pbs高端访谈:密歇根湖水位创历史新低

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Now: why some of the Great Lakes are dropping to record low levels, and the economic bite that's accompanying this environmental change.

　　Elizabeth Brackett of WTTW Chicago has the story.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT, WTTW: Leland Harbor is the heart of this northern Michigan town. The small town is quiet in the winter. But the population jumps 10-fold in the summer, when tourists flock to Leland Harbor, beaches and quaint² shops.

　　That tourist economy is now in jeopardy³ because of the dramatic drop in Lake Michigan's water level. Harbor master Russell Dzuba says the lake is down more than two feet from its average. And that drop is threatening to close the harbor.

　　RUSSELL DZUBA, Harbor Master: The economic impact this harbor has on the community is strong. And when things are slow, the guy at the grocery store, the guy at the restaurant comes down and asks me what's going on.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:The guy asking the questions from the grocery store is likely to be Joe Burda. His family runs the only grocery store in town.

　　JOE BURDA, Leland Mercantile: The summer business in general keeps us open for the rest of the year. The boats and the traffic that the harbor brings in is a pretty big percentage of what we do in the summer.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:The low water also endangers Leland's historic fishing industry, a huge tourist draw.

　　Now these fishing boats, which were bought and are now run by the local preservation⁴ society, sit perilously⁵ close to the bottom of the lake. Across the peninsula from Leland on Grand Traverse Bay, rocks and boulders⁶, long underwater, dot the now dry lakebed. Docks sit far from the water.

　　And in nearby Suttons Bay, sand flats appear. Concrete blocks that once anchored boats now sit in just inches of water.

　　If I had been walking along this beach in Suttons Bay in 1984, the water would have been almost a foot over my head. The Army Corps⁷ of Engineers confirms that Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water levels have hit an all-time low. On this chart, the blue line shows the long-term average for the two lakes, the red line the actual monthly water levels.

　　Scientists at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor¹, Mich., blame evaporation⁸ and less precipitation for the dropping lake levels.

　　ANDREW GRONEWOLD, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory: When the water temperatures increase, which they are right now, especially through the summertime; then, in the fall, when we have the cool air masses coming over the lakes, we have increased evaporation, and that evaporation rate has been exaggerated, particularly this year.

　　We're also in a year where there's been extremely low precipitation, so over the last year very little rain was coming in to the system, both in the form of snow melting in the springtime and then also direct rainfall onto the lakes themselves.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:Last winter was the fourth warmest winter on record. And those warmer temperatures lead to less ice formation and still more evaporation.

　　ANDREW GRONEWOLD:And when the lakes are changing that dramatically, that is a change in the climate. Now, what is causing the lakes to warm so much, that is something that is going to require some additional research.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:With Great Lakes water levels at historic lows, the only way to keep harbors open is by excavating⁹ or dredging the lake bottom. But Chuck May, who chairs the Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition¹⁰, said the money for dredging has dried up.

　　CHUCK MAY, Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition: You got almost a perfect storm hitting the Great Lakes harbors. You've got low water and you've got lack of maintenance, lack of dredging, lack of infrastructure¹¹.

　　And you combine those two, and you've got situations where we truly face a crisis throughout the Great Lakes, harbor after harbor, and it's just growing.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:It's not just tourist towns that are suffering. So are commercial harbors, like one in Ludington, Mich., 100 miles south of Leland. Ludington is one of the 139 commercial and recreational harbors around the Great Lakes.

　　Under new federal regulations issued by the Obama administration, only commercial harbors that handle one million tons are eligible¹² for dredging. Today, only 15 of the Great Lakes harbors meet that criteria¹³.

　　That worries Chuck Leonard, the chief operating officer for Pere Marquette Shipping¹⁴, which operates car ferries and barges¹⁵ out of Ludington. He is concerned about what low water levels will mean to the amount of tonnage he can ship.

　　CHUCK LEONARD, Pere Marquette Shipping: We're starting to see with our vessel¹⁶ where we're having to light-load her, and I'm afraid we could see that increase moving forward.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:For every inch the water level drops, carriers for fit 8,000 tons of cargo¹⁷. As loads shrink, the one million ton rule becomes harder to meet.

　　CHUCK LEONARD:We can't get the vessels¹⁸ loaded to where we'd like to get them in the harbors. The tonnage in the harbors diminishes. And then they become unfundable because the tonnage isn't adequate for the funding. It's -- being in the shipping industry right now is a very frustrating¹⁹ experience.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:Leonard's company pays into a harbor maintenance tax. He and Chuck May think that money should be used for dredging.

　　CHUCK MAY:The federal government actually owns these harbors, these channels. And they actually have a tax called a harbor maintenance tax that they put in place the beginning of 1985 to take care of these harbors. So far, in the past 15 years, they have collected $8 billion dollars that they have not spent on harbors.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:Legislation introduced to force all the tax money to be spent on maintaining the harbors has not gained traction²⁰ in Congress.

　　So, Leland Harbor master Dzuba, frustrated²¹ at seeing otters²² play on a beach that shouldn't exist, has looked elsewhere for money.

　　RUSSELL DZUBA:In '07 the appropriations²³ stopped, so we started fund-raising at a local level. And that's where we are today.

　　ELIZABETH BRACKETT:He raised $120,000 dollars last year to pay for dredging to keep its harbor open, but says he doesn't know how long the community can support those costs.

　　And scientists predict that lake levels will drop further this winter, with ever greater consequences for the 30 million people who live in the Great Lakes Basin.

1 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

2 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

3 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

4 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

5 perilously   

adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地

参考例句：

• They were perilously close to the edge of the precipice. 他们离悬崖边很近，十分危险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It'seemed to me that we had come perilously close to failure already. 对我来说，好像失败和我只有一步之遥，岌岌可危。 来自互联网

6 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

9 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

13 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

14 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

15 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。

16 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

17 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

18 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

21 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 otters   

n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮

参考例句：

• An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网

23 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件