譯/高詣軒
氣候陰謀論 粉飾今夏天災
As natural disasters and extreme environmental conditions became more commonplace around the world this summer, scientists pointed repeatedly to a shared driver: climate change.
今年夏季，隨著自然災害與極端環境狀況在全球各地變得更加舉目可見，科學家多次把矛頭指向一項共通因素：氣候變遷。
Conspiracy theorists pointed to anything but.
陰謀論者的指稱則不然。
Some claimed falsely that the record-smashing heat waves blistering parts of North America, Europe and Asia were normal and that they had been sensationalized as part of a globalist hoax.
有些陰謀論者誆稱，肆虐於北美、歐洲、亞洲部分地區的破紀錄熱浪為正常現象，並經由全球主義的騙局而被聳動呈現。
Others made up tales that cloud-seeding airplanes or a nearby dam, rather than torrential rains, had caused the unusually intense flooding in northern Italy (and in places like Vermont and Rwanda).
其他人則編造故事，宣稱造成義大利北部（以及美國佛蒙特州、盧安達等地）洪水異常猛烈的起因並非暴雨，而是人造雨飛機或當地鄰近的水壩。
The devastating wildfire on Maui last month produced especially ludicrous claims. Social media that racked up millions of views blamed the blaze on a "directed energy weapon" (the evidence: years-old footage not recorded in Hawaii). And as Florida braced last month for Hurricane Idalia, some people claimed incorrectly online that such storms are not affected by fossil fuel emissions.
上個月，夏威夷州茂宜島災難性野火所引發的說法尤為荒誕。累計數百萬點閱的社群媒體內容將大火歸咎於「導能武器」（其證據是：並非攝於夏威夷的陳年影片片段）。而佛州上個月迎戰颶風伊達利亞之際，部分人士在網路上，誤稱這類風暴並未受到化石燃料排放的影響。
The unfounded claims that now regularly follow natural disasters and dangerous weather, contradicting a preponderance of scientific evidence, can often seem frivolous and fantastical. They persist, however — attracting large audiences and frustrating climate experts, who say the world has little time to evade a global warming catastrophe.
如今這類空穴來風的說法，不時在天災和危險的天氣現象發生後緊跟著出現，可能往往看似不足為道、荒誕不經，與占優勢的科學證據相左。然而，它們持續存在，吸引大量的閱聽眾，並讓指出世界已快要來不及避免全球暖化災禍的氣候專家，感到力不從心。
"It's really one of the worst challenges we have to deal with," said Eleni Myrivili, chief heat officer for the United Nations human settlements program.
聯合國人類住區規劃署的高溫問題主管艾萊妮．米里維利表示：「它（陰謀論）確實是我們必須處理的一大艱鉅挑戰」。
After holding a similar role for the city of Athens, which was threatened by a ruinous spate of wildfires last month, Myrivili said climate misinformation was "one of the most painful things because it's like adding insult to injury."
米里維利曾在雅典市擔任類似職務，而該市上月曾受到毀滅性野火威脅。她表示，氣候相關假消息是「最令人痛苦的事物之一，因為這就像在傷口上施加侮辱」。
Scientists and other climate change experts are being besieged by personal attacks, including claims that they are shills for a globalist cabal or other shadowy forces, said Jennie King, head of climate research and policy at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank that studies online platforms. Eroding trust in experts traps everyone in an "antechamber of discussion," bickering about credibility rather than taking action.
研究網路平台的智庫「戰略對話研究所」氣候研究與政策主管珍妮．金恩表示，科學家和其他氣候變遷專家，正在受到人身攻擊圍攻，包括宣稱他們是暗樁，服膺於全球主義陰謀集團或其他隱密勢力。侵蝕對於專家的信任感，會使所有人困在「討論的前廳」，為了可信度爭論不休，而非採取行動。
"The danger is not that people hold unpalatable views in and of themselves," she said. "It's more our inability to have a good-faith conversation about these absolutely critical issues in the years ahead."
「危險並不在於人們本身抱持著令人不快的看法」，她說，「更重要的是我們無從就這些在未來數年至關重要的議題，進行良善的對話」。
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