VOA标准英语2010年-Film Festival Sounds Alarm on Environm

Showcase of 155 films offers fresh perspective on green, climate change issues

Penelope Poulou | Washington, DC 26 March 2010

 
Photo: Esben Hardt/Ace¹ & Ace
If global warming continues at the same rate as today, by the end of this century, the Arctic could see a temperature increase of up to 12 degrees centigrade.

Every spring the nation's capital welcomes the cherry blossoms and the Environmental Film Festival. Flo Stone, director and founder² of the festival, says the event is wildly popular.

"It's a collaborative festival with, this year, 110 participating organizations. And we're showing films in 56 different locations. We've never had a place turn us down. Never."

Fresh perspective

Movie theaters, museums and universities screen films with a fresh perspective on environmental issues.For example, Eskil Hardt's "One Degree Matters," focuses on the destructive impact of global warming.

Hardt says that, while his film rings the alarm on global warming, it also carries a positive message that we can stop carbon emissions³ with renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

"We are showing that the technology is out there," says Hardt. "We can start changing the world tomorrow if we want to."

 

Green house

The U.S. documentary, "The Green House," shows how private initiative is changing the world one step at a time.

Jason Scadron and Liv Violette's documentary chronicles the building of the first carbon-neutral house in McLean, Virginia, a Washington, D.C. suburb. Architect Mark Turner built the house, which is about 75 percent more energy efficient than the average American home.

Its green roof, thermal⁴ floor tracks and fiber⁵ optic skylights all say green, Scadron says. "We really focused on how this house is being made. And how this house can be an example of future houses. There is a wellness to living green."

Evening Star Media
Chuck Nelson is a retired⁶ union coal miner who lives in an area affected⁷ by mountain top removal.

Coal country debate

That's not the case with West Virginia's coal country.The documentary, "Coal Country," shows how a mining technique called mountain top removal destroys the environment and releases green house gases in the Appalachian mountains.

"Where they blast off the tops of mountains, they role off the debris⁸ and the rock and the trees, roll them down the mountain sides into the valleys which contain streams," says filmmaker Phyllis Geller.

"Coal Country" also sheds light on the tensions between those in Appalachia who work for the industry and people who live close to the mining sites and feel their lives are threatened by carbon emissions.

VOA - A. Greenbaum
The annual Environmental Film Festival in Washington is in its 18th year, showcasing 155 films from all over the world

"The coal industry has supported myself, my wife and my three children," declares a coal miner.

"They have peppered us with coal dust," says a lady, who lives in the area.

The documentary says coal produces nearly half the electricity in the United States. Although it's not easy to replace, many of the films say environmental progress is on the horizon.

Change is within our means and without it, the filmmakers say, we would be doomed⁹. 
 
 
 

1 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 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。

4 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

5 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

9 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。