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歡迎光臨，公平貿易小店

台北市永康公園旁佇立著一家個性小店，經過的路人常常帶著疑惑的眼光，端詳著小店門口上的紙板標示：這是一家公平貿易（Fair Trade）的小店。

走進這家小店，店內從天花板到架上排滿了琳瑯滿目的個性商品，有精巧可愛的手工藝品，也有實用的生活雜貨與食品。不同的是，這些商品都穿插著幾張手寫的說明卡片，告訴消費者這些商品的生產地來源、所使用的材質，以及支持這些生產者的公平貿易團體，當然這些商品全都有公平貿易所認證的標誌做背書。

購物：也可以兼顧社會責任

別小看這家只有兩坪大小，名為「Earth Tree」的公平貿易小店，它可是目前全台灣唯一專門販售公平貿易商品的商店，所有的商品都是由日本兩大公平貿易團體「People Tree」與「Nepali Bazaro」所授權供應，也是亞洲除了日本之外，唯一可以購買到這兩家公平貿易團體所設計開發的商品。

不過，對於台灣的消費者而言，這些都是陌生的品牌，因為很多人連公平貿易的意義都不太了解；許多人在購買商品時，也很少會去思考這件商品價值的背後，是不是真正做到了合理的利潤分配，也就是生產者是否拿到合理的工資，抑或這件商品的生產過程中，生產者是否被迫暴露在危險的生產環境中工作？而這些思考正是公平貿易團體所訴求的基本精神。

開業將近一年，「Earth Tree」店長王靖宜坦承，她是在開了這家店之後才發現，原來大部分的台灣人都沒有聽過公平貿易這個名詞，即使有人聽過，也多半是因為到星巴克咖啡店消費時，看到店內販售的公平貿易咖啡豆，才產生一點印象。

「這個現象說明台灣人在購物上還是沒有進步。」王靖宜感嘆。也就是說，大多數人的購物心態還是只求便宜又大碗，追求量多卻又隨意丟棄，結果造成工廠透過剝削勞工的方式來降低成本，以求大量生產便宜的商品。

響應：30世代單身女性是主力

不過，讓王靖宜感到欣慰的是，就算很多人沒有聽過，但是經過解說後，不少人成為忠實的顧客，其中又以30歲左右的單身女子最多，「可能是女孩子比較有同情心吧。」王靖宜笑著說，還有住在中南部的客人，固定每月北上來大量採購，用實際行動支持公平貿易的商品。

自從開起公平貿易商品的小店後，王靖宜說，現在她逛街購物都會思考每件商品背後，是不是嚴重剝削了生產者，「這是一種生活態度，沒有人會因為你多花了一點錢購買公平貿易商品而褒獎你，但是這樣的行為卻會讓自己舒服，快樂。」這是王靖宜對於為什麼要購買公平貿易商品的解釋。

王靖宜說，拜樂活風潮之賜，這幾年很多消費者開始對天然素材的手工藝品感到興趣，所以會關注這一類的商店。不過，在消費態度上，台灣樂活者除了要求基本的天然、有機農產品與生活用品外，也應該開始進一步省思，當你在購買這些商品的時候，背後的生產者是否也獲得了公平與正義的真正報酬。

趨勢：新消費倫理時代到臨

公平貿易原本只是1940與1950年代由宗教團體與非營利組織，協助分銷貧窮落後國家的一些手工藝商品，以增加當地人的收入，但是進入1960年代後，荷蘭首先開設「第三世界店舖」，專門銷售符合公平貿易規則的發展中國家產品，這些世界商店在1970年代蓬勃發展於歐洲，許多公平貿易團體也開始互通有無。

1990年代以後，公平貿易產品從手工藝品發展到農產品，從咖啡、茶，到巧克力、糖、果汁及各式食品，讓消費者有更多選擇；而為了讓公平貿易商品進入主流市場，以期大眾在世界商店之外，也能買到公平交易商品，各種公平貿易標籤的認證行動也開始展開。

如今在歐美，特別是在英國，公平貿易已經成為社會大眾在消費倫理上倡導的主流價值。在英國，民眾願意多付一點錢來購買這些公平交易商品，各大超市及量販店為了因應英國民眾的主動需求，在商品架上不斷增加經過認證的公平貿易產品，有超過一千五百種公平貿易產品在英國出售，這些產品多半來自非洲、拉丁美洲及亞洲等一些貧窮弱勢國家。

創業：公平貿易是門好生意

位於英國蘭開夏的小鎮嘉斯頓（Garstang），更是號稱全世界第一個「公平貿易鎮」，因為這個小鎮無論是在學校、教會、修車廠及美容院等一般鎮民生活場所，都販售有公平貿易商品，徹底沉浸在一個公平貿易的購物環境中。

但是在台灣，即使擁有高學歷的知識份子對於「公平貿易」這四個字仍感到陌生，很多人對公平貿易的印象，多半來自2003年星巴克咖啡店開始引進販售的公平貿易咖啡豆。

去年，台灣無印良品也開始在架上販賣公平貿易的商品，但是也僅限於咖啡豆，很多台灣消費者不知道，原來公平貿易運動自1960年代推廣到今天，除了生產茶、咖啡與手工藝品之外，已經增加許多日常生活商品種類，包括嬰兒食品在內。

根據國際公平貿易標籤組織統計，全世界公平交易的銷售額在2005年已經達到11億英鎊（約新台幣700億元），每年約有將近30～40％的成長率，這不僅顯示有愈來愈多的弱勢生產者受惠於公平交易運動，一種新的倫理消費觀念也開始在新世紀的社會中蔓延開來，這種倫理消費觀念強調的不僅是過去提倡的環保有機觀念，更擴大範圍關注在社會的公平正義層面。

什麼是公平貿易？

公平貿易旨在改變傳統國際貿易系統中被邊緣化的生產者，以追求國際交易更大的公平性。透過透明的商業機制支援第三世界的經濟弱勢者，以遵守給付合理工資、長期契約關係、提供平等就業機會、發揚傳統生產技術，以及使用天然原料避免環境污染等原則，進而幫助這些經濟弱者能夠自食其力，改善生活。

目前，全球有四個主要的公平貿易體系：

◎國際公平貿易標籤組織（Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, FLO）：訂定公平買賣國際標準與認證生產團體的產品，為最大及最多人承認的公平貿易標籤發行團體。

◎國際公平貿易協會（International Fair Trade Association, IFTA）：由支持公平貿易團體所組成的協會，自2004年開始，給予公平貿易團體認證的標籤。

◎歐洲世界商店連線（Network of European Worldshops, NEW）：這是由全歐洲十三個國家十五個世界商店所組成的協會。

◎歐洲公平貿易協會（European Fair Trade Association, EFTA）：乃歐洲地區公平貿易組織的連線，每年都會發行關於公平貿易市場的出版品。

以上四個國際性主要的公平貿易組織於1998年共同成立FINE非正式聯盟，共同訂定與協調公平貿易相關的準則，並向歐盟發聲。

更多精選文章─請至30雜誌網( http://www.30.com.tw/ )

(本文摘自4月號30雜誌)

