VOA慢速英语2014 知识不会导致行动上的环境

 

Knowledge Does Not Lead to Action on Environment 知识不会导致行动上的环境

Monty Hempel is a professor of environmental sciences at Redlands University in California. He studies ecological¹ literacy² -- or ecoliteracy, for short. Ecoliteracy is the ability to think about and understand the natural processes that make life possible. 

Monty Hempel says ecoliteracy gives people knowledge about environmental problems. But he says it does not always work to get them to change their behavior.

“Ecoliteracy is a phrase invented to describe the kinds of knowledge that we need to operate sustainably in the society in which we live. And that means with the environmental life-support systems that provide sustenance³ for everybody, not just humans, but other species⁴.”

Mr. Hempel wrote part of the Worldwatch Institute’s latest State of the World report. His chapter is called Ecoliteracy: Knowledge is Not Enough.

“Some people think that ecoliteracy is just a green form of science literacy. And what I have tried to ask is whether that’s enough. In other words, what an ecologically-literate person needs to know might include things like the cycles and the flows, the energy systems, all of those kind of things that we would call the science of ecology.”

In other words, he says, simply knowing about environmental problems does not lead people to do something about them.

“That doesn’t seem to lead to action to protect our environment -- to protect our life-support system to the level that we need to. Just because we know a lot about the environment doesn’t mean that we actually act to save it.”

He adds that people may not be very worried about environmental problems if they seem far away.

“Some people call it psychological⁵ distance. A lot of climate issues are worse in the Arctic⁶ and most of us don’t spend time in the Arctic. And so, there’s a certain distance. But there’s also a distance that’s happening in the world as it urbanizes -- people spending more time in front of screens and less time out in nature. We become, if you will, disconnected from the natural systems that used to be the key to success for a human being.”

He says that, in the past, it would be hard for individuals to find food, water and shelter if they did not understand their environment.

“We give it less thought and perhaps we give it less importance in our own lives.”

Professor Hempel says learning⁷ about nature would help people balance their lives. And he says it might even help reduce the number of people in the United States who are overweight, especially children.

“To help children discover the wonders of nature. To help children discover what it is when they take a breath. They can probably thank the ocean for every other breath they take because of the oxygen that’s produced there.”

He adds that children should learn about nature in school.

“One of the things that I think ecoliteracy would help us do is to bring back -- through experience -- those wonders of encounters⁸ with wildlife, with other creatures than ourselves. And that that would actually contribute to our learning.”

Most scientists agree our climate is changing. But Monty Hempel says there is not such agreement among non-scientists. He says too many decisions are affected⁹ by money and politics rather than science.

“How do we go back to a governance system that can actually use science to help us solve problems? That if we had a kind of system of governance that allowed us to incorporate¹⁰ what we know in science -- and to respond to it -- we would all be better off.”

1 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

2 literacy   

n.识字，有文化，读写能力

参考例句：

• I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
• The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。

3 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。

4 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

5 psychological   

adj.心理的，精神上的

参考例句：

• Work also provides psychological well-being.工作还能使人身心健康。
• The psychological advantage of direct control is impressive.直接控制所收到的心理效果很大。

6 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

7 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

8 encounters   

遭遇战( encounter的名词复数 )； [天文学]（向着某一天体的）接近； 突然遇到

参考例句：

• Encounters of like charges act to diminish the coagulation rate. 同性带电粒子间的碰撞作用减少凝聚率。
• At each stage of development the trematode encounters formidable hazards. 吸虫在发育的每一个阶段，都可能遭遇到极大的风险。

9 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。

10 incorporate   

vt.包含，加上，吸收；把…合并，使并入

参考例句：

• Paints incorporate with oil.颜料与油混合在一起。
• We had to incorporate the company for tax reasons.由于纳税的原因，我们不得不把那家公司合并了。