2006年VOA标准英语-Growing Population Makes Sustainable Devel

Bangkok
07 March 2006

A busy street in Bangkok   
  
As the 21st Century begins, environmentalists warn rapidly growing populations, combined with rising living standards in parts of the developing world, are placing unsustainable pressures on natural resources. All agree on the need to eradicate¹ poverty, but the challenge is how to do so without destroying the environment.

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Rush hour and traffic in Bangkok is at a standstill. The vehicles idling on the streets waste millions of dollars worth of fuel and spew tons of pollution into the air each day.

Their exhaust fumes² add to the discharge from massive air conditioners cooling the skyscrapers³ along the streets and the fuel-burning power plants outside the city.

Environmentalists say this is one of the negatives as people in developing nations begin to emerge from poverty and join the consumer culture. There are other problems too: rising health threats, degradation⁴ of waterways, farmland, forests, coastal⁵ areas, and, in the longer term, climate change and loss of biodiversity.

The United Nations Environmental Program released its Global Environment Outlook last month (Feb. 7) stating that nearly two-thirds of the world's ecosystems⁶ are in decline. The UN report says climate change caused by burning fossil fuels is spawning⁷ drought, more hurricanes and floods, which last year cost the insurance industry an estimated $200 billion.

U.N. Spokesman Nick Nuttall says this has become the price of development on a crowded planet.

"The economic and environmental issues have come really together over the past 12 months. The message is now crystal clear that the environment is the actual basis of [for] overcoming poverty, the basis of economic growth and stability in this world of six billion people," he said.

Nowhere is the effect of population on the environment more evident than in Asia -home to nearly two-thirds of the world's people and some of the most vibrant⁸ economies.

Chulalongkorn University population expert, Professor Vipan Prachuabmoh, says Asia also has some of the world's fastest growing cities. But the rush to greater economic opportunity in urban centers has big drawbacks.

"Rapid urban growth and unplanned, or poorly managed urbanization, may lead to urban poverty, unemployment, inadequate⁹ housing and infrastructure¹⁰, as well as environmental deterioration¹¹ and health hazards," she added.

Vipan says rising standards of living in Asia are also creating a voracious¹² appetite for consumer goods, which means more oil, coal and water are used by industry to provide the goods at market.

But U.N. spokesman Nuttall says emerging economic powers like China, India and Brazil cannot be blamed for pursuing the same prosperity seen in the industrialized world. And he says they deserve credit for understanding the link between growth and pressures on the environment.

"There are very encouraging signs that the developing countries of Asia are taking environmental sustainability very seriously, and taking it more seriously and at an earlier stage than we did in the West," said Nuttall.

He notes Chinese plans to lessen¹⁴ dependence¹⁵ on fossil fuels like coal while hoping to get 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources, such as hydroelectric dams, by 2015. India is working to clean up a half million rivers and lakes - noting a healthy environment is crucial to better development.

But that only goes so far when the number of people living on less than $2 a day has grown to three billion or half the world's population.

The poor present their own pressures on the environment. Those living at subsistence levels often are forced to resort to desperate measures. This can include cutting down or burning forestland indiscriminately - either to sell the lumber¹⁶ or cultivate the soil for food.

So while development can cause pressure on the environment, so can lack of development. Population expert Vipan says governmental action is key.

"Especially in the developing country, the government needs to invest in people, education and skills," noted¹⁷ Professor Vipan. "The government should stress investment in human resources and care more about harmony with nature than about unnecessary consumption."

The U.N. Environmental Program's Nick Nuttall suggests a step further: that rich countries pay poor countries for maintaining their natural reserves - like vital forestland.

"It is estimated that the tropical forests of the world are soaking up $60 billion worth of carbon. But the people in those countries, like the Congo, get paid nothing for their standing¹³ trees. Maybe there should be some kind of recompense for that," he continued.

Nuttall notes that many of the forests, wetlands and coral reefs in developing nations are also being explored to develop new crops, vital medicines and industrial products.

"We are moving from the old industries of the past into a biological century. And they [least developed nations] are the havens¹⁸ in many cases of these new genetic¹⁹ products," he said. "The question is how do [can] we come up with some kind of global regime that will recompense these people for the wealth they have."

Throughout the world, Nuttall says, there is a growing awareness²⁰ not only of the value of preserving the environment, but that the environment is also a huge source of monetary²¹ value if developed correctly. He calls it a new horizon for global environmental health.

But for people in the exhaust-choked streets of cities like Bangkok, that horizon at times may be difficult to see.

1 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

2 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

3 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

4 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

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 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

7 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

8 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

9 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

12 voracious   

adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• She's a voracious reader of all kinds of love stories.什么样的爱情故事她都百看不厌。
• Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector.约瑟夫·史密斯是个如饥似渴的藏书家。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

15 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。

16 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

19 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

20 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

21 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。