美国国家公共电台 NPR This Year's Christmas Tree Shortage Has Roots In The Recession

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now I need to warn you that this next story is a slight bummer if you celebrate Christmas and you happen to celebrate with a freshly-cut evergreen¹. It turns out that you might be getting a Charlie Brown tree this year - you know, that sparse² and limp thing that Charlie rescued?

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS")

KAREN MENDELSON: (As Patty) What kind of a tree is that?

TRACY STRATFORD: (As Lucy Van Pelt) You were supposed to get a good tree. Can't you even tell a good true from a poor tree?

MARTIN: Or you're going to wind up paying a bit more. That's because there is a Christmas tree shortage. Here to tell us about all of this is Valerie Bauerlein. She is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and she looked into all of this. Hi, Valerie.

VALERIE BAUERLEIN: Hi, Michel.

MARTIN: So at first when I read your story, I thought, what is she talking about? I see trees everywhere. Every Boy Scout³ on the city is selling a tree. But you tell us there really is a shortage.

BAUERLEIN: There really is a shortage. And the economic definition of a shortage is that there's a lack and that it has affected⁴ the supply. So there are trees on lots. You go around town, like you said, and you'll see plenty in D.C. and in New York and some places like that. But the further you get from the tree-producing states, which are Oregon and North Carolina, the less selection you have, the higher price you pay, and the more likely it is that your Boy Scout lot or your church lot that you've gone to for a number of years - it's probably running out by now.

MARTIN: And why is that?

BAUERLEIN: You know, it's funny. You have to remember that Christmas trees are an agricultural crop, so they go in cycles. Trees grow a foot a year. I want an eight-foot tree. What was happening eight years ago? We were in a global economic malaise, and Christmas tree growers couldn't sell the trees that they had cut and - for the price that they had in them. So then, they planted less. So eight, 10 years later, there's a shortage. There's more demand because the economy is prospering⁵, and there are fewer trees to meet that demand.

MARTIN: How big of a decline, say, in acreage under production have we seen over, say, the last decade?

BAUERLEIN: Sure, it's acreage in production has dropped about 30 percent since the early 2000s - maybe a little bit more. And you're also seeing - you saw a lot of drop-out of growers themselves, especially smaller growers in western North Carolina, one of the main producers of crops. And you know, it's funny. You're also seeing fewer growers and fewer acreage in Oregon, which is the biggest producer. They account for about 30 percent of the market. And you know, a lot of growers in Oregon have gone to grapes. The wine industry is really booming. And then, also, growers there - a smaller number - have gone to cannabis and medical marijuana since it has become legal in some western states.

MARTIN: So are all types of trees affected equally - Douglas fir, Scotch⁶ pine? If you happen to have a preference, are you more or less likely to be disappointed?

BAUERLEIN: It's the high-end trees that are really coveted⁷ - the Fraser firs, you know, the firs out of Oregon that are tougher to find, especially at the height of eight feet or above. That's where the real pressure point is.

MARTIN: OK, Valerie, you know I'm going to put you on the spot now.

BAUERLEIN: OK.

MARTIN: Have you gotten your tree, or do you have one of those, like, white aluminum⁸ things?

BAUERLEIN: (Laughter) You know, as a Wall Street Journal reporter, I'm not sure I'm allowed to venture an opinion on this.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

BAUERLEIN: I will say that I did get a live tree. I did pay about 10 percent more than last year, which was what was expected. And I did talk with the folks at the lot that I went to and have, you know, a number of friends on Facebook and elsewhere who have said, you know, it's a tight market this year.

MARTIN: That's Valerie Bauerlein. She's a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. She joins us from WUNC in Chapel⁹ Hill. Valerie, thanks so much for speaking with us.

BAUERLEIN: Thanks so much for having me.

MARTIN: I think I better go get my tree.

(SOUNDBITE OF VINCE GUARALDI'S SONG "CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE")

1 evergreen   

n.常青树；adj.四季常青的

参考例句：

• Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的，被叫做常青树。
• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。

2 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

3 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

4 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。

5 prospering   

成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our country is thriving and prospering day by day. 祖国日益繁荣昌盛。
• His business is prospering. 他生意兴隆。

6 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

7 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

9 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。