美国国家公共电台 NPR Climate Change Threatens Midwest's Wild Rice, A Staple For Native Americans

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Climate change is causing more rain in many parts of the U.S., and more rain means more flooding. And that is bad news for one Great Lakes region crop - wild rice.

NPR's Rebecca Hersher has the story.

REBECCA HERSHER, BYLINE¹: Northern wild rice - real wild rice - grows naturally in rivers and lakes all over Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and into Canada. And harvesting it is a group activity, especially in native communities.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: This is a family homestead.

HERSHER: The Couture family is part of the Ojibwe tribe. They live on the Bad River near Lake Superior. And Chris Couture remembers when he was a kid, lots of people would come harvest near their house.

CHRIS COUTURE: You know, back in the day, you'd come out here during ricing time, and everyone came here. Everyone brought their boats. I mean, every canoe was lined up the whole way.

HERSHER: But the climate is changing, and some people here say it seems to be hurting the wild rice plants.

DYLAN JENNINGS: That used to just be filled with rice, and now there's not rice there anymore.

HERSHER: Dylan Jennings works for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. He personally harvests wild rice every year.

JENNINGS: But our elders always talk about how lush and how just pristine² all the wild rice used to be in our area here and how - just how thick it was. And - but nowadays, where I'm coming from as a young person, over the last few years, we've seen major flooding in the area. We've seen other environmental things that have come into play.

HERSHER: Things like a longer growing season as climate change causes average temperatures to rise. Ecologists warn that a longer growing season may sound like good news, but wild rice has adapted to a shorter growing season. Longer summers actually favor other plants and let them crowd out wild rice. And then there's the flooding. There are more frequent and severe rainstorms in the Upper Midwest. Floodwater carries sediment³ and pollution into the rice beds. Preliminary studies suggest that the cumulative⁴ effects of climate change are leading to more bad years for local rice harvests. Dylan Jennings says that's particularly hard on Ojibwe people in the region.

JENNINGS: Wild rice is always used in all of our ceremonies and all of our gatherings⁵, and so, you know, we're dependent upon that. It can be really tough.

HERSHER: As climate change continues, good growing areas for the wild rice plants will be farther north. But the people who rely on it won't be able to follow.

Rebecca Hersher, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF DIMITRI STOCKL'S "AS SHE RISES")

1 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。

2 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

3 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

4 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

5 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。