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全年的慶祝活動

東京所有的季節都有各種各樣的活動﹐全年中每一天在東京的某一處都有紀念或者慶祝活動舉行。下面是一些主要活動﹕ 1月 　1月1日　新年祈禱 　大家穿上傳統的和服前往神社祈禱一個好年成。 　1月2日　皇宮一般參拜祝賀 　皇族一家將出現在皇宮的檢閱臺上與來訪者共祝新年。 　1月6日　出初儀式 　消防隊員穿著傳統服飾﹐在東京大型展覽廳舉行大型遊行文藝演出。 　1月下旬 ~ 3月中旬    大島 山茶節 　慶祝伊豆大島山茶盛開的活動。 2月 　2月3日　節分 　扔豆子節。打走惡鬼﹐迎來福神。 　2月底 ~ 3月初　梅花節 　在湯島天神神社舉辦。 3月 　　　3月3日　女孩節 　女孩節一般在家裡擺設娃娃和特別裝飾品慶祝。 　3月3日　達磨（圓頭像集市） 　在東京的一些神社裡出售好運大達磨。最大的要數深大寺。 　3月18日　金龍舞 　在淺草的淺草寺。 4月 　　　3月底 ~4月初　觀賞櫻花 　賞花大會在櫻花樹下到處可見。 　4月17日　上野東照宮神社大節 　紀念第一代德川將軍。 　4月下旬 ~ 5月上旬    龜戶天神社 籐節 　為慶祝春天的到來，舉行競演日本大鼓、放生鯉魚、在野外飲茶休息等活動。 　4月30日 ~ 5月6日    大國魂神社 黑暗節 　武藏國的守護神大國魂大神的廟會，最熱鬧的是競演大鼓及神輿。 5月 　5月5日　兒童節 　兒童節是正式節日﹐但是﹐傳統上來講﹐是男孩子的節日。每家在門外掛起鯉魚旗飄帶﹐全家人吃包著橡樹葉子的甜米餅乾。 　5月5日　水天宮大節 　5月中旬　神田節（右圖） 　在神田明神社﹐東京三大節日之一。最有特色的士70多架神轎和藝者的舞蹈表演。 　5月中旬　三社節 　在淺草神社﹐東京三大節日之一﹐抬出有眾多的神轎。 6月 　6月　　鳥越神社大節 　夜間抬神轎。 　6月10日 ~ 16日　山王節 　在日枝神社﹐東京三大節之一﹐抬出有眾多的神轎。 7月 　7月1日　水上節 　隅田川上傳統的行船儀式。 　7月6日 ~ 8日　入谷鬼子母神 牽牛花節 　能領略夏日裡牽牛花風情的節日。 　7月7日　七夕節(右下圖） 　竹枝上拴上許多紙條﹐在紙條上面寫下每個人的祈禱。 　7月9日‧10日　淺草寺 四萬六千日（酸漿市） 　若是這一天前去參拜能得到相當於參拜了四萬六千日的收益，酸漿為參拜贈禮。 　7月17日 ~ 8月上旬　上野夏季納涼會 　在上野的不忍池展開各種演藝的納涼會。 　7月的最後一個星期六　隅田川焰火大會 　在隅田川河畔及淺草‧兩國兩地發放近2萬發的焰火。 　7月底　　隅田川花火大會 　東京最大的花火大會。從7月底到8月中旬﹐在東京大約有12個大花火晚會。 8月 　8月上旬　神宮外苑焰火大會 　在神宮球場等4處發放近1萬發的焰火。球場內指定席也可觀看現場演唱會。 　8月第二個星期六    東京灣焰火盛會 　晴海埠頭的焰火大會，其間直徑約36釐米的大型焰火把夜空照的通亮，極具震撼力。 　8月　住吉神社節 　龍舞﹑抬神轎等。 　8月　富崗八幡宮深川節 　100多架神轎子。 　8月　神樂阪阿波舞 　傳統的街巷舞蹈街。 　8月中旬的星期五、六、日　麻布十番納涼節 　因在在日外國人眾多的地區舉行，會擺出代表各國風味的飲食攤，還有盂蘭盆會舞蹈大會等。 　8月25日　淺草桑巴舞狂歡節 　邀請來自巴西Rio de Janeiro的舞蹈隊和國內應征的舞蹈隊，在淺草展開狂歡遊行。 　8月26日 ~ 28日　東京阿波舞節（高圓寺） 　發源於四國德島的阿波舞在東京熱演，有許多來自德島本家的參加者。 --->> 煙火大會 9月 　9月中旬　袋節（池袋站西口附近） 　得名於“池袋”的“袋”字的當地節日。白天晚上都有大型活動舉行以及露天設攤，熱鬧非常。 　9月21日　根津權現節 　在根津神社舉辦﹐開始于江戶時代。 10月 　10月初　木場的角乘節 　在浮在水上的木頭上表演舞蹈雜技。 　10月11 ~ 13日　御會式 　在上池本門寺舉行。晚間點亮許多燈籠﹐還有大型紙製裝飾。 　10月中旬 ~ 11月上旬　東京都觀賞菊花大會（日比谷公園） 　10月中旬 ~ 11月下旬　淺草菊花展（淺草寺） 　10月中旬 ~ 11月下旬　菊花節 　在許多神社﹑寺院或者公園舉行。 11月 　10月下旬 ~ 11月下旬　龜戶天神 菊花節 　11月1日~ 23日 　文京菊花節（湯島神社） 　以觀賞著稱的菊花盛開的季節裡，各地都舉行菊花的展覽會。 　11月3日 　白鷺之舞（淺草寺） 　身穿白鷺之衫的少女在境內偏偏起舞，體現傳頌至今的平安時代的風雅。 　11月　酋集市 　一些神社用花木的枝干花彩裝飾起來﹐出售叫做庫麻泰的吉祥物耙子。 　11月15日　七五三 　大部份神社慶祝﹐穿著漂亮的三歲﹐五歲﹐和七歲的孩子們。 12月 　12月14日　義士節 　在泉岳寺院舉行。紀念47名忠臣義士。 　12月15日 ~ 16日（1月15日 ~ 16日也有）    世紀谷BORO市 　小田原城主北條氏政始辦於一‧六號舉行的自由市場。 　12月17日 ~19日　羽毛板子集市 　在淺草的淺草寺舉行傳統的日本比賽項目。 　12月31日　除夕之夜 　到了深夜﹐寺廟撞S響108次鐘聲。根據佛教思想﹐它將驅除困擾我們的世俗108種慾望。 http://www.tcvb.or.jp/ch/index.htm

In Berlin, One Wall Down and Thousands to Paint


柏林一牆倒塌 滿城塗鴉


Kreuzberg, a bohemian neighborhood where Berlin’s Strassenkultur thrives, is home to projects by well-known street artists like GFA-Crew.

By ANDREAS TZORTZIS
Published: March 2, 2008


Spray cans clink in Ali’s bag as he walks down a cobblestone street in Berlin’s post-hip neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg. He stops in front of a grocery truck and pulls out a can. He strokes his name in bubbly, bright red letters, before leaving his mark on a telephone booth, a dozen doors and a concrete wall next to the train tracks.
走在柏林的後嘻哈社區普倫茨勞堡的圓石街上，幾罐噴漆在阿里的袋子裡碰撞作響。來到一輛貨卡前時，他停下腳步，掏出一罐漆。然後以圓胖、鮮豔的紅字，噴下他的大名，接著在一個電話亭、12道門、火車軌旁的一道水泥牆留下他的標記。


“It’s a great feeling doing a piece at night and coming back the day after to look at it,” said Ali, 31, an industrial designer who didn’t want his surname used to avoid prosecution. “I also see it as reclaiming the city and shaping my urban environment.”
不願透露姓氏，以免吃官司的31歲工業設計師阿里說：「夜裡完成作品，第二天重回舊地欣賞的感覺真好。我把它當作是重新宣示這個城市的主權，還有重新點綴我的都市環境。」


