VOA慢速英语2013 全球变暖使得居住成本增加

 

AS IT IS 2013-07-24 Global Warming Will Cost Us More to Live 全球变暖使得居住成本增加

Hello, again, and welcome!  I’m Jim Tedder¹ in Washington.  On today’s program, a look at what’s happening all around us.  Our planet is getting hotter, and more ice is melting.  Some scientists say that many low-lying areas will disappear under the sea if this continues.  And, of course, there is a cost to nearly everything.  How will a changing earth affect what we have to pay just to live?  That’s where we will focus our attention on this edition of As It Is … on VOA.

A recent United Nations report says the world’s businesses may suffer from extreme weather events. It notes the possibility of bad effects from high temperatures from climate change and growing competition for natural resources.

The U.N. report says the financial cost of extreme weather events can be very negative. Floods in Australia in 2010 and 2011, for example, resulted in more than 350 million dollars in claims to an insurance company.  That helped caused the company to suffer a 38 percent drop in profits over one three-month period. The same flooding led the mining group Rio Tinto to a large earnings² loss. 

Nick Nuttal is with the United Nations Environmental Program. He expresses concern about the effect of weather on the future supply of natural resources.

“We are living in a world of more extreme weather events.  We are living in a world of rising water scarcity³.  We are living in a world where things like natural resources are being gobbled up at an increasing rate.  By 2050, if we carry on this way, natural resource consumption will triple.”

The U.N. report is called GEO-5 for Business:  Impacts of a Changing Environment on the Corporate⁴ Sector⁵.”  It follows an examination of the state of the world’s changing climate.  That report is called the United Nations Global Environment Statement.  It says human pressures on the planet mean that several extremely important environmental risk marks are coming or have already been reached.

Nick Nuttal says that has widespread possibilities for the world’s businesses.  The new report looks at how building, chemical, mining, food and other industries will all be affected⁶.  Mr. Nuttal gives the example of South Africa, where pressure on natural resources will affect mining costs.

“Certainly in respect to their platinum⁷ mines, they could actually  face water charges 10 times their current value by 2020, so that’s in just seven years, because of water scarcity in South Africa.”

Rising temperatures will also affect the tourist industry, the report says.  For example, it says less than half of the ski resorts operating in the northeastern United States will still be able to operate 30 years from now.

And Nick Nuttal says that at the same time, the world’s population is growing, especially in countries with growing economies. Governments will have to make major investments in transportation and electricity.

Mr. Nuttal says it is important that the future be built with a goal of caring for the environment.

“So there is a huge amount, trillions of dollars, being invested in the coming years in many developing countries.  And that is happening in a sense through the private sector.  The question is whether the governments involved can push that investment into the green, environmentally friendly space.”

The United Nations report says 80 percent of the money needed to deal with climate change may come from private business.

Will there be boats instead of taxis in New York?

The continued warming of the earth's climate is melting mountain glaciers⁸ and polar ice. This is causing sea levels around the world to rise. Many scientists believe sea levels could rise by more than one meter by the end of the twenty-first century. That could mean trouble for some island nations and coastal⁹ communities like New York City. As we hear from Faith Lapidus, New York officials are studying ways to deal with the rising waters.

When super-storm Sandy struck last October, New York got a taste of what its future could be. Jerry Gonzalez was there. He lives in Brooklyn, the city’s most populous¹⁰ borough¹¹.

“The water was up to half of the door, and then we had to get buckets and try to take out all the water. Until we opened the door, and we saw the refrigerator floating on the water.”

In New York City, the waters rose more than four meters above the average high tide mark.

Studies have found that sea levels around the city could rise up to 70 centimeters by the year 2100. Klaus Jacob is a scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Observatory¹² at Columbia University. He describes what New York would look like under those conditions.

“It would look like that Wall Street doesn’t have yellow taxis. But it may have yellow taxi boats.”

Mr. Jacob believes elevation¹³ is the answer. He gives an example of the Highline – a former above-ground railroad track that has been turned into a popular walkway.

“We may want to have many more of those Highlines connecting these skyscrapers¹⁴. Some of them even may have transportation systems above ground instead of just subways.” 

The federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, recently released new flood zone maps for New York. Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls the maps a blueprint¹⁵ for the future.

“Those maps will guide us in setting new construction requirements and will add new structural¹⁶ requirements to ensure that buildings can withstand the intense winds and waves that we expect down the road. The fact of the matter is we live next to the ocean, and the ocean comes with risks... if, as many scientists project, sea levels continue rising. However, there may be some coastline protections that we can build that will mitigate¹⁷ the impact of a storm surge with berms and dunes¹⁸, jetties and levees.”

Michael Byrne is FEMA's coordinator¹⁹ in New York. He says decisions about building and rebuilding after super-storm Sandy must be planned intelligently.

“Elevation is only one of the methods to protect. We can build sea walls, we can build levees, we can choose not to rebuild at a place.”

Scientists say sea levels have risen 20 to 30 centimeters over the past 100 years. Many believe the levels could rise another one-point-five meters by the end of this century. They say coastal cities and island nations face the greatest risk. These areas will either have to develop ways to keep the ocean out or move to higher ground. I’m Faith Lapidus.

And I’m Jim Tedder in Washington.  As always, it was nice being with you for this Thursday edition of As It Is for July 25th.  What’s going on in the states today?  Well, they’re chopping wood, and sawing logs, and climbing trees at the World Lumberjack Championships in Haywood, Wisconsin, in the north central part of the country.

And we’re eating hot dogs by the millions, because it’s national Chili²⁰ Dog Day here in the U.S.  No, it’s not an official holiday, but it is an excuse to eat more than we actually should. We’ll be back tomorrow at the same time and hope you will join us.  More Learning English programs are straight ahead, and there is world news at the beginning of the hour on the Voice of America.

1 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 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。

7 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

8 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

9 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

10 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

11 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

12 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

13 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

14 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

15 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

16 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

17 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

18 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

19 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

20 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。