美国国家公共电台 NPR--School district finds eliminating natural gas from new buildings is complicated

School district finds eliminating natural gas from new buildings is complicated

Transcript¹

Some schools in Portland, Ore., committed recently to some of the most progressive school climate policies in the nation. But the district is already struggling to meet benchmarks.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

An Oregon school district promised to eliminate natural gas from new buildings. No more gas stoves or boilers². But making good on that commitment is proving complicated. Here's NPR's Katia Riddle³.

KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE⁴: Climate activism came easily to Adah Crandall. She was in seventh grade when she organized her first protest.

ADAH CRANDALL: People ask, like, what are your extracurriculars? And I'm like, oh, climate organizing.

RIDDLE: Recently, Crandall was outside Portland's Grant High School in the pouring rain. She's a sophomore⁵ here. She says once she understood the magnitude of the climate crisis, she couldn't ignore it.

CRANDALL: I do feel like I sort of exist in two separate worlds at this point. Like, there's, like, my student world where I'm like at school, like, being a teenager to the best of my ability and then like, go home and, like, feel like I kind of have to be an adult in a way.

RIDDLE: She was part of a large coalition⁶ of people who worked to establish the new school policy at Portland Public Schools. It took three years. Goals include electric school buses, curriculum for students on climate justice and net zero emissions⁷ by 2040. Liam Castles is a fellow organizer.

LIAM CASTLES: That policy, you know, on paper is really, really good, right? Like, there's a reason it was celebrated⁸ as one of the best policies in the nation.

RIDDLE: Cassells graduated high school last year. He's taking a year off to do climate activism before college. Castles says even when the policy passed, he worried the district wouldn't follow through.

CASTLES: But there's exactly one thing it was missing, and that was that accountability piece.

RIDDLE: Now he and fellow activists⁹ are taking issue with another high school that's under renovation¹¹. Benson Polytechnic¹² is a few miles away. When it's finished, the building will not look like the energy-efficient buildings the policy describes. It will burn fossil fuels. Mike Rosen is a retired¹³ environmental engineer and volunteer who worked on the policy. He says he feels betrayed by the school district.

MIKE ROSEN: And then they do this 180-degree about-face on their own policy that they just passed.

RIDDLE: Rosen is standing¹⁴ outside Benson High. Behind him, workers stand on scaffolding amidst cranes and other equipment. He says it's important for the schools to set a good example for kids.

ROSEN: It's time for grown-ups to walk their talk.

RIDDLE: Dan Jung is the chief operating officer at Portland Public Schools.

DAN JUNG: The Benson project does not stop the district from reaching the climate policy goals.

RIDDLE: When the policy passed, plans for the building had been in place for years. Construction had started months previous. Jung says changing course now would cost between 6 and $8 million. Eventually, he says, the district will retrofit this high school with cleaner, all-electric power. It's unclear when that will be, but right now, he says it's too expensive.

JUNG: It's the cost of stopping a very large capital construction project.

RIDDLE: Activist¹⁰ Adah Crandall says $8 million may sound like a lot, but the total cost of this project was close to 300 million. With the impacts of climate change already being felt around the world, she says this generation has more to lose than their elders.

CRANDALL: I used to, like, do theater and play sports and, like, really loved those things. And I try to make time for them still, but it's like this is my priority.

RIDDLE: That's why Crandall says she's doubling down on holding people in power accountable for their impact on the climate. In this case, it's the administrators¹⁵ at her school district. Next time, it may be someone higher up. Crandall is graduating early. She's thinking seriously about running for office. Katia Riddle, NPR News, Portland.

(SOUNDBIE OF CODES IN THE CLOUDS' "YOUR PANOPTICON")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 boilers   

锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even then the boilers often burst or came apart at the seams. 甚至那时的锅炉也经常从焊接处爆炸或裂开。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The clean coal is sent to a crusher and the boilers. 干净的煤送入破碎机和锅炉。

3 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 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。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

11 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

12 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。

13 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。

14 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。

15 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城