能量、复杂性与金凤花条件
发展至今日,全世界范围内人均能源使用量的幅度差别很大。国际能源机构(IEA)提供了大多数国家的能源消耗数据,按人均石油当量(toe per capita)计算。依据IEA 2013年度《世界主要能源统计》报告,表7.1列举了其中一部分能源使用数据。[74]
表7.2对厄尔·库克有关人类史上的能源使用初步数据(表中的术语依据库克本人的用法)进行了小结。
表7.1 2011年度全球能源消费统计
表7.2人类史上的能源消费统计
(Cook,1971,p. 136)
从以上两表看,工业社会的数字颇为相近。显然,库克所谓“拥有技术者”是指美国居民。有趣的是,1971年,美国人均消耗的能源比现在只是少了一点点,虽然从那时起,美国已摆脱掉耗能巨大的相当一部分的生产企业。其他数据的吻合度还是有一些问题。这可能是因为估算古代社会或孟加拉等国家的能源使用数据都比较困难,后者可能有更多的人没有使用化石燃料,而其他形式的能源使用可能被忽略了。显然,这些数字是初步的,至多让人一览粗略的能源使用量级。
如果这些数字大致不错的话(记住:这些数字不包括通过采集狩猎者及农民使用火所获得的能量),那么由此我们就可以清晰得见人均能使用量上升的趋势,早期人类学会使用火以前的人均能使用量为80瓦,当代社会总体的人均能使用量为2400,而美国人均能消耗量则达到10000瓦。也就是说人类史上人均能使用量增长了近30倍。不过,经由人类掌控的总能流量比这还要高得多,因为整个人类人口已从几千人增加到今天的70多亿,等于增加了100多万倍。因此,人类在整个历史上获得的总能量增加了大约3000多万倍。
正如第二章所解释的那样,由化石燃料驱动的人工复杂性已超过已知宇宙中任何其他存在物的功率密度。表7.3只是其中一些数字的小结。[75]这些数据足以让我们看到:人类为实现自身的目的并借助化石燃料能够让大自然释放何等强大的能量。当然,这些数字都还只是粗略的估计。若要计算更加系统和细化,就只能靠密集的跨学科研究了。
直到今天,工业生产的金凤花条件都要比农业和畜牧业更加局限。工业社会形成的温度带通常介于零下20摄氏度和35摄氏度之间,气压通常接近1000百帕(海平面水平),而且一年四季有丰富的水源供应。目前,工业生产已转移到温度通常高得多的地方,但其他条件没有多大变化。例如,在高山或缺乏足够水源的地区,至今也还没有什么工业。显然,工业生产在全球范围内的传播比农业和畜牧业的传播更为有限,而后者又比采集狩猎更有限。由此可见,与采集狩猎阶段甚至动植物驯化阶段相比,工业生产迄今还没有在海洋中起步。
表7.3功率密度览要
而与此同时,工业化使人类得以在越来越宽广的地理条件下生存,这是由于我们这一物种更善于创造适合自身生存的居住环境。尤其是在20世纪,人类创造出了更加多样的小气候(microclimates),各种建筑在寒冷的季节都可以加热,还可以在温室里培植多种植物。下一步的问题是如何在炎热的季节为小气候降温,包括冷藏区、火车车厢、货车和船只,这样就可以大规模生产和输送肉类及其他易腐食品。然后,家庭住房、办公室、汽车、工厂和商场在炎热的季节都要适当降温。再进一步,是各种休闲活动的小气候,包括人工滑冰场、滑雪场和热带游泳池(这并不奇怪,因为我们毕竟还属于热带动物),都要适当加热或降温。太空探索的小气候是制造出宇宙飞船和宇航服,而深海探险则有必要的潜水艇和潜水服。历史发展至今,还从来没有哪个物种像人类一样能够创造出如此丰富多样的金凤花条件。[76]
工业化使人类能够生产出前所未有的量大且品种多样的食物养活整个人类群体。尤其是在服务业居主导的社会中,大多数人已不须像从前那样做大量的体力劳动。由于吃的多、做的少,所以大多数人体重都增加了。我们不清楚一个人摄入并消化物质和能量的上限究竟是多少,但在富裕社会中,有不少人似乎决心要探问一下这种上限。相反,在世界的其他地方,却有许多人在相反的方向挣扎,即如何每天都能获得足够的物质和能量以保持自身的复杂性。
工业化社会在日益强大的同时,也变得愈发脆弱。比如,社会赖以运行的复杂电子系统一旦中断,整个人类社会就会陷入混乱,而这种灾难可能会因为宇宙事件降临人世。2008年,美国宇航局(NASA)在其发布的一份报告中指出,类似1859年的太阳耀斑一旦发生,全球范围的电网都可能被损毁,而遭遇这样大的损失可能需要数月时间才能修复。不用说,这种损毁对人类社会将是灾难性的。[77]更为严重的是,今天所有的工业社会都严重依赖日益减少的自然资源,尤其是化石燃料。正是化石燃料的大规模使用才造就了此前根本无法想象的全球文化复杂性,这样做的代价是旧有的地方性和区域性复杂性趋于下降。人类、物质、能量和信息,这四种存在以前所未有的方式环绕着今日的地球。作为这一过程的一部分,人类创造的社会及生态金凤花条件不断扩张,而与生产不相关也不受人类直接控制的大多数生命形式则急剧下降。
