美国国家公共电台 NPR California Weighs Tougher Emissions Rules For Gas-Powered Garden Equipment

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Think about some of the things that spew nasty contaminants into the air - automobiles¹, power plants. How about leaf blowers? Those annoyingly loud, gas-powered, backpack-like machines are about to pass cars as the worst air polluters in California. David Gorn has the story from Los Angeles.

DAVID GORN, BYLINE²: Noe Bautista, now 46, has worked on gardening crews his whole life...

(SOUNDBITE OF LEAF BLOWER)

GORN: ...Inhaling³ the fumes⁴ up close, the formaldehyde, benzene and particulate⁵ matter.

NOE BAUTISTA: It's pretty bad. You've got to be smelling all the smoke all the time. And it really cause you a lot of health problems - allergies⁶ and getting sick all the time.

GORN: Bautista tries to get his crew to wear face masks, but most young Latinos won't use them partly because, he says, there's really no way to keep out those fumes.

BAUTISTA: You can feel the gas smell right away. And you have a headache right away with all that smoke.

(SOUNDBITE OF LEAF BLOWER)

GORN: That pollution from small gas engines - leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, gas mowers - it's not just dangerous for workers. It's dangerous for everyone. According to Michael Benjamin at the California Air Resources Board, in just three years' time, the biggest single ozone⁷ polluter in the state of California is going to be all this gardening equipment.

MICHAEL BENJAMIN: We expect that ozone-contributing pollutants⁸ from small-offered engines will exceed those same emissions¹⁰ from cars around the 2020 timeframe.

GORN: I know, it sounds hard to believe - more pollution from leaf blowers than cars. But in California and across the country, regulations on car exhaust have gotten tighter and tighter over the years, substantially reducing their ozone-damaging emissions - not so with small gas engines, says Benjamin at the Air Resources Board. And with 16 million of them cranking up across the state, all that pollution adds up.

BENJAMIN: Unless ARB adopts more stringent¹¹ controls, emissions from this category are going to really become much more significant relative to cars.

GORN: Some states and regional air quality districts do have incentive¹² programs in place to try to get homeowners to switch from gas to electric machinery¹³. But California is considering a step beyond that - to require much lower emission⁹ standards for gas engines and to offer major incentives¹⁴ for landscaping businesses to change over to electric. At an expansive backyard in western LA, one business is already starting.

DAN MABE: And push down the top, and pull the bottom.

(SOUNDBITE OF ELECTRIC MACHINERY)

GORN: Dan Mabe runs the American Green Zone Alliance, and he's trying to reach those small, mostly Latino landscape crews. Here, he has a wide lawn full of equipment spread out for Noe Bautista and his workers to test.

MABE: Oh man, this thing can rip (laughter). I'm telling you. It rips.

GORN: Mabe says this is more than an air quality issue. And it even goes beyond the respiratory problems of many gardening workers.

MABE: You can call it environmental justice. It was a demographic that wasn't really being addressed.

GORN: As head of this crew, Bautista, for one, is ponying¹⁵ up the cash now and making the switch not only for health reasons, but since electric equipment means no more buying gas, he thinks he might even save a little money. For NPR News, I'm David Gorn in Los Angeles.

(SOUNDBITE OF WES MONTGOMERY SONG, "NICA'S DREAM")

1 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 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。

3 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网

4 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

5 particulate   

adj.微小的；n.微粒，粒子

参考例句：

• A special group was organized to dig up the particulate of the case.成立了一个专门小组来查明该案件的各个细节。
• Lungs retain relatively insoluble particulate material.肺脏内留有不溶解的颗粒物质。

6 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

7 ozone   

n.臭氧，新鲜空气

参考例句：

• The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
• The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。

8 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

10 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

11 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

12 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

13 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

14 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 ponying   

矮种马，小型马( pony的现在分词 )； ￡25 25 英镑

参考例句：

• Caption: Ponying Up:Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rides a horse while on vacation in Tuva, Russia. 描述：骑马：俄联邦图瓦共和国度假期间，俄罗斯总理弗拉基米尔·普京骑着一匹马。