美国国家公共电台 NPR--As the Colorado River recedes, states that rely on it struggle to curb demand

As the Colorado River recedes¹, states that rely on it struggle to curb² demand

Transcript³

Last week, a deadline passed for the seven states that use the Colorado River to get the federal government a regional conservation plan. Some are criticizing the feds' lack of enforcement action.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

As the Colorado River shrinks, the seven states that rely on it for water and power need to cut their use to keep its biggest reservoirs from getting critically low. Earlier this summer, federal officials gave states a deadline to come up with a plan for cuts, but the deadline has come and gone with no agreement by the states. Luke Runyon from member station KUNC reports.

LUKE RUNYON, BYLINE⁴: For an illustration of just how much the Colorado River system has receded⁵ over the past two decades, due to climate change and overuse, take a hike at Lake Powell. Earlier this summer, at the nation's second-largest reservoir on the Colorado River, a narrow desert side canyon⁶ that used to be filled to the brim was low enough to slosh through. A high watermark stained the red rock more than a hundred feet up. In some places, long-sunk objects are now visible.

Is that a boat?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah.

RUNYON: What the heck?

This system provides drinking water to 40 million people, and this reservoir is so low that its dam could lose the ability to produce hydropower in a little more than a year. That's why in June, the federal government said states had to make unprecedented⁷ cuts to their use.

TANYA TRUJILLO: We feel the urgency. They should feel the urgency.

RUNYON: That's Tanya Trujillo, an assistant secretary at the Interior Department. She and other federal water managers said that if the states couldn't come up with a plan for those cuts by an August deadline, the federal government would take action to protect the river system. But last week, that deadline came and went and still no plan. While the federal government did announce small cuts for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico that were already on the books, it's still not clear what action they'll take to prevent the reservoirs from crashing.

ANDY MUELLER: Our water users really would like to understand the federal government when they say, if you don't take action, states, we will. Well, what are the actions being proposed?

RUNYON: Andy Mueller is general manager of the Colorado River District in western Colorado. He says that even though the federal government hasn't delivered on their threat to intervene, they still could. The cuts they asked for were clear - 2 to 4 million acre-feet. But the threat of what happens if the states can't get there still isn't.

MUELLER: If you don't know what that threat is, it's really hard to be motivated to take action.

RUNYON: Aversion to federal intervention⁸ runs deep along the Colorado River. Some state leaders say the feds should simply run the dams and not wade⁹ into policymaking. But as the crisis has deepened in recent years, others in the basin are beginning to crave¹⁰ federal leadership.

JOHN ENTSMINGER: I think it would be much more effective if the federal government, actually, in writing, articulates a plan.

RUNYON: John Entsminger is in charge of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which serves the Las Vegas metro¹¹ area. When the states couldn't reach a plan, he pleaded with federal officials to take the reins¹² and make hard decisions about where some of the cuts need to come from.

ENTSMINGER: The states have never accomplished¹³ anything meaningful without a credible¹⁴ federal threat.

RUNYON: In response to the charge that they should be doing more, federal water managers said they're going to continue working with states on a plan for cutbacks. No new deadline has been set. Kathryn Sorensen, a water policy researcher at Arizona State University, says if the federal government were to take drastic action, it could alienate¹⁵ people in states that rely on the river. But if the feds don't take action, the risk falls on the reservoirs.

KATHRYN SORENSEN: No one wants to make this call, right? It's not enviable to be in a position of saying who gets water and who doesn't.

RUNYON: Someone eventually will be in that position, Sorensen says, whether it's the federal government, the states or the users themselves.

For NPR News, I'm Luke Runyon in Grand Junction¹⁶, Colo.

1 recedes   

v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• For this reason the near point gradually recedes as one grows older. 由于这个原因，随着人渐渐变老，近点便逐渐后退。 来自辞典例句
• Silent, mournful, abandoned, broken, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. 缄默的、悲哀的、被抛弃的、支离破碎的捷克斯洛伐克，已在黑暗之中。 来自辞典例句

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

6 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

7 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

8 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

9 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

10 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

11 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

12 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

13 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

14 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

15 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

16 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。