全球人口80亿，他希望人类“自愿灭绝”

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全球人口80亿，他希望人类“自愿灭绝”

CARA BUCKLEY2022年11月24日 Mason Trinca for The New York TimesPORTLAND, Ore. — For someone who wants his own species to go extinct, Les Knight is a remarkably happy-go-lucky human.俄勒冈州波特兰——对于一个希望自己的物种灭绝的人来说，莱斯·奈特是个异常乐天的人。He has regularly hosted meteor shower parties with rooftop fireworks. He organized a long-running game of nude croquet in his backyard, which, it should be mentioned, is ringed by 20-foot-tall laurel hedges. Even Tucker Carlson proved no match for Mr. Knight’s ebullience. During a 2005 interview with Mr. Knight on MSNBC, Mr. Carlson criticized him for espousing “the sickest” of beliefs but then added, “You are one of the cheeriest guests we’ve ever had.”他经常举办在屋顶观看流星雨的派对，还伴有烟火燃放。他在自己的后院组织裸体槌球比赛已有很长时间了，需要指出的是，他的后院用六米多高的月桂树篱环绕着。事实证明，就连塔克·卡尔森也敌不过奈特的热情。2005年，卡尔森在MSNBC的一个节目中采访奈特时批评他有“最病态的”信仰，但随后又说，“你是上过这个节目的最开心的嘉宾之一。”Mr. Knight, 75, is the founder of the Voluntary Human Extinction movement, which is less a movement than a loose consortium of people who believe that the best thing humans can do to help the Earth is to stop having children.现年75岁的奈特是“人类自愿灭绝”运动的创始人。与其说它是一场运动，不如说它是一个有共同信仰的人组成的松散联盟。这些人认为，人类帮助地球能做的最好事情是停止生育。Mr. Knight added the word “voluntary” decades ago to make it clear that adherents do not support mass murder or forced birth control, nor do they encourage suicide. Their ethos is echoed in their motto, “May we live long and die out,” and in another one of their slogans, which Mr. Knight hangs at various conventions and street fairs: “Thank you for not breeding.”为了明确表示持此信仰的人不支持大屠杀或强制节育，也不鼓励自杀，奈特在几十年前给这个运动添加了“自愿”一词。他们的座右铭是“愿我们长寿，然后不复存在”，他们的精神也体现在他们的其他口号之一“感谢你不生育”中，奈特将这些口号挂在各种会议和街头活动上。On Nov. 15, the Earth became home to a record eight billion human beings. Despite declining birthrates, the number is forecast to peak at 10.4 billion in the coming decades, in large part because of increases in life expectancy and decreases in child mortality.地球上的人口在今年11月15日达到了史无前例的80亿。尽管出生率在下降，但全球人口的预测是将在未来几十年达到104亿的峰值，这在很大程度上是由于预期寿命延长和儿童死亡率下降。Mr. Knight is among those who believe that overpopulation is a main factor in the climate crisis, but the idea that can be fraught. Poor countries that are heavily populated, such as India, contribute relatively little per capita to the greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet. Wealthy countries with relatively smaller populations like the United States are generating most of the pollution that is driving global warming.一些人认为，人口过剩是气候危机的一个主要因素，奈特是这些人中的一个，但这个想法可能有很大的问题。全球变暖的原因是温室气体排放，像印度这样人口众多的贫穷国家人均排放的温室气体相对较低。而美国这样的人口相对较少的富裕国家却制造了导致全球变暖的大部分污染。“The problem that is spiraling out of control is consumption,” said John Wilmoth, director of the United Nations’ population division, who says that focusing on population limitation as a potential climate fix diverts attention from the urgent need for everyone to ditch fossil fuels and more efficiently use resources. “We have to transform the economic incentives that make it possible to profit off of polluting the environment.”“正在失控的问题是消费，”联合国人口司司长约翰·威尔莫斯说。他表示，把控制人口作为缓解气候变暖的潜在解决方案转移了人们对迫切需要抛弃化石燃料、更有效地利用资源的注意力。“我们必须改变让人们能从污染环境中获利的经济激励机制。”The idea that population must be controlled has also lead to forced sterilizations and measures that have proven inhumane or have been linked to racist theories like eugenics.必须控制人口的想法也曾导致强制绝育，以及被证明不人道或与优生学等种族主义理论有关的措施。Yet Stephanie Feldstein, director of population and sustainability at the Center for Biological Diversity, said while greater human longevity and health were good things, they have come at a cost to other living things on the planet.不过，生物多样性中心的人口与可持续发展部主任斯蒂芬妮·费尔德斯坦说，虽然人类寿命和健康水平提高了是好事，但地球上的其他生物也为此付出了代价。As the human population doubled in the last half century,  Earnings-price ratiolife populations declined by 70 percent. Though lowering fertility rates today won’t change emissions in the short-term, she said surges in the human population would put increasing pressure on dwindling natural resources and the intricate web of animals, birds and plants that depend on them.