第1493期:Coffee under threat

Do you like drinking coffee? I certainly do. In fact you could say I'm an addict because I have to drink a cup every morning to kick-start my day and get my brain working! Latte, cappuccino, espresso – you name it, I'll drink it. And I'm not alone – it seems like everyone has a coffee cup glued to their hands as they rush to the office. So how would we survive if there was a coffeedrought?

你喜欢喝咖啡吗？我当然愿意。事实上，你可以说我是个瘾君子，因为我必须每天早上喝一杯来开始我的一天，让我的大脑工作！拿铁、卡布奇诺、浓缩咖啡——只要你说，我就喝。而且我并不孤单——似乎每个人在冲向办公室时手上都粘着一个咖啡杯。那么，如果发生咖啡干旱，我们将如何生存？

Well, experts are warning that our favourite caffeine shot could really be under threat. Our love for coffee could mean that demand outstrips supply. This, of course, could hit us in the pocket but there's even worse news – we could face poorer-tasting coffee. This is the view of scientists at London's Kew Gardens who are blaming global warming for this possible hot beverage crisis.

好吧，专家警告说，我们最喜欢的咖啡因注射剂可能真的受到威胁。我们对咖啡的热爱可能意味着需求超过供应。当然，这可能会让我们陷入困境，但还有更糟糕的消息——我们可能会面临口感更差的咖啡。这是伦敦邱园科学家的观点，他们将这种可能的热饮危机归咎于全球变暖。

Demand for coffee has certainly increased as people have become more affluent. Consumption has doubled in the last 35 years. Last year 9.5 billion kilos were consumed. But as we drink more, the areas where coffee is grown is predicted to shrink. The International Coffee Organisation says that bean production in South East Asia, for example, will decrease by 70% by 2050. The BBC spoke to Dr Tim Schilling, director of the World Coffee Research institute, who says: "The supply of high-quality coffee is severely threatened by climate change, diseases and pests, land pressure, and labour shortages - and demand for these coffees is rising every year."

随着人们变得更加富裕，对咖啡的需求肯定会增加。在过去的 35 年里，消费翻了一番。去年消费了 95 亿公斤。但随着我们喝得更多，咖啡种植面积预计会缩小。例如，国际咖啡组织表示，到 2050 年，东南亚的咖啡豆产量将减少 70%。BBC 采访了世界咖啡研究所所长蒂姆席林博士，他说：“优质咖啡豆的供应咖啡受到气候变化、病虫害、土地压力和劳动力短缺的严重威胁——对这些咖啡的需求每年都在增加。”

This is a sobering thought for those of us who rely on a caffeine fix everyday but more worrying for people who work in the industry. Coffee provides a livelihood for about 16% of Ethiopia's population. And across the globe, extreme weather events are proving a challenge to coffee growers in places such as Brazil and Vietnam. 

对于我们这些每天依赖咖啡因修复的人来说，这是一个发人深省的想法，但对于在该行业工作的人来说更令人担忧。咖啡为埃塞俄比亚约 16% 的人口提供生计。在全球范围内，极端天气事件对巴西和越南等地的咖啡种植者构成挑战。

There is some hope. Technology is helping to protect the future of coffee such as 'breeding' the Arabica bean plants to increase its diversity and making it resistant to climatic changes. It's also possible to relocate the coffee-growing areas – although this sometimes leads to areas being deforested. Dr Aaron Davis, coffee researcher at Kew, says: “There is the potential to mitigate some of the negatives and actually increase the coffee-growing area by four and a half times compared with maintaining the status quo.” But will this come quick enough before our coffee turns bitter and we look for a cheaper alternative?

有一点希望。技术正在帮助保护咖啡的未来，例如“培育”阿拉比卡豆植物以增加其多样性并使其能够抵抗气候变化。搬迁咖啡种植区也是可能的——尽管这有时会导致区域被砍伐。邱园的咖啡研究员亚伦戴维斯博士说：“与维持现状相比，有可能减轻一些负面影响，实际上将咖啡种植面积增加了四倍半。”但这是否会在我们的咖啡变苦并寻找更便宜的替代品之前来得足够快？

词汇表

addict 对…上瘾的人
kick-start 使…开始
coffee drought 咖啡“荒”，指咖啡供应缺乏的情况
outstrip （数量、程度）超过
hit someone in the pocket 使某人掏尽腰包
global warming 全球气候变暖
beverage 饮料（统称）
affluent 富裕的
consumption 消耗量
sobering 发人深省的
caffeine fix 一份含咖啡因的提神饮品
livelihood 生计来源
breeding （植物的）培植
diversity 多样性
resistant 耐…的，有能力抵抗…的
mitigate 减轻（危害）
status quo 现状