Apparently, many Berliners feel the same. The city’s skyline might be defined by a Sputnik-era TV tower, bombed-out churches and the ghost of a certain wall that once split the German capital. But its streetscape is largely molded by graffiti-covered,–city in Europe.
顯然，許多柏林人都有同感。使這個城市天際線輪廓分明的特色，可能是「史普尼克」人造衛星時代的電視塔、被炸得面目全非的教堂、曾將這個德國首都一分為二的圍牆的些許殘跡。但是，柏林的街景大致是以塗鴉構成，稱柏林為歐洲被「轟」得最慘的城市應不為過，「轟」是指塗鴉滿布的俚語。


Among the graffiti “writers” who have left their mark are Banksy, the art world mystery, whose stenciled rat in a police uniform decorates a curb in Mitte. Os Gemeos, the Brazilian twins whose cartoonish works have commanded $20,000 at the Deitch Projects in New York City, have spray painted a five-story-high mural of a yellow man in an orange shirt on a building on Oppelner Strasse. And the shaking fist of the Berlin artist Kripoe swings from traffic signs, elevated train tracks and, perhaps most spectacularly, a piling in the middle of the Spree River.
留下標記的塗鴉「作者」，包括藝術界的謎樣人物班克西，他的穿警衣模板老鼠，還在米特區的道路邊緣上。卡通作品在紐約市「迪克計畫」美術館可賣到2萬美元的巴西雙胞胎歐斯‧吉米歐斯，則是以噴漆畫了一個五層樓高的壁畫，一個黃顏色的人，穿著橘襯衫，在歐本那街的一棟建築上。柏林藝術家克里波的搖擺拳頭，不僅擺動在交通號誌、高架鐵軌上，最奇觀的一個，是在斯普雷河水中央的一個樁基上。


“It’s like everyone grabbed a can of paint at one point and just went for it,” said the New York-based photographer Peter Sutherland. “It’s become a real paradise for writers.”
紐約攝影家彼得‧沙瑟蘭說：「就彷彿每個人都在某個時刻抓了罐漆，畫將起來。它成了作者的真天堂。」


The roots of graffiti culture can be traced back to West Berlin in the early 1980s, when the American-occupied sector was the reluctant melting pot of anarchist punks, Turkish immigrants and West German draft resisters.
此地塗鴉文化的起源，可回溯到1980年代初期的西柏林。當時美軍占領區不得不然地成了無政府主義的龐克族、土耳其移民和反抗徵兵的西德人的大熔爐。


While the west face of the Berlin Wall was blanketed with graffiti, the east face was orderly and gray. All that changed, with the fall of the wall in 1989, which opened up vast new blank walls virtually overnight.
當時雖然柏林圍牆的西面滿是塗鴉，東面卻是整潔的一片灰色。但這一切在1989年柏林圍牆倒塌後有了轉變。一夜間，極廣大的空白牆面開放了。


“It was kind of like New York,” said Thomas Peiser, owner of a graffiti supply store in the gritty Kreuzberg neighborhood. “It was paradise to us.”
風沙大的克羅柏格區一家塗鴉商品店的老闆湯瑪斯‧派瑟說：「它有點像紐約，是我們的天堂。」


Galleries like Circleculture, a stark storefront in Mitte, regularly exhibit internationally known street artists like Anton Unai, who often works with objects he finds on the street, and Shepard Fairey, the creator of “Obey, Giant” and, most recently, a popular poster of Barack Obama.
許多藝廊，包括在米特區有個醒目門面的「圓形文化」，都會固定展出國際知名街頭藝術家的作品。安東‧烏奈是其一，他經常以在街上發現的物件完成創作。薛帕德‧費里是其二，他是「聽話，巨人」和一張「巴拉克‧歐巴馬」人氣海報的創作者。


Last summer, Adrian Nabi, a former publisher of the pioneering Berlin graffiti magazine Backjumps, organized a “live issue,” a two-month-long graffiti festival which attracted more than 15,000 people. He still admires the audacity of the West Berlin graffiti writers of his youth.
去夏，柏林塗鴉先驅雜誌「後跳」的前發行人亞德里安‧納比，舉辦了以「當前議題」為名的兩個月塗鴉節，吸引逾15,000人參與。他對他年輕時代那些西柏林塗鴉作者的大膽作風，依然佩服。


“A writer is far more brash,” Mr. Nabi said. “They take the entire city for themselves.”
納比說：「塗鴉作者的臉皮厚得多。他們把整座城市看成自己的。」

A Speck of Sunlight Is a Town’s Annual Alarm Clock


陽光是小鎮鬧鐘 一年一鬧


Longyearbyen, Norway, which calls itself the world’s northernmost town, is in total darkness from mid-November through January.

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: March 3, 2008



LONGYEARBYEN, Norway – Early this month, this remote Arctic settlement – which calls itself as the northernmost town in the world – was buzzing with excitement and expectation.
位於北極區的挪威偏遠新拓居地隆伊爾拜恩鎮號稱舉世最北的小鎮。這個月初，鎮內洋溢一股興奮與期待的氣氛。


Longyearbyen is about 600 miles from the North Pole.

The 2,000 inhabitants of Longyearbyen were eagerly awaiting a visitor, a guest to warm the air and make the town’s colors come alive; the white of the snow; the deep blue of the water; the red, yellow and green of the wooden homes, banks, restaurants, schools and the post office.
隆鎮的兩千鎮民熱切期待一名訪客；這個貴客使空氣頓時暖和，並使鎮內的色調鮮活起來：雪的白，海水的湛藍，木屋、銀行、餐館、學校與郵局的紅、黃、綠。


On March 8, the sun rose again in Longyearbyen, on an island 965 kilometers from the North Pole, for the first time since October. While most of the world takes light and shadows for granted, for residents here, after months of perpetual darkness, the return of sunlight is a very big event.
3月8日這一天，太陽再度在距離北極965公里的隆鎮升起；這是去年10月以來，太陽首次在這裡露臉。全球多數地方的人將光、影視為理所當然，對隆鎮的居民而言，在歷經漫漫數月的永夜後，太陽光再度出現可是件很大的事。


Now, the wheels are turning again. Inger Marie Hegvik, who has worked at the airport for 15 years, said that she sleeps two to three hours more in the dark months, and that her energy has rose dramatically in the days leading up to March 8.
如今，輪子已經再度轉動。已在機場工作15年的英吉兒‧瑪麗‧赫格維克表示，每逢永夜的日子，她每天要多睡二、三小時，在3月8日來臨前的一段日子裡，她的精神也好了許多。


“It is excellent,” she said, shopping for wine at the Coop, a local store. “Everything becomes easier.” To celebrate the sun’s arrival, her office has planned a party at a mountain cabin.
她在隆鎮的Coop商店買酒時說：「太棒了。一切變得輕鬆許多。」為慶祝太陽再度來臨，她的辦公室同仁打算在個山中小屋辦場派對。


Longyearbyen, originally a coal-mining town named for the American who founded it a century ago, is in total darkness from mid-November through January. During the first part of November and in February, when the sun is well below the horizon, daytime is only indirect light, a brief period of bluish twilight.
隆鎮原是個產煤的小鎮，以100年前造鎮的美國人之名命名，每年的11月中旬至翌年的元月是永夜。在11月初與2月，太陽位於地平線以下，白天只出現間接的光。這是藍色微光短暫出現的時節。


