环境保护也要着眼本地

If you've ever driven up to a mountain pass, you know that the higher you climb, the colder it gets. But on clear, calm days, it can actually be colder in the valleys. That's because under high-pressure systems, cold air slides down mountain slopes and pools down below. In the Oregon Cascades, ridgeline temperatures have clocked in at 27 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than those in a valley 2,600 feet below.

如果你曾经开车爬过山路，就会知道爬得越高气温越低。但实际上，在晴朗宁静的日子里，山谷中的温度更低。那是因为在高压系统下，冷空气沿山坡下降，并于地势低处聚集。俄勒冈州的喀斯喀特山脉，其山谷比山脊低2600英尺，而所记录的温度显示，山谷比山脊的温度低了华氏27度。

So what happens when you take this variability and subject it to climate change? Well, a moderate estimate from the IPCC says western Oregon could warm 5 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century. But that's probably more accurate for the valleys - ridgetop temperatures could rise as much as 14 degrees Fahrenheit, according to research in the International Journal of Climatology.

因此，当你明白了这种温差，而它又遭遇了气候变化的时候，会怎样呢？联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会对此作出适当推测，他们认为，到下个世纪，俄勒冈州西部的温度会升高华氏5度。不过，根据《国际气候学杂志》上发表的研究，这一数据对于山谷可能更精确，因为脊顶的温度可能会升高华氏14度。

Oregon is projected to have more high-pressure days as the climate changes. That means more cold air pooling in the valleys and more extreme temperature differences, which could disrupt the local ecosystem.

随着气候变化，俄勒冈州将会有更多的高压天气。这意味着更多的冷空气会聚集在山谷，并导致更为极端的温度差异，从而破坏当地的生态系统。

We tend to think of climate change as a global or regional phenomenon. But, as this research suggests, you have to also think locally.