VOA慢速英语2021--为什么停止使用燃煤如此困难？

Why Is It so Hard to End Coal Burning?

This week at the United Nations climate change conference, leaders are talking about ways to end the world's dependence¹ on coal for fuel.

Alok Sharma represents Great Britain. He said the world needs to leave coal "in the past where it belongs."

Coal is the world's biggest source of fuel for electricity. It is also the world's biggest single source of greenhouse² gases.

Some wealthy nations may be able to put technology in place to reduce their need for coal. But developing countries like India will not be able to make such a change so easily.

Take, for example, a worker named Raju. He lives in the city of Dhanbad in eastern India. He steals coal from mines and takes it to people who will sell it. The Associated Press news agency³ talked with Raju about his work.

He told the AP he gets paid about $2 for his delivery⁴. Each delivery contains up to 200 kilograms of coal tied to his bicycle. He rides the heavy bicycle about 16 kilometers from the mines to the buyers during the night so he cannot be seen by police.

He is one of thousands of people who do the same to earn a small amount of money.

Raju's work is one example of how the world's economy depends on coal. He once worked on a farm. However, flooding in the area took away most jobs. Now, he can only make a living delivering coal.

Climate change -- caused in part by burning coal – led to the flooding that made Raju find a new job.

It is a sad story, he said, but "so many people, they've been saved by coal."

Developing countries say they should be permitted to burn coal for power, just as the wealthy countries did in the past. They argue that the wealthy nations got rich by burning coal to make steel and send electricity to factories.

In India, many people live without electricity. However, that may change as more people will need air conditioning as temperatures rise.

Coal India wants to solve India's energy problems by mining more coal. By 2024, it expects to mine over 900 million metric⁵ tons per year.

D.D. Ramanandan represents the Center of Indian Trade Unions. He said talks about moving away from coal are only happening in places like Paris, Glasgow and New Dehli. In the industrial parts of India, people have used coal for 100 years, he said, and they will continue to do so.

Experts say this way of thinking in India will hurt the planet⁶ overall⁷. It will also hurt Jharkhand, the part of India that produces the most coal.

Sandeep Pai studies energy and climate change for the Center for Strategic⁸ and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He sees the problem. Millions of people in India make a living from coal. Some are employed by coal mines. Others work for businesses that make steel and brick⁹. Their power comes from burning coal. India's railways are the largest employers¹⁰ in the country. Much of their money comes from moving coal.

"Coal is an ecosystem¹¹," Pai said.

The economic slowdown that came from the COVID-19 health crisis¹² hurt some people in India. People who used to work other jobs, like driving taxis, do not have as many customers.

In the mining region¹³ of Dhanbad, coal is the only work there is.

Naresh Chauhan and his wife, Rina Devi, make $3 per day selling coal. If the coal mines close, they will not be able to do anything else.

As renewable energy becomes less costly¹⁴, the demand for coal will go down and people who work in coal will not earn as much. Pai said countries whose economies depend on coal will need to teach workers how to do other jobs.

Murti Devi is 32. She is a single mother of four children. She lost her job at a coal mine four years ago. The only thing she can do is look for coal to sell to traders. She might make $1 on some days. Other days she makes no money and must ask others for help.

"If there is coal, then we live," she said. "If there isn't any coal, then we don't live."

Words in This Story

greenhouse gas – n. gas from the burning of fuel that traps warmth in the Earth's atmosphere

air conditioning – n. a system used for cooling and drying the air in a building, room, etc.

customer – n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

ecosystem – v. everything that exists in a particular environment

renewable – adj. restored or replaced by natural processes : able to be replaced by nature

1 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

2 greenhouse   

n.花房，温室，玻璃暖房

参考例句：

• Behind the green house was a greenhouse.在那所绿房子后面是一个花房。
• The tomatoes were grown in the greenhouse.这些西红柿是在温室栽培的。

3 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

4 delivery   

n.交付；投递；分娩；解救者；演讲的风格

参考例句：

• The strike caused a great delay in the delivery of the mail.这次罢工严重地延误了邮件的投递。
• He was employed at the local grocery store as a delivery boy.他受雇于当地杂货店当送货员。

5 metric   

adj.公制的，米制的，十进制的；n.度量标准，公制，米制，十进制

参考例句：

• In the metric system,measurements are made in metres and liters.在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。
• The metric system is fit to all of the world. 公制适用于全世界。

6 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

7 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

8 strategic   

adj.战略（上）的，战略上重要的

参考例句：

• The army moved for strategic reasons.军队作了战略转移。
• The bridge is of strategic importance to us.这座桥对我们至关重要。

9 brick   

n.砖；vt.用砖砌，用砖堵住

参考例句：

• She stared blankly at the brick wall in front of her.她面无表情地瞪着面前的砖墙。
• I bought a brick of ice cream for my daughter.我给女儿买了块冰砖。

10 employers   

雇主( employer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• The onus is on employers to follow health and safety laws. 雇主有义务遵行健康安全法。

11 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

12 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

13 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

14 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。