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A series of powerful hurricanes have affected millions of people in the United States in recent weeks.
最近几周，一系列强大的飓风影响了美国数百万人。
Some people are wondering if scientists could control extreme weather events.
一些人想知道科学家是否能控制极端天气事件。
However, experts say hurricanes are far too powerful for humans to control.
然而，专家表示，飓风的威力太大，人类无法控制。
Climate change is leading to increasingly powerful storms.
气候变化正在导致越来越强大的风暴。
This has led to greater attention on the possibilities of geoengineering.
这引起了人们对地球工程可能性的更多关注。
Geoengineering involves futuristic ideas for reversing or lessening climate change.
地球工程学涉及逆转或减缓气候变化的未来主义想法。
But many scientists have serious concerns about unwanted results.
但许多科学家对不想要的结果表示严重担忧。
Hurricanes are an example of the uncontrollable, disordered power of Earth's weather.
飓风是个很好的例子，说明了地球天气的不可控与混乱力量。
Experts say there is no clear evidence from research to show humans might be able to control such strong storms.
专家表示，研究没有明确证据表明人类可能能够控制如此强烈的风暴。
Kristen Corbosiero is a professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at the University at Albany.
克里斯汀·科博西耶罗是奥尔巴尼大学的大气和环境科学教授。
Corbosiero is a weather expert, or meteorologist.
科博西耶罗是一位气象专家，也就是气象学家。
She said: "If meteorologists could stop hurricanes, we would stop hurricanes. If we could control the weather, we would not want the kind of death and destruction that's happened."
她说：“如果气象学家能够阻止飓风，我们就会阻止飓风。如果我们能够控制天气，我们就不会希望发生这样的死亡和破坏。”
National Hurricane Center tropical analysis chief Chris Landsea said that a fully developed hurricane releases heat energy that is the equal to a 10-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes.
国家飓风中心热带分析负责人克里斯·兰德西说，一个充分发展的飓风每20分钟释放的热能相当于1000万吨核弹。
That is more than all the energy used at a given time by human beings.
这比人类在特定时间所消耗的所有能源还要多。
Chris Field is director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment in California.
克里斯·菲尔德是加州斯坦福·伍兹环境研究所所长。
He said scientists are learning of the many ways that climate change is making hurricanes more powerful and destructive.
他说，科学家们正在了解气候变化使飓风变得更强大和更具破坏性的诸多方式。
Warmer oceans add energy and more water to the warming atmosphere. That water becomes strong rainfall.
变暖的海洋为变暖的大气增加了能量和更多的水。这些水变成了强降雨。
Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbac said the amount of energy a hurricane generates is much more than humans have the power to control.
科罗拉多州立大学飓风研究人员Phil Klotzbac表示，飓风产生的能量远远超过人类的控制能力。
But people have still made attempts to control the storms.
但人们仍在努力控制风暴。
Jim Fleming is a professor at Colby College in Maine. He has studied historical efforts to control the weather.
吉姆·弗莱明是缅因州科尔比学院的教授。他研究了历史上控制天气的努力。
He said humans do not even come close to having the practical technology to successfully control the weather.
他说，人类甚至连成功控制天气的实用技术都没有。
Fleming described one attempt in 1947.
弗莱明描述了1947年的一次尝试。
The General Electric company partnered with the U.S. military to drop dry ice from Air Force planes into the path of a hurricane to try to weaken it.
通用电气公司与美国军方合作，将空军飞机上的干冰投放到飓风路径上，试图削弱飓风的威力。
It did not work.
但这并没有奏效。
Some attempts or ideas could even make the storms worse or cause greater harm.
一些尝试或想法甚至可能使风暴变得更糟，或者造成更大的危害。
One especially dangerous idea was to use a nuclear bomb, which would cause radiation and not be strong enough to change the storm, Kristen Corbosiero said.
克里斯汀·科博西耶罗说，一个特别危险的想法是使用核弹，这会产生辐射，并且它的强度也不足以改变风暴。
Bringing cooling icebergs or adding chemicals to cause rain also are ideas that do not work, scientists say.
科学家说，让冰山降温或添加化学物质来导致降雨也是不可行的想法。
Modern geoengineers would operate differently.
现代地球工程师的操作方式会有所不同。
Today’s geoengineers are thinking about how to reverse the damage humans have already caused.
如今的地球工程师正在思考如何扭转人类已经造成的破坏。
Scientists in the field say one of the most promising ideas they see based on computer models is solar geoengineering.
该领域的科学家表示，他们看到的基于计算机模型的最有前途的想法之一是太阳地球工程。
The method would involve lifting small particles into the upper atmosphere to return some of the sunlight back into space, cooling the planet a little.
该方法包括将小颗粒提升到高层大气中，将部分阳光反射回太空，使地球略有降温。
Still, supporters of the idea know that it comes with risks.
尽管如此，这个想法的支持者知道这是有风险的。
Two years ago, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) announced it was forming an ethics agreement for climate intervention.
两年前，美国地球物理联盟(AGU)宣布，它正在为气候干预制定一项伦理协议。
The AGU is the largest society of scientists who study climate issues.
AGU是研究气候问题的最大科学家协会。
I’m Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
