美国国家公共电台 NPR--7 states that rely on the Colorado River are up against a deadline for water cutbacks

7 states that rely on the Colorado River are up against a deadline for water cutbacks

Transcript¹

The seven states that share the Colorado River face a Tuesday deadline to agree to voluntary water cutbacks, or have federal cuts imposed. Six states have agreed to a plan, but California did not.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Seven states that rely on the Colorado River have to figure out how to use less water.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Yeah, the river feeds Lake Powell and Lake Mead². Both are low after decades of drought, and the states face a deadline today to reach a new water sharing agreement or see the federal government impose one. Late yesterday, six states released a proposal to save water, but California did not join them.

INSKEEP: Alex Hager has been covering this long-running water crisis for our member station KUNC in Northern Colorado, which is one of the states affected³. Hey there, Alex.

ALEX HAGER, BYLINE⁴: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

INSKEEP: How close are the states to really agreeing?

HAGER: Well, the fact that six of them came together and put forth⁵ this proposal, that stands out. These states like to talk a big talk about collaboration⁶, but we don't often see them put that mentality⁷ into action. You know, they're trying to meet the needs of cities and farms from Wyoming to Mexico, and that is not an easy task. But at the end of the day here, it is important to remember this is not a deal. It is just a proposal. It is a suggestion for how the federal government could proceed.

INSKEEP: Well, what is in that proposal?

HAGER: Well, they put out this proposal to conserve⁸ about 1.5 million acre feet of water. That is enough to supply millions of homes each year. So right now, the Biden administration is working on tweaks to the amount of water released from those big reservoirs over the next couple years - that's Lake Mead and Lake Powell. And they asked the states to send in a proposal to help guide those tweaks, one of which is accounting⁹ for evaporation¹⁰. So here, they're saying, look, every year we release a certain amount of water from Lake Mead down to parts of Nevada, California and Arizona. But the amount of water drops even more just from evaporation. So if you just reduce the amount of water being released from Lake Mead by the amount that evaporates, that will help keep levels from falling even further. And that is pivotal here because if they keep dropping, they could get too low to generate hydropower that supplies millions of people.

INSKEEP: OK. I just want to be clear on something. You said 1.5 million acre feet of water. An acre foot of - is that enough water to cover an entire acre of land, one foot deep? That's how much water we're talking about here?

HAGER: That is correct. About the area of a football field, one foot deep.

INSKEEP: And 1.5 million of those. So a lot of water at stake here. Why did California say no to that plan?

HAGER: It's not exactly a shock that they are the lone¹¹ holdout. California uses more Colorado River water than any other state, and their water rights are some of the oldest. So that means that when there's a shortage, they are going to be the last in line to lose their water. California grows a lot of the country's food. That takes a lot of water. It also has growing, thirsty cities. This proposal would cut back on the total amount of water that California receives. They responded by putting out a statement calling it inconsistent with the law of the river. And they said they would put out their own proposal for water cutbacks, one that is, quote, "practical, voluntary and achievable." But they didn't offer a timeline on when that will be out.

INSKEEP: OK. If they're putting out competing proposals, does the federal government need to solve the problem for the states?

HAGER: Well, it is likely that as part of this process, the federal government will step in. But, you know, it's understandable that no administration really wants to get stuck with that, telling people they have to give something up. Right now, they're looking for something that will hold together until 2026, when the current rules for the river expire. And they expect to come up with a more permanent rework of how the river's shared.

INSKEEP: Alex Hager of KUNC, thanks so much.

HAGER: Thanks for having me.

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 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

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 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

7 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

8 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

9 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

10 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

11 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。