先看新闻稿
【为了应对在未来50年里将出现的海平面上升问题，Concert和Knightsbridge两大产业公司将承建北温港口地区发展工程(the Harbourside development)项目，计划投入500万元将地面提升4.5米。不过气象专家则认为，虽然提前着手防御，但所调高度恐无法满足长期需求。
卑诗大学(UBC)气象学家董拿(Simon Donner)表示,提升陆地高度是反映天气变化对公众、商业以及 政府带来更直接影响的又一例子，而随着气候变暖问题的不断持续和恶化，预计日後投入的成本将更 高。
“这是天气对我们造成的影响，”他说，“或许人们不曾在日常生活中意识到它所带来的变化，但事实 上，我们做的每一个决定都与它息息相关。”
尽管市府已经开始准备预防项目，但是他认为所增高度尚无法满足未来一个世纪的需求。他说：“受风暴潮影响，温哥华地区去年12月出现涝灾。而在未来的几年里,海平面将上升一米左右，如果恰好又在 高潮期发生风暴潮，一定会导致新的洪水问题。”
虽然市府日前将项目的最低标准从5.2米降低至4.2米，但董拿指出，市府对问题的重视度远超于省府和联邦。他继而呼吁省、联邦政府应正视天气变化给城市带来的挑战。】
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我看到这篇译文后的两个疑点：
第一：未来几年海平面将上升1米
第二：北温将地面提升4.5米
有点常识好不好，未来几年海平面上升1米，那可是全球的大灾难。
北温将地面升高4.5米，500万可以解决吗?
我查了一下过去若干年海平面上升的情况：
Current sea level rise
From Wikipedia
Between 1870 and 2004, global average sea levels rose 195 mm (7.7 in)
From 1950 to 2009, measurements show an average annual rise in sea level of 1.7 ± 0.3mm per year, with satellite data showing a rise of 3.3 ± 0.4 mm per year from 1993 to 2009.
从1870到2004年的一百多年间,海平面上升了19.5cm, 也就是0.195米。
从1993到2009年间,每年上升3.3毫米，也就是0.0033米。
所有未来几年海平面上升1米，怎么可能呢? 那么问题出在哪里? 不用想就是翻译错误。
我用google找到了原文：Rising sea-levels to cost North Shore development $5 million
NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A Harbourside development project will be built on four and a half metres of raised land in preparation of rising sea levels expected to come over the next 50 years.
The plan is expected to cost developers Concert Properties’ and Knightsbridge Properties’ an extra $5 million.
Simon Donner, a professor of Climatology at UBC, says this is just an example of how climate change will become more tangible for the public, businesses and governments.
He says costs will continue to rise for everyone as earth’s climate warms and the severity of the a warming atmosphere become more extreme.
“This is the impact of climate change. So we are seeing that, while you might not notice the impact of climate change on a daily basis we are seeing it in the decisions we have to make,” he explains.
Despite the precautions the Harbourside development is taking, Donner doesn’t think 4.5 metres is a high enough threshold for the project to have a life span over the next century.
“We had flooding all around Vancouver last December during a storm surge. In a number of years from now we could be upwards of a meters change in sea-level,” he tells us.
“Depending on how high the sea rises, a storm surge that happens during high-tide could certainly lead to flooding in the new development in the future.”
The City of North Vancouver recently lowered minimum heights new projects must be built at by a meter; before the change the minimum height was 5.2 metres.
Donner adds it’s time for the federal and provincial government to wake-up and look at the leaps cities are making in combating climate change.
“All the big action, the really progressive stuff is happening in cities,” he says. “Cities have been on-top of this for years including many Canadian cities like Toronto and Vancouver. In Canada, the US and even in Europe, cities have been way ahead of their national governments.”.
North Vancouver City Council is expected to hold a public hearing, and vote on the project this fall.
看了原文才知道，原来是在海边开发，市府规定需建在海平面4.2米以上。以前的规定是要建在海平面5.2米以上，现在要求降低了1米，只要4.2米以上就行。北温的那个项目将建在海平面4.5米以上。海边建，需要局部垫高。原来是这个意思。
那么未来几年海平面上升1米又是如何出来的呢? 原来是这句的错误翻译：
we could be upwards of a meters change in sea-level. 把 upwards of a meters change 翻成了上升1米。
我个人理解，这里的meters是测量海平面上升的仪表，这句的意思是测量海平面仪表的变化在未来几年可能呈上升趋势。也就是说海平面未来几年可能呈上升的趋势。