VOA慢速英语2011--'Green' Cities Are Organizing to Protect

STEVE EMBER: I’m Steve Ember.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we explore ways in which local governments around the world are working to protect the environment.
These “green cities” are working to reduce energy use and pollution in inventive and effective ways. Such efforts by city governments not only help reverse¹ the effects of climate change. They also help governments save large amounts of money on energy costs. And, cities that are leaders in this green movement set a good example to their citizens about the importance of environmental issues.
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STEVE EMBER: The Kyoto Protocol² is an international agreement aimed at reducing the release of harmful gases believed to cause climate change. The United States is not part of the agreement. But since two thousand five, more than one thousand mayors across the country have agreed to sign their own version of the protocol.
It is called the United States Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement. Local leaders have agreed to follow the suggestions of the Kyoto Protocol in their communities. They have also agreed to urge state and federal governments to follow these suggestions. One goal is to reduce air pollution to nineteen ninety levels by two thousand twelve.
Green ideas are finding their way into many American cities. Here, a man stands on a green roof on a building in Washington, DC
A “green” city might work on several kinds of environmental goals and programs. These include air quality, reducing electricity use, green building, public health, the reuse of materials, water quality and clean transportation.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The Natural Resources Defense³ Council works to protect the environment through activism, law and science. One of its online projects is called Smarter Cities. This web site gives a list of cities that have made important environmental steps. Its two thousand ten list includes twenty-two cities that have supported investing in green power and reducing energy use. The list is divided into large, medium and small cities.
STEVE EMBER: Boston, Massachusetts was second on the big city list. It is the largest city buyer of wind power in New England. It is also using its own wind resources to produce electricity. There are twenty small wind turbines at Logan International Airport. And there are other wind projects around the city.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Austin, Texas leads the large city list, while Chicago, Illinois is third. Both cities have made big efforts to reduce a problem called urban heat islands. An urban heat island is a city area that is warmer than its surrounding rural area. This is caused by several things, such as dark colored roofs which absorb heat from the sun during the daytime, and release that heat at night. Air conditioners cooling the inside of buildings add to the increased temperatures by generating⁴ hot air outdoors.
Austin has launched an Urban Heat Island Mitigation Project to improve the situation. The city is planting more trees. And it is rewarding businesses and individuals who have reflective roofs. This kind of surface absorbs less heat.
STEVE EMBER: Chicago has long been interested in green roofs. In two thousand, city officials decided⁶ to replace the black tar⁷ roof on the city government building with a planted garden. The aim was to reduce energy costs, improve air quality and control the amount of rainwater entering the city’s waste system. Green roofs also help reduce urban heat islands.
During hot weather, the building's tar roof could reach temperatures of up to seventy-six degrees Celsius⁸.
With the garden, the temperature of the roof area was reduced by at least thirty degrees Celsius. Chicago has since created over three hundred thousand square meters of green roofs.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Washington, D.C. is also a leading city for green roofs, with over ninety two thousand square meters of green rooftops. The city also launched a program called “Skip the Bag, Save the River.” Stores charge people a five cent tax for using plastic or paper shopping bags instead of reusable bags. Money from the tax will be used to clean up a local river.
New York City is using water as a renewable energy source. For several years, the city has experimented with using waves in the East River to create energy. Officials operating the program recently asked for permission to put into place thirty river turbine devices.
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STEVE EMBER: The people of Portland, Oregon are among the top recyclers in the nation. People living there recycle over half of the waste they throw out. The city has also worked to provide green transportation by providing safe bike paths and free parking spaces where electric cars can recharge.
In Oakland, California, you can ride on one of several public hydrogen-powered buses. These buses release zero pollution into the air. However, they cost about five times more than common buses.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Cost is also a major issue in creating green buildings and systems. Green building materials and systems usually cost more money than normal ones. However, homeowners are increasingly willing to pay more money to have lower energy costs in the future. And, builders are offering more green building methods and products as they become more important to buyers.
Many cities offer money for homeowners who put in place green technologies such as solar power systems. This helps support green efforts by reducing the cost to homeowners.
Investors⁹ are also taking a big interest in the growing importance of clean technologies. The Cleantech Group researches the clean energy industry. It said that North American companies in two thousand ten raised over five billion dollars for investment in clean technologies. This is an increase of forty-five percent from two thousand nine.
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STEVE EMBER: The United States Green Building Council is changing the way people build in cities. This nonprofit organization has a rating⁵ system for making environmentally safe public and private buildings. It is called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. Many cities now require that new buildings be built according to LEED environmental requirements.
LEED is not the only rating system for green buildings. For example, the National Association of Homebuilders has its own set of rules. And, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy joined to create the Energy Star program.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Energy Star gives ratings¹⁰ to devices for the home based on how they use energy. And the program helps homeowners learn how to make changes to their houses to use energy effectively. Energy Star estimates that in two thousand nine it helped Americans avoid the release of harmful gases equal to what thirty million cars would produce. And, it says Americans saved seventeen billion dollars on energy costs.
STEVE EMBER: One small town in Kansas is about as green as its name. In May of two thousand seven, a tornado¹¹ windstorm destroyed most of the town of Greensburg, Kansas. The town decided to rebuild in a better way, using green methods.
Greensburg officials decided that all public building projects would follow LEED top-level requirements. For example, the 5.4.7. Arts Center is completely powered by energy from the wind and sun. It was named after the date the tornado struck. The television station Planet Green aired a program on the town called “Greensburg.” Over three seasons, the show told about the town, its people, and the green building efforts.
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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The United Arab Emirates has taken green building a step further with the Masdar City project. Its aim is to be the greenest city in the world. The city will meet environmental rules set by the World Wide Fund for Nature’s One Living Planet and the company BioRegional. Masdar City is about seventeen kilometers from the capital, Abu Dhabi. The goal for Masdar City was to produce no waste, no carbon pollution and contain only electric cars. The city is to create renewable energy from the wind, sun and other technologies.
However, economic troubles have slowed the project. The city was expected to be completed by twenty sixteen. But officials now say the city will be completed in stages. And, the city will not at first be completely carbon-neutral.
One important part of the city is Masdar Institute. This research university is being developed in partnership¹² with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The goal of the university is to make the United Arab Emirates a leader in renewable energy technologies. Experts say developments like this may lead to a greener future for all cities in the world.
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STEVE EMBER: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Steve Ember.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

1 reverse   

v.推翻，颠倒，反向；n.反面，逆境；adj.反向的

参考例句：

• His answer was just the reverse of what I expected.他的回答正好与我期望的相反。
• Please reverse the positions of two pictures.请把两张图片的位置倒转过来。

2 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 generating   

n.发生，产生v.生（儿、女）( generate的现在分词 )；（通过物理或化学过程）发生；生成；引起

参考例句：

• There are many ways of generating a two-dimensional representation of an object. 有很多制作物体二维图的方法。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Generating functions are an ideal tool for studying sequences defined by recurrence. 母函数是研究用递推关系来确定的函数的最理想工具。 来自辞典例句

5 rating   

n.级别，等级，额定值，责骂，收视率

参考例句：

• It is a ship with a rating of 500,000 tons.这是一艘五十万吨级的船。
• The opinion polls gave the president a high rating.民意测验显示人民对总统的支持率很高。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

8 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 ratings   

n.等级( rating的名词复数 )；收视率；表示电影分级的数字（或字母）；（海军）水兵

参考例句：

• He won high ratings [marks] in all his examinations. 他所有的考试都获得高分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The boat was operated by two naval ratings in dress whites. 船由两个穿着白色礼服的水兵驾驶。 来自辞典例句

11 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。