The End OF The World

2007年06月07日 蘋果日報  

G8峰會 美拒談規範溫室氣體

【蔡文英╱綜合外電報導】八大工業國(Group of Eight, G8)元首高峰會，昨起在德國波羅的海度假勝地海利根達姆登場，地主國啟動自二戰後最大規模保安行動，派出1萬6千名警力嚴加戒備。大會主席德總理莫克希望本次會議能就遏阻全球暖化有所進展，但美官員會前表示，本次不會就削減溫室氣體排放達成任何確切目標。

布希：將提新抗暖化協議
莫克(Angela Merkel)昨在晚間大會登場之前，先與美國總統布希( George W. Bush)會面，期望化解雙方就溫室氣體排放量的歧見。布希表示，他支持自己提出的新國際抗暖化提案，即美國和其他高排放量國家在明年底之前會商，制定出新的長期削減廢氣排放量策略。一個半小時會談後，莫克也對此次峰會能就氣候變遷主要問題可能有所進展，抱持樂觀態度。
場外，大批示威者堵住通往會場羅斯達克的各條道路，警方估計有9千名反全球化和反戰人士到場，許多人企圖阻撓與會者抵會場，警方以強力水柱加以驅散。這場盛會有美、英、日、加、義、俄、德、法八國領袖與會。
為防止示威者闖關，會場以鋼板、水泥，以及有刺鐵絲網築起11公里長安全圍籬，海岸線拉起32公里警戒線，不准船隻靠近，水中更部署3.2公里長的防護網，以防有人想從水底潛入會場鬧事。


Activists of international anti-globalization organization Oxfam costumed as G8 leaders, stand side by side with their long noses in the harbor of Rostock, Germany, Tuesday, June 5, 2007. The leaders of the G8 nations will be holding their annual summit in the historic Heiligendamm sea resort on June 6-8, 2007. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

2007年06月04日 蘋果日報

憂暖化 英媒鉅資拍《地球》

【王潔予╱綜合外電報導】英國廣播公司(BBC)斥資800萬英鎊（5億2千萬元台幣）英鎊，以五年時間深入地球最荒涼、地形最惡劣地區跟拍三種動物家族，製作成90分鐘的紀錄片《地球》(Earth)，留下地球生態被暖化效應吞噬前的最後模樣。
堪稱耗資最鉅的《地球》，是BBC《行星地球》紀錄片系列之一。導演凌菲德說，在全球暖化效應中首當其衝的象、鯨、北極熊是主角。130名拍攝人員隨著象群在非洲喀拉哈里沙漠遷徙、與鯨魚從東加外海游到南極，伴著白熊母子橫跨北極，牠們艱苦的求生歷程就是腳本。 

「下一代將看不到」
拍攝團隊指，一頭母熊帶著兩個寶寶離開原棲地，不停在冰上覓食，那一幕令他們動容。凌菲德說：「飢餓是北極熊的頭號威脅。隨著厚冰融化，牠們覓食的時間拉長。一隻公熊游到我們視線的盡頭，只為找個小島棲息。」
同樣的故事在非洲波札納上演，一頭小象隨象群找水時迷了路。凌菲德說，看著牠找不到媽媽，我們無力援助，「那是拍攝過程中最心酸的時刻。」另名導演法瑟吉則感性的說：「這是對這個星球的最後一瞥，我的下一代將再也看不到它現在的模樣。」

2007年05月04日 蘋果日報

暖化遺禍 毒藤增生

生態變遷
美國園藝學家發現，在全球暖化影響下，美國的亞熱帶植物生長線逐漸北移，植物成長期延長，糟糕的是，害蟲、野草及外來物種也找到滋生溫床。康乃爾大學學者沃菲直指：「證據顯示，生物世界已對（氣候）改變產生回應。」
對喜歡養花蒔草的人而言，植物生長期延長是好事，但生物學者卻對此感到憂慮。不易散熱的二氧化碳增加，使溫暖地帶的毒藤（poison ivy），及會產生過敏原的豬草（ragweed）增生，而繁殖快速並吞沒掉林地的葛藤（kudzu）將朝北蔓延。 

美28州恐失州花州樹
美國有些州已面臨失去一些特有種的危機，美國國家自然生物基金會上月公布報告，指到本世紀末，恐怕有28個州要更改州樹或州花，例如俄亥俄州引以為傲的七葉樹、堪薩斯州的向日葵或密西西比州的木蘭花，可能就要消失。
園藝愛好者也有對策。他們為減緩暖化，已逐漸改採充電式除草機等環保器具。亞特蘭大植物園執行長馬特森說：「直到去年，大家才開始接受全球暖化的事實，而認知已轉化成行動了。」編譯王潔予

Feeling Warmth, Subtropical Plants Move North 

ATLANTA, May 2 — Like a true belle, this city flounces into bloom when the weather turns, its redbuds, azaleas and forsythia emerging like so much lace on a bodice.

But in recent years, plants that thrive in even warmer weather have begun crashing the ball. At the Habersham Gardens nursery, where well-heeled homeowners choose their spring seedlings, a spiky-leafed, sultry coastal oleander has been thriving in a giant urn.

“We never expected it to come back every year,” said Cheryl Aldrich, the assistant manager, guiding a visitor on a tour of plants that would once have needed coddling to survive here: eucalyptus, angel trumpets, the Froot Loop-hued Miss Huff lantana. “We’ve been able to overwinter plants you didn’t have a prayer with before.”


...New York Times

2007年05月04日 蘋果日報

中國向錢看 拒阻止暖化
不肯放棄0.2％GDP

【張翠蘭╱綜合外電報導】聯合國「氣候變遷跨政府小組」在泰國首都曼谷召開的第26期會議，經過將近一周的激烈討論後，今天將發表報告，逾130國、約2500名科學家代表昨仍在研修對抗全球暖化的各項措施，關鍵在於控制溫室氣體二氧化碳排放的代價，可能必須犧牲全球各國國內生產毛額（Gross Domestic Product, GDP）的0.2%至3.0%，但中國立場強硬，指絕不可能為阻止暖化放棄發展經濟，與歐盟歧見頗深。

氣候變遷跨政府小組(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change，簡稱IPCC)，今天將發表今年規劃4份報告中的第3份，總結報告將於11月12至16日在西班牙舉行的第27期會議提出。有別於前兩份報告提出氣候變遷的證據及警訊，此最新報告著重在建議應採取的對策。
根據國際通訊社事先取得的報告草稿，目前大氣層中的二氧化碳濃度逼近400ppm（parts per million，百萬分之一），並持續快速增加中。 

