A Better Use of College Savings教育储蓄的更好用途

A year ago， my husband and I were sitting on a beach in Lake Tahoe1 watching our one-year-old son play in the water， talking about the money we were putting aside2 for his future， something we had started doing while I was still pregnant.

一年前，丈夫和我坐在塔霍湖的沙滩上，一边看着我们一岁的儿子戏水，一边讨论着正在为他未来存的那笔钱，存钱这事从我怀孕的时候就开始了。

Finances played a big role in both my and my husband’s college decisions—I did my first two years at community college to save money， and my husband’s college fund got spent on keeping the family business afloat3. The idea that we would be removing those limitations for our own kid felt， well， amazing.

财务问题曾对我和丈夫的大学规划影响很大——为了省钱，我大学的前两年是在社区学院上的，而我丈夫的大学储蓄被用来接济家族生意了。一想到我们自己的孩子不用再被未来的大学费用束缚手脚，我们感觉棒极了。

As our son splashed in the waves and dug his little hands in the sand， my husband and I threw out ideas of where he might do with that money.

我们的儿子在浪花里扑腾着，还把小手插进沙子里，丈夫和我则开始你一言我一语地谋划他该如何花掉这笔钱。

“Maybe he’ll graduate debt-free，” my husband mused. “Or if he gets a full scholarship， he could spend the money on a down payment4.”

“有了这笔钱，也许他毕业的时候就能无债一身轻了。”丈夫若有所思地说，“如果得到了全额奖学金，他还可以把这笔钱作为置业的首付款。”

“Maybe he’ll invent an app and use the money to fund a business，” I added. “Or climb Everest or sail around the world.”

“他也可以去开发一个应用程序，把钱拿来创业，”我补了一句，“也可以用这笔钱去登珠穆朗玛峰或乘船环游世界。”

A couple weeks after we drove back to our home to Portland， wildfires tore through Oregon and California in a record-breaking fire season. In the past year， we’ve seen massive droughts， devastating ice storms， fragile power grids， reduced air quality， and increasingly severe weather events around the globe.

我们开车回到位于波特兰的家，两三周后就碰到了一场前所未有的火灾，野火一路肆虐，席卷了俄勒冈和加利福尼亚。在过去的一年里，全球遭遇了大面积的旱灾和破坏力惊人的冰暴，此外，电力系统脆弱，空气质量下降，日益严重的天气事件频现。

Then， last month， the IPCC released a report saying that at this point， a hotter future is unavoidable. Even in the best case scenario， these scientists predict killer heatwaves， a shortage of water， a lack of food， and hundreds of millions of people suffering and dying. According to the IPCC report， in 2040， when my son will be college-aged， he will likely be more concerned with air quality and escaping the heat than with his GPA5 or spring break travel plans. By the time he has kids of his own， reliable access to food and water may be more impressive than a diploma.

上个月，联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）发布了一则报告，称从目前的情况来看，未来气候变暖已不可避免。科学家们认为，即使按照最乐观的状况预测，未来也避免不了热浪致命、水源匮乏、食物短缺的困境，会有数亿人在生死线上挣扎受苦。根据IPCC的这则报告，到了2040年，也就是我儿子上大学的时候，令他更关切的也许不是平均学分绩点或春假旅游计划，而是空气质量以及如何避开高温。等他有了自己的孩子，可靠的食物来源和水源可能比一张文凭更引人注目。

That night， I asked my husband a question： What if we stopped putting money in our son’s college fund and started using that money to protect him from climate change？

那天晚上，我问了丈夫一个问题：“为了保护儿子免受气候变化的影响，咱们是不是该把正在为儿子准备的大学储蓄用到这方面了？”

But how do you protect a young child against climate change？ What will he need in 2040， 2060， 2080？ That part is trickier. Some climate experts say that if we don’t curb emissions quickly， by 2060， when my son is 40， he will likely be dealing with heat waves that could last up to a month， rolling6 blackouts making it hard to rely on air conditioning， and a lack of access to fresh water.

但是你怎么保护一个小孩子免受气候变化的影响呢？谁知道他在未来的2040年、2060年、2080年需要什么呢？这才是更加头疼的问题。有些气候专家指出，如果我们不迅速控制排放，到了2060年，也就是我儿子40岁的时候，他有可能要面对长达一个月的热浪，而且轮番限电的措施让人没法指望靠空调降温，淡水也将变得匮乏。

After much discussion， we agreed that saving money for his college education when we are facing a climate emergency just doesn’t make sense. Instead， we are planning on using the money to invest in a carbon-free lifestyle now by buying electric cars， installing solar panels， and starting a backyard vegetable garden. We eventually plan to buy a piece of land that will have its own water source in an area that is less likely to be impacted by wildfires.

经过了一番深入的讨论，我们都认为在这样的极端气候下，继续为儿子积攒大学储蓄是没有意义的。我们计划着把这笔钱投入到低碳生活方式上，比如购买电动汽车、安装太阳能电池板、在后院开辟一块蔬菜地。最终，我们打算用这笔钱在不太可能受野火影响的地区买一片自带水源的土地。

You don’t need a plot of land or tens of thousands of dollars to start safeguarding your child’s future against climate change. You can stop eating animal products or start growing some of your own food in a planter box. You can move away from the coastlines or plant large trees to help shade your home in the decades to come. Preparation can extend far beyond the financial as well. Instead of teaching your kids that getting A’s means they’ll be best equipped for the future， teach them that life can still be enjoyable without air travel， green lawns， and steaks on the grill.

其实，着手保护你的孩子免受气候变化的影响不一定需要一片土地或是数万美元。你可以停止食用动物制品，也可以在种植箱里种一些自用的食材。你可以搬离海岸线，也可以种植高大的树木，让它们在未来的几十年为你家遮荫。准备工作远远不止财务方面。不要再教育孩子们考试得A是应对未来的最好保证，你应该让他们明白，即使没有了航空旅行、绿色草坪和烤架上的牛排，生活依然可以美好。

Another mom accused me of “stealing” my child’s future by planning to spend this money now instead of saving it for higher education. But my husband and I are living proof that you don’t need a six-figure college fund to do well in life. If my son wants to go to college， he’ll figure out a way. Or he’ll be like nearly 80 percent of older millennials and take on student loan debt.