Prime farmland in Ontario, Calif., is being overtaken by warehouses

Prime farmland in Ontario, Calif., is being overtaken by warehouses²

Transcript³

East of Los Angeles, giant warehouses and distribution centers are replacing farms in an area known as the Inland Empire. The logistics industry is changing what was once an agricultural landscape.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

There's a land rush going on in the part of California, east of Los Angeles, known as the Inland Empire. And it's fueled by online shopping. The logistics industry is changing what was once an agricultural landscape into an industrial one. Gloria Hillard reports.

GLORIA HILLARD, BYLINE⁴: At the end of a small dirt road, visitors to Randy Bekendam's farm are greeted by two cows, the color of butterscotch. The 69-year-old has been leasing and farming this land for more than 15 years. His jeans and cowboy hat are well-worn.

RANDY BEKENDAM: So the chickens are in the orchard⁵ to keep the weeds down. They're also fertilizing⁶ the orchard. So it's a beautiful synergy.

HILLARD: Residents of the city of Ontario come here to buy organic fruits and vegetables. School teachers and parents bring kids here to see the animals and how things grow, like the long, even rows of broccoli⁷ and beets⁸.

BEKENDAM: Right now, we're transitioning from cool weather crops into some warmer weather crops.

HILLARD: And, Bekendam says, transitioning away from what once was agriculture for as far as the eye can see to a different picture. To show me, we get into his truck and drive a few minutes away.

BEKENDAM: Just a line of warehouse¹. I mean, it continues. No view. There's no vista⁹. There's nothing. And all of