But now, each day is 20 minutes longer than the day before, and noticeably brighter. For the few weeks, residents will enjoy the diurnal alternation of light and darkness that is usual elsewhere.
然而現在今，每一天的白天都比前一天多出20分鐘，而且更亮。往後的幾個星期，當地居民將可享受其他地方屬於稀鬆平常的白天、黑夜每日交替。


By the end of March, the transformation will be complete: from April through September, there will be perpetual day in this town, now home to the university and a thriving tourist industry, as well as miners.
到3月底，轉變就會完成：4月至9月間，隆鎮出現永晝。隆鎮已有一所大學、欣欣向榮的觀光業及許多礦工。


The arrival of daylight is like a yearly rebirth, transforming lives and routines. While people do not actually hibernate, residents say they tire easily in the dark winter. Graduate students take naps at their desks.
白晝來臨有如一年一次的重生，並改變生命與日常節奏。民眾當然不會冬眠，然而當地居民表示，他們每逢永夜的冬季就比較容易疲倦；研究生常在課堂上打盹。


Suddenly, people will be driving their cars and scooters in light rather than darkness. They can see their kids when they run on ahead. They can hike up the glacier.
突然間，人們變成在白天而不是黑夜裡開車或騎速克達；自己的小孩一股勁往前跑時他們可以看得到，也可以在冰河中途步旅行。


The return of the sun also means the return of warmth to this frigid land, although that concept is relative. Summer temperatures average only 6 degrees Celsius. The record high is 18.
雖然是相對的概念，太陽去而復返也意味溫暖重回這塊嚴寒的土地。夏季的平均氣溫約僅攝氏6度，最高紀錄是18度。


But for many longtime inhabitants there is a sense of regret this time of year, as well. The perpetual night in Longyearbyen’s winter can be a time of contemplation. “Winter is so nice, you have all these things you want to do,” said Birgit Brekken, who moved here as a nurse 30 years ago and now works in a boutique that is getting its first trickle of tourists. “You write long letters instead of making a phone call. It’s a time when you can slow down and read.”
然而對許多久居隆鎮的居民而言，每年的這個時候也有另一種遺憾。隆鎮冬季的永夜也是沈思的時節。柏吉蒂‧布雷肯30年前以護士身分搬來隆鎮，目前在一家已經開始接待首批遊客的時裝精品店工作‧她說：「冬季真好，你可以做許多想做的事。你可以寫長信，而不是打電話。這是你可以放慢節奏，好好閱讀的時節。」


Now, she said, “the sun is coming back, and you have to get busy again.”
她說，如今，「太陽回來了；你又有得忙了」。

Icy Preserve for Protecting Plants in Peril


冰天雪地保存植物生機


The entrance to the Global Seed Vault, on a Norwegian Island near the North Pole. This week it received its first seeds, under a project to store every type of seed from every seed collection in the world. More Photos >

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: February 29, 2008


LONGYEARBYEN, Norway – With plant species disappearing at an alarming rate, scientists and governments are creating a global network of plant banks to store seeds and sprouts, precious genetic resources that may be needed for man to adapt the world’s food supply to climate change.
隨著植物種類以嚇人的速度滅絕，學界和官界正在建立全球植物銀行網，儲存種子和幼芽，對於人類因應氣候變遷供應全球糧食方面，珍貴的遺傳種源可能派得上用場。


The leader of that effort, the Global Seed Vault near here, received its first seeds, millions of them. Bored into the middle of a frozen Arctic mountain topped with snow, the vault’s goal is to store and protect samples of every type of seed from every seed collection in the world.
活動的領導者、挪威的「全球種子地窖」最近收到第一批種子，有幾百萬粒。這座地窖是在北極區鑽開一座白雪皚皚的冰凍山岳中間而建成，目標是儲存和保護全球收集到的每一批種子中每一類種子的樣本。


Global Seed Vault

Thousands of neatly stacked and labeled gray boxes of seeds – peas from Nigeria, corn from Mexico – reside in this glazed cavelike structure, forming a sort of backup hard drive, in case natural disasters or human errors erase the seeds from the outside world.
幾千箱堆放整齊、貼了標示的灰色箱子，裡面裝了種子，有奈及利亞的豆子和墨西哥的玉米種子，儲存在這座有冰層覆蓋如洞穴般的建築內，功能類似備用硬碟，以防外面世界的種子萬一遭到天災人禍滅絕。


Descending almost 150 meters under the permafrost, the entrance tunnel to the seed vault is designed to withstand bomb blasts and earthquakes. An automated digital monitoring system controls temperature and provides security akin to a missile silo. No one person has all the codes for entrance.
這座地窖深入永凍土下近150公尺，通往種子地窖的入口隧道的設計禁得起炸彈爆炸和地震。自動監控系統控制溫度，並提供類似地下飛彈發射台的安全措施。沒有人握有進入地窖的所有密碼。


Longyearbyen is in Norway, 600 miles from the North Pole.

The Global Vault is part of a broader effort to gather and systematize information about plants and their genes, which climate change experts say may indeed prove more valuable than gold. In Leuven, Belgium, scientists are scouring the world for banana samples and preserving their shoots in liquid nitrogen before they become extinct. A similar effort is under way in France on coffee plants. A number of plants, most from the tropics, do not produce seeds that can be stored.
全球種子地窖是收集植物和它們的基因，並把有關資訊系統化的廣泛工程的一部分，氣候變遷專家說，此一收藏可能確實證明比黃金還貴重。比利時魯汶的科學家在世界各地收集香蕉樣本，把香蕉的幼苗保存在液態氮中，以防絕種。法國對於咖啡樹也在進行類似的工作。一些植物，大部分來自於熱帶，不會產生可供保存的種子。


For years, a mixed network of seed banks has been amassing seed and shoot collections in a haphazard manner. Labs in Mexico banked corn species. Those in Nigeria banked cassava. Now these efforts are being urgently consolidated and systematized, in part because of better technology to preserve plant genes and in part because of the rising alarm about climate change and its impact on world food production.
多年來，一個混雜的種子銀行網，亂無章法地收集種子和幼苗。墨西哥實驗室儲存各種玉米。奈及利亞實驗室儲存木薯。現在這些工作被緊急整合和系統化，部分原因是氣候變遷及對其衝擊全球糧食生產的憂慮持續升高。


“We started thinking about this post-9/11 and on the heels of Hurricane Katrina,” said Cary Fowler, president of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, a nonprofit group that runs the vault. “Everyone was saying, why didn’t anyone prepare for a hurricane before? We knew it was going to happen.”
經營管理地窖的非營利團體「全球作物多樣性信託基金會」主席凱瑞‧法勒說：「在911恐怖攻擊和卡翠納颶風後，我們開始思考這個問題。人人都說，我們明知道有颶風會來，為何之前沒有人未雨綢繆？」


The urgency of the problem was underscored as wheat prices rose to record highs and wheat stores dropped to the lowest level in 35 years. A series of droughts and new diseases cut wheat production in many parts of the world. “The erosion of plants’ genetic resources is really going fast,” said Dr. Rony Swennen, head of the division of crop biotechnology at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, who has preserved half of the world’s 1,200 banana types. “We’re at a critical moment and if we don’t act fast, we’re going to lose a lot of plants that we may need.”
隨著小麥價格飆漲到歷史新高，儲存量則降到35年來新低，更凸顯了問題的急迫性。一連串的旱災和新病蟲害使世界許多地方的小麥產量減少。比利時天主教魯汶大學的作物生物科技部門主管羅尼．史文南說：「植物遺傳種源被侵害的速度確實很快。」他保存了全球1,200種香蕉品種的半數。「我們處於關鍵時刻，如果我們不快速反應，將損失許多我們也許需要的植物。」