以上人类的作为造成了物质熵——即垃圾废物——在地球表面不断地集聚。虽然人类制造的温室效应在不断增强,但其大部分热量还是可以辐射的形式排放到宇宙的熵垃圾桶。然而,差不多其他所有的人为物质废料却只能停留到地球上。在人类史上的大部分时间里,这种废料都是由大自然的生物垃圾处理系统来清理的。但自工业革命以来,大量的物质废料已很难被地球上的生物回收利用。时至今日,这种废料已包含7,500多种化工制品,其中大多数对人畜和植物有何种影响还无从知晓。[78]因此,我们不禁要问:人类若不能发明一种更高效的垃圾回收体系,将会出现什么样的后果呢?以洛夫洛克的盖娅理论审视这一问题:因为人类正在破坏自身生存的金凤花条件,那盖娅是否会(非随机地)消除人类这一物种呢?
二十世纪三四十年代,世界各地的科学家们便开始探索核过程,因为他们觉得那里有新的前所未有且巨大无比的能源可加利用。最初的核弹威力,以及后来更为和平的核能利用,证明他们是正确的。然而,核裂变所能释放的能量只能来自铀,但铀在地球上的储量却相当有限。铀起源于塑造了太阳系的超新星事件,因此可以追溯到我们宇宙邻居的起源。与此过程相反,氢聚变产生的能量储存在类似的氢和氘(重氢)之中,其能量和储量均比核聚变的铀大得多,是宇宙“大爆炸”后旋即生成的元素。当前利用核聚变的最大问题是如何在可控的金凤花条件下实现连续获取足够的核能。如果科学家和工程师能成功做到这一点,那么未来会有大量的能源可供利用。然而迄今为止,核裂变释放的能量中有相当一部分,尤其是核聚变释放的能量,都被用于毁灭的目的。
伴随人类社会朝更高的复杂性迈进,整个生物圈却呈现出更简单化的发展趋势,这是由人类的行为所致。其结果是,相对少量的被人青睐的物种前所未有地成倍增加,而大多数其他物种——特别是那些体型较大的物体——的数量却在稳步下降,这一方面是由于其自身的复杂性或其居所遭到人类的破坏,另一方面是由于人类的直接杀戮。因此,生物进化可能正经历着寒武纪生命大爆发以来的第六次大灭绝。
由于生物圈不断受到人类的影响,自1800年以来的这一时段越来越频繁地被称为“人类世”,这一概念是诺奖得主荷兰大气科学家保罗·克鲁岑在2000年提出的。然而,如果最终得以确立的话,这将是第一个岩石记录中没有明确标记的地质时期,即地质学家所谓的“全球标准层型剖面和点位”(Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point),因为岩石的形成往往需要好几百年以上的时间。不过,尽管由于缺乏正式的岩石标志使得地质学家不大情愿接受这样一个地质时代,英国地质学家简·扎拉斯维奇(Jan Zalasiewicz,1954— )及其同事还是在2008年正式递交了命名申请,因为当今人类对生物圈的影响是无可否认的,但迟早有一天,人类肯定会把钉子楔到沉积岩中并因此确定这样一个时代,当然前提是人类要能够活到那一天。[79]
如同生物进化一样,人类发展似乎也是由物质和能量的竞争所驱动。伴随每一次重大的生态变迁和社会变革,总会出现物质和能量利用方面的各种差异,而率先适应者总能领先发展起来。但适应的技能却会传播,所以差异会伴随时间被拉平。人类先是学会了使用工具,继而又学会了使用火,然后发起了农耕革命、组成国家、步入全球化,直至后来的工业革命和信息革命。
人类使用物质和能量的效率可能有所提高,但我们对此却很难做出确切的度量。高效率意味着用等量或甚至更少的能量生产出更多的复杂实体。从最近的技术实例看,如风车、蒸汽机、汽油发动机和计算机等,似乎存在着一种朝更高效率发展的趋势,因为人们觉得这样就能获得竞争优势。近来,出于环保的考虑,有些人已经开始节俭使用物质和能量。所以从长远来看,人类史的一个特点很有可能是不断提高效率。
显然,我们生活在一个前所未有的时代。地球史上还从来没有过哪个单一物种像人类一样能够在很大程度上决定自己的生态及社会金凤花条件,而且能够利用前所未有的海量物质和能量构建近乎无限多样的复杂实体。因此,很多人都在问自己:人类在不久的将来会是什么样子呢?地球又会怎样呢?
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推荐阅读书目
Bellwood, Peter. 2005. The Origins of Agricultural Societies. Oxford, Blackwell.
