英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

美国国家公共电台 NPR--3 reasons why California's drought isn't really over, despite all the rain

时间:2023-12-01 01:44来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

3 reasons why California's drought isn't really over, despite all the rain

Transcript1

Ask a water expert if California's drought is finally done, and the answers sound something like this:

"Yes and no." "Kind of." "Depends what you mean by drought."

The state has been deluged2 by storms this winter, hit by 12 atmospheric3 rivers that have led to evacuation orders, rising rivers and broken levees. In some parts of the Sierra Nevada, more than 55 feet of snow have fallen.

With reservoirs filling up, many Californians are eager to put the severe, 3-year drought behind them. A major water supplier in Southern California recently lifted mandatory4 conservation rules that limited outdoor watering. Large parts of the state are now free of drought, according to the federal government's Drought Monitor, which looks at rainfall and soil moisture.

But in California, water shortages aren't just due to a lack of rain, and the state's chronic5 water problems are far from over.

"While we've seen some pretty fantastic wet weather and we've seen conditions improve, in a whole lot of places we still have some lingering impacts that still challenge California," says Mike Anderson, the state's climatologist.

Decades of drought have taken their toll6, and experts say that deeper issues need to be addressed before California can be fully7-drought free. Here are three reasons why:

#1 - California's groundwater drought is still bad

When California's reservoirs declined, many cities and farmers turned to another water source: vast aquifers8 underground.

In drought years, groundwater has supplied up to 60% of California's water. But the pumping has been largely unregulated. So over the decades, water levels have fallen dramatically in California's aquifers. Before this winter, some groundwater wells were at the lowest points ever recorded. That's because in the Central Valley, groundwater hasn't been replenished9 after previous droughts.

"Groundwater is the dark matter of the hydrologic cycle," says Graham Fogg, professor emeritus10 of hydrogeology at the University of California Davis. "The fact that these are such huge volumes of water allows them to take a lot of abuse and to be depleted11 year after year."

As a result, more than 2,000 household wells went dry over the last three years in California, many in low-income communities of color. Temporary water supplies, including bottled water, had to be brought in.

"We're not out of a drought," says Susana De Anda, executive director of the Community Water Center, an environmental justice organization in the Central Valley. "In California, the human right to water was passed in 2012. Unfortunately to this day, many Californians don't have that reality, and it's important to recognize that."

This winter, a new effort is underway to use some of the floodwaters to fill aquifers. California is also in the process of implementing12 a new groundwater law, intended to get over-pumping under control. Water users are currently writing plans for keeping groundwater use in balance with supply, but they won't be fully implemented13 until 2040.

"Over the years, pretty consistently, California has been using a lot more water than its surface water and groundwater system can supply," Fogg says. "So that has to change."

#2 - California's other water source is still in drought

Most of California's major cities exist today because their water is delivered from hundreds of miles away. In Southern California, that distance is thousands of miles, because the region uses water from the Colorado River.

A two-decades long drought has hit the Colorado River hard, causing its massive reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead14, to plummet15. Climate change is shrinking the snowpack that feeds the river, and the seven states that use it have long made claim to more water than is available on average.

Those states are now in emergency negotiations16 over cutbacks to their water supply, but are struggling to agree. With some of the oldest water rights on the river, California has seniority and is technically17 last in line for cuts. But its water supply will still be impacted. Many Southern California cities have been working on conserving18 and recycling water locally, so they're less dependent on faraway supplies.

"We just have to get better at managing the more limited resources that we have there, and that means figuring out how to share a smaller pool of water than what we've been using up till now," says Ellen Hanak, director of the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California.

#3 - The next drought is coming...

Cue the John Steinbeck quote – it's easy to forget about the dry times once the rains come. But drought will return.

"We always have to be ready," Hanak says. "Drier times could come again as soon as next year."

As the climate gets hotter, California's extremes are expected to get more extreme. That means droughts will be drier, putting even greater strain on the state's water supply.

After the last major drought ended in California in 2017, some water conservation behavior seemed to stick. Water use didn't rebound19 to pre-drought levels, because some residents made lasting20 changes, like replacing water-hungry lawns and swapping21 for more efficient fixtures22 and appliances.

Still, experts warn that keeping a drought-mindset can only help California weather future challenges. So there's a risk in acting23 like drought is a thing of the past. Saving water now could help keep reservoirs fuller, a safe bet in a state where next year's winter storms are never guaranteed.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
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 deluged 631808b2bb3f951bc5aa0189f58e3c93     
v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 );淹没;被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没;穷于应付
参考例句:
  • The minister was deluged with questions. 部长穷于应付像洪水般涌来的问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They deluged me with questions. 他们向我连珠发问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 atmospheric 6eayR     
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。
4 mandatory BjTyz     
adj.命令的;强制的;义务的;n.受托者
参考例句:
  • It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
  • There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。
5 chronic BO9zl     
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的,慢性的;极坏的
参考例句:
  • Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
  • Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。
6 toll LJpzo     
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟)
参考例句:
  • The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
  • The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。
7 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
8 aquifers 25c4600513b703affac796567751e105     
n.地下蓄水层,砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
  • Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30%。 来自辞典例句
9 replenished 9f0ecb49d62f04f91bf08c0cab1081e5     
补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 ); 重新装满
参考例句:
  • She replenished her wardrobe. 她添置了衣服。
  • She has replenished a leather [fur] coat recently. 她最近添置了一件皮袄。
10 emeritus ypixp     
adj.名誉退休的
参考例句:
  • "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
  • He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。
11 depleted 31d93165da679292f22e5e2e5aa49a03     
adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
  • Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。
12 implementing be68540dfa000a0fb38be40d32259215     
v.实现( implement的现在分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效
参考例句:
  • -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
  • He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句
13 implemented a0211e5272f6fc75ac06e2d62558aff0     
v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效
参考例句:
  • This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革,经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句
14 mead BotzAK     
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。
15 plummet s2izN     
vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌;n.铅坠;重压物
参考例句:
  • Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来,蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
  • Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌,其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。
16 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
17 technically wqYwV     
adv.专门地,技术上地
参考例句:
  • Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说,这是最先进的设备。
  • The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说,西红柿是一种水果,尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。
18 conserving b57084daff81d3ab06526e08a5a6ecc3     
v.保护,保藏,保存( conserve的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植,无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
  • Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约,符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网
19 rebound YAtz1     
v.弹回;n.弹回,跳回
参考例句:
  • The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
  • Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。
20 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
参考例句:
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
21 swapping 8a991dafbba2463e25ba0bc65307eb5e     
交换,交换技术
参考例句:
  • The slow swapping and buying of horses went on. 马匹的买卖和交换就是这样慢慢地进行着。
  • He was quite keen on swapping books with friends. 他非常热衷于和朋友们交换书籍。
22 fixtures 9403e5114acb6bb59791a97291be54b5     
(房屋等的)固定装置( fixture的名词复数 ); 如(浴盆、抽水马桶); 固定在某位置的人或物; (定期定点举行的)体育活动
参考例句:
  • The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
  • The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了,钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
23 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
TAG标签:   美国新闻  英语听力  NPR
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