Airlines aren’t the worst polluters in the world, but planes do account for an incredible 2.5% of the world’s carbon emissions. So by any measure, flying is a privilege—the exact sort of 21st-century excess that we need to reassess.

　　航空公司并不是世界上最严重的污染源，但飞机排放的二氧化碳却达全球碳排放总量的2.5%。因此，无论以何种标准衡量，飞行都是一项特权，确切的说，是我们需要重新考虑的21世纪的过度消费品。

　　Which is why the strategic design consultancy Manyone is thinking about radical alternatives to flight. The studio’s solution? A giant train that loops around half the world like a mega subway system.

　　这就是战略设计咨询公司Manyone正在考虑全新的飞行替代方案的原因。该工作室有什么解决方案吗?那就是设计一列长达地球半圈距离的巨型火车，就像巨大的地铁系统一样。

　　Dubbed the AeroSlider, it’s an elevated train line that passes through a series of unobtrusive magnetic loops instead of running on a track. Much like the principles behind a rail gun, the loops speed up the train sequentially, propelling it up to speeds of 500 mph—or the average speed of a plane. It was conceived by creative director Jens Martin.

　　这条高架铁路线被称为AeroSlider，它是经由一系列不显眼的磁环运行，而不是在轨道上运行。就像电磁轨道炮的原理一样，这些磁环相继加速列车，将其速度提升至500英里每小时，或飞机的平均速度。它是由创意总监延斯·马丁提出的。

　　The core design is, admittedly, something of an engineering fantasy.

　　诚然，从某种程度上，其核心设计可以说是一种工程学上的幻想。

　　But as lead designer Guillermo Callau explains to me, the team has actually put a lot of thought into the feasibility of the route, which passes from Africa to Europe to Asia, to the cars, which feature everything from typical seats to a large shared indoor garden. The idea isn’t to present a completely realized design, but to think bigger about how to reduce our reliance on flying.

　　但是，正如首席设计师吉列尔莫·卡洛向我解释的那样，该团队实际上已经在这条路线的可行性上花了很多心思。这条路线从非洲延伸至欧洲、亚洲，再到中美洲研究站，而且列车上从普通座位到大型共享室内花园都应有尽有。该构思并不是要展示一个完全可以实现的设计，而是要从更高的角度思考如何减少我们对飞行的依赖。

　　“You would take something a little slower than a flight, but it would be immensely more efficient,” says Callau. “This isn’t just being optimistic. It’s necessary. CO2 tariffs, or taxes on CO2, will make flights way more inaccessible.”

　　卡洛表示：“你可以乘坐比飞机稍慢一点的交通工具，而这样会大大提高效率。这不仅仅是一种乐观主义，而且是必要的。二氧化碳关税或二氧化碳税将使飞行成为更不可取的方式。”