一直都在报道这个重要议题。
In fact, in a relatively short period of time,
事实上，近年来，
we have come to know that air pollution is having a negative impact on almost all our major organs.
我们已经知道空气污染对我们几乎所有的主要器官都会产生负面影响。
Let's start by the lungs. When we think about air pollution, we always think about the lungs.
让我们从肺开始说起。当我们想到空气污染时，我们首先想到的就是肺。
In fact, every time we take a breath, we are inhaling toxic pollutants,
事实上，我们每次呼吸，都在吸入有毒污染物质，
and our poor pink and lovely lungs are suffering all of that.
我们那可怜、粉色且可爱的肺一直在经受着它们的折磨。
Over the last 10 years, we have put together a lot of knowledge about what's happened to that,
过去10多年间，我们已经积累了许多相关的知识，
but let me tell you first what is air pollution.
但让我先从什么是空气污染说起。
OK, air pollution is a very complex mixture of solid particles, liquid droplets and gaseous chemicals.
空气污染是一个由固体颗粒，液滴和气态化学物质所组成的复杂的混合物。
Imagine all of this mixture that might come from sources
想象这些所有的混合物来源，
like household fuel burning or industry or traffic or many other indoor and outdoor sources.
可能从家用燃料燃烧，或工业、交通运行中而产生，也可能来自其它室内外的源头。
And, of course, different sources of pollution will make different mixtures of pollutants.
当然了，不同种类的污染源会产生不同种类的污染混合物。
The point is that all of these toxins, they can be combined in different ways.
重点是所有的这些毒素，可能会以多种方式被混合。
Let's take, for instance, the particulate matter, the PM.
以粒状物质，PM为例。
It can be a mixture that will include -- look at the cocktail here
它可能是包含了--看看这个成分不太相容的混合物可能的成分，
soil and road dust, sea salt, toxic metals, diesel smog, nitrates and sulfates,
泥土和道路尘埃、海盐、有毒金属、柴油烟雾、硝酸盐和硫酸盐，
and all of this toxic poison, this delicious cocktail, is going through our lungs every day,
所有的这些有毒物质，这个成分不相容的混合物，每天都会穿过我们的肺，
and we are constantly exposed to this air pollution because we cannot stop breathing.
而我们由于不能停止呼吸，只能每时每刻都暴露在这样的空气污染中。
I mean, we can do it for 10 seconds, but no more than that.
当然，我们可以试着屏住呼吸10秒，但最多也就10秒而已。
We cannot stop breathing and, in addition, we need, every day, around 10,000 liters of air.
我们没办法停止呼吸，而且，我们每天需要1万升左右的空气。
So we said that we have seven million deaths caused by air pollution every year.
那么刚才说过，我们每年有大约700万由空气污染所造成的死亡。
Are we panicking? Are we keeping calm? Are we declaring a national disaster, a global emergency?
我们有感到恐慌吗？我们在保持镇定吗？我们有把它宣告为国家级的灾难吗，还是一个全球危机？
Well, no, and in fact I'm asking myself this question every day: What is happening?
并没有，实际上我每天都在问自己这样一个问题：为什么会这样？
But here is something that maybe will force us to react more quickly.
还有件事情也许会迫使我们更快地采取应对措施。
Air pollution is not just affecting our lungs. It's affecting our brain as well.
那就是空气污染不只在影响我们的肺。它也在影响着我们的大脑。
This is our brain. Beautiful. We all have it. We all need it.
这是我们的大脑。很漂亮。我们都有大脑。我们都需要它。
Hopefully, we all use it... some more than others.
希望我们都能用到它...比其他人更多的去思考。
And in the last 10 years of history,
在过去10年间，
the research about the relationship between air pollution and our brain's health has been increased dramatically,
关于空气污染与脑部健康之间关系的研究在急剧增长，
so maybe now our brain is going up in smoke.
可能我们的大脑现在已经在“冒烟”了。
But let me tell you the evidence, what we know so far about air pollution in our brain.
