There are not many human activities whose impact can reasonably be predicted decades, centuries, or even millennia in advance. The fallout from nuclear waste is one; humans’ contribution to global warming through greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, and its impact on rising sea levels, is another.
我们无法提前数十、数百甚至数千年合理预测某种人类活动的影响。核废料的影响仅是其中之一；人类燃烧化石燃料释放温室气体造成海平面上升所导致的全球变暖则是另外一种可能的影响。