VOA标准英语2009-Indonesia's Rainy Season Heats Up Trash Talk

Rivers and canals in the Indonesian capital run black and putrid¹ from the garbage that builds up along their edges. So clogged² are they with waste that they often can not carry rainwater away from the city, leaving it flooded.

Sara Schonhardt | Jakarta 24 November 2009

A scavenger³ collects trash for recycling in a slum area in Jakarta, Indonesia (Aug 2008 file photo)

The rivers and canals in Jakarta run black and putrid from the garbage that builds up along their edges. So clogged are they with waste that they often can not carry rainwater away from the city, leaving it flooded.

Jakarta residents are bracing⁴ for the floods expected throughout the November to February rainy season. While the heavy rains have always filled the streets and waterways, the city's residents themselves worsen the problem.

Jakarta's sanitation⁵ agency says the city's residents produce 6,300 tons of garbage a day. Only five percent of that ends up being processed for reuse.

Much of the rest ends up in poorly maintained dump sites, thrown into the streets or tossed into rivers and canals. And when the rains come, that trash clogs⁶ drains and dams waterways, sending even more water into streets and homes.

Fitrian Ardiansyah is the climate and energy program director at the environment organization WWF. He says solving the problem requires residents to reduce consumption and increase recycling.

"It means the biggest component⁷ of trash in Jakarta is really being dumped in the river bodies or the sewers⁸. So it's really one of the biggest challenges in Jakarta, and it's not only associated with the infrastructure⁹ but also the behaviors of Jakarta," he said.

Household waste makes up nearly 60 percent of the city's trash, and most of it can be reused. But many residents in Asia's megacities simply toss their trash aside. In cities like Jakarta, where new dump sites are scarce, curbing¹⁰ waste output has become a priority of environmental advocacy groups.

The WWF considers Jakarta to be one of the Asian cities most at risk from the effects of climate change. As rising global temperatures raise sea levels, the low-lying city is increasingly vulnerable to floods - a situation made worse by the rapidly growing population and Jakarta's mounds¹¹ of trash.

Jakarta Green Monster is a group focused on saving the city's one remaining wetland area. It recently held a volunteer clean-up day to educate people about the importance of cutting the use of materials such as plastic bags and bottles, which threaten Jakarta's natural ecosystems¹².

Hendra Aquan is the group's community development coordinator¹³. At the clean-up day, he said trash that flows in from the Ciliwung River gets stuck in the mangroves, which protect Jakarta from flooding, destroying the tree roots as well as the habitats of native birds.

"There's so many kinds of rubbish, like styrofoam, plastic bags. We've found sofas and sandals and many others. So this is like a one-stop shopping area for rubbish," he said.

To help spread its message, Jakarta Green Monster works with companies looking to expand their community activities. Dedi Wahyudi works for Kellogg Brown and Root, a U.S. engineering and construction company. At the wetland clean-up day, he said the effort made him more aware of what happens to his garbage.

"We have to continue this event more regularly. Maybe every two months. We start with ourselves, and the others maybe will follow us," he said.

After two hours of pulling trash from the wetland area, participants share soft drinks and listen to the words of Efek Rumah Kaca, or Greenhouse Effect, a band helping¹⁴ promote awareness¹⁵ of the effect of climate change in Jakarta. Around 500 kilograms of trash were hauled away to the city's main 125-hectare dump, but if the sanitation department's predictions pan out, it will not be long before it is back.

Next month, officials from around the world gather in Copenhagen to negotiate an agreement to reduce global warming and help countries cope with rising temperatures. It is not clear, however, if the negotiators will agree on binding¹⁶ commitments to cut emissions¹⁷ of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, which are thought to contribute to warming.

1 putrid   

adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的

参考例句：

• To eat putrid food is liable to get sick.吃了腐败的食物容易生病。
• A putrid smell drove us from the room.一股腐臭的气味迫使我们离开这房间。

2 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

3 scavenger   

n.以腐尸为食的动物，清扫工

参考例句：

• He's just fit for a job as scavenger.他只配当个清道夫。
• He is not a scavenger nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are.它不是食腐动物，也不像有些鲨鱼那样，只知道游来游去满足食欲。

4 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

5 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

6 clogs   

木屐； 木底鞋，木屐( clog的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Clogs are part of the Netherlands national costume. 木屐是荷兰民族服装的一部分。
• Clogs are part of the Dutch traditional costume. 木屐是荷兰传统装束的一部分。

7 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

8 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 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。

10 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

11 mounds   

土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆

参考例句：

• We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
• Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊，这就是同墓，”——我想他要说的一定是公墓，“看到那些土墩了吗？

12 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

13 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 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。

16 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

17 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。