世界百位名人談世博 羅伯特奧曼:為我們的孩子"栽些樹(shù)"

《塔木德經(jīng)》（一部口頭傳述的古猶太法典和傳說(shuō)集）講述過(guò)一個(gè)名叫霍尼的義人的故事：

約翰南拉比說(shuō),……一天，他（霍尼）在旅行途中見(jiàn)到一個(gè)男人在種角豆樹(shù)。他就問(wèn)：“這棵樹(shù)多久才能結(jié)出果實(shí)來(lái)？”那個(gè)男人回答說(shuō)：“70年?！彼又鴨?wèn)：“你肯定自己能再活70年嗎？”對(duì)方回答道：“世上到處皆有成熟的角豆樹(shù)。既然我的祖先為我栽樹(shù)，我也該為我的孩子們?cè)孕?shù)呀。”

這個(gè)故事雖然已有兩千年，但卻揭示了可持續(xù)發(fā)展的一個(gè)主要內(nèi)涵，那就是，我們要為子孫后代留下足夠的資源。然而，人類(lèi)的需求與那時(shí)相比已經(jīng)大為不同，變得愈加復(fù)雜和難以滿(mǎn)足，需要極大的創(chuàng)造力、巨額資金和長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的規(guī)劃。對(duì)于這個(gè)較新的課題來(lái)說(shuō)，2010年上海世博會(huì)將是整個(gè)人類(lèi)分享知識(shí)與經(jīng)驗(yàn)的一次絕佳機(jī)會(huì)。

中國(guó)曾經(jīng)為人類(lèi)文明貢獻(xiàn)出無(wú)數(shù)發(fā)明創(chuàng)造，造紙、印刷和指南針只是信手拈來(lái)的幾個(gè)例子。我們希望，2010年上海世博會(huì)能夠?yàn)槭澜缥磥?lái)的城市化發(fā)展指明方向。我們相信，它必將成為拉緊人類(lèi)社會(huì)的紐帶，激勵(lì)著不同國(guó)家和民眾之間展開(kāi)更多的合作與交往。

China with its ancient heritage on the one hand and rapid economic development on the other is a most befitting host to World Expo 2010. Sustainable urban development should be a natural sequence of all that has preceded it, integrating within it old wisdoms and cultural values with innovative solutions, in order to cater to the diverse needs of urbanization.

The Talmud (an ancient Jewish text of oral law and lore) tells us a story about a righteous man named Honi. "Rabbi Johanan said:…One day he (Honi) was journeying on the road and he saw a man planting a carob tree. He asked him, 'How long does it take for this tree to bear fruit'? The man replied: 'Seventy years.' He then further asked him: 'Are you certain that you will live another seventy years?' The man replied: 'I found carob trees in the world. As my forefathers planted these for me, so I too plant these for my children.'"

This legend is about 2000 years old, yet it upholds one of the main concepts of sustainable development, namely the resources we leave for our offspring. Our current needs have changed immensely since then and have become very complex, requiring great ingenuity, big investment, and long-term planning. World Expo 2010 Shanghai is a most remarkable opportunity for sharing knowledge and experience in this relatively new field.

China has contributed many inventions to civilization, such as paper, printing and the compass, to mention just a few. We hope World Expo 2010 Shanghai will become a showcase to the world, pointing to positive directions in which urbanization can proceed. We trust it will strengthen human bonds and encourage cooperation between countries and individuals.