随着全球人口在过去的半个世纪里翻番，野生动物的数量减少了70%。尽管今天的生育率降低不会在短期内改变温室气体排放量，但她说，人口激增会给日益枯竭的自然资源，以及依赖这些资源的动物、鸟类和植物构成的复杂网络造成越来越大的压力。“The loss of biodiversity can be just as devastating as it unravels the ecosystems we need to survive,” Ms. Feldstein said. “We’re already using nearly twice as many resources as the Earth can replenish in a year.”“生物多样性的丧失同样是毁灭性的，因为这破坏了我们赖以生存的生态系统，”费尔德斯坦说。“我们已经正在耗用的资源几乎是地球一年里能补充的资源的两倍。”One of the most effective ways to combat global warming, say both climate activists and those concerned about overpopulation, is to expand access to education for girls around the world, in addition to birth control and family planning. Nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide, some 121 million a year, are unintended. The Center of Biological Diversity, for its part, has handed out a million endangered species-themed condoms, colorfully packaged with slogans such as “for the sake of the horned lizard, slow down, love wizard.”气候活动人士和关注人口过剩问题的人都表示，除了控制生育和计划生育外，应对全球变暖的最有效方法之一是扩大世界各地的女孩受教育的机会。全世界每年约有1.21亿人次怀孕，其中近一半是出于意外。生物多样性中心做的事情包括发放100万个以濒危物种为主题的避孕套，这些避孕套有五颜六色的包装，上面写的口号包括“看在角蜥蜴的份上放慢点，爱情达人”。山火冒出的浓烟笼罩着加州克拉马斯国家森林。奈特说，他已经开始将人类视为最具破坏性的入侵物种。But it is rare to find anyone who publicly goes as far as Mr. Knight, who never had children and got a vasectomy in 1973 at the age of 25. Beyond advocating for universal access to birth control and opposing what he calls reproductive fascism, or “the lack of freedom to not procreate,” Mr. Knight says that despite our many achievements, humans are a net detriment to the Earth.但很少有人像奈特这样公开地做到这个地步，奈特从未生育过，并于1973年在25岁时做了输精管结扎术。奈特提倡为全民提供节育方式和反对他所谓的生殖法西斯主义，即“缺乏不生育的自由”，除此之外他说，尽管我们取得了许多成就，但人类对地球是一个净损害。“Look what we did to this planet,” Mr. Knight said during a chat in his sunlit backyard one warm morning this fall. “We’re not a good species.”“看看我们对这个星球做了什么，”今年秋天一个温暖的早晨，奈特在阳光明媚的后院聊天时说。“我们不是一个好物种。”It is unclear how many adherents are in Mr. Knight’s group, or what the extent of its reach is. After being largely underground, the group took off in popularity when Mr. Knight created a website in 1996. Text-heavy yet breezy, the site includes quotes from the philosopher Schopenhauer and cartoons by the artist Nina Paley, as well as arguments against procreation and for adoption. It has been translated into some 30 languages and remains a haven for many.目前尚不清楚奈特的组织有多少追随者，也不清楚其影响范围有多大。这个组织在很大程度上处于地下状态，奈特在1996年创建了一个网站后，该组织开始流行起来。网站以文字为主，但气氛轻松活泼，上面有哲学家叔本华的名言和艺术家尼娜·佩利的漫画，以及反对生育和提倡收养的论点。它已被翻译成大约30种语言，一直是许多人的避风港。“It was very nice news for me that this kind of group existed, because one usually, with this kind of philosophy, feels alone,” said Mario Buenfil, 73, a water engineer in Mexico City who has been involved with the movement for 20 years.“我很高兴知道存在这种组织，因为拥有这种理念的人通常会感到孤独，”73岁的墨西哥城水务工程师马里奥·布恩菲尔说，他参与该运动已有20年。Still, the words “voluntary human extinction” often elicit reactions of spluttering horror, and terms like “eco-fascist” and “Malthusian” are often lobbed at the group. John Seager, the president of Population Connection, a nonprofit that advocates population stabilization through voluntary means, likened it to a sideshow. Yet if the group’s provocative name and seemingly pugilistic stance suggest an embittered or even menacing founder, Mr. Knight seems anything but.尽管如此，“人类自愿灭绝”这个词经常会引起惊恐的反应，常有人用“生态法西斯主义”和“马尔萨斯主义”等词攻击这个组织。倡导通过自愿方式实现人口稳定的非营利组织“人口联系”的主席约翰·西格认为他们无关紧要。然而，虽然该组织富有挑衅意味的名字和看似好斗的立场让人以为创始人是一位心怀怨恨甚至险恶的人，但奈特看上去完全不是那样。Tall and gentle, Mr. Knight comes across as clear-eyed and thoughtful, like a mash-up of Bill Nye and Fred Rogers. While Mr. Knight may be against the creation of more humans, he shows great compassion for the ones that already exist.奈特高大温和，给人的印象是眼神清澈，心思缜密，就像比尔·奈和弗雷德·罗杰斯的混合体。虽然奈特可能反对创造更多的人类，但他对已经存在的人类表现出极大的同情。