Cavalli-Sforza, Luigi Luca. 2000. Genes, Peoples, and Languages. New York, North Point Press.
Crosby, Alfred W. 1993. Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe,900–1900. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (1986).
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McNeill, J. R. 2000. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth Century World. London, Penguin Books. McNeill, J. R. & McNeill, W. H. 2003. The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History. New York, W. W. Norton & Co.
Ponting, Clive. 1992. A Green History of the World. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books.
Simmons, I. G. 1994. Changing the Face of the Earth: Culture, Environment, History. Oxford, Blackwell (1989).
[1] 本章使用的科学数据来自考古学及多种历史学研究。
[2] 出生在意大利的美国遗传学家路易吉·路卡·卡瓦利-斯福扎(Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza,1994 & 2000)是研究基因变化的为伟大先驱之一,他和他的学生,美国遗传学家斯宾塞·威尔斯(Spencer Wells)通过研究和著述,确立了当前被广泛接受的观点,即在过去的5万年间,人类曾在全世界范围大规模迁徙。很有可能的是,目前对人类基因的深入研究将会在很大程度上廓清人类文化与基因变化在过去1万年间相互作用的机制。据我所知,目前唯一意在全面梳理人类基因与文化构成之间关系的学者是哥伦比亚工程师安东尼奥·菲立兹(Antonio Vélez,2007, 2013)。此外,还有两部颇有争议的著作也是关于过去1万年人类基因变化的,即Wills(1999)和Cochran & Harpending(2009),两部著作都认为人类文化加速了人类的生物进化过程。
[3] 据我所知,亚历山大·冯·洪堡是最早采用这一研究思路的学者。可同时参阅Chambers (1994); White (1943, 1959 & 1975); McNeill (1976); Darlington (1969); Tainter (1988); Smil (1994); Lapperre (1997); Diamond (1997); Spier (1992, 1996 & 2005); Allen, Tainter & Hoekstra (2003); McNeill & McNeill (2003); Christian (2004); Crosby (2006); and Burroughs (2006)。
[4] 诺伯特·埃利亚斯特别强调人类历史并非是有意安排的过程,此后又有约翰·古德斯布洛姆等也曾强调这一点。
[5] 有关原文的英语译文,参阅Caesar(1984)。笔者觉得有这样一种可能,即这里恺撒所叙述的并非他对事件本身的真实想法。也许该文本并非出自恺撒之手。也有可能是恺撒先记下,后来又被人修改了。总之,历史文本都有这类问题。但即使真实情况与恺撒的记述有出入,恺撒的记述本身仍代表了真实事件发生的一种可能性。
[6] 笔者是在2007年4月12日在下面的网址发现这一段(我认为非常精彩)总结性文字的:http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/766_Julius_Caesar-3.html。文本可能出自丹麦科学家勒内·塞因达尔(René Seindal),他精通多种学科的知识。
[7] 威廉·麦克尼尔2007年11月30日写给笔者的信。
[8] Niele (2005), pp. 51..
