又中又英｜Short-term gain for long-term pain

Last summer was a scorcher. This summer is likely to be another scorcher. A scorcher is a day or period of very hot weather. The US space agency NASA said 2023 was the hottest since records began. Summer has just started in the northern hemisphere, but scientists say record-breaking heatwaves in many countries during June have already affected over five billion people or 60 percent of the global population, killing hundreds. When we are sick, we develop symptoms such as a fever, cough, or pain. It is our body's way of telling us to get medical help.

Last year's record-breaking heat and this June's heatwave are Nature's way of telling us Earth is sick because of climate change, which humans are causing by using unclean fuel. But political leaders in many countries are tone-deaf to this warning. If you are tone-deaf, it means you cannot recognize different musical notes. But tone-deaf can also mean not understanding how people feel about something or what is needed in a particular situation. Some political leaders, such as former US President Donald Trump, are climate change deniers, which means they don't believe in climate change.

Many world leaders know climate change is real but don't want to hurt the economy of their country by switching to cleaner but more expensive fuel. These world leaders should remember the old saying “short-term pain for long-term gain”. This means making sacrifices in the short-term, such as higher fuel prices, in return for future gains, such as a better environment by reversing climate change. But many political leaders are choosing short-term gain for long-term pain.

上一個夏季是個大熱天（scorcher），看來這一個夏季也可能是另一個大熱天（scorcher）。A scorcher是指非常灼熱的一天或一段日子。美國航空機構太空總署說，二零二三年是有紀錄以來最熱的一年。北半球的夏季才剛剛開始，但科學家說許多國家在六月期間破紀錄的熱浪，已經影響超過五十億人，即全球人口的六成，並導致數以百計的人死亡。當我們生病的時候，我們會出現一些徵狀，例如發燒、咳嗽或疼痛，這是身體告訴我們需要求醫的方式。

上年破紀錄的炎熱，以至今年六月的熱浪，都是大自然告訴我們，地球因為氣候變化而生病了的方式，氣候變化則是人類使用不乾淨的燃料所造成。然而，許多國家的政治領袖們對此一警告卻是 tone-deaf——若你是 tone-deaf，意思是你是個音盲，不能辨別音調的；但 tone-deaf也可以解作不明白人們的感受，或在一個特定的處境裏人所需要的。一些政治領袖，例如前美國總統唐納德‧特朗普，就是 climate change deniers，意即他們否定氣候變化的存在。

許多世界領袖都知道氣候變化是真實的，卻又不想損害自己國家的經濟，轉用更乾淨但更昂貴的燃料。這些世界領袖好應記住這一句老話：“short-term pain for long-term gain”，它的意思是在短期內作出一些犧牲，例如付出更高的燃料價格，來換取將來的得益，例如逆轉氣候變化，創造更美好的環境。然而，許多政治領袖都選擇了 short-term gain for long-term pain，以一時的得益，換來長遠的痛苦。

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