VOA慢速英语--海平面上升威胁历史悠久的灯塔

Rising Sea Levels Threatening Historic¹ Lighthouses

The threat of rising sea levels and erosion² have many people worried about the future of lighthouses in the United States and around the world.

Lighthouses are built on or near the shore. Their powerful lights help guide ships away from danger.

The East Point Lighthouse in New Jersey³ has been lighting⁴ up the Delaware Bay for more than 200 years. But the waters that surround it may bring about its end.

During storms, water hits a wall that is just 9 meters from the front of the lighthouse. After each major storm, the state and local governments rebuild around the lighthouse. They use 1,300-kilogram sand bags and other methods to protect it.

Nancy Patterson is president of the Maurice River Historical Society. She says something needs to be done more permanently⁵ to protect East Point, now.

“This history matters,” she said. “We need to do something — now — while there’s still something to save.”

She recently led a save-the-lighthouse meeting to call attention to the situation. She wanted to push the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to do something to save East Point before it falls into the bay. A simple fix would cost the state $3 million. Officials are considering what to do to try to save the lighthouse.

Some of America’s lighthouses continue to be used to guide ships and other boats. But a good number have been replaced by modern technology. Instead, the lighthouses are valued more for historical reasons.

Climate change is warming the oceans and melting polar ice, leading to rises in sea levels. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁶ Administration, or NOAA, says sea levels worldwide have been rising over the past 100 years. It says the rate has increased especially over the past 20 years.

Rising sea levels have already forced the relocation of several lighthouses. In 1999, the National Park Service moved the Cape⁷ Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton, North Carolina, nearly 884 meters inland. The move cost $11.8 million. In 1993, the Southeast Lighthouse on Block Island, Rhode Island, was moved more than 91 meters inland.

In New Jersey, seas have risen by 0.4 meters over the past 100 years, said Benjamin Horton, a professor at Rutgers University. He is a leading expert on climate change and sea level rise. Horton and other Rutgers researchers say that by 2050, the seas around East Point will have risen another 0.4 meters.

Tim Harrison is the editor of Lighthouse Digest, a publication based in the northern state of Maine. It has a list of 53 lighthouses around the United States that may be lost because of the effects of climate change.

“Lighthouses were built for one purpose: to save lives,” he said. “Now it’s our turn to step up and save these lighthouses.”

But some lighthouses have already been lost. Both the Galveston Jetty Lighthouse in Texas and the Sabine Bank Lighthouse in Louisiana were lost to storms or rising seas, Harrison explained. And the Kauhola Point Lighthouse on Hawaii’s Big Island was taken down after erosion nearby was so severe that it could not be saved.

Other lighthouses that are considered to be in danger from rising seas include the Sand Island Lighthouse at the mouth of Mobile Bay in Alabama, the Morris Island Lighthouse near Charleston, South Carolina, and the New Point Comfort Lighthouse in Virginia.

Around the world, seas are moving nearer to the Orfordness Lighthouse in Suffolk, England; the Troubridge Island Lighthouse in South Australia; and the Klipsaar Lighthouse in Estonia.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

erosion – n. the gradual destruction of something by natural forces

bay – n. a large area of water that is part of an ocean or lake and partly surrounded by land

navigation – n. the act, activity, or process of finding the way to get to a place when you are traveling in a ship, airplane, car

polar – adj. of or relating to the North or South Pole or the region around it

relocation – n. the act of moving something to

1 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

2 erosion   

n.腐蚀，侵蚀，磨损，削弱，减少

参考例句：

• The erosion of beach here is serious.这里海岸的腐蚀很严重。
• Drought and soil erosion had long been a major problem.干旱和水土流失一直是个老大难问题。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

5 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

7 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。