[9] Budiansky (1992).
[10] 可参阅Cohen (1977); Reed (1977); Redman (1978); Heiser (1990); Renfrew &Bahn (1991); Budiansky (1992); Fiedel (1992); Cunli.e (1994); Simmons (1994);Sanderson (1995); Smith (1995); Piperno & Pearsall (1998); Yasuda (2002); Bellwood (2005); and Burroughs (2006)。
[11] 可参阅Lewis (1972); Cohen (1977), pp. 21-27; Fiedel (1992), p. 168; Harris (1990, 1996); Reed (1977); and Smith (1995), pp. 16-18。
[12] 1992年,澳大利亚科学家Spriggs, Wickler与Loy在所罗门群岛发现距今28,000年前的远古人类工具上有驯化的芋头菌株的痕迹,而英国考古学家戈登·希尔曼(Gordon Hillman)也在埃及的瓦迪·库巴尼亚(Wadi Kubbaniya)遗址发现了距今18,000年至17,000年之间的磨石与植物块茎,参阅Dayton (1992), p. 14; Loy, Spriggs & Wickler (1992); and Harris & Hillman (1989)。2009年,Kuijt与Finlayson发表了其有关约旦达拉(Dhra)村采集狩猎者逐渐演变为农耕者的长期研究成果。众所周知,农耕生活方式并非人类独有的发明。比如,蚂蚁也会在窝里培植真菌,可参阅Mueller, Gerardo, Aanen, Six & Schultz (2005)。
[13] Pringle (2007); Firestone, West, Kennett et al. (2007); Kennett, Kennett, West et al. (2009); van der Hammen & van Geel (2008).
[14] 比较Gamble in Cunli.e (1994), p. 18以及Wright Jr. in Reed (1977), pp. 281-318。
[15] Smith (1995), p. 211.
[16] Harris (1990).
[17] Piperno & Pearsall (1998).
[18] Burroughs (2006), p. 191 & p. 193.同时参阅Hillman, Hedges, Moore, Colledge & Pettitt (2001)。
[19] 英国考古学家安德鲁·谢拉特曾阐述过动物除了作为人类食物之外的重要用途,他将这一用途称作“次级产品革命”(secondary products revolution,1981)。
[20] Crosby (1972, 1993 & 2006)。1998年,美国科学家贾雷德·戴蒙德在其《枪炮、病菌与钢铁》(1997)一书中雄辩有力地陈述了这些观点。不过这一洞见其实早就有人提出过。英国遗传学家西里尔·达林顿(Cyril Darlington)在其《人与社会的进化》(The Evolution of Man and Society, 1969)一书的第70—71页和第578—582页均提到这一点(贾雷德·戴蒙德由此得到一些启迪),而在此前,亚历山大·冯·洪堡在《宇宙》(1997)一书的第294页也提到过。
[21] Roberts (1998), p. 136.
[22] 人口数字由美国人口统计局来自2014年3月公布,www.census.gov/population/ international/data/worldpop/table_history.php. 当然这些数字只是大致的估算。
[23] Wolf (1982), pp. 88..
[24] Mann (1987), pp. 39..
[25] Smith (1995), pp. 211-212.
[26] 有关秘鲁安第斯山脉地区大摆筵宴的情况,可参阅Spier (1995)。有关一般性讨论,可参阅Wolf (1966)。
[27] 这一观点来自Allen, Tainter & Hoekstra (2003), pp. 61.。
[28] 诺伯特·埃利亚斯在其著作Time: An Essay (1992)中曾详细讨论时间作为文化概念的演进过程,该书1982年最初以荷兰文发表,是迄今笔者所读过的有关这一专题的著述中最透彻的。
[29] 有关内部自律与外部制约的平衡问题,参阅Elias (1982), pp. 229-333。
[30] 有关农业宗教的兴起,可参阅Goudsblom, Jones & Mennell (1996), pp. 70-78; McNeill (1963), pp. 18-22 and pp. 33-40; Elias (1992); and Spier (1994 & 1996)。
[31] 比较Spier (1994)。
[32] 有关秘鲁安第斯山脉地区的运作实例,参阅Spier (1995)。
[33] 人类学家可能会觉得采集狩猎社会虽然规模很小,但具备多种功能,所以要比农耕社会更复杂,彼此之间的关系也更广泛,但全面看来,笔者还是认为农耕社会要更复杂些。
[34] 有关农民在欧洲范围的迁徙与采集狩猎者在欧洲采纳农耕生活方式之间的关系,参阅Burroughs (2006), pp. 204-207。
[35] 笔者在秘鲁安第斯山脉地区研究农村生活时就观察到这种情形,参阅 (1994 & 1995)。
[36] 可参阅Rathje & Murphy (1992), pp. 32-33。
[37] 可参阅Simmons (1994), pp. 14-27。
[38] 可参阅White (1959), pp. 45-57; Cohen (1977); Redman (1978); Heiser (1990); Budiansky (1992); Fiedel (1992); Simmons (1994); Sanderson (1995); Smith (1995); Mears (2001); Christian (2004); and Bellwood (2005)。
[39] 参阅McNeill (1976) and Swabe (1998)。传染病也可能是由人传染给动物,肺结核即为一例,参阅Hershkovitz, Donoghue, Minnikin et al. (2008)。
[40] Cook (1971), p. 136. 库克的数据采用的单位是千卡 /24小时,笔者据此进行了重新计算:设1卡 = 4.19焦耳,则1,000千卡 /24小时 = 48.5瓦。假定采集狩猎者的平均体重为40公斤,由库克的数据得知其功率密度为3瓦 /千克。这与蔡森的计算(2瓦 /千克)颇为相近,后者假定人均体重为70公斤(笔者认为有些偏高)。如果将库克和蔡森设定的体重折中一下,二者的结果几乎完全一致。另可参阅Simmons (1994), p. 24, and Bennett (1976), pp. 42-43。
[41] 参阅Weber (1997), p. 154, and Elias (1978 & 1982)。
[42] 比较McNeill (1976 & 1984) and Crone (1989), pp. 39-40。
[43] Carneiro (1970, 2012). 如本书第一章所述,这种观念的历史要悠久得多。早在1844年,罗伯特·钱伯斯已经提出:文明只是在相当有限的条件下才能发生,见 (1994), pp. 300-304。
[44] 参阅Kennett & Kennett (2006)。
[45] 有关宗教在早期国家中重要作用的社会学讨论,可参阅Goudsblom in Goudsblom, Jones & Mennell (1996), pp. 70.., and Mann (1987), pp. 45-49。
[46] Fagan (1999, 2000, 2004 & 2008).
[47] 可参阅Fagan (1999, 2000, 2004 & 2008) and Geel, Bokovenko, Burova et al. (2004)。
[48] 有关贸易方面的情况,可参阅菲利普·柯廷(Philip Curtin)1984年的研究;另可参阅Curtin (1994)。
[49] Anderson (1991).
[50] McNeill & McNeill (2003), p. 7.
[51] McNeill (1976), pp. 6..
[52] Sprague de Camp (1993), p. 372 and p. 13.
[53] Mumford (1961), p. 75.
[54] Rathje & Murphy (1992), pp. 34-35.
[55] Rathje & Murphy (1992), p. 35; Blegen (1963); and Gunnerson (1973).
[56] 比较McNeill (1998)。
[57] Sprague de Camp (1993), p. 147.
[58] Niele (2005), pp. 65..
[59] 可参阅McNeill (1963 & 1984)。
[60] Christian (2004), pp. 389..
[61] 有关印刷术的重要作用,可参阅Eisenstein (1993)的精彩著述。
[62] 可参阅Sanderson (1995), p. 175。
[63] Flynn & Giráldez (1995, 2002, 2008), von Humboldt (1822).