让我来告诉大家几个事实，我们已知的关于空气污染对大脑产生的影响。
First, there is an emerging body of evidence
首先，现在已经有越来越多的证据表明，
regarding the potential harmful effects of air pollutants into our central nervous system.
空气污染物对我们的中枢神经系统有着潜在的有害影响。
But let's go back to the toxic particles. Remember?
但让我们先回到有毒颗粒物。还记得吗？
We left them at the lungs, enjoying life, polluting everything.
我们让它们待在肺部，享受生活，污染一切。
But now the smallest of them, they can cross into the bloodstream, and from the bloodstream, pumped by the heart,
但其中最小的一些有毒颗粒物，可以进入血液循环，而血液中的这些颗粒在心脏泵血的作用下，
they can reach the whole body, threatening every organ, including the brain.
可被输送到全身，威胁我们的每个器官，包括大脑。
We used to say that air pollution has no borders, and it's true as well within our bodies,
我们常说空气污染是无界的，污染在我们体内也是如此，
because air pollutants will cross the placental barrier and reach the fetus
空气污染物可穿过胎盘屏障直达胎儿的位置，
and alter the cerebral cortex of our children even before they take their first breath.
甚至在他们第一次呼吸之前就能改变他们的大脑皮层。
Second, several studies have suggested that both prenatal and early childhood long-term exposure to air pollution
其次，已有多项研究表明，在孕期和幼年时期长时间暴露在空气污染之下，
will have a negative influence on neural development, will have lower cognitive test outcomes,
会对人们的神经系统发育造成负面影响，导致认知测试结果较差，
and there will be an influence as well, a negative influence,
而且污染物还可能会造成一些负面影响，
on some behavioral disorders like autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
比如自闭症等行为障碍，或是多动症等注意力缺陷。
In addition to that, some evidence found that
除此以外，一些研究发现
exposing our children's and young adults' brains for a long time to particulate matter
儿童和青年的大脑若长时间接触这些颗粒物质
will cause some reactions like brain inflammation, altering the neural response
会造成脑部炎症等症状，改变神经反应，
and leading to the influence of more protein plaques that are accumulating,
并且会引发更多蛋白质斑块的聚集所造成的影响，
and those can increase the risks for diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
这些斑块可增加患老年痴呆症和帕金森的概率。
Ironic, isn't it: we are investing in our children's future,
这可真讽刺，不是吗：我们投资孩子们的未来，
we are sending them to school every day to expand their minds, the society is investing in their education,
每天送他们去学校拓展思维，整个社会都在付出心血投资他们的未来，
and yet the air they breathe while waiting for the school bus is influencing negatively the development of their brain.
然而他们在等校车时呼吸的空气却在损害他们大脑的发育。
Let's go to the third: What about adults?
让我们来谈谈第三点：对于成年人来说呢？
According to recent scientific evidence,
根据近期的科学研究，
long-term exposure to particulate matter will cause a cognitive decline in study participants as they age.
随着实验参与者的年龄增长，长期暴露于颗粒物质中会导致认知衰退。
And not only that, if you expose them to long-term, very fine particulate matter,
不仅如此，如果他们长期暴露于非常细微的颗粒物质中，
their brain will age more rapidly, and they will have higher odds of having small, silent strokes.
他们的大脑会加速老化，也会有更高的几率发生轻度中风。
The last one -- and I will not give you more evidence, because there is a ton of
最后一点--这次我就不列举更多的证据了，因为相关证据太多了，
some epidemiological studies in animal models have suggested that
一些利用动物模型进行的流行病学研究发现，
there might be an increased risk of dementia with sustained exposure to air pollutants.
持续暴露于空气污染中可能会增加患痴呆的概率。
So, almost everybody is exposed to air pollution.
空气污染几乎无处不在。
Whether you live in a rural area or an urban area,
不管你是住在郊区还是市区，
whether you live in a high-income country or a low-income country, everybody's brains, including yours, are at risk.