A high school substitute teacher for most of his working life, Mr. Knight is fondly regarded by students. He spends hours each Sunday morning picking up litter from the nearby main road. During an interview, he paused to appreciate two juicy garden spiders taking in the sun on gossamer webs spun between the hedges and lawn chairs. The sight was a cause for celebration, Mr. Knight said, after so many critters were killed during last year’s heat dome in the Pacific Northwest. A self-professed serial monogamist, he lives alone, but his girlfriend lives next door, and is fully on board with his cause.奈特的工作生涯大多数时候在做高中代课老师，深受学生们的喜爱。每周日早上，他都会到附近的大路上花几个小时捡垃圾。在一次采访中，他停下来欣赏两只灵动的花园蜘蛛在树篱和草坪椅子之间织出来的蛛网上晒太阳。奈特说，这一景象值得赞美，因为许多这样的小动物死于去年太平洋西北地区的热穹期间。他自称是个连续性单配偶人士，独居，他的女朋友住在隔壁并且完全支持他的事业。“He doesn’t have a giant ego that he struts around with, he doesn’t try to argue with people,” said Marv Ross, Mr. Knight’s former college roommate and a longtime friend. “He was always about humor, to make it as fun as possible to get his message across, and I saw him do it many times. He’d deflect people getting upset with a joke or a smile.”“他没有那种四处招摇的自负心，他也不会试图与人争论，”奈特的前大学室友、老朋友马福·罗斯说。“他总是很幽默，尽可能带有趣味地传达他的信息，我看到他多次这样做。对于情绪有点激动的人，他会用笑话或微笑转移他们的注意力。”As a child growing up in a tolerant family in Oregon, Mr. Knight watched timber companies chop down the state’s forests. After being drafted in the Army during the Vietnam War (he served but never got deployed), he attended Oregon College of Education and joined the local chapter of Zero Population Growth, which cemented his resolve not to have children. “It was always because of the ecology, because of the damage that humans do to the environment,” he said.作为在俄勒冈州一个宽容的家庭中长大的孩子，奈特目睹了木材公司砍伐该州的森林。在越南战争期间应征入伍（服役过但没有上过战场）后，他就读于俄勒冈教育学院并加入了“零人口增长”组织在当地的分会，这坚定了他不生育的决心。“始终是因为生态，因为人类对环境造成的破坏，”他说。His beliefs were rooted in deep ecology, which challenges assumptions of human dominance and argues that other species are just as significant. Mr. Knight came to see humans as the most destructive of invasive species, and as super predators.他的信念植根于深层生态学，这一学说挑战人类统治的假设前提，认为其他物种也同样重要。奈特开始将人类视为最具破坏性的入侵物种，并且是超级掠食者。奈特借帽衫传达的信息。“We came to be and then ran amok,” Mr. Knight said. “And because we’re smart enough, we should know enough to end it.”“我们来了，然后胡作非为，”奈特说。“正是因为我们足够聪明，所以我们应该知道如何结束它。”“People mention music and art and literature and the great things that we have done — it’s funny they don’t ever mention the bad things we’ve done,” he continued. “I don’t think the whales will miss our songs.”“人们提到音乐、艺术和文学以及我们所做的伟大事情——有趣的是他们从来没有提到我们做过的坏事，”他继续说道。“我认为鲸鱼不会想念我们的歌曲。”While the United States saw an increase in births during the coronavirus pandemic, reversing the country’s declining birthrate, a 2020 poll found that one in four Americans who had not had children cited climate change as a reason. Research has shown that having one fewer child is perhaps the most significant way to reduce one’s carbon footprint, and while Mr. Knight doesn’t like to push his beliefs on people, he likes to think there are some humans who don’t exist because of his efforts.尽管美国在新冠病毒大流行期间出生率有所上升，扭转了出生率下降的趋势，但2020年的一项民意调查发现，在没有生育孩子的美国人中，有四分之一的人将气候变化列为未生育的原因之一。研究表明，少生一个孩子可能是减少碳足迹的最重要方式，虽然奈特不喜欢将自己的信念强加于人，但他愿意相信，因为他的努力，有些人类没有来到这个世界。Ms. Feldstein said Mr. Knight succeeded at grabbing people’s attention and starting conversations.费尔德斯坦说，奈特成功地吸引了人们的注意力并开始了对话。“He’s advocating for so many of the same things as the rest of us, trying to make sure everyone has the ability, autonomy, and resources they need to choose if and when to have children,” she said.“他提倡的许多事情和我们其他人一样，试图确保每个人都有能力、自主权和他们需要的资源来选择是否以及何时要孩子，”她说。And though the world’s population is at a record high, Mr. Knight said, it’s not getting him down.奈特说，尽管世界人口数量创历史新高，但这并没有让他泄气。“I never expected to succeed,” he said. “I think that’s the secret to not burning out.”“我从没期待成功，”他说。“我认为这是防止过劳的秘诀。”Cara Buckley是一名报道气候方面新闻的记者，聚焦人们努力解决寻找解决方案、针对气候危机另辟蹊径予以回应的故事。她于2006年加入时报，所在的报道团队在2018年凭借对工作场合性骚扰问题的报道获得普利策奖。欢迎在Twitter和Facebook上关注她。翻译：Cindy、明斋点击查看本文英文版。

Source: 全球人口80亿，他希望人类“自愿灭绝”