溫室氣體排量全球第二
若全球要在2030年前把指數控制在640ppm，成本約為全球GDP的0.2%，要達成更有野心的目標550ppm，則將花費0.6%的全球GDP，若要穩定在445至535ppm之間，就要耗費約3%。環保團體警告，即使維持在535ppm，全球氣溫也會升至極危險指數，導致乾旱、洪水及其他疾病。
全球溫室氣體排放量僅次美國的中國，對於規範最高排放量無法接受，強調北美洲及歐洲等較富有的工業化國家，才應對全球暖化負責及率先解決問題。賴比瑞亞代表穆巴說：「中國是對報告文字最有意見的國家，他們不想要對未來結果負責任。」此外印度也持強烈反對立場。 

美國力薦使用原子能源
同時，此會議主要議題也包括應採用何種乾淨能源及如何規範核能。報告將呼籲更廣泛使用再生能源、生物燃料、水和風力等自然能源。美國強力推薦原子能源為乾淨能源，環保學者則強調應以尋找再生能源等其他方式為優先。
世界自然保育基金會的全球氣候變化計劃主任福爾默(Hans Verolme)昨指出，下月在德國召開的八大工業國(G8)高峰會，對於全球領袖是否能證明G8具有對抗全球暖化的決心，將是一大考驗。




Global Warming Can Be Kept in Check, UN Panel Says (Update3)
By Alex Morales

 

May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can be kept at levels that avoid the worst ravages of global warming by using available technologies and strategies, a United Nations panel said.

Keeping concentrations of gases at levels similar to those in the air today will cost less than 3 percent of world economic output by 2030, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said today in its third report of the year.

``We can go a long way to addressing this problem at relatively low costs with a range of options across a lot of sectors,'' Pete Smith, professor of global change at Aberdeen University in Scotland and a lead author of the study, said in an interview in Bangkok. ``We've got a big problem on our hands and this report provides governments with a way out.''

In two earlier reports this year, the panel, or IPCC, has said global warming is very likely caused by human activities including the release of gases from burning fossil fuels, and that rising temperatures will cause increased floods, droughts and extinctions of species. The panel's work is designed to feed into government policy on tackling climate change.

Today's document, debated line-by-line by government envoys from more than 120 nations meeting in Bangkok, was handed to reporters before a press conference today.

`Step Forward'

Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC, told reporters in Bangkok the study is a ``remarkable step forward'' from the panel's last review of climate change, in 2001.

The report says that stabilization of greenhouse gases can be achieved by changing the energy mix used around the world, introducing more fuel-efficient vehicles and appliances, improving home insulation and changing the way agricultural land is managed. Individuals can also change their lifestyles.

``An extremely powerful message in this report is the need for human society as a whole to start looking at changes in lifestyles and consumption patterns,'' Pachauri said, adding that people could take simple measures such as turning down the central heating and putting on a cardigan.

``This report highlights the importance of deploying a portfolio of clean energy technologies, consistent with our approach,'' Harlan Watson, head of the U.S. delegation, said in a statement.

Carbon Trading

Another tool available to government is carbon trading, according to the report. Establishing a price equal to $50 per ton of carbon dioxide could reduce emissions by more than half and a price of $100 could achieve a 63 percent cut, because of the incentives to develop cleaner energy sources, it said.

Under carbon trading, companies are set emission targets. If they undershoot those targets they're able to sell credits to other businesses that are unable to meet their targets.

Emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas, are projected to rise by as much as 110 percent by 2030 if no action is taken to minimize them, the panel said. Scientists have linked the gas, produced by burning fossil fuels, to climate change. Higher emissions lead to higher temperatures, they say.

``If we continue to do what we are doing, then we are in deep trouble,'' said Ogunlade Davidson, co-chair of the working group that produced the report.

Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are about 425 parts per million (ppm) and rising. Stabilizing greenhouse gases at 445 ppm may hold increases in global temperature since industrialization at 2 degrees Celsius, according to the report. That's the level beyond which the European Union has said the effects may become dangerous and irreversible. Global average temperatures have risen 0.76 of a degree already.

Emissions Peak

To achieve stabilization at that level, emissions must peak by 2015 and then decline by 50 percent to 85 percent by 2050, the panel said, adding that it will shave under 0.12 of a percentage point of world growth a year, leading to a cumulative cost of less than 3 percent of output by 2030.

The cost is a bargain compared with the cost of inaction, said Hans Verolme, head of the World Wildlife Fund's climate change campaign. A U.K. government report last year said that failure to take action to stave off climate change would cost the world 5 percent to 20 percent of GDP.

``We can keep the climate safe and we can do that with currently available technologies at a cost that is almost negligible,'' Verolme said in an interview in Bangkok. ``We don't need to wait for a silver bullet.''

Kyoto Protocol

The cost of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases at between 535 and 590 ppm would be about 0.6 percent of world output, and at 590 to 710 ppm, the cost would be 0.2 percent, according to the panel. Those concentrations equate to temperature gains of as much as 3.2 and 4.0 degrees Celsius.

At present, 35 countries and the European Union are bound by the Kyoto Protocol, which requires them to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by a combined 5 percent by 2012, when its provisions end. The U.S. rejected the treaty in 2001, and developing nations such as China aren't assigned targets.

Today's report can now be used by governments when they meet in Bali, Indonesia, in December to discuss climate change and a potential successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

``The science that the IPCC has been able to assess will have a direct impact, and we hope a profound influence'' on the talks, Pachauri said. ``It's probably naive to believe that merely to develop the technologies in laboratories and workshops will be the answer, unless there is a package of policies and unless there are market forces.''

