SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - U.N. Report Disputes Link Between Fore

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - U.N. Report Disputes Link Between Forests and Floods
By George Grow and Katherine Gypson

Broadcast: Tuesday, October 25, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Do forests prevent major floods? A United Nations report says no.

VOICE ONE:

Building houses powered by the sun ... but what happens when it rains?

VOICE TWO:

And, later, we tell about a possible new way for many people with diabetes² to take their daily insulin.

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VOICE ONE:

 
A deadly landslide³ after Hurricane Stan hit Guatemala
People often blame the destruction of forests when rains lead to severe flooding. Such blame followed recent floods in Central America and East Asia, for example. But a new report disputes this idea.

It says there is no scientific evidence to link severe floods to the loss of forests. The report is the work of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Center for International Forestry⁴ Research.

Patrick Durst is a forestry official for the F.A.O. office in Bangkok. He says government officials, aid groups and the media are often quick to blame flooding on deforestation caused by small farmers and tree cutters. He says such ideas have, in the past, led some governments to force poor farmers from their lands and away from forests. Mister Durst calls such actions misguided.

VOICE TWO:

The new report says forests can help to reduce the flow of rainwater, or runoff, that causes floods in local areas. However, it says there is no evidence that the loss of trees is a major cause of severe widespread flooding. The report came out this month in the same week as major flooding caused by a powerful storm in Central America.

The report says the flood-reducing effects of forests depend heavily on the structure and depth of the soil. The amount of water in the soil is another influence. Even at the local level, the report says, the effects do not depend just on the presence of trees.

David Kaimowitz is director-general of the Center for International Forestry Research. He says planting trees and protecting forests can be good for the environment in many ways. But, he adds, preventing large floods is not one of them.

Mister Kaimowitz notes that thick forests were more plentiful⁵ a century ago. But he says the rate of what he calls "major flooding events" has remained the same over the past one hundred twenty years.

VOICE ONE:

Economic and human losses from floods have increased over the years, however. The report says that is mainly because more people live and work in areas where floods are common.

Pal⁶ Singh of the World Agroforestry Center says people need to stop blaming floods on those who live and work in and around forests. He says people should instead consider the effects of many different land-use issues. In some cases, he says, these issues can include poor methods of tree removal.

The report says people have believed since the nineteenth century that forests prevent floods by capturing heavy rainfalls. But it says major floods blamed on deforestation almost always happen after many days of rains. The water then has nowhere to go but into rivers, which flood quickly.

VOICE TWO:

Here are some other things said in the new report from the United Nations:

There can be a political interest not to dispute the traditional beliefs about forests and flooding. Governments can act to ban the removal of trees. Such policies give the appearance of strong action. But the effect is to force poor farmers from their lands and leave many people unemployed⁷. International agencies might also have an interest because the traditional beliefs lead to aid for reforestation projects.

David Kaimowitz at the Center for International Forestry Research says: "Politicians and policymakers should stop chasing quick fixes for flood-related problems."

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VOICE ONE:

You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The United States Department of Energy held the Solar Decathlon earlier this month. The event is a chance to see which team from a college or university can build the best solar-powered house.

Eighteen houses powered by energy from the sun formed a "solar village" on the National Mall here in Washington. Hundreds of students traveled from around the country as well as Puerto Rico, Canada and Spain. They built their houses on the grassy⁹ open space between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument.

VOICE TWO:

The teams were made up of students who want to be engineers, scientists and architects. Some of them spent almost two years working on their projects.

Each house had to collect as much energy as a family of four would need to heat their home, cook, wash clothes and do other tasks.

The houses had to be energy-efficient. The systems had to waste as little energy as possible.

The teams also designed their homes so that they would be pleasant to live in. Many of the houses in the solar village had gardens or walls that could move to create outdoor living spaces.

Each team competed in ten different competitions to decide the winner.

VOICE ONE:

For most of the eight-day competition, the students faced an additional challenge. Clouds covered the sun, and rain fell on the specially¹⁰ designed roofs of their houses. On a sunny day, these roofs take in the heat of the sun and change it into electrical energy. Tiles¹¹ on the floors of the houses store additional heat for use when the weather becomes cold.

The more solar panels¹² each house had on its roof and walls, the more energy the house could collect during breaks in the rain. Batteries stored the energy for later use.

The team from the University of Madrid was able to collect enough energy to power a computer and to heat several gallons of water. A gallon is almost four liters. But the students had trouble with another one of the ten events. They could not collect enough energy to win a race of cars powered by solar batteries.

VOICE TWO:

At the end of the week, the rain had not stopped. But it was time to take down the houses. Some of the teams said that they would ship the homes back to their schools and use them for educational purposes. Other teams said they planned to give their houses to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

 
2005 winning design
The team from the University of Colorado won the first Solar Decathlon in two thousand two. And they did it again this time. Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, finished second. California Polytechnic¹³ State University finished third.

The Energy Department plans to hold the Solar Decathlon every two years from now on.

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VOICE ONE:

There may be an easier way for many people with diabetes to take insulin to control their blood sugar levels. Diabetics who now need daily injections may one day be able to take their insulin by mouth. They would breathe it as a powder into their lungs, through a mouthpiece device.

The inhaled¹⁴ insulin is called Exubera. The drug companies Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and Nektar Therapeutics developed it. They say it is generally as effective as the injected form in controlling blood sugar levels. But they say it should not always be used in place of longer-lasting injections of insulin.

VOICE TWO:

Last month, an advisory¹⁵ committee of the United States Food and Drug Administration urged the agency to approve Exubera. The committee voted seven-to-two to support approval for both type one and type two diabetes. The F.D.A. generally follows the advice of its committees, but does not have to.

Some members of the committee expressed concern about possible safety risks, especially to people with lung disease. Smokers¹⁶ would probably not be able to use the inhaled insulin. But there are questions about the safety for people who breathe a lot of tobacco smoke in the air. The drug makers⁸ have proposed to study the long-term effects until two thousand nineteen.

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VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by George Grow and Katherine Gypson. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. Our programs are online at www.tingroom.com. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. If you have a science question that we might be able to answer on our program, send it to [email protected]. And listen again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

3 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

4 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

5 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

6 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

7 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

8 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

10 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

11 tiles   

n.瓦片，瓷砖( tile的名词复数 )；扁平的小棋子

参考例句：

• The wind dislodged one or two tiles from the roof. 大风从屋顶上刮下了一两片瓦来。
• On both slopes of the roof there are broken tiles. 屋顶的两面斜面都有破瓦片。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 panels   

镶板( panel的名词复数 )； 面； （门、墙等上面的）嵌板； 控制板

参考例句：

• One of the glass panels in the front door was cracked. 前门的一块方玻璃破裂了。
• Make sure the panels are treated with a wood preservative. 确保镶板用木材防腐剂处理过。

13 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

14 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

16 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。