The World Wants Air-Conditioning. That Could Warm the World.
全世界都想開空調，卻因此陷入暖化危機
More than crickets and fireflies, more than baseball and cookouts, perhaps nothing signals the arrival of summer in the United States like the soft familiar whir of air-conditioning.
不只是蟋蟀和螢火蟲，不只是棒球和露天燒烤，在美國，或許沒有什麼能比空調溫柔而熟悉的聲響更能標誌著夏天的到來。
But there is growing concern that as other countries adopt America’s love of air-conditioners, the electricity used to power them will overburden electrical grids and increase planet-warming emissions.
但隨著其他國家和美國一樣愛上空調，人們就越擔心空調的供電會使電網超過負荷，並增加導致全球暖化的排放。
The number of air-conditioners worldwide is predicted to soar from 1.6 billion units today to 5.6 billion units by midcentury, according to a report issued Tuesday by the International Energy Agency. If left unchecked, by 2050 air-conditioners would use as much electricity as China does for all activities today.
根據國際能源署(International Energy Agency)週二發表的報告，到本世紀中期，全球的空調數量預計會從今天的16億台飆升至56億台。如果不加管束，2050年時光是空調的耗電量將相當於中國今天所有活動的耗電量。
Greenhouse gas emissions released by coal and natural gas plants when generating electricity to power those air-conditioners would nearly double, from 1.25 billion tons in 2016 to 2.28 billion tons in 2050, the report says. Those emissions would contribute to global warming, which could further heighten the demand for air-conditioning.
報告指出，到2050年，給空調機供電的燃煤和天然氣發電廠排放的溫室氣體將接近翻倍，從2016年的12.5億噸增長至22.8億噸。這些排放將導致全球暖化，可能進一步提高人們對空調的需求。
Right now air-conditioning is concentrated in a handful of countries, mainly in the United States and Japan, and increasingly in China.
目前，空調的使用集中在少數幾個國家，主要是美國和日本，中國也在逐漸增多。
While 90 percent of American households have air-conditioning, “When we look in fact at the hot countries in the world, in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, where about 2.8 billion people live, only about 8 percent of the population owns an air-conditioner,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the energy agency.
美國有90%的家庭擁有空調，但是，「當我們實際去看看世界上較熱的國家，在大約有28億人居住的非洲、亞洲、拉丁美洲和中東地區之中，只有8%的人有空調，」國際能源署署長Fatih Birol說。
As incomes in those countries rise, however, more people are installing air-conditioners in their homes. The energy agency predicts much of the growth in air-conditioning will occur in India, China and Indonesia.
然而，隨著這些國家收入提高，越來越多的人正在家裡安裝空調。能源署預計，空調的增長大部分會出現在印度、中國和印尼。
Some of the spread is simply being driven by a desire for comfort in parts of the world that have always been hot. But other factors are at play.
在世界上一些向來很熱的地區，空調的普及僅僅是因為人們渴望獲得舒適。但也有其他因素的作用。
For example, as household wealth increases, so does the presence of household appliances like refrigerators and televisions, the report notes. These appliances generate heat, making homes warmer.
比如，報告指出，隨著家庭財富的增長，冰箱和電視等家用電器也越來越多。這些電器會產生熱量，使屋內更熱。
And because air-conditioners work in part by venting hot air outside, they also make the surrounding neighborhood warmer. By some estimates air-conditioning can raise overnight temperatures by about two degrees Fahrenheit (one degree Celsius) in some cities, the report said. Practically speaking, if enough of your neighbors buy an air-conditioner it may increase the temperature in your home enough to drive you to do the same.
而且，由於空調的運行部分是通過向室外排出熱氣，所以它們也會使周圍的環境更熱。報告稱，據預計，空調將使某些城市的夜間氣溫提高大約攝氏一度。實際上，如果你有足夠多的鄰居買了空調，那麼你家的溫度可能也會升高，從而促使你也買空調。
And then, of course, there’s climate change. India is already one degree Fahrenheit warmer on average than it was a century ago. This has led to more “cooling degree days,” or days when average temperatures are warm enough to necessitate air-conditioning.
當然了，還有氣候變化。印度的平均氣溫已比一個世紀以前高了一華氏度。這就導致「冷卻度日」變得更多，也就是平均溫度已經熱到必須使用空調的日子。
下段待續~~
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