美国国家公共电台 NPR--Abandoned fiberglass boats are presenting environmental hazards

Abandoned fiberglass boats are presenting environmental hazards

Transcript¹

EMILY FENG, HOST:

In the 1960s, fiberglass was a boon² to the boating industry. It's cheap and durable³ but has a limited lifespan. And getting rid of it is expensive. So boat owners across the country are abandoning their aging vessels⁵. From member station WVTF, Sandy Hausman reports on one man's efforts to address this environmental problem.

SANDY HAUSMAN, BYLINE⁶: Mike Provost has always loved the water. He joined the Navy after high school and served for 21 years. These days, you'll find him cruising the Lynnhaven, a river near his home in Virginia Beach. He motors past a state park, where he likes to swim with his kids. That's where, just over a year ago, he spotted⁷ an abandoned boat. On board, he found fuel, quarts of oil and other toxic⁸ chemicals.

MIKE PROVOST: So I called 30 different offices. No one had the funding or approval to do anything about it. And I was explicitly⁹ told that if I personally didn't take care of it, no one would.

HAUSMAN: So he started a nonprofit to deconstruct derelict vessels and take them to landfills.

(SOUNDBITE OF CREAKING)

HAUSMAN: His largest job was here in Norfolk Harbor - a twin-masted sailboat stuck in the mud. Provost needed a crew of six, a barge¹⁰ and crane to dismantle¹¹ it. The bill, paid by donors¹², was $28,000. It is illegal for people to dump their boats in state waters, but the law is rarely enforced. And back on his boat, Provost says some people escape responsibility by selling their old boat for a song or giving it away.

PROVOST: If I can sell my 1985 40-foot boat for $100, that's going to save me thousands of dollars in having to dispose of it.

(SOUNDBITE OF CICADAS SINGING)

HAUSMAN: Cicadas sing at a pristine¹³ marsh¹⁴ on Virginia's coast, where Jim Deppe complains that abandoned boats pollute the water and the views. He's been tracking the problem for a local environmental group, Lynnhaven River Now, for more than a decade and has watched as boats piled up.

JIM DEPPE: In southern Virginia Beach on the North Landing River, there's a derelict boat graveyard¹⁵ where people have just rubbed off all the identification marks off the boat and pulled them up into the marsh and sunk them.

HAUSMAN: As boats degrade, tiny bits of plastic get into the water, into fish and into people or animals that consume the fish. Officials in Virginia know of at least 230 derelict vessels. But with a quarter of a million registered boats in the state, they fear many more could be out there. Abandoned boats are found in every coastal¹⁶ state and in lakes and rivers. Nancy Wallace with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric¹⁷ Administration says there's no market for recycled fiberglass.

NANCY WALLACE: There are some really great pilot studies that are going on right now looking at recycling of fiberglass in the manufacturing of concrete, which is very promising¹⁸ and shown to be successful. But it is logistically challenging and expensive.

HAUSMAN: The U.S. Coast Guard sometimes moves boats that pose a navigational hazard, and some states have programs to remove them before they become a pricey and dangerous mess. In Florida, for example, NOAA's Nancy Wallace says hundreds of agents inspect boats and issue warnings and citations¹⁹.

WALLACE: If they start to notice that a vessel⁴ may become abandoned, they'll try to work with the owners to get that vessel out before it becomes a problem.

HAUSMAN: Other states help owners to dispose of old boats for free or charge recreational boaters a fee to help fund removal. That money will likely be needed in the years to come, since boat sales soared during the pandemic.

For NPR News, I'm Sandy Hausman in Virginia Beach.

(SOUNDBITE OF PINK OAK'S "SATURN")

1 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。

2 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

3 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

4 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

8 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

9 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

11 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

12 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

14 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

15 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

16 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

17 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

18 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

19 citations   

n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬

参考例句：

• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Some dictionary writers use citations to show what words mean. 有些辞典的编纂者用引文作例证以解释词义。 来自辞典例句