Last Updated: May 4, 2007 06:40 EDT

---

Bloomberg News

2007年04月21日 蘋果日報

雪梨熄燈 省電逾1成

明天為「世界地球日」，全球各地近來已展開相關活動，國內有立委昨午推行「暗燈一小時」，但節約效果不彰。澳洲雪梨上月底實施一天的「關燈一小時」，耗費能源比平常同時段減少逾一成。
「地球日」官方網站強調節約電源、隨手關燈，經世界自然保育基金會數月的規劃協調，澳洲雪梨上月底實施一天「關燈一小時」，雪梨劇院與市中心在晚上七時三十分熄燈，餐廳以燭光待客，不但節能，也贏得讚許。

呼籲關注暖化
近年來有不少城市推廣類似「關燈一小時」活動，最知名例子為今年二月一日，許多歐洲景點包括法國巴黎艾菲爾鐵塔、義大利羅馬競技場、希臘雅典議會大廈等，同時響應關燈五分鐘活動；在香港，五百所中小學和幼稚園於上月二十一日上午十一時五十五分關燈五分鐘，希望藉此喚醒政府、商界及市民對全球暖化的關注。
「地球日」緣自一群美國大學生在一九七○年四月二十二日走上街頭，呼籲國會通過環保法案，並得到全國兩千多萬名民眾響應，此後每年同一天的環保活動成為慣例，且全球愈來愈多城市加入慶祝「地球日」行列。美國、加拿大、泰國、菲律賓等有宣導環保、回收電池與電腦等電器、清掃海岸、植樹等多項活動。

 Earthday Network Homepage

2007年04月10日 蘋果日報

二氧化碳排放 台灣過量

全球警訊
據國際能源總署統計，台灣每年排放近二億七千萬公噸的二氧化碳，平均每人排放近十二公噸，排放量佔全球總量的百分之一，不但是世界排名第二十一名的國家，更是全球平均的三倍之多。環保署昨發出警訊指，人類再不重視全球暖化問題，未來將像熱水中的青蛙，自取滅亡。

慎思高耗能產業
環保署昨提出國際統計數字，呼籲民眾重視二氧化碳排放所造成的全球暖化問題，環保署空保處長楊之遠說，全球暖化帶來的氣候變遷對全世界都有影響，若人類再不重視，會自取滅亡。
楊之遠說，台灣的鋼鐵、石化等高耗能產業所排放的二氧化碳佔全產業的百分之二十，「比起先進國家、甚至是發展中的金磚四國都來得高」。但未來政府仍有意發展台塑大煉鋼廠、國光石化等高耗能產業，「為永續生存，台灣經濟絕對需要轉型」。
環境品質文教基金會董事長劉銘龍說，政府若還將這場全球環保競賽置身事外，只會有更不利的後果。
桃園長庚醫院家醫科醫師陳進明表示，二氧化碳濃度必須非常高、曝露時間夠久才有可能造成腦部缺氧等傷害，環境中的二氧化碳約為百分之零點三，不易達到致毒劑量。記者張勵德、陳柏因 

二氧化碳減量做法
◎食
．外食族吃多少點多少，不要造成無謂浪費
．多使用悶燒鍋等使食物續熱的器具
◎衣
．沒用的舊衣多回收
．選購衣物多選擇天然材質
◎住
．夏天少開冷氣機多開電扇
．居家時隨手關閉電器電源
．多爬樓梯少坐電梯
◎行
．多搭乘大眾運輸工具，減少開車
．減少車內雜物，降低車輛油耗
資料來源：環保署

2007年04月10日 蘋果日報

台灣海岸植物 北遷70公里
疑全球暖化所致 專家恐亂生態

【林世雄、張勵德╱連線報導】台灣地區的海岸濕地原生指標植物，可能因為全球暖化的增溫現象，已經保守估計向北「走」了五十到七十公里，氣候異常，挑戰生物適應極限，靜宜大學生態系教授陳玉峰昨天提出警告：「今後二十年台灣不但農林漁牧生產力將全面下降，不明原因的昆蟲、病菌，可能導致大規模的疫情和災變！」
國立自然科學博物館植物組副研究員楊宗愈說，「植物遷移的因素很多，但全球暖化絕對是可能的因素」。植物遷移，可能會造成整個生態大亂。

也有向上攀爬趨勢
根據陳玉峰去年十一月的調查，過去三十年中，原來生長在嘉、南沿海的馬氏濱藜及鹽地鼠尾粟，現在已經在新竹客雅溪出海口一帶出現；海馬齒原來常見於南台灣魚塭地，漁民用來種植在魚塭土堤護坡上，現在則已經現蹤在桃園永安漁港，三種植物至少北遷五、六十公里。
台中縣高美濕地最大宗的雲林莞草，更跨過淡水河到台北縣金山水尾漁港附近，北進至少七十公里。陳玉峰說，「造成這些海岸植物北移的最主要原因，應該就是全球增溫現象」。
另外，過去三十年來，山地植物估計也向上爬了五十到七十公尺，但受限於原有林木不退位，不少山地植物因此發生大規模猝死，像是近年玉山箭竹、台灣鐵杉、冷杉的猝死恐怕即是如此，陳玉峰感嘆：「想不到台灣山林的老化速度竟然比我本人的老化還快！」
他建議政府應該儘速訂定「溫室氣體減量法」，開徵能源稅，減少使用石油；同時主動編輯「台灣生態年鑑」，找出特定指標生物作長期、永久監測。
環保署空保處簡任視察葉芳露表示，陳教授所提的意見及看法，環保署都在推動處理當中，未來也將逐一驗證落實。 

2007年04月02日 蘋果日報

暖化毀珊瑚礁 毒藻成殺手
年有五萬人吃魚中雪茄毒 專家：影響地區正增加

【蔡佳慧╱綜合外電報導】聯合國科學家與124國代表今起在比利時召開會議，預定周五將提出「全球暖化」最終報告，做為各國制定政策與相關立法的依據。在此同時，美國海洋學家警告，全球暖化除了造成陸地動植物滅絕，冰河冰山快速融解之外，也正在提高人類食用海洋魚類中毒的機率。 

根據美聯社報導，菲律賓近年來頻傳集體食物中毒案例，中毒者出現嘔吐、身體疼痛、麻痺等徵狀，甚至無法開口說話。檢驗發現，他們身中的是神經毒素「雪茄毒」(ciguatera)，來源則是他們在毒發數小時前所食用的梭魚等魚類。21歲學生盧亞中毒時，不僅頭部麻木、手部刺痛，甚至連呼吸都有困難。他說：「我嚇呆了，當時還以為自己死定了」。 

有毒海藻種類增加
「雪茄毒」來自有毒海藻，透過小魚、大魚等食物鏈累積，最終被人類吃下腹，引發人類中毒。根據估計，目前全球每年約有五萬人雪茄毒中毒，其中大約九成都未通報。針對特定魚隻是否含有雪茄毒，目前尚無可靠的測試方式。目前也沒有雪茄毒的解毒劑，醫師只能施打點滴和利尿劑來舒緩病患的痛苦。
然而專家指稱，目前全球暖化問題日趨嚴重，加上人類不斷污染海洋，已導致珊瑚礁大量受到破壞，有毒海藻藉機大量增生，因此未來雪茄毒中毒的機率也持續高漲。
美國麻州海洋學家安德森(Donald M. Anderson)說：「就全球而論，目前海鮮類食物因海藻毒素所引發的問題，比20、30年前高出甚多。不光是毒素增加，有毒海藻種類增加，全球受影響的區域也在增加之列。」 