The United Nations International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources, ratified in 2004, created a formal global network for banking and sharing seeds, as well as for studying their genetic traits.
聯合國2004年批准糧農植物遺傳資源國際公約，建立了全球儲存和共享種子，以及研究種子遺傳特性的正式網絡。


A system of plant banks could be crucial in responding to climate crises since it could identify genetic material and plant strains better able to cope with a changed environment.
建立植物銀行體系對因應氣候危機可能極為關鍵，因為這個體系能確定遺傳物質和植物品種類別，增強因應環境變化的能力。


Here at the Global Vault, hundreds of boxes containing seeds from Syria to Mexico were recently moved into a freezing vault to be placed in suspended animation. They harbor a vast range of qualities, like the ability to withstand drier, warmer climate.
在全球種子地窖，幾百個箱子裝了從敘利亞到墨西哥的各地種子，最近被送進一個冷凍的保險庫，進入假死狀態。這些種子具有各種不同的特性，像是能忍受更乾燥和更溫暖氣候的能力。


Climate change is expected to bring new weather stresses, as well as new plant pests into agricultural regions. Heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions will produce not just global warming but an increase in extreme weather events, like floods and droughts, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded.
聯合國跨政府氣候變遷小組的結論是，氣候變遷將帶來新的天氣壓力，以及把新的植物害蟲帶到農業區。排放二氧化碳產生的大氣增溫效應不單將使全球暖化，也會使極端異常的氣候災害增多，像是洪水和旱災。


The importance and vulnerability of seed banks have become apparent in recent years. Seed banks in Afghanistan and Iraq were destroyed during conflicts in those nations, by looters who were after the plastic containers that held the seeds. In the Philippines, a typhoon bore through the wall of a seed bank, destroying numerous samples.
種子銀行的重要性和脆弱性近年來日益明顯。阿富汗和伊拉克的種子銀行在這些國家的衝突中被暴民摧毀，他們覬覦用來裝種子的塑膠容器。在菲律賓，一個颱風吹毀一間種子銀行的牆，摧毀許多樣本。


On Wednesday, workers moved boxes of hundreds of seeds in the Global Seed Vault near Longyearbyen, on a Norwegian island.

In reviewing seed banks a few years ago, Dr. Fowler said: “We said, we may have some of the best seed banks in the world, but look at where they are: Peru, Colombia, Syria, India, Ethiopia, the Philippines. So a lot of us were asking, what’s plan B?”
法勒回顧幾年前的種子銀行時說：「我們說，我們也許有一些全球最好的種子銀行，但看看它們所在的地方：秘魯、哥倫比亞、敘利亞、印度、衣索比亞和菲律賓。因此我們之間很多人問，B計畫是什麼？」


The goal of the new global plant banking system is to protect the precious stored plant genes from the vagaries of climate, politics and human error. Many banks are now “in countries where the political situation is not stable, and it is difficult to rely on refrigeration,” Dr. Swennen said. Seeds must be stored at minus 20 degrees Celsius, that is, well below freezing, and plants that rely on cryopreservation must be far colder.
新的全球植物銀行體系的目標是保護珍貴的已儲存植物基因，免於被氣候、政治和人為疏失等難以預測的異常情況破壞。史文南說，許多銀行目前設在「政治情勢不穩定的國家，而且要依賴冷凍保存十分困難」。種子必須儲存在攝氏零下20度，也就是比冰點的溫度還低得多，依賴冷凍保存的植物必須在更低的溫度下。


Underground near Longyearbyen, just 965 kilometers from the North Pole, the seeds will stay frozen despite power failures. The Global Crop Diversity trust is also financing research into methods for storing genetic material from plants like bananas and coconuts that cannot be stored as seed.
靠近距北極只有965公里的朗伊爾城地底下，就算停電，種子也能保持冷凍狀態。全球作物多樣性信託基金會也資助研究儲存遺傳物質的方法，用於某些種子無法儲存的植物，像是香蕉和椰子。


“You need a system to conserve the variety so it doesn’t go extinct,” Dr. Fowler said. “A farmer may make a bowl of porridge with the last seeds of a strain that is of no use to him, and then it’s gone. And potentially those are exactly the genes we will need a decade later.”
法勒說：「你需要一套保存各種品種的系統，以免絕種。一位農夫也許拿對他沒有用的某個品種的最後一些種子煮一碗粥，這個品種就絕種了。而這些可能正是我們在十年後需要的基因。」

Even Flowers Seek to Be Eco-Friendly


花兒也要講環保


OF AND FOR THE EARTH At California Pajarosa Floral, the owners invested about $100,000 to gain a “sustainability” label.

By MIREYA NAVARRO
Published: February 3, 2008


Hannah Ling sells organic and sustainable flowers in her West Village shop.

SANTA CRUZ, California–The Bonny Doon Garden Company, a downtown flower kiosk here, was recently selling a bucket of red and fuchsia anemones that were “organic.” Ecuadorean roses the size of an orange were “certified.” Roses from a nearby farm were “locally grown.” Was the kiosk selling flowers, or lettuce?
邦妮‧杜恩花園公司是一家設在洛杉磯市區的花店，最近開始銷售一種「有機」的紅色倒掛金鐘屬銀蓮花。橙子大小的厄瓜多爾玫瑰是「獲得認證」的。來自附近另一座農場的玫瑰標明「在本地栽種」。這家花店到底在賣花還是在賣萵苣？


Pesticide contamination doesn’t usually come to mind when buying long-stemmed roses. But that is precisely what florists like Bonny Doon are asking their customers to think about. Teresa Sabankaya, the shop’s owner, said that when she opened in 2003, “some people would look at me like, ‘Are you nuts?’ ”
一般人選購長梗玫瑰時，通常不會想到殺蟲劑造成的汙染，然而這正是邦尼‧杜恩花店這樣的花商要求顧客認真考慮的問題。這家花店的女主人泰蕾莎‧沙班卡亞表示，花店2003年開張時，「有些人看著我的眼神彷彿在說：『妳瘋了嗎？』」


Now, at least, “people become engaged,” she said. “Forty percent of people will say: ‘That’s nice. Why would it matter? We’re not eating them.’ ”
她表示，如今，至少「人們已經開始關心。40%的人會說：『這樣很好。可是這真的要緊嗎？我們又不吃它。』」


True, flowers are rarely eaten. They aren’t worn against the skin like organic cotton, or rubbed on the body like soap. Perhaps that’s why organic flowers have not been a big business, especially compared with organic fruits and vegetables. The Organic Trade Association says organic food and beverages had $17 billion in sales in 2006. Flowers – a $21-billion-a-year industry – brought in $19 million in organic sales.
的確，一般人很少吃花。人們不會像有機棉花那樣的把它們穿在身上，也不會像肥皂那樣的拿它們擦身體。這也許是有機栽植的花卉始終不是一門大生意的原因，尤其是與有機蔬果比較時。「有機業同業協會」指出，2006年的有機食物及飲料行銷總額大約170億美元。花卉的年產值約210億美元，有機花卉的銷售額大約1900萬美元。


That may be changing. The environmentally friendly flower is now sold on Web sites like organicbouquet.com, by small florists like Ms. Sabankaya and by big retailers like Sam’s Club and FTD, the floral delivery network, which last year introduced a line of sustainably grown irises and lilies from California and roses from Ecuador.
這個局面可能即將改變。環保花卉已經開始透過organ-icbouquet.com之類的網站行銷，行銷者包括沙班卡亞這樣的小花商，山姆俱樂部之類的大型零售商，以及花卉配送網FTD。FTD去年分別自加州與厄瓜多爾引進可持續栽植的鳶尾花、百合花及玫瑰。


