人类一直生活在无法预测变化的环境之中。气象与气候的自然波动,火山爆发,甚至冰期,都曾经造成了区域性和全球性的灾难。不过,从事于了解地球的科学家们正在形成一种新的有助于预测环境的理论.这种理论部份地根据地球是一个整体的认识而得出。孤立地去了解单一部份——海洋,大气,陆地,或生命形态——都不足以预测变化。 Mankind has lived in an unpredictable environment. Natural and meteorological and climatic fluctuations, volcanic eruptions, and even the ice age have caused both regional and global catastrophes. However, scientists engaged in understanding the earth are forming a new theory that helps predict the environment, which theory is based in part on a global perception of the Earth. Understanding a single part in isolation - oceans, the atmosphere, land, or life forms - is not enough to predict change.