大數據分析揭示了人們對環(huán)境未來的巨大擔憂，但也帶來了機遇

大數據分析揭示了人們對環(huán)境未來的巨大擔憂，但也帶來了機遇

A new commentary paper published in Nature Communications has taken a frank look at the state of our Earth's environment using "Big Data." Trends in these large datasets suggest our clock is running out to make the necessary changes. That said, researchers report "bright spots" and opportunities to turn this around.

《自然通訊》上發(fā)表的一篇新評論文章用“大數據”坦率地審視了我們地球環(huán)境的現狀。這些大型數據集的趨勢表明，我們的時鐘即將耗盡，需要做出必要的改變。盡管如此，研究人員報告了“亮點”和扭轉這一局面的機會。

The unprecedented amount of data we now have about the natural world is great for research, but it won’t help us unless it leads to changes in policies and political actions, note the team. We've recently seen what political will can do with research during the Covid-19 pandemic.

該團隊指出，我們現在擁有的關于自然界的空前數量的數據對研究來說是很好的，但它不會幫助我們，除非它導致政策和政治行動的改變。我們最近已經看到，在Covid-19大流行期間，政治意愿能夠對研究產生什么影響。

Alfredo Carpineti

"In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently seeing governments making rapid (health) decisions based on fairly sophisticated data analysis," lead author Dr Rebecca Runting, from the University of Melbourne, said in a statement. "There may be opportunities to learn from this and achieve a similarly tight coupling of analysis and decision-making in the environmental sector."

研究報告的主要撰寫者、墨爾本大學的麗貝卡·朗廷博士在一份聲明中說:“鑒于19日爆發(fā)的全球流行性感冒，我們目前看到各國政府根據相當復雜的數據分析，迅速做出(衛(wèi)生)決定。”“也許有機會從中吸取教訓，在環(huán)境部門實現分析和決策的緊密結合。”

Large companies already have the skills and tech to find solutions, write the team, and these must be shared and then taken on-board by governments around the world.

大公司已經具備了找到解決方案的技能和技術，這個團隊寫道，這些技能和技術必須被分享，然后被世界各地的政府采納。

Big data has been able to identify many dramatic changes to the environment. For example, 2.3 million square kilometers (888,000 square miles) of forest were destroyed between 2000 and 2012. Meanwhile, 700,000 satellite images showed that 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles) of tidal flats have vanished over the last 35 years. These and many other large dataset studies have revealed the perilous state of our planet.

大數據已經能夠識別環(huán)境的許多重大變化。例如，2000年至2012年間，有230萬平方公里(88.8萬平方英里)的森林遭到破壞。與此同時，70萬張衛(wèi)星圖像顯示，在過去35年里，2萬平方公里(7700平方英里)的灘地消失了。這些和許多其他大型數據集研究揭示了我們星球的危險狀態(tài)。

"What the big data revolution has helped us understand is the environment is often doing worse than what we thought it was. The more we map and analyse, the more we find the state of the environment, albeit Antarctic ice sheets, wetlands, or forests, is dire. Big data tells us we are running out of time," co-author Professor James Watson, from the University of Queensland, added.

“大數據革命讓我們明白，環(huán)境往往比我們想象的更糟糕。我們繪制和分析的越多，我們就越能發(fā)現環(huán)境的狀況，盡管南極冰蓋、濕地或森林是可怕的，大數據告訴我們，我們的時間不多了。”來自昆士蘭大學的詹姆斯·沃森教授補充道。

"The good news is the big data revolution can help us better understand risk. For example, we can use data to better understand where future ecosystem degradation will take place and where these interact with wildlife trade, so as to map pandemic risk."

“好消息是，大數據革命可以幫助我們更好地理解風險。例如，我們可以利用數據更好地了解未來生態(tài)系統(tǒng)將在何處發(fā)生退化，以及這些退化在何處與野生動物貿易相互作用，從而繪制大流行風險地圖。”

Some of this tech is already being used. From tracking illegal fishing to enforcing forest conservation, big data can be an instrument of action too, not just provide knowledge about the state of our planet. We just need to start using it more, conclude the team.

其中一些技術已經在使用。從追蹤非法捕撈到加強森林保護，大數據也可以成為一種行動工具，而不僅僅是提供有關我們星球現狀的知識。我們只需要開始更多地使用它，團隊總結道。