And as in other industries with increasing demand for green products, the floral industry is debating what is environmentally correct. Should flowers be organic – that is, grown without synthetic or toxic pesticides? Or should the emphasis be on fair trade, meaning that the workers who grow and cut them are safe and well paid? Or should consumers favor flowers grown locally, not flown or trucked over long distances?
一如對綠色產品需求日增的其他產業，花卉產業也在討論怎麼做才環保。花卉是否應該有機栽植，亦即不使用人工合成或有毒的殺蟲劑？或者應該著重公平交易，意味種花、切花的從業人員安全無虞，而且收入不錯？又或者消費者應該選擇本地栽植的花卉，而不是飛機或卡車老遠運來的？


A majority of cut flowers sold in the United States, 79 percent, are imported, mostly from countries with mild climates, like Colombia and Ecuador. Orchid plants are supplied by Taiwan, the Netherlands and Thailand. Flower bulbs, such as tulips and lilies, are supplied by the Netherlands.
美國市場銷售的切花79%來自國外，主要是哥倫比亞、厄瓜多爾等等氣候溫和的國家。蘭科植物來自台灣、荷蘭與泰國，包括鬱金香與百合在內的球莖類花卉則來自荷蘭。


But only a small minority of flower farms have adopted environmentally friendly methods or bother with occupational health and safety measures for workers, who can suffer pesticide-related illnesses like headaches, rashes and birth abnormalities among their children.
然而只有極少數花卉栽植場已經採用環保栽植方法，或願意不嫌麻煩的為工作人員採取避免職業傷害的安全防範措施。這些人可能因為接觸殺蟲劑而面臨頭痛、起疹、新生兒畸形等相關問題。


Big environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council have added flowers to their agenda and are encouraging the public to look for floral eco-labels that can now be found in flower shops, grocery stores and other flower retailers.
部分較具規模的環保團體，例如「自然資源保護協會」，已經將花卉列為它們的日常工作項目之一，並鼓勵社會大眾選購花卉時，注意產品有無環保標章。這種標章已經推廣到花店、雜貨店及其他花卉零售商。


The labels emphasize different aspects of sustainability. Fair Trade and VeriFlora, two big organizations whose labels appear on flowers sold in the United States, impose strict environmental and labor standards on farms they audit, though they do not require them to be fully organic.
這些標章強調永續性的不同方面。「公平交易商標組織」與「VeriFlora」這兩大機構的標章都會出現在美國市場的花卉上。它們對接受查核的花卉栽植場制訂嚴格的環保及勞動標準，但不要求業者栽種的花卉必須完全有機。


PRETTY IN GREEN? A move is on to make flowers more eco-friendly.

In California, where most American flower production is based, California Pajarosa Floral in Watsonville invested about $100,000 to comply with all regulations necessary to be certified by VeriFlora, said Paul Furman, the manager. He said his company, which grows roses hydroponically in seven hectares of greenhouses and is one of the nation’s largest flower growers, would have had to spend more if it hadn’t already been using some green practices, like using predatory mites to kill thrips and spider mites that discolor petals and damage foliage.
美國生產的花卉大多來自加州。威特森維爾的加州巴哈羅沙花卉種植場經理保羅‧佛曼表示，他們已經投資大約十萬美元，以符合獲得VeriFlora認證所須的一切標準。種植場以七公頃的溫室栽植水耕玫瑰，是全美最大的花卉栽植業者之一。佛曼表示，若非已採用部分綠色措施，例如以掠食性的小蜘蛛消滅足以使花瓣失去色澤並破壞葉子的薊馬科植物害蟲及葉螨，他的公司花費一定更多。


But Mr. Furman sees a payoff. “We want to be part of pioneering something that’s good for the industry,” he said. “We’re in the infancy stage of this, so we don’t know what to expect, but we do know that the whole world is going green.”
佛曼看到了回報。他說：「我們想要成為有益於這個產業的先驅之一，不過仍處於初步階段。在這種情況下，我們不知道應該期待什麼，不過我們知道，這個世界已經走上綠化之路。」

Starship Kimchi: Korea’s National Dish Is Ready for Space Flight


韓國泡菜準備上太空


The first Korean astronaut will carry a special version of his national dish into space.

By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: February 24, 2008



SEOUL, South Korea – After South Korea began sending soldiers to fight beside American forces in Vietnam, President Park Chung-hee made an unusual plea. He wrote to President Lyndon Johnson to say that his troops were miserable, desperate for kimchi, the fermented cabbage dish that Koreans savor with almost every meal.
南韓開始派兵到越南和美軍並肩作戰後，朴正熙大統領提出一個不尋常的請求。他寫信給詹森總統，說南韓官兵很可憐，非常想吃泡菜，泡菜由大白菜醃漬而成，韓國人幾乎每餐必備。


Chung Il-kwon, then the prime minister, delivered the letter to Washington. When he traveled overseas, he told Johnson, he longed for kimchi more than for his wife. The president acquiesced, financing the delivery of canned kimchi to the battlefield.
當時的南韓總理丁一權將信箋帶到華府。他告訴詹森，自己出國時，想吃泡菜的心情更勝過對妻子的思念。在詹森默許之下，美國資助運送泡菜罐頭到戰區。


Now kimchi is set to conquer the final frontier: space.
現在泡菜準備征服最後的領域：太空。


When South Korea’s first astronaut, Ko San, blasts off April 8 aboard a Russian spaceship bound for the International Space Station, kimchi will be on board.
第一位南韓太空人高山4月8日搭乘俄國太空船起飛前往國際太空站時，泡菜將跟著上船。


Three top government research institutes spent millions of dollars and several years perfecting a version of kimchi that would not turn dangerous when exposed to cosmic rays or other forms of radiation and would not put off non-Korean astronauts with its pungent smell.
三大頂尖政府研究機構耗資數百萬美元和數年時間，完成改良式的泡菜，接觸到宇宙射線或其他形態的輻射時不會變得危險，非韓籍的太空人也不會被嗆辣的氣味嚇跑。


Their so-called space kimchi won approval this month from Russian authorities.
他們所謂的太空泡菜在2月獲得俄國當局認可。


“This will greatly help my mission,” Mr. Ko, a 30-year-old computer science engineer who is training in Russia, said in a statement transmitted through the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. “When you’re working in space-like conditions and aren’t feeling too well, you miss Korean food.”
「這對我的任務將大有幫助，」30歲的電腦工程師高山正在俄國受訓，透過南韓航太研究中心發布聲明。「當你在如太空般的環境作業，感覺不是太舒服時，就會想念韓國食物。」


Kimchi has been a staple of Koreans’ diets for centuries. These days, South Koreans consume 1.5 metric tons a year. Until recently, homemakers would prepare the dish by early winter, then bury the ingredients underground in huge clay pots. Now, many buy their kimchi at the store and keep it in special kimchi refrigerators, which help regulate the fermentation process.
泡菜幾百年來一直是韓國人的主食。目前，南韓人每年吃掉1.5公噸的泡菜。在此之前，主婦們都是入冬就開始準備，將所有材料放進很大的陶缸後埋入地下。如今，許多人直接去店裡購買泡菜，存放在特製的泡菜冷凍櫃中，可以控制醃漬的過程。


