A new study from the University of Cambridge shows how small environmental changes can have great effects on human behavior. Even the rise of skateboarding is the result of the deep relationships between humans and the climate.
“To make connections between climate and society, we often look into the past, but as we go further back, the evidence gets thinner,” said lead author Professor Büntgen. “We wanted to find a more modern example where we had lots of data to look at. That is how we began to study skateboarding.”
As was recorded, the prosperity (繁荣) of post-war America resulted in the building of more than 150,000 swimming pools in California during the 1960s. However, California suffered the greatest drought (旱灾) in the 1970s. The government’s water agencies responded by mandating strict cuts, including a ban stopping people from filling backyard swimming pools. As a result, many of these pools were empty, making them ideal playgrounds for freestyle skateboarders. Naturally, skateboarding exploded in popularity.
Büntgen said, “California used to be the center of US surf culture. The popularity and influence of surf culture was very important to the rise of skateboarding, which is why it could have only happened in California. You could have had the same drought, the same pools in somewhere like Phoenix, but since Phoenix doesn’t have a rich surf culture, professional skateboarding couldn’t have started there.”
With the rise of professional skateboarding came the industrial production of polyurethane (聚氨酯) wheels, which allowed skaters to make faster turns at higher speeds than they could with earlier steel wheels. All these factors made skateboarding more popular. Nowadays, it is a multibillion-dollar industry.
The example of California best shows that local climate change can have major effects on human society.
【小题1】What is the finding of the new study?| A．Climate changes affect human behavior. |
| B．Popular games benefit greatly from droughts. |
| C．The environment changes people’s relationships. |
| D．Culture contributes to the industry development. |
| A．Carrying out. | B．Counting on. | C．Sticking with. | D．Getting over. |
| A．Drought. | B．Location. | C．Swimming pools. | D．Surf culture. |
| A．Society. | B．Health. | C．Education. | D．Business. |