[64] 可参阅Crosby (1972 & 1993) and Flynn & Giráldez (1995, 2002 & 2008)。有学者不时提出,早期从事全球贸易者所能携带的货物与今日的集装箱货运量相比要小得多,可参阅Emmer (2003)。因此,其实际影响可能非常有限。但不要忘了,其携带的货物,比如植物、种子和动物,都是可以“成倍”(multipliers)增长的,或在人的指导下品种有所改进,或又逃回到荒野中,其数目远高于货船上所载的货物数量。
[65] 相关论述,可参阅Weber (1927), p. 337; Wallerstein (1974, 1980); and Allen, Tainter & Hoekstra (2003), pp. 140.。
[66] Allen, Tainter & Hoekstra (2003), p. 148.
[67] Crosby (1997).
[68] 可参阅Snow (1988) and Menzies (2002)。
[69] 有关科学革命的著述非常之多,但笔者认为最好的一种是荷兰科学史家弗洛里斯·科恩(Floris Cohen,2010)的著作。
[70] Von Humboldt (1995), pp. 74-75。有关机械发明之前石油在中亚地区的各种用途,可参阅相关综述Bilkadi (1995)。
[71] 有关早期工业化,近几十年的学术文献既多且杂,主要探讨的问题是为何工业化未能在其他地区或其他时代起步。所以这里的叙事不可能详尽无遗。可参阅De Vries (2008); Fieldhouse (1973); Hobsbawm (1968); Landes (1969 & 1998); Pollard (1992); Smil (1994); Stearns (1993); and Wallerstein (1989)。中国之所以未能率先实现工业化,其中一个主要原因是中国的煤炭储量大多在中西部地区,远离东部干燥的城市中心地带。在干燥的环境下开矿钻煤容易造成大型火灾,其中有些地方已经燃烧了数个世纪。另外,那里的矿井里没有多少水,也就不会刺激蒸汽机的发明。1998年4月,在出席美国加州斯托克顿举办的“约翰·缪尔-太平洋世纪”(John Muir Paci.c Centuries Conference)学术研讨会上,我曾当面跟美国历史学家彭慕兰(Kenneth Pomeranz)指出这一点,后来他在《大分流》(The Great Divergence: Europe, China, and the Making of the Modern World Economy,2000)一书中采纳了这一观点。
[72] Livi-Bacci (1992), pp. 100-101.
[73] 安第斯山脉地区传统宗教出现全球化,首先得益于秘鲁人类学家胡安·普拉多(Juan Víctor Nú.ez del Prado)的努力。可参阅Jenkins (1997)。
[74] International Energy Agency (2013), downloaded from www.iea.org. 为便于和前述数字做比较,这里将单位转化为人均瓦数,并同时参照了其他表单中的数据。有趣的是,该统计数据集里根本没有布隆迪等贫穷国家的数据。根据国际能源机构的说法,1石油当量(toe)等于1公吨(1,000千克)原油中储藏的能量,合107千卡、41.868千兆焦耳,或11,628千瓦小时(kwh)。故,1石油当量 /秒 = 1.33×103瓦。
[75] 笔者曾计算过荷兰风车的功率密度,当时使用的风车净重60,000千克,15年后该风车被运到了美国,在密西西比州的富尔顿重新装机。根据几家荷兰的网站介绍,这种风车的平均输出功率约为10,000瓦。航天飞机发动机的功率密度使用了NASA官网提供的数据。有关现代德国风车的功率密度值,笔者当初也是参照了一家德国网站的数据,但该网站现在已经找不到了。
[76] Tre.l (1994)是从能量使用的角度分析城市生活的一部精彩论著。
[77] Committee on the Societal and Economic Impacts of Severe Space Weather Events (2008).
[78] 参阅Trivedi (2007)。有关人类对地球生态环境影响的精彩概述,可参阅Ponting (1992) and McNeill (2000)。
[79] 可参阅Diamond (1987); Leakey & Lewin (1995); Vitousek, Mooney, Lubchenco & Melillo (1997); and Zalasiewicz (2008)。