It is hard to overstate kimchi’s importance to South Koreans, not just as a mainstay of their diet, but as a cultural touchstone. As with other peoples attached to their own national foods, South Koreans define themselves somewhat by the dish, which is most commonly made with cabbage and other vegetables and a variety of seasonings, including red chili peppers.
泡菜對南韓人的重要性可謂無以復加，不只是主食，更是檢驗文化的準則。各國人民各有愛吃的本國食物，南韓人民認為泡菜最能代表自己，最普遍的做法是用大白菜和其他蔬菜配上各種調味料，包括紅辣椒。


Many of them say their fast-paced lives, which helped build their country’s economy into one of the biggest in the world in a matter of decades, owe much to the invigorating qualities of kimchi. Some take a kind of macho pleasure watching novices’ eyes water when the red chili makes contact with their throats the first time. And when Korean photographers try to organize the people they wish to take pictures of, they yell, “Kimchiiii.”
許多南韓人表示，協助他們國家經濟規模幾十年間在全球名列前茅的快步調生活方式，大部分得歸功於泡菜使人精力充沛的特質。有些人看見首次嘗試泡菜的人在紅辣椒碰到喉嚨，被嗆出眼淚時，產生一種男子氣概的快感。當韓國攝影師想要聚集人群拍照時，他們會大喊：「泡菜！」


The developers of the “space kimchi,” meanwhile, say their research will continue to benefit South Korea in a practical way even after the country’s national pride is burnished by Mr. Ko’s historic mission.
在此同時，「太空泡菜」的開發者表示，即使在高山具有重大歷史意義的太空任務將南韓的民族自信心發揚光大之後，他們的研究仍會以實用的方式繼續造福南韓。


“During our research, we found a way to slow down the fermentation of kimchi for a month so that it can be shipped around the world at less cost,” Mr. Lee said. “This will help globalize kimchi.”
「在我們研究的過程中，我們發現一種能讓泡菜延後發酵一個月的方法，因此能以較低的成本在世界各地運送，」李先生說。「將有助於泡菜推廣到全球。」

The 3-Kilometer-Wide Art Project That Few Have Seen


三公里寬藝術計畫 得幸目睹者不多


By Jori Finkel


LOS ANGELES–Two years ago, not long after he turned 45, Ed Sweeney made a list of things to do before he died. Take his wife to Machu Picchu. Take his young son to see the space shuttle launch. And, what is proving to be most challenging, visit the Roden Crater, an extinct volcano northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, that James Turrell has been transforming into a work of perceptual and celestial art since the late 1970s.
兩年前，艾德‧史威尼剛滿45歲後不久- ，他開了一張生前必做事情的清單。- 老婆到馬丘比丘。帶小兒子參觀太空- 發射。還有，現在證明最難辦到的事- ：參觀「羅登火山口」，那是亞利桑- 州佛拉格史塔福東北部的一座死火山- 從1970年代末期起，詹姆斯‧特瑞爾- 一直在將它轉變成感性與天體藝術作- 。


A corporate pilot who lives near Los Angeles, Mr. Sweeney often flies over the volcano field near Flagstaff en route to Florida or Texas. He believes he has seen the Roden Crater from the air. So he visited the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, which gave him the number of the Skystone Foundation, which administers Mr. Turrell’s crater project.
住在洛杉磯附近，擔任企業專機駕駛- 的史威尼，在前往佛羅里達或德州途- ，經常飛越位在佛拉格史塔福附近的- 這片火山區。他自認曾經在空中看過- 登火山口。於是他拜訪佛拉格史塔福- 會，商會給他「天石基金會」的電話- ，這個基金會主管特瑞爾的火山口計- 。


A woman answered the phone. Mr. Sweeney received the official line: The crater would not be open to the public until 2011.
接電話的是一名女士。史威尼得到一- 官方答覆：火山口2011年才對大眾開放- 。


This makes the crater, in the logic of the art world, one of the hottest tickets around. Since Mr. Turrell bought the 400,000-year-old, 3-kilometer-wide crater in 1979 and began moving tons of earth to carve out different kinds of viewing chambers and tunnels – making his art of light, sky and astronomical events instead of, say, paint and canvas – anticipation has been building. Writers have compared it to Stonehenge and the Mexican pyramids.
根據藝術界的邏輯，這使火山口變得- 加吊人胃口。特瑞爾1979年買下這個已- 有40萬年歷史、3公里寬的火山口後，- 開始搬動一噸噸的泥土，鑿成種種不- 的觀景室與隧道，使得他以光線、蒼- 穹與天文大事構成的藝術（而不是，- 例說，用油彩與畫布完成的藝術）備- 外界期待。作家將它與英國的巨石群- 以及墨西哥的金字塔相提並論。


The question is when it will open to the public. After early reports that it would be completed in the late 1980s, that date has been pushed back several times for financial and artistic reasons. Mr. Turrell said in a statement issued by e-mail: “Visits are now restricted to those who already have supported my work or the work on the Crater. This is how it gets done. It will open to the public when finished. Your patience is no greater than mine.” He signed the message with a tag line he has used on T-shirts: “Sooner or later … Roden Crater.”
問題是火山口何時才對大眾開放。早- 的報導說，火山口將於1980 年代末期完成，但是因為財務與藝術- 由，日期已數度推遲。特瑞爾透過電- 郵件發表聲明說：「目前僅限贊助過- 我的作品或是贊助火山口這項作品的- 參觀。情況就是這樣。作品完成才會- 外開放。請耐心等待。」在電郵訊息- 的簽名位置上，特瑞爾留下他在T恤上- 過的標語：「遲早…羅登火山口見」- 。


It appears that Mr. Turrell’s dedication has been inspiring something similar from his fans. Eric Lindeman, an environmental designer from Los Angeles, visited the crater a few years ago when he was a student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He toured the area with two friends and his sister in his Chevy Suburban. After stopping at the Grand Canyon he persuaded them to try to find the Roden Crater.
情況似乎是，特瑞爾的專心致志也感- 了他的粉絲。洛杉磯環境設計師艾里- ‧林德曼幾年前參觀過火山口，當時- 他還是加州巴沙迪那「藝術中心設計- 院」學生。他與兩名友人及姊姊共乘- 的雪佛蘭Suburban遊覽那個地區。在大- 谷停留後，他說服他們試著找尋羅登- 火山口。


Given the lack of detailed maps it was not easy. They had to do some sleuthing, matching topographical maps in the Flagstaff library to an image once published in a magazine. They started driving, until it got dark and they decided to camp out. When they woke, they realized they were closer than they thought.
因為沒有詳圖，所以事情並不容易。- 們得做些偵查的工作，將佛拉格史塔- 圖書館中的地形圖和曾在一本雜誌上- 刊登的圖像相互比對。他們開始開車- 直到天黑，並決定紮營。醒來時，發- 他們比想像中更靠近火山口。


“It was the most surreal, magical moment,” Mr. Lindeman said. “As the sun was coming up, we realized we were on the south side of the crater looking north at it.”
林德曼說：「那真是最超現實、最幻- 般的一刻。太陽升起時，我們發現自- 在火山口的南端，面北就看見它。」-


From there, he said, luck was on his side; every path led to the lip of the crater, and every gate was open. It was only when they stopped the car that a construction manager started questioning them. Evidently he liked their answers and enthusiasm enough to give them a tour on the spot.
他說，之後，幸運之神一直眷顧他；- 條路通往火山口邊緣，且每道門通行- 阻。一直到他們停車，才有一位建築- 經理來問話。顯然，他很喜歡他們的- 覆與熱忱，竟准他們參觀整個地方。