不管你住在高收入国家，还是低收入国家，我们每个人的大脑，包括你的，都处于危险之中。
As a medical doctor, I have been dedicating the last more than 20 years now of my professional life
作为一名医生，在世界卫生组织供职的20多年中，我一直致力于
to raise awareness about public health issues, public health risks, at the World Health Organization,
提高人们对公共健康问题和公共健康威胁的重视，
and I know that the knowledge is there and the solutions as well.
我也知道实际情况和解决办法都已存在。
Sure, some places are more polluted than others,
当然了，有些地区的污染比其它地区更严重，
but this a global issue, and no individual, no city, no group, no country, no region will be able to solve it alone.
但这是一个全球性问题，不是某个人、某个城市、某个组织、某个国家或某个地区能独自解决的。
We need very strong commitments and very strong action by everyone:
我们需要强有力的承诺和来自所有人的积极行动：
civil society, private sector, even individuals. We all have a role to play.
社会团体，私人企业，甚至个人。我们都要发挥作用。
Yes, we need to influence the way we consume, the way we commute, the way we use our energy.
是的，我们需要改变我们消费的方式，通勤的方式，消耗能源的方式。
And the good thing is that all of those solutions are available.
令人欣慰的是，所有这些解决办法都是现成的。
The question is, if we postpone action by one day, there might be thousands of lives that we will lose,
问题在于，如果我们推迟采取行动哪怕一天，我们都将会多失去几千条生命，
but if we postpone it by one year, we might be losing again seven million.
如果推迟一年，我们可能还将再失去700万生命。
So every policy maker, every politician,
所以每个政策制定者，每位政客，
needs to be aware of the consequences on human health of postponing their decisions.
都需要意识到他们推迟做出决定对人类健康可能造成的后果。
In fact, this is not the first time in history that we are confronted with the risks of this invisible killer.
事实上，这已不是人类历史上第一次遇到这种隐形杀手的威胁了。
This was London in 1952, and as was done in London in the '50s and the '60s, governments and cities,
这是1952年的伦敦，就像是在五六十年代的伦敦政府与城市所做的那样，
they need to take urgent action to stop the terrible impact of air pollution.
他们现在也需要采取紧急措施以停止空气污染所造成的可怕影响。
Every politician must know that delaying what they call the tough actions,
每位政客都必须认识到推迟他们所说的强硬措施，
like reducing traffic in cities or investing in public transport and engaging in promoting cycling in cities,
比如减少城市中的交通，或是加大对公共交通的投资，或致力于推广城市中自行车的使用，
investing in renewable energy, promoting cleaner energy for cooking, cooling and transportation and heating are solutions that are very smart,
投资可再生能源，在烹饪、制冷、交通和供暖中推广更清洁的能源都是比较可行的解决方法，
because, in fact, they reduce emissions, they improve air quality in line with WHO standards,
因为事实上，这些措施都可以实现减排和改善空气质量的目的，
which are the standards that will protect ourselves.
这也与世卫组织旨在保护我们自己的标准相符。
So in fact, all politicians that we need these very strong political commitments and political will from, but all of them now.
所以，我们需要所有政治家做出强有力的承诺，也要有足够的政治决心，现在就要开始行动，刻不容缓。
Those who fail, who postpone action, they have been requested even to defend their position in court.
那些没能做到，或者未能及时行动的政客甚至会被要求在法庭上为自己辩护。
And from now on, no politician will be able to say, "I didn't know."
而且从现在开始，没有政客能说：“我不知道”这样的话。
So the question here is: How many lives, loss of quality of life and losing our brain power are we ready to accept?
所以现在的问题是：我们还能接受多少生命的逝去，多少生活质量的下降，多少脑力的下降？
If the answer is "none," I will request that you, while our brains are still functioning,
如果答案是“零容忍”，我恳请大家，趁我们的大脑还能正常运转，
while we are still intelligent, please exercise your right,
趁我们还聪明的时候，请行使你们的公民权利，
put pressure on your politicians and make sure that they take action to stop the sources of air pollution.
对政客们施压，确保他们采取行动抑制空气污染的源头。
This is the first thing we need to do to protect yourself and to protect our beautiful brain. Thank you very much.
这是我们为了保护自己和我们美丽的大脑所需要做的第一件事。谢谢。