最終報告周五出爐
事實上，聯合國氣候變遷跨政府小組(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change，簡稱IPCC)今起召集各國代表和科學家，針對暖化危機將如何影響全球，以及人類應該採取何種避免措施的報告討論修改。周五最終報告即將出爐，而根據美聯社提早取得的內容顯示，科學家預測，全球暖化將嚴重破壞海洋生態系統，而海洋也因二氧化碳而酸化，威脅珊瑚礁、浮游生物和經濟魚類等生物。
科學家甚至形容，這份預測報告指出了「通往滅絕的高速公路」，不過，哈佛大學海洋生物學教授麥卡錫(James McCarthy)樂觀地說：「最糟狀況將不會發生，我們不至於那麼愚蠢。」 

全球暖化導致人類染上雪茄毒過程
1.人類將大量二氧化碳排放在空氣中，造成全球暖化。
2.全球暖化導致海水溫度上升，外加海水中的二氧化碳含量提高，促使珊瑚大量死亡，有毒海藻則藉機增生。
3.小魚吃下有毒海藻之後，雪茄毒素進入小魚的肌肉組織及內臟。
4.梭魚等其他大魚吃下小魚之後，體內累積雪茄毒素。
5.人類食用大魚後雪茄毒中毒 ，出現包括口手麻痺、無法言語、嘔吐等症狀。
資料來源：綜合外電

報你知
雪茄毒尚無藥可解
「雪茄毒」（ciguatera）是一種神經毒素，來自有毒海藻，小魚在吃下海藻後，會把毒素累積在體內，大魚吃小魚後，又把毒素累積在大魚體內。最後人類食用大魚而中毒，會出現嘔吐、身體疼痛、麻痺等徵狀，甚至呼吸困難、無法言語。
目前雪茄毒無解毒劑，只能藉施打點滴和利尿劑舒緩病患痛苦，靠病患自行復元。

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Odd Global Warming Threat: Toxic Seafood
By Michael Casey, Associated Press
02 April 2007

 

ILOILO, Philippines (AP) -- Bowls of piping hot barracuda soup were the much-anticipated treat when the Roa family gathered for a casual and relaxing Sunday meal.

Within hours, all six fell deathly ill. So did two dozen others from the same neighborhood. Some complained of body-wide numbness. Others had weakness in their legs. Several couldn't speak or even open their mouths.

"I was scared. I really thought I was going to die,'' said Dabby Roa, 21, a student who suffered numbness in his head, tingling in his hands and had trouble breathing.

What Roa and the others suffered that night last August was ciguatera poisoning, a rarely fatal but growing menace from eating exotic fish. All had bought portions of the same barracuda from a local vendor.

Experts estimate that up to 50,000 people worldwide suffer ciguatera poisoning each year, with more than 90 percent of cases unreported. Scientists say the risks are getting worse, because of damage that pollution and global warming are inflicting on the coral reefs where many fish species feed.

Dozens of popular fish types, including grouper and barracuda, live near reefs. They accumulate the toxic chemical in their bodies from eating smaller fish that graze on the poisonous algae. When oceans are warmed by the greenhouse effect and fouled by toxic runoff, coral reefs are damaged and poison algae thrives, scientists say.

"Worldwide, we have a much bigger problem with toxins from algae in seafood than we had 20 or 30 years ago,'' said Donald M. Anderson, director of the Coastal Ocean Institute at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

"We have more toxins, more species of algae producing the toxins and more areas affected around the world,'' he said.

Although risk of ciguatera has soared recently, the phenomenon is ancient. Fish poisoning shows up in Homer's Odyssey. Alexander the Great forbade his armies to eat fish for fear of being stricken, according to University of Hawaii professor Yoshitsugi Hokama.

Capt. James Cook and his crew probably suffered ciguatera poisoning in 1774 after eating fish near Vanuatu in the South Pacific, according to crew journals and correspondence studied by Dr. Michael Doherty of the Swedish Epilepsy Center in Seattle, writing in the scientific review Neurology. Cook recorded that they "were seized with an extraordinary weakness in all our limbs attended with a numbness or sensation like ... that ... caused by exposing one's hands or feet to a fire after having been pinched much by frost.''

Ciguatera has long been known in the South Pacific, the Caribbean and warmer areas of the Indian Ocean. Some South Pacific islanders use dogs to test fish before they eat.

But in the past decade, it has spread through Asia, Europe and the United States, where more restaurants are serving reef fish, prized for their fresh taste and exotic cachet.

In the United States, ciguatera poisonings are most frequent in Florida, Texas and Hawaii, which has seen a fivefold increase since the 1970s to more than 250 a year.

Hong Kong, which imports much of its seafood, went from fewer than 10 cases annually in the 1980s to a few hundred now.

Still, Hong Kong diners pay a premium for the risky fish. Rare species like the Napoleon wrasse fetch nearly $50 a pound. The fish are increasingly shipped live from Southeast Asia and as far away as the South Pacific, raising concerns from the World Conservation Union that many species, especially groupers, could be fished out of existence.

Professor Yvonne Sadovy, of the University of Hong Kong, predicted that high demand and cash-hungry fishermen mean that "ciguatoxic fish entering markets around the world is going to increase.''

Should global warming and pollution worsen and boost ciguatera poisonings, as most experts predict, health officials will face a daunting challenge.

Currently, there is no reliable way to detect whether a fish has ciguatera. The molecule is extremely complex and differs markedly from region to region.

There also is no antidote.

Furthermore, doctors are often ill-equipped to diagnose ciguatera, which has a range of symptoms and is sometimes misdiagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome or other maladies.

Those challenges faced Dr. Edgar Portigo at Doctors General Hospital in Iloilo, about 265 miles southeast of Manila, when the Roa family and others arrived. The emergency room was filling with patients yelping in pain, vomiting, or, in the case of Dabby Roa, so paralyzed that he had to be carried in by a security guard.

"Normally, you have one or two emergency cases. Here we had 30 plus all at once,'' from ages 4 to 65, Portigo said.

