NC63团体的年轻人号召“周末不电脑”

　　专家为碳减排建议了多种手段：太阳能，风能，电动车，碳捕获，排放交易。但一些中国城市年轻人提出了另一种解决办法：周末关掉电脑，远离互联网，或是遛一只看不见的狗。
　　Experts have recommended various tools for reducing carbon emissions: solar power, wind energy, electric cars, carbon capture, cap-and-trade. But some young urbanites in China have another solution: turn off your personal computer for the weekend, get away from the Internet, and perhaps walk an invisible dog.
　　这条建议来自中国一个网站群体（颇具讽刺意味），他们发起了一个叫“NC63”（周末不电脑）的活动。NC63是No Computer 63 Hours的缩写，意思是远离电脑63小时。活动组织者建议，人们在周五下午6点关掉电脑，等到周一上午9点上班时再开机。你可以点击这里了解这项活动的内容，但只有在工作日才能看到。（活动组织者说，网站和其他支持NC63活动的机构和公司网站在周末都会黑屏。）
　　The recommendation comes from a group of (irony alert) Web sites in China behind what they call 'NC63.' The name is short for 'No Computer 63 Hours,' which is a reference to the organizers' advice that people should shut down their PCs at 6 p.m. on Friday and not start them up again until 9 a.m. on Monday. You can read about the movement, in Chinese, here - but only on weekdays (the site and those of other organizations and companies backing the NC63 movement go black on the weekend, organizers say).
　　NC63活动的支持者说，他们“希望号召每个人通过周末关掉电脑的实际行动，支持低碳生活和绿色生活，支持环保公益事业，选择和支持地球” 。而他们更大的议程是“提醒白领适度使用电脑网络，减少因过度上网对健康、人际等多方面造成的负面影响”。（在诸多建议中，组织者希望网站和PC厂商能够像香烟一样加上警示标识，比如写上“过度上网，有害健康”的字样。）
　　The NC63 proponents say they 'hope to call everyone to take real action to support a low-carbon, green life, to support environmental undertakings for the public welfare, and to choose and support the earth, by turning off your computer for the weekend.' This is part of their broader agenda, to 'remind white collar workers to be moderate in using the computer networks, to reduce the negative impact of excessive Internet use on health, human interaction, and other aspects of life.' (Among other initiatives, the organizers hope they can get Web sites and PC makers to carry warning labels, like cigarettes, saying something like 'Excessive Internet surfing is harmful for health.')
　　是几年前形成的“Shutdown Day”（关机日）的扩大版。不过Shutdown Day是一年一次，而NC63是涉及到每个周末。
　　NC63 is an expanded version of the Shutdown Day idea developed a few years ago. Shutdown Day is once a year, though. NC63 is every weekend.
　　NC63在11月29日进行了第一次正式活动。组织者说，他们有意选择在哥本哈根峰会之前进行活动。大约100位志愿者聚集在北京的繁华购物地带三里屯Village。随后他们被派往“稽查”周边的星巴克和其他咖啡馆、餐馆，看有没有人用笔记本电脑通过Wi-Fi上网。如果发现“违规者”，就递上“罚单”（实际上是解释NC63理念的小册子）。
　　The group's first official event, which organizers said was timed to come just ahead of the Copenhagen talks, took place Nov. 29. About 100 volunteers gathered at The Village, an upscale shopping area in Beijing. They were assigned to 'patrol' Starbucks and other cafes and restaurants in the vicinity looking for people using laptops on Wi-Fi connections. 'Violators' were handed 'tickets' (actually small leaflets explaining NC63's philosophy).
　　一些在三里屯Village的稽查人员还溜着“隐形狗”（即拿着塑料做的狗链，看上去好像拴着一只看不见的动物一样）。一位组织者解释说，这使得人们可以远离电脑，但仍然可以在生活中做一些有趣和健康的事情。
　　Some of the inspectors at The Village walked 'invisible dogs' (plasticized leashes that look like they're attached to an unseeable animal). 'It enables people to stay away from computers but still have something fun and healthy to do in life,' explains one of the organizers.
　　对于隐形狗，我们确实不知道该说什么。不过，NC63活动具有严肃的意义──这反映出中国年轻白领对环境保护和全球变暖问题有了新生但不断壮大的意识，这最终可能有助于改变中国的一些行为。在电脑使用这个问题上，活动者也是有道理的。中国是全球最大的二氧化碳排放国，尽管电脑使用通常并不被认为是中国碳排放的主要原因，但一些应对全球变暖问题的积极人士认为，这会带来很大不同。美国一个组织预计，一台配备17英寸显示器的普通台式电脑如果一年始终开机，可能会向大 气排放超过1.5吨的二氧化碳。
　　We don't really know what to say about the invisible dogs. But there is a serious side to NC63 - it reflects a nascent-but-growing awareness of environmental issues and global warming among young Chinese professionals that could ultimately help change the country's practices. And they have a point about PC use - while it isn't generally cited as a primary contributor to China's carbon emissions - the biggest in the world - some global warming activists argue that it makes a big difference. One U.S. group estimates that a typical desktop PC with a 17-inch monitor could, if left on all day every day for a year, lead to the release of over 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
　　NC63活动组织者说，他们这个周末会在江苏省举行下一次活动。
　　The NC63 organizers say their next event will be this weekend, in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu.