《卫报》气候报道组 围栏后方是一片巨大的、张开的伤口般的土地。在谷歌几个月前到来之前，芬兰北部农村地区穆霍斯镇附近815英亩的森林里，估计有25万棵树。如今，它们全都消失了。
The Guardian Climate Desk Behind a wire fence lies a vast gaping wound of earth. Before Google’s arrival a few months ago, an estimated quarter-million trees occupied the 815 acres of forest near the town of Muhos in rural northern Finland Now they are all gone. After the tech company illegally stripped the entire area to build a data center— taking even the topsoil with it—all that remains is a vast expanse of mud indented with the trail marks of machinery; puddles; and mounds of earth, roots, and branches.
这家科技公司非法清理了整片区域来建设数据中心，甚至连表土也一并带走，只剩下一片泥泞的大地，上面布满机械车辙、水坑，以及土堆、树根和树枝。居民表示，从该地点流出的棕色水正进入一条注入奥卢约基河的溪流。“它没完没了，一直持续下去，”芬兰自然保护协会（SLL）生态学家玛丽·安纳拉在围栏外观看前森林的无人机录像时说。“我简直不敢相信。我从未听说过芬兰有任何公司做过这样的事。”
Residents say that brown water flowing off the site is going into a stream that feeds the Oulujoki River. “It doesn’t end. It goes on and on,” says Mari Annala, an ecologist from the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (SLL), looking at drone footage of the former forest from the perimeter“I couldn’t believe it. I have never heard that any company has done anything like this in Finland.”With 145 new data centers at various stages of planning, Finland has found itself at the forefront of the tech companies’ latest push. As well as its relative geopolitical and geological stability and abundance of land, the cool climate makes it especially attractive for saving on energy costs.
随着145个数据中心项目处于不同的规划阶段，芬兰发现自己正处于科技公司最新推进浪潮的最前沿。除了相对的地缘政治和地质稳定以及土地充足之外，凉爽的气候使其在节省能源成本方面尤其有吸引力。
Earlier this month, Google was ordered by the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority (LVV) to temporarily stop work on Muhos and another site, about 62 miles southeast, in the village of Otanmäki after it failed to complete the necessary environmental impact assessments before clear-cutting the land. The news has prompted widespread outcry and a national reckoning over what role, if any, the country should play in the global rush to build data centers to keep up with rapid AI development.
本月早些时候，芬兰许可与监督管理局（LVV）下令谷歌暂时停止在穆霍斯以及另一处约62英里（约合100公里）东南方的奥坦麦基村的工程，原因是该公司在清理土地前未完成必要的环境影响评估。这一消息引发了广泛的愤怒，并促使全国反思，在这个追求快速人工智能发展的全球数据中心建设热潮中，芬兰究竟应该扮演什么角色，如果有的话。
Last week, Google’s Finland country manager, Antti Järvinen, apologized for the forest clearings, but claimed the company had acted “on the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time.”Muhos and Otanmäki are part of a roughly $17 billion AI infrastructure project by Google that has attracted criticism from Donald Trump—who would rather the centers were built in the US and has publicly called for the company to reconsider.
上周，谷歌芬兰公司经理安蒂·耶尔维宁（Antti Järvinen）就森林砍伐一事道歉，但声称公司当时是“根据我们对当时立法的最佳理解”行事。穆霍斯和奥坦麦基是谷歌一项约170亿美元人工智能基础设施项目的一部分，该项目招致了唐纳德·特朗普的批评——他宁愿这些中心建在美国，并曾公开呼吁谷歌重新考虑。这是北欧国家同类项目中规模最大的一项。
It is the biggest ever project of its kind in the Nordic country. The Finnish government, which has presided over deep spending cuts, has encouraged the investment. Last month, when the Google plans were announced, the country’s prime minister, Petteri Orpo, said attracting investment was a “top priority” and “the value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment.”
芬兰政府在主导大幅削减开支的同时，一直鼓励这项投资。上个月，当谷歌计划公布时，芬兰总理彼得里·奥尔波（Petteri Orpo）表示，吸引投资是“首要任务”，“数据经济的价值远远超出直接投资”。他说，这项谷歌交易将“为双方带来持久利益”。
He said the Google deal would “deliver lasting benefits for both parties.”“They bought the vast land area and they just started to cut it, just like that. It’s pure arrogance and it’s amazing.”But the revelations over Google’s misconduct have prompted public concern over what these deals mean for nearby communities, energy prices for Finnish households, and Finland’s natural environment, a national source of pride.
“他们买下了大片土地，就这样开始砍伐，就这么简单。这是纯粹的傲慢，令人震惊。”但关于谷歌不当行为的披露引发了公众担忧，这些交易对周边社区、芬兰家庭的能源价格以及芬兰的自然环境——这一国家引以为豪的宝贵财富——意味着什么。数据中心的建设热潮很可能成为芬兰人在四月投票时的一个关键选举议题。
The data center push is likely to become a key election issue when Finns go to the polls in April. In addition to the 250,000 trees felled at Muhos, Annala estimates that an additional 150,000 trees were felled at Otanmäki. Because the trees have been felled illegally, she says wood from the two sites cannot be sold to wood-processing plants.
除了穆霍斯砍伐的25万棵树外，安纳拉估计，奥坦麦基还额外砍伐了15万棵树。她说，因为这些树木是非法砍伐的，所以这两个地点的木材无法出售给木材加工厂。
The move has also prompted questions over why Finland’s renewable energy sources are being used to power international corporations. More than 93,000 people have signed a petition demanding more data center regulation and a fee to compensate local communities for environmental damage.
此举还引发了质疑：为什么芬兰的可再生能源被用来为国际公司供电。
Since the scandal broke, Orpo has described what happened in Muhos as a “cold shower.”
已有超过9.3万人签署请愿书，要求加强数据中心监管，并征收费用以补偿当地社区所遭受的环境损害。自丑闻曝光以来，奥尔波将穆霍斯发生的事情描述为“当头一盆冷水”。
Hanna Halmeenpää, chair of SLL’s board, said she had been incredulous when she discovered Google’s lawbreaking. “At first I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
SLL董事会主席汉娜·哈尔梅帕说，当她发现谷歌的违法行为时，她感到难以置信。“起初我简直不敢相信，”她说。“我从未听说过任何公司在芬兰做过这样的事。”她说，该系统在很大程度上依赖信任，而她认为谷歌利用了这一点。“他们购买了大片土地，就那样开始砍伐，”她说。“这纯粹是傲慢，令人惊叹。”
“I have never heard that any company has done anything like this in Finland.”She said the system depended a lot on trust, which she believes Google took advantage of. “They bought the vast land area and they just started to cut it, just like that,” she said. “It’s pure arrogance and it’s amazing.”The speed of developments had shocked the country, she said. “Many people are just watching the news and asking each other: ‘What’s happening now? What can we do about it? And do we have to take all these data center projects in Finland?’”
她说，事态发展的速度让这个国家震惊。“许多人只是看着新闻，互相问：‘现在发生了什么？我们能对此做什么？我们是否必须接受芬兰的所有这些数据中心项目？’”赫尔辛基大学计算机科学系主任尤西·坎加沙尔尤说，虽然数据中心带来的就业机会有限，可能会促进当地经济，但对国家层面的益处微乎其微。“说实话，对芬兰来说，没有好处，”他说。“它们是服务于国际客户的国际公司。流入芬兰的企业所得税非常少。
Jussi Kangasharju, head of computer science at the University of Helsinki, said that while data centers brought a limited number of jobs, potentially boosting the local economy, the benefits on a national level were minimal. “Really, for Finland, there are no benefits,” he said. “They are international companies serving international customers. Very little corporate taxes go to Finland. Data centers ultimately have very little benefit for others except the data center operator.”With legislation still playing catch-up, there is a rush to get projects under way as fast as possible.
数据中心最终除了数据中心运营商之外，对其他人几乎没有好处。”随着立法仍在赶上，各方都急于尽快启动项目。
Some are calling for a centralized body to coordinate data center projects, rather than leaving so much of the decision-making down to municipalities that are likely to prioritize the immediate needs of the local area. The peaceful forest used to extend for miles from the village.
有人呼吁成立一个集中机构来协调数据中心项目，而不是将如此多的决策权留给可能优先考虑当地地区即时需求的市镇。
Now the sound of building work next to the clearcut Google site reverberates.
这片宁静的森林曾经从村庄延伸数英里。如今，在谷歌被砍伐的场地旁，建筑施工的声音回荡不断。
In Muhos and Otanmäki, there are people who support the projects, along with the jobs and land taxes they will bring into the local area. But many believe they have been sold short by municipalities.
在穆霍斯和奥坦梅基，有人支持这些项目，因为它们将为当地带来工作岗位和土地税。但许多人认为他们被市政府欺骗了。
Antti Jakonen, who lives in Muhos, said that, although the trees felled represented a small fraction of Finland’s overall forests, he objected to the manner in which it had been carried out. “It has been done in the wrong way. American style. No sense. No sense at all,” he said.
居住在穆霍斯的安蒂·雅科宁说，虽然被砍伐的树木只占芬兰整体森林的一小部分，但他反对这种做法。“这完全是错误的方式。美国式的。毫无道理。根本没有道理，”他说。
The former entrepreneur and fisher wants Google to compensate by helping to restore the local salmon population destroyed decades ago by hydropower. In Otanmäki, the disruption to nature and to residents’ daily lives is being vividly felt.
这位前企业家兼渔民希望谷歌通过帮助恢复数十年前被水电站破坏的当地鲑鱼种群来进行赔偿。
When the trees were felled, the wolves who had lived there came to the village, said Anni Ranta, 53, whose family has lived there for generations.
在奥坦梅基，生态破坏和居民日常生活的扰动正被强烈感受到。树木被砍伐后，居住在那里的狼群来到村庄，53岁的安妮·兰塔说，她的家族在此世代居住。
A former mining village, the area is known for its rare earth elements. Ranta’s family live at the centre of the village next to a triangular church spire and a former bar that has been empty for years.
这里曾是一个采矿村，以稀土元素闻名。兰塔一家住在村中心，靠近一座三角形的教堂尖顶和一间多年来空置的旧酒吧。原本绵延数英里的宁静森林如今被砍伐，清理后的谷歌工地旁传来建筑施工的噪音。
The peaceful forest used to extend for miles from the village. Now the sound of building work next to the clearcut Google site reverberates. “We had wolves coming into the village because all the wild animals moved out of the forest,” said Ranta.
兰塔说：“有狼跑进村里来，因为野生动物都离开了森林。它们逃走了。数据中心让我担心的还有噪音，因为这里是硬岩地质。”她跺了跺脚，补充道：“就连我们站在这里说话，都像敲鼓一样。”
“They fled. What worries me about the data centers is also the noise because this is hardrock soil. Even when we are standing here talking,” she added, stamping her feet, “it’s like a drum.”Such is her strength of feeling against the arrival of Google that she is thinking of moving out.
她对谷歌到来的反感如此强烈，以至于正考虑搬走。她还担心，这座数据中心可能让村庄成为俄罗斯的目标，而芬兰与俄罗斯有着漫长的边界。“我不希望他们在这里，”她谈到谷歌时说，“我根本不希望他们来芬兰。我不喜欢人工智能这整套想法，也不喜欢世界正在改变、以及它改变的方式。这一切来得太快、太早了。”
She also fears the data center could make the village a target for Russia, with whom Finland shares a long border. “I don’t want them here,” she said of Google. “I don’t want them in Finland at all. I don’t like the whole idea of AI and the world changing and the way it’s changing. It’s going too fast, too soon.”
谷歌回应称，它“一直努力达到或超越分区、环境、健康和安全方面的要求”。她的父亲彭蒂·科尔霍宁是一名退休的荒野向导，他说自从森林被毁以来，溪水就变成了褐色。“芬兰根本不需要数据中心。根本不需要任何数据中心，”他说。
Google responded that it has “always worked to meet or exceed zoning, environmental, health, and safety requirements.”Her father, Pentti Korhonen, a retired wilderness guide, said that since the forest was destroyed, the water in the stream has turned brown. “There is no need at all for data centers in Finland. No need for data centers at all,” he said.
当地SLL区主席韦萨·许吕莱宁表示，在森林中筑巢的三趾啄木鸟已被迫离开。“我们所有自然保护主义者都非常担心芬兰的政治局势和政治，”这位生物学家兼鱼鹰专家说。“我想知道为什么我们必须牺牲这么多自然。他们太轻易地放弃了一切。”
Vesa Hyyryläinen, chair of the local SLL district, said three-toed woodpeckers nesting in the forest had been pushed out. “All of us nature conservationists are very worried about our Finnish political situation and politics,” said the biologist and osprey expert. “I wonder why we have to sacrifice so much of our nature. They give everything away too easily.”
不过，他表示理解当局为何试图引入新的投资和就业来源，因为该地区人口老龄化。“年轻人去了赫尔辛基、柏林和巴黎，”他说。“人太少了。我们必须牺牲。”
He said, however, that he understood why authorities were trying to bring in new sources of investment and jobs, given the region’s ageing population. “Young people go to Helsinki and Berlin and Paris,” he said. “There are so few people. We have to sacrifice.”
环境部总干事韦利-马蒂·乌斯基表示，政府正在“监测（数据中心）行业的总体发展、（以及）其立法的适用情况，并准备在必要时提出立法修正案。”谷歌表示，正在努力保护穆霍斯场址的水质，并计划在那里种植74英亩的树木。环保人士表示，与砍伐树木造成的损害相比，这一数字太低，不会产生任何实际影响。
Veli-Matti Uski, director general of the ministry of environment, said the government was “monitoring the general development of the [data center] sector, [and the] application of its legislation, and is prepared to propose legislative amendments as necessary.”Google said it was working to protect water quality at the Muhos site, and that it planned to plant trees across 74 acres there. Conservationists say that figure is too low to have any real impact in comparison to the damage done by the tree felling.
一位发言人表示：“我们在芬兰运营了15年，一直努力达到或超过分区、环境、健康和安全要求。”
A spokesperson said: “We have operated in Finland for 15 years and have always worked to meet or exceed zoning, environmental, health, and safety requirements.”
“在10月6日收到LVV的信件后，我们停止了穆霍斯和卡亚尼（奥坦迈基场址所在地）的准备工作，并向LVV提交了正式回复确认此事，”这位发言人继续说道。“我们将在此事上完全遵守LVV的要求。我们期待与所有当局保持积极、开放的对话，以加强我们与芬兰及当地组织的合作伙伴关系。”
“After receiving the LVV letters on October 6, we stopped preparatory works at Muhos and Kajaani [where the Otanmäki site is located] and have submitted a formal response to LVV confirming this,” the spokesperson continued. “We will fully comply with LVV’s requests in this matter. We look forward to maintaining an active, open dialogue with all authorities to strengthen our partnership with Finland and local organizations.”