At first, Portigo surmised the patients had heavy metal poisoning. But when he learned of the common thread -- the barracuda dinners -- he sent a sample of the fish to Manila for testing. It came back positive for ciguatera.

Portigo gave his patients intravenous drips and a diuretic to relieve their suffering. Most like Roa were released from the hospital in a week, he said, and fully recovered.

"Although this is quite rare, it can happen anytime,'' said Portigo, noting this was the first ciguatera outbreak in the city.

A relatively quick recovery is the norm, but some have lingering symptoms.

Dennis McGillicuddy, a 65-year-old retired cable television company owner from Sarasota, Fla., fell sick a few hours after eating a mutton snapper he caught off the coast of Bermuda in 2000. Within hours, his vomiting and diarrhea were so severe that he became delirious and was "reduced to crawling,'' he recalled.

The digestive symptoms lasted two weeks. After that, McGillicuddy became so sensitive to temperature extremes that it was hard to take a shower. Numbness in his extremities lasted for almost a year.

"I've never had anything like this,'' said McGillicuddy, who still occasionally feels tingling in his left arm. "You feel terrible all over your body.''

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and others who monitor ciguatera say they are hampered by the lack of a reliable test. Bans on certain fish or "hot spots'' can help, but they often are impractical.

"It's very hard to manage,'' said professor Richard Lewis, of the University of Queensland in Australia, who has studied ciguatera. "Unless you don't eat the fish, you have a risk of getting ciguatera.''

Poorer countries often lack even rudimentary measures to protect consumers. Those precautions that do exist are undermined by government corruption or lack of enforcement.

Hong Kong has refused to enact mandatory measures to prevent ciguatera despite increased outbreaks. It argues that educating consumers and traders is the answer, rejecting calls to crack down on traders or ban fish from suspect areas.

"Given the fact we eat so much seafood in Hong Kong, this should be one of the priorities in protecting the population,'' Sadovy said. "I just hope we don't have to wait for someone to die before something is done.''

In Iloilo, fear has done what the Philippine government has not. Consumers stopped buying barracuda after the ciguatera outbreak. Vendors have switched to less risky varieties.

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 2007年04月02日 蘋果日報

全球暖化 恐爆糧荒掀戰爭

專家警告
全球暖化不但影響天候，威脅人身財產安全，聯合國氣候變遷跨政府小組（Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change，簡稱IPCC）最新報告甚至指出，全球60餘國正因為暖化造成的食物短缺、飲水不足面臨戰爭威脅，還警告包括中國、美國及部分歐洲國家也將因為氣候變遷陷入爭奪資源的衝突。
IPCC報告召集2500名科學家耗時6年完成，2月初第1份報告指出，過去半世紀氣溫升高「很可能」是人類燃燒石油造成，全球暖化有「9成」是人類種下的禍根。即將在周五公布的第2份報告稱，暖化影響證據在世界各地清楚可見。

未來20年拉美缺水
報告指未來20年間，中南美數千萬及非洲數億人民將飽受缺水之苦，到了2050年，10億亞洲人恐面臨缺水威脅。2035年，灌注亞洲各大河川的喜馬拉雅山冰河可能融化殆盡，影響7億人口生計。
雖然暖化延長植物生長季，暫時增加穀物收成，但2050年代到來之際，印度糧產可能減少3成，使1.3億人口瀕臨饑荒。
2080年，海平面上升將淹沒許多城市，每年造成1億人無家可歸。但人類真的對這許多危機束手無策？IPCC 5月的第3份報告將公開可能解決之道。
編譯葉心嵐

2007年04月02日 蘋果日報

全球暖化 人類危機

【羅珮姍╱專題報導】美國國家海洋與大氣總署發表報告指出，地球在去年12月到今年2月的平均溫度，升高了攝氏0.72度，創下127年以來的新紀錄。
全球溫度上升的速度正以倍數激增，造成日本東京度過了百年來，首次沒有降雪的冬季，直到2月16日清晨，才下了第一場雪，比去年足足晚了3個月；世界自然基金會公布，全球10大河川枯竭危機報告，其中就有5條在亞洲。
全球氣候變遷所造成的生存危機，對亞洲的衝擊特別大，使得大家不得不正視全球暖化的問題。 


 PDF圖解

2007年04月01日 蘋果日報

節源抗暖化 雪梨熄燈

【韓政燕╱綜合外電報導】為響應節約能源，減緩全球暖化效應，澳洲最大城市─雪梨市當地時間昨天晚上7時30分（台灣時間下午5時30分）舉行全市熄燈儀式，持續一個小時。

六萬民眾響應
時間一到，向來璀璨明亮的雪梨歌劇院關閉燈光，橘子瓣外觀僅剩外環照明。市中心高樓大廈霓虹燈多數熄滅，僅剩街燈及港口號誌作為安全警示，全市餐廳也都改供應燭光晚餐，許多父母帶著兒女到公共場合，倒數迎接這極具環保意義的一刻。
澳洲新南威爾斯大學研究指出，雪梨民眾極度欠缺環保意識，常常在出門後，還將空調開著，到2080年時，澳洲平均溫度將比現在升高攝氏6.7度。
雪梨環保團體為減少溫室氣體排放，特別在網路上發起連署活動，呼籲民眾關閉電腦等不必要電源。此次活動共有2千商家和6萬民眾共襄盛舉，主辦單位希望明年時，雪梨市溫室氣體排放量能減少5%。

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BBC News

 Sydney's famous skyline (top image) was shrouded in darkness

 2007年03月28日 蘋果日報

全球暖化 極地氣候恐消失
專家預言 百年內部分物種將滅絕

【蔡佳慧╱綜合外電報導】全球暖化恐怖預言再添一樁，美國科學家警告，如果暖化再不改善，到了2100年，地球上近五成區域的氣候型態將不復存在，並出現其他嶄新氣候型態，迫使原有物種必須「演化或遷移」才得以存活，可能導致部分物種滅絕，部分地區的人類也必須遷居才能保命。
美國威斯康辛州大學麥迪遜分校的研究人員，利用電腦進行模擬，預測目前全球排放的溫室氣體對於各區域氣候將造成何種暖化影響。研究發現，全球溫度上升，將導致各地原有氣候型態，往更高緯度及更高海拔的區域移動，而如熱帶高地與極地附近等較冷氣候終將消失，至於較熱的赤道附近，則會出現前所未見的氣候型態。


嚴重破壞生物多樣性
這項發表於美國《國家科學院期刊》研究指稱，屆時亞馬遜、印尼雨林等多樣化生態寶地都將受到嚴重破壞，進而影響棲息其間、無法遷移到他處的物種。這些物種如果不能快速演化、適應環境，就只有滅絕一途。研究作者威廉斯教授（John Williams）說：「這將對於生態保育者形成真正困難。如自然環境改變且可能消失不見，你如何能保育整個體系的生態多樣性？」 

地表將有新氣候型態
威廉斯指出，電腦模擬出最糟情況，到了2100年，約有48%涵蓋各洲大陸的氣候型態將會消失，另外，全球約有四成地表上將會有「嶄新」的氣候型態形成。
該研究顯示，全球暖化很可能導致包括南美的安地斯山脈、中美洲、尚比亞和安哥拉高地等的氣候型態消失。而目前動植物生態蓬勃地區，如喜馬拉雅山、菲律賓，非洲和南美洲山區，則可能導致部分物種滅絕，當地人口被迫遷移。

全球暖化惡果大預言
2012年
根據美國俄亥俄州立大學科學家預測，屆時秘魯安地斯山脈冰河將徹底融化消失。
2025年
根據世界自然保育基金會研究預測，因全球暖化及人為污染、建壩等影響，屆時全球18億人都將面臨缺水窘境。
2100年
˙根據美國威斯康辛州大學科學家預測，屆時地球上近五成區域的氣候型態將不復存在，並出現其他嶄新氣候型態。
˙根據聯合國研究預測，屆時地球平均氣溫可能增加1.8~4℃，海平面上升18~58公分，而南北極到了夏季將不見冰山蹤跡，紐約、威尼斯及太平洋群島吐瓦魯等地勢較低地區被淹沒。
資料來源：綜合外電、《蘋果》資料室

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Climate change will increase extinction risk, especially in the tropics
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
March 26, 2007 

Many of the world's local climates could be radically changed if global warming trends continue, reports a new study published in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors warn that current climates may shift and disappear, increasing the risk of biodiversity extinction and other ecological changes.

John ("Jack") Williams and John E. Kutzbach of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, together with Stephen T. Jackson of the University of Wyoming, used climate models and greenhouse gas emission scenarios from the recent assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to forecast differences between climate zones today and in the year 2100. They found that under both high and low emissions scenarios, many regions would experience biome-level changes, suggesting areas that may presently feature rainforest, tundra, or desert may no longer have the same type of vegetation in the year 2100 due to climate shifts.

"By the end of the 21st century, large portions of the Earth’s surface may experience climates not found at present, and some 20th-century climates may disappear," write the authors. "The combination of high CO2 concentrations, still-extensive ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, and current orbital and land–ocean configurations are geologically unprecedented." 

...mongabay.com

2007年03月21日 蘋果日報

2025年 18億人缺水
聯國警告 長江等10大河瀕危

【陳怡妏╱綜合外電報導】明天是聯合國世界水資源日，世界自然保育基金會昨天特別公布一份全球調查報告，點名中國的長江、怒江、瀾滄江和歐洲的多瑙河等十大河流，因為缺乏妥善的保護及規劃，受到全球暖化、污染及建壩等影響，未來數十年內恐將面臨缺水或河中生物滅絕等危機。

為提醒人類珍惜水資源，聯合國在1993年將3月22日訂為世界水資源日(World Water Day)。聯合國秘書長潘基文強調：「現有的水資源正因人口快速成長，加上缺乏用水規劃、水污染及浪費水資源等問題，面臨供水壓力。」聯合國糧農組織也警告，到2025年，包括中國跟印度在內，全球將有18億人口過著缺水生活。於是將今年的主題訂為「如何應付缺水危機」。 

全球淡水消耗一半
世界自然保育基金會(World Wide Fund for Nature，簡稱WWF)全球淡水專案主任皮塔克警告，受到興建水壩、引水灌溉等工程影響，「現在的河流通常已經流不進大海，包括巴基斯坦的印度河、非洲的尼羅河等都是如此，數百萬人的生活面臨威脅」。河流是全球最主要的淡水來源，但人類在沒有計劃地使用下，已經消耗掉一半。
全球177條最長的河流，僅21條未受水壩或截彎取直等建築工程影響。破壞程度最嚴重的十條河流分別是：歐洲流經德國的多瑙河、北美洲美墨邊境的格蘭德河、南美洲波多黎各的拉布拉他河、亞洲中國長江、越南湄公河（中國境內為瀾滄江）、緬甸薩爾溫江（中國境內為怒江）和印度恆河、非洲埃及的尼羅河和澳洲墨累達令河。 

長江污化增73％
中國的長江因沿岸城市快速發展，面臨前所未見的污染危機，家庭污水、工業廢水和船隻廢油等，使得長江的髒污程度比過去半世紀增加73%，是全世界污染最嚴重的河流。三峽大壩底部更是不時可以發現垃圾、豬糞、工廠及醫院廢棄物蹤跡。
建水壩不僅破壞生物棲地、影響河川流量，還會使得海水倒流，海洋生物趁機入侵河流，排擠淡水生物生存空間。皮塔克呼籲各國政府應妥善規劃用水，「這十大河流代表存在已久的淡水危機，但大家過去都視若無睹」。導致逾全球有1/5的淡水生物現正瀕臨絕種或已經滅絕。
皮塔克認為，要解決水源問題必須仰賴全面性的政策，政府不應只為了解決灌溉用水問題，就興建水壩集水，反而破壞原有生態。若是為了取得乾淨無污染的能源，興建水力發電場，反而造成魚兒大量死亡，得不償失。建議各國政府應加緊保育河流、湖泊、濕地。

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WWF Names World's Top 10 Rivers at Greatest Risk

GLAND, Switzerland, March 21, 2007 (ENS) ? Ten of world's largest rivers are drying up due to "the wanton waste of freshwater resources, poor governance, and a disregard for the needs of local people that frequently exacerbates poverty," finds a new report by the global conservation organization WWF. 

The report, "World's Top Rivers at Risk," released ahead of World Water Day on March 22, lists the top 10 rivers that are dying as a result of climate change, pollution and dams. 

Five of the 10 rivers listed in the report are in Asia. They are the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Ganges and Indus. 

Europe’s Danube, the Americas’ La Plata and Rio Grande-Rio Bravo, Africa’s Nile-Lake Victoria and Australia’s Murray-Darling also make the list. 

