密歇根新闻广播 五大湖岛民团结在一起以维持生活方式

 

There are about 32,000 islands in the Great Lakes. Most are uninhabited. But for those who live year-round on about 30 of them, it can be an isolating¹ experience. Now, Great Lakes islanders are getting together to tackle some of the problems they have in common.

The idea was born in the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes, inspired by a non-profit group in Maine that serves the needs of residents of 15 islands off Maine's coast.

Matt Preisser is the team's lake coordinator². He says they wanted to pay more attention to the needs of island communities in the Great Lakes.

"The awareness³ of island life is very poor among mainland decision makers⁴ and the general public and we think there's actually some potential value in mainland communities learning from islands," he says.

When you're miles from the mainland, that isolation⁵ can drive you to come up with creative solutions. Like where you get your energy, how you get around, and how you manage your waste.

"When you live on an island community, everything you create has to be stored there, or reused, or you have to pay to ship it off on a barge⁶ to the mainland, and that's not cheap," says Preisser.

Back in September, more than 70 people from 12 islands in the Great Lakes region met up on Beaver⁷ Island for the first-ever islands summit. This year, they're working to launch the Great Lakes Islands Coalition⁸.

Islands in winter

At the tail end of tourist season, I took a little trip on a car ferry across Lake Erie to South Bass⁹ Island.

Here in the Lake Erie islands, kids don't take a bus to school. They take a plane.

I caught up with Pilot Bob Ganley as he was loading kids up to fly them a minute and a half home to Middle Bass Island.

"We'll have our share of snow days but we also have fog days or low cloud days or it's too windy to fly days. If we can't fly they don't get to school," says Ganley.

The lake, and the weather define life on an island. But there are a lot of other challenges.

One of them is how to preserve open space when the land is at a premium¹⁰ for hotels and cottages and tourist attractions.

Lisa Brohl has lived on South Bass Island since 1989 with her husband Russ and their kids. The Brohls took me to Massie Cliffside Preserve.

"We've got an 11 acre preserve that's got cliffs, hare bells, columbines, beautiful flowers on the lakeside; a fishing dock for people to enjoy," says Lisa.

She led the creation of several preserves on the island, including the Massie preserve. It's a feat¹¹ when land is so scarce.

"Because our starting prices are $65,000 an acre. So we're talking quite a bit of money and investment in land but we're also looking at an island that sees over 750,000 visitors a year, and so as far as how many people actually use these areas, we have a lot, so we can say it's well worth the investment," she says.

Russ Brohl is a retired¹² lake freighter and ferry captain.

Lisa and Russ Brohl in their living room, with a 10 pound walleye Lisa caught through the ice three years ago.

"Because my livelihood¹³ never revolved¹⁴ around the economics of the island, I never cared if we had tourism or not, though it's everybody's bread and butter here. But boy, in the summertime, we have to share this island with thousands of people. I don't know if we'll stay here forever, but who knows!" he says.

Lisa and Russ say people who live year-round on islands wrestle¹⁵ with keeping housing affordable¹⁶, with finding work, and making sure they have access to medical care.

Lisa and Russ Brohl's kids, Russell and Gretchen, in the school boat in the late 1980's, with school boat operator Bob Glauser.

"We have a paramedic, and we can also buy membership in life flight insurance. We have a volunteer fire department and EMS… I used to be a volunteer EMT here on the island too. Just about everybody's taken their turn at one time or another," says Lisa with a laugh.

"At Middle Bass, they didn't have any ambulance, so they'd load you in the back of a pickup¹⁷ truck to take you down to the airport to fly you off in a helicopter or life flight you off," says Russ.

He says Middle Bass Island in Lake Erie has an ambulance now. But these are all things that can make it difficult for people to stay on an island as they grow older.

Peter Huston says until he went to the islands summit, he hadn't really given other islands in the region a lot of thought.

"That right there was an ‘aha moment' that you can say, yeah, I see how I connect with all these islands, and let's go forward as a collective to use that leverage¹⁸, and have our voices heard both legislatively¹⁹ and financially," he says.

Huston is a filmmaker who also works for the Put-in-Bay Chamber²⁰ of Commerce on South Bass Island. He says one of the ideas that came out of the summit is to create an "island passport."

"The passport idea allows for people to be able to go and visit different islands that have these different strengths," he says. Huston imagines people could get their passport punched when they visit Great Lakes islands, and islanders could use the passport as a way to benefit the islands as a group.

Another big effort that's part of the coalition is to collect better information about islanders.

Brandon Hofstedt is the faculty²¹ director of Northland College's Center for Rural Communities.

"We try to collect information related to what makes rural communities good places to live, work and play," he says.

Hofstedt says islands have a lot in common with small towns.

"What you measure matters, and oftentimes decisions are made based on information that is provided to them, and in rural communities but also island communities in particular, there is a dearth²² of information out there," he says.

For example, he says, census²³ data can lump island communities in with the mainland, and the smaller the community, the more likely that information is to be unreliable or invalid²⁴.

Hofstedt is creating an "islands indicator²⁵ project" to collect more robust²⁶ data on demographics, household income, health care, and the natural environment on islands, among many other things.

One of the overall goals of this effort is to keep island life sustainable. Making sure people can raise their families, and grow old in these communities, and maintain a way of life that's unique.

Pam Grassmick is the 4th generation of her family to live on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. She says island life is pretty special.

"Our pace is slower, it's extremely safe. We leave our keys in the car and our homes unlocked, and where else can you do that?" says Grassmick.

Lauren Peter, Joseph Burns and Gwena Market are students at Put-in-Bay School. They all say going to a school with just 79 students makes you feel like everyone's part of a family.

Summer tourism is crucial for many island economies in our region. But Grassmick says it's also important to think about the people who live there year-round.

"If we really want to go and vacation on these islands, and islands do provide wonderful recreational experiences; we're working on our water trail right now and in the spring of the year we have a lot of birders come in, but you have to have people to take care of people. So that's important that we kind of support these islands," she says.

She says islanders are strong and independent, but they rely on each other in a crisis. And she says now with the islands coalition, these isolated²⁷ communities are becoming more visible – both to each other, and to state leaders who can help keep this way of life going.

1 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

6 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。

7 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

10 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

11 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

13 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

14 revolved   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The fan revolved slowly. 电扇缓慢地转动着。
• The wheel revolved on its centre. 轮子绕中心转动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

16 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

17 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

18 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

19 legislatively   

adv.立法地

参考例句：

• Indeed, experience with the legislatively imposed hybrid procedures has not been encouraging. 的确，立法规定的混合型程序的经历并不令人感到鼓舞。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• The criminal pattern kidnapping and killing the kidnapped person is contained and aggravated crime legislatively. 从犯罪形态来看，“杀害被绑架人”的立法属于包容加重犯。 来自互联网

20 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

21 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

22 dearth   

n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨

参考例句：

• There is a dearth of good children's plays.目前缺少优秀的儿童剧。
• Many people in that country died because of dearth of food.那个国家有许多人因为缺少粮食而死。

23 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

24 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

25 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

26 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

27 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。