2006年VOA标准英语-Nobel Prize Winner Launches Global Tree Plantin

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
08 November 2006

Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai Wednesday called on the world to plant one billion trees as part of a global effort to fight climate change. She launched the initiative at the United Nations' Climate Change conference being held in Kenya's capital.

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Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai and US Senator Barack Obama are planting an African Olive Tree at Uhuru Park Naiorbi, Aug. 28, 2006

Maathai, who is also Kenya's assistant environment minister, told reporters that the Billion Tree Campaign that she, Prince Albert II of Monaco, and the World Agroforestry Centre are backing is a practical, hands-on way to tackle an otherwise daunting¹ problem.

She said, "This is something that anybody can do. Anybody can dig a hole. Anybody can put a tree in the hole and water it, and everybody must make sure that the tree they plant survives. There are six billion of us and counting, so even if only one-sixth of us each planted a tree, we would definitely reach the target."

Under the Billion Tree Campaign, individuals, communities, organizations, businesses, governments, and others are encouraged to plant anywhere from one to 10 million trees.

Pledges to plant a certain number of trees are recorded on the campaign's Web site, which the United Nations Environment Program is to manage. Participants are encouraged to keep updating the Web site on their tree-planting activities so that they could be awarded with a certificate.

Trees play a vital role in the earth's ecosystem². They absorb carbon dioxide, trap rainwater and moisture, stabilize³ soil, control avalanches⁴, protect coastal⁵ areas, and perform other functions.

Forests cover some 30 percent of the earth's total land area, or about four billion hectares. The Democratic Republic of Congo is Africa's most forest-rich country.

But trees are being cut down at an alarming rate. Experts say to make up for the loss of trees in the past decade, some 130 million hectares - the size of Peru - would need to be planted with some 140 billion trees over a 10-year period.

Nobel Prize winner Maathai describes the changes she has seen in her home area of Nyeri near the Aberdare forest on the slopes of Mount Kenya.

"When I was growing up, the Aberdare was a pristine⁶ forest. It was thick with indigenous⁷ trees, indigenous vegetation. There were no roads, and rivers were flowing from the mountains," she said. "Today, of course, when a child looks at the Aberdare, it's very different. Many places have been cut down. Until very recently there were large farms where people were growing food crops. And so, the Aberdare forest of today is very different from the Aberdare forest of my childhood."

And such deforestation is very worrying. The United Nations says the loss of natural forests worldwide contributes more to global emissions⁸ each year than cars and other forms of transportation.

These emissions, or so-called greenhouse gasses, form a barrier that prevents the sun's energy from radiating back into space, raising the earth's temperature. This, in turn, contributes to rising sea levels, droughts, flooding, declining crop yields, and other effects.

The Billion Tree Campaign was launched at the United Nations' Climate Change conference being held in Kenya's capital.

Some 6,000 participants are looking at the problem of climate change and what to do about it. The conference ends November 17.

1 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

2 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。

3 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

4 avalanches   

n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• Avalanches poured down on the tracks and rails were spread. 雪崩压满了轨道，铁轨被弄得四分五裂。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

7 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

8 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。