Mr. Lindeman called the experience unforgettable. “To me it’s a great example of art and architecture becoming one,” he said. “I would not hesitate to call it one of the natural wonders of the world.”
林德曼說，那是一次畢生難忘的經驗- 他說：「對我來說，那是藝術與建築- 而為一的一個偉大例子。我會毫不遲- 疑的說，那是世界自然奇觀之一。」

Work to Do, But Sights To See, Too


工作休閒同步 出差兼顧觀光


By Sharon McDonnell



As work is increasingly intruding on leisure time, many business travelers are finding ways to turn that equation around – combining their travel for work with time for cultural and historical sightseeing.
工作愈來愈侵犯休閒時間，很多商務- 客逐漸找出扭轉那種關係的方法：整- 因公出差的行程和文化歷史觀光的時- 間。


“Cultural tourism can be an extension of business, it’s not just fluff,” said Patricia Martin, a marketing consultant and author of “Ren Gen: Renaissance Generation” (Platinum Press, 2007). “Today, a person’s knowledge is the new currency, and travel and cultural experiences are two of the most enlightening things they can do, enabling them to bring new information and insights into the workplace.”
「文化觀光可以是商務的延伸，並非- 無意義的消遣，」行銷顧問兼《文藝- 興的一代》（白金出版社，2007年）- 者派翠西亞‧馬丁說：「今天，一個- 的知識就是新通貨，他們所能做的事- 情中，旅行和文化體驗最有啟發性，- 使他們把新資訊和深刻的見解帶進職- 。」


Her book describes the rise of what she calls the “cultural consumer,” who joins book clubs, attends concerts and shows a renewed enthusiasm for learning, largely fueled by the Internet and a convergence of business with the arts, education and entertainment.
她的書描述她所謂「文化消費者」的- 起，這類人士加入讀書會、去聽音樂- ，對學習展現新的熱情，而激起這股- 熱情的主要是網路及商業和藝術、教- 、娛樂的合流。


Joyce Sensmeier, a vice president at Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, a trade organization, is one of those cultural consumers. When she traveled to Brisbane, Australia, in late August to attend the World Congress on Health Informatics, it was her first visit to the country. So she tacked on five extra days before the five-day conference to squeeze in a symphony concert of “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff at the Sydney Opera House and a behind-the-scenes tour of the opera house, as well as visits to museums, art galleries and the Royal Botanic Gardens. Ms. Sensmeier also said she took her husband along on the trip.
業界組織「健康照護資訊及管理系統- 會」副總裁喬伊絲‧桑斯梅爾就是那- 文化消費者。她八月下旬前往澳洲布- 里斯班參加世界衛生資訊學大會，那- 她首次訪問澳洲，所以她在五天會期- 前多加五天行程，擠進雪梨歌劇院聆- 賞交響樂團演奏卡爾．奧福的「布蘭- 歌」，並參加歌劇院幕後之旅，還參- 許多博物館、美術館和皇家植物園。- 桑斯梅爾還說，她這次旅行和老公結- 而行。


If Ms. Sensmeier’s business trips resemble vacations, the reverse is true as well. She always brings her laptop, cellphone and BlackBerry on vacation. “It’s really helped me to stay connected without having to be totally immersed in work,” she said about her BlackBerry.
如果桑斯梅爾的商務旅行類似度假，- 過來說也成立。她每次度假總是帶著- 記型電腦、手機和黑莓機。她談到自- 己的黑莓機時說：「它真的幫我和外- 保持連絡，不會完全埋在工作裡。」


Tom Ingrassia, the owner of a talent agency in Holden, Massachusetts, said he and his wife accompanied a client who is a classical organist on a three-day concert tour in Denmark and Sweden, and extended their stay for a three-week tour of both countries. Mr. Ingrassia said they toured the Hans Christian Andersen Museum, Tivoli Gardens Fredericksburg Palace and Viking burial grounds on an island in the Stockholm archipelago.
麻州荷登人力仲介公司老闆湯姆‧英- 拉西亞說，他和太太陪同一個古典風- 演奏家客戶到丹麥和瑞典進行三天音- 樂會行程，順便把停留時間延長為三- 的兩國之旅。英格拉西亞說，他們參- 了安徒生紀念館、堤弗利花園、菲德- 利克斯堡宮，及位於斯德哥爾摩群島- 個小島上的維京墳場。


“It’s soul-satisfying for me, especially because my background is in history,” Mr. Ingrassia said. “Even if you’re on a very focused business trip, I feel you need to see a little bit of the places you’re visiting. It keeps me fresh and alive.”
「那使我的心靈十分滿足，尤其因為- 是學歷史的，」英格拉西亞說：「就- 是進行任務非常明確的商務旅行，我- 也覺得需要稍微看看自己訪問的地方- 那使我神清氣爽，充滿活力。」


As a business owner, he said he had control over his time and schedule, but even during his 25 years as a college administrator, he always tried to reserve personal time. “After umpteen hours a day sitting at student recruitment fairs and conferences, I knew I could look forward to seeing a museum afterward.”
身為公司老闆，他說，他對自己的時- 和行事曆有控制權，但擔任大學行政- 員25年期間，他也總是努力保留個人- 間。「一天花很長的時間坐在招生博- 覽會會場和會議室後，我知道自己可- 滿心期盼之後能去參觀博物館。」


Mary McDonald, a management consultant with her own practice based in Austin, Texas, has managed to combine Oktoberfest festivities in Munich with a business meeting in Stuttgart, three hours away, and a visit to the Louvre in Paris with a meeting in Montpellier, a five-hour drive away. She once added a week of sightseeing to a three-day business trip to Hong Kong for a telecommunications client.
在德州奧斯丁開管理顧問公司的瑪麗- 麥唐納，曾設法把自己參加慕尼黑德- 啤酒節的活動與三小時車程外的司徒- 加商務會議結合，還把參觀巴黎羅浮- 搭上五小時車程外蒙特佩利爾市的會- 行程。她有一次到香港商務旅行三天- ，與一位電信客戶會談，順便加入一- 期的觀光行程。


When about to travel to a destination for the first time, Ms. McDonald said, “I try to make it more interesting, and consider what will appeal to me intellectually and emotionally.”
麥唐納說，去初次造訪的地方時，「- 努力使旅行更有趣，並思考哪些事在- 智和情感上對我有吸引力」。


When Joachim de Posada, a motivational speaker and consultant with offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Miami, was invited to Taiwan by the International Trade Institute to discuss his book, “Don’t Eat the Marshmallow ... Yet! The Secret to Sweet Success in Work and Life,” he asked that a guide meet him on his 6 a.m. arrival. After breakfast, he was then given an early tour of Taipei, including a museum as it opened for the day.
激勵大師、在波多黎各首府聖胡安及- 國邁阿密都有辦公室的顧問喬辛‧迪- 波沙達獲得台灣對外貿易發展協會國- 際企業人才培訓中心邀請，在台灣討- 他的書《先別急著吃棉花糖！工作與- 生得以成功的祕訣》，他要求導遊在- 上午六點他飛抵台灣時與他會合。吃- 早餐後，一早就在台北觀光，包括參- 當天開放的一座博物館。


A diligent student of delayed gratification, Mr. de Posada postponed the nap he ordinarily would have taken after he arrived early in the morning. “Instead of going to my hotel to rest for my speech at 4 p.m., I wanted to see the sights,” he said.
孜孜追尋「延後滿足」的波沙達，推- 他一大早到達一個地方通常會小睡的- 慣，「我沒有到旅館休息，準備下午- 四點的演講，反而跑去觀光，」他說-