"All the rivers in the report symbolize the current freshwater crisis, which we have been signalling for years," says WWF Global Freshwater Programme Director Jamie Pittock. 

"Poor planning and inadequate protection of natural areas mean we can no longer assume that water will flow forever," Pittock said. "Like the climate change crisis, which now has the attention of business and government, we want leaders to take notice of the emergency facing freshwater now not later." 

The report summarizes the findings of eight wide-ranging and authoritative global assessments and identifies the threats mentioned with the greatest frequency - water infrastructure such as dams, over-extraction of water, climate change,invasive species, over-fishing, and pollution. 
The 10 rivers highlighted are either those that already suffer most under the weight of these threats or are bracing for the heaviest impacts. 

There are some rivers on the list that are so damaged that without serious restoration efforts they could be lost, and others that are relatively intact, but face massive degradation unless action is taken now to conserve them. 

Yangtze: Pollution. The Yangtze River rises in the mountains of Qinghai Province on the Tibetan plateau, and fl ows 6,300 kilometers to the East China Sea, opening at Shanghai. Its catchment covers one-fifth of the land area in China. 

The Yangtze river basin accounts for 40 percent of China’s freshwater resources, more than 70 percent of the country’s rice production, 50 percent of its grain, more than 70 percent of fishery production, and 40 percent of the China’s GDP. 

The river is inhabited by 350 fish species, including the giant Yangtze sturgeon, of which 112 are found nowhere else. This basin is the sole habitat of the critically endangered Chinese Paddlefish, the endangered Finless Porpoise, and the now believed to be extinct Chinese River Dolphin, the most critically endangered cetacean in the world. The most threatened crocodilian species in the world, the Chinese Alligator, is only found in the lower reaches of the Yangtze. 

This basin is inhabited by the giant panda, the largest salamander in the world, Audrias davidianus, the critically endangered Siberian crane, and the once-extirpated Pere David’s deer now re-introduced from captive stock. 

Over the last 50 years, there has been a 73 percent increase in pollution levels from hundreds of cities, in the main stem of the Yangtze River, WWF reports. The annual discharge of sewage and industrial waste in the river has reached about 25 billion tons, which is 42 percent of the country’s total sewage discharge, and 45 percent of its total industrial discharge. 

The major pollutants in the Yangtze mainstem are suspended substances, oxidizing organic and inorganic compounds, and ammonia nitrogen. This has reduced drinking water quality and contributed to eutrophication, the process by which the excess nutrients stimulate excessive plant growth and decay. 

After 13 years of construction, the Three Gorges Dam is now built and will be fully operational in 2008. The Three Gorges Dam exacerbates water pollution by impounding waters, trapping sediment and increasing eutrophication. 

Efforts to reduce pollution in the Yangtze River have been slow but promising, WWF says. Community pressure has successfully increased local enforcement activities such as fi eld inspections and increased pollution fees. 

Mekong-Lancang: Over-fishing. The Mekong river basin is the largest in Southeast Asia. Rising in the mountains of China’s Qinghai province near Tibet, it flows south. It forms the border between Laos and Myanmar, most of the border between Laos and Thailand, and moves across Cambodia and southern Vietnam into the South China Sea.

Unlike many major rivers in Asia, this river and its flood regime are relatively intact, and the lower Mekong basin is the most productive river fishery in the world. 

The basin is home to at least 1,200 fish species, the highest fish diversity in any basin after the Amazon and Congo. Sixty-two fish species are found nowhere else in the world. This river harbors more species of giant fish than any other as well as the largest freshwater fish known to science, the Mekong giant catfish. The basin is inhabited by the Irrawaddy Dolphin, the Mekong population of which is critically endangered. 

The Mekong River fishery is based on the annual wet season flood of its extensive floodplain, particularly the back flow of the river into the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia. 

The scale of this beneficial flooding is threatened by the present and potential impoundment of floodwaters behind 58 existing and 149 proposed large dams, and by roads in the floodplains. 

Despite the productivity of the Mekong, WWF reports, the threat of over-fishing is high because of the huge scale of subsistence fishing, the majority of which goes unrecorded, as well as poor fishing practices. 

People illegally use small-meshed mosquito nets, which catch juveniles as well as adult fish, electro-shock fish with car batteries, and increasingly over-harvest fish with poison, WWF reports. 

Salween, Nujiang or Nu River: Infrastructure, dams. The Salween flows from the Tibetan Plateau adjacent to the Mekong and the Yangtze rivers, in the "Three Parallel Rivers” World Heritage area, at the epicentre of biodiversity in China. 

Dam construction poses the single greatest threat to the Salween River. China plans up to 13 large hydropower projects in a cascade that would transform the free-flowing river in upper basin into a series of channels and reservoirs. 

Shared by China, Thailand, and Myanmar, formerly Burma, six million people live in the Salween watershed. They share the watershed with 92 amphibian species, and 143 fish species of which 47 are found nowhere else in the world, and the world’s greatest diversity of turtles. 

The Salween delta and associated wetlands support populations of the unique fishing cat, the Asian small-clawed otter and the Siamese crocodile. The golden eye monkey, small panda, wild donkey of Dulong and wild ox still flourish in this basin. 

...Environment News Service
To access the report, "World's Top Rivers at Risk," click here.

2007年03月11日 蘋果日報

抗暖化 歐盟允用核能
再生能源增至20％ 方案備受爭議

【張翠蘭╱綜合外電報導】歐盟領袖前天在比利時首都布魯塞爾的高峰會中，通過一項具有約束力的方案，各會員國在2020年之前，須減少二氧化碳排放量20%，提高再生能源使用量至20%，並推節省能源，以對抗氣候變遷及能源問題。 

比利時
歐盟執委會主席巴洛索說：「歐洲正遙遙領先，世界各國應加入對抗氣候變遷。」歐盟輪值主席德國總理莫克深感滿意。英國首相布萊爾也說：「這為歐盟設立一套開創性、大膽及野心勃勃的目標。」布萊爾並認為，這對美國、中國及印度是良好示範，有利於促使這些國家在6月召開的八大工業高峰會前採取類似行動。 

鼓勵用省電燈泡
歐盟領袖同意在2020年前，27個會員國的溫室氣體二氧化碳排放量減少20%，且如果美國等污染大國也能降低排放量，歐盟願進一步再減10%，即總共30%的排放量。生物燃料在交通能源消耗中的比重，要提高到10%。歐盟也把風力和太陽能等再生能源在總能源的比重，提高到至20%，然而由於方案中的再生能源也包括核能發電，法國、捷克及英國將藉此積極發展核能，環保組織「地球之友」對此表示不滿。
此外，歐盟也將推動一系列減少使用能源行動，鼓勵使用節省能源電器、照明設備及暖氣，包括2年內淘汰舊式燈泡，要求街道、家庭及辦公室改用省電燈泡，希望達成減少13%的能源使用。 
 
歐盟綠色環保能源目標 

二氧化碳排放量
★15會員國同意2012年前減8%排量。
☆所有27個會員國將2020年前減少排放量20%。

再生能源
★使用量2010年前應佔總能源12%，但截至前年只達低於3%。
☆使用量2020年前應佔總能源20%。

生物燃料
★使用量2010年前應佔交通能源消耗7.5%，但截至前年只達低於1%。
☆使用量2020年前應佔交通能源消耗量10%。

節省能源
★無目標，但有推行低電力活動。
☆推行使用省電家電，包括要求街道、辦公室及家庭改用省電燈泡，以期減少使用13%能源。

註：★現行政策 ☆未來目標

資料來源：美聯社

2007年02月03日 蘋果日報

「人類是全球暖化真兇」
聯國報告指控 美油廠懸33萬徵反證

【陳怡妏╱綜合外電報導】聯合國跨政府氣候變遷小組（Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change，簡稱IPCC）昨在巴黎公布前所未見的嚴厲報告，把造成地球暖化的罪魁禍首指向人類，警告未來天氣變化將更加劇烈，力促各國政府盡速制定政策解決暖化問題。 

可能產生2億難民
IPCC這份研究報告召集130餘國2500名科學家合力進行，報告認為過去半世紀地球溫度不斷上升「很可能」是受到人類燃燒石油等活動影響，也就是地球暖化「有九成機率」是人類自己種下的禍根，超越IPCC在2001年報告認為的六成六機率。
聯合國環境規劃署署長史坦能（Achim Steiner）說：「人們應該記得在2007年2月2日這天，我們確定了人類是全球暖化真兇。」聯合國官員和環保團體都希望這份報告能促使美國等溫室氣體排放大國，採取行動降低排放量。
報告指出，未來地球除會繼續暖化，海平面也可能上升，屆時如我國友邦島國吉里巴斯，濱海城市如上海、布宜諾斯艾利斯等，都將面臨水患威脅。溫室氣體增加促使海水酸化，屆時澳洲大堡礁等海底美景將不復見。到本世紀末，全球暖化難民數量恐怕將達2億人。 

歐觀光點熄燈響應
西歐多個遊人如織的觀光景點，如巴黎艾菲爾鐵塔、羅馬圓形競技場，前晚響應環保團體發起的「讓地球休息5分鐘」活動，熄燈5分鐘，希望透過短暫黑暗提醒大家全球暖化的嚴重性。
不過，美國石油龍頭艾克森美孚（ExxonMobil）贊助的美國企業研究所，認為聯合國報告言過其實，近日公開懸賞一萬美元（約33萬元台幣），鼓勵全球科學家和經濟學家提出反證，駁斥聯合國的暖化報告。 

聯合國IPCC報告要點
◎地球表面溫度上升「很可能」肇因於人類活動
◎2100年時，地球平均氣溫可能增加1.8~4℃，海平面上升18~58公分
◎未來強烈熱帶風暴、熱浪和豪雨發生頻率可能增加
◎2100年時，南北極在夏季很可能已經看不到冰山蹤影
◎大氣中二氧化碳濃度增加，海水會愈來愈酸
◎未來陸地上的氣溫會愈來愈溫暖，寒冷的日子愈來愈少
◎未來將有更多地區受到乾旱影響
資料來源：綜合外電

2007年01月26日 蘋果日報

30年首見 壺口瀑布未冰封
全球暖化影響 臘月河水狂奔

【大陸中心╱綜合外電報導】山西省黃河壺口瀑布，這個曾經由「小黑」柯受良創下飛車紀錄的著名景點，近日受到全球暖化所影響，30年來首度未能進入冰封狀態，滾滾黃河水夾帶著少許冰凌，在往年早已冰封的河床上狂奔怒吼，鄰近的居民對於這個30年來首見的冬日景觀也是嘖嘖稱奇。 

雖然看不到河道冰封的壯觀景象，但被積冰所覆蓋的河道兩岸，懸掛著各種形態的冰凌（指因氣溫過低，造成流洩的河水瞬間結為冰柱），晶瑩剔透，同樣引得遊客流連忘返。 

南多雪低溫北偏暖
據中新社報導，由於全球氣候異常，中國今年出現了南方多雪低溫，北部少雪偏暖的奇異景象，而陝西北部近來中午的平均溫度更是高達攝氏零度以上，造成位於陜西 、山西兩省交界處的黃河壺口瀑布遲遲未能進入冰封階段。氣象人員表示，這是30多年來，壺口瀑布第一次到了隆冬臘月卻仍波濤奔騰。
以往的壺口瀑布，每到二十四節氣中的「小雪」時節（為農曆10月12日），黃河上游便會流下大量冰凌。待「大雪」（農曆10月27日）之後，冰凌堆積堵塞河道，加上天寒，瀑布底層的「十里龍槽」便會一夜冰封，成為一個厚達8公尺的「冰橋」，也形成當地民謠中「小雪流凌，大雪河橋」的景象。
今年的氣候異常不僅使得許多花卉異常開放，中國各地更是大雪、大霧頻傳，不僅造成交通中斷，更帶來多起災害。

未來農產量恐降37％
中國氣象局與中國科學院日前發布的「氣候變化國家評估報告」中指出，這一個全球性的氣候暖化現象，將造成中國未來主要農作物產量下降37%，影響中國長期的糧食安全。同時，氣候異常將使得水資源的供應更不穩定，未來各地水、旱災害的出現頻率將增加。

氣候暖化對中國帶來的影響
◎青海省
中國最大鹹水湖青海湖面積萎縮，恐在200年內消失。
◎寧夏自治區
連續六百多天沒有正常下一場雨。前年更經歷50年來從未見的大旱災。
◎西南地區
喜馬拉雅山的冰川加速消融，50年後中國和南亞地區將面臨無水可喝的困境。
◎西北、華北地區
降水量逐年減少造成河流污染問題增加，且因水氣蒸發量增加，水、旱災頻率將提高。
資料來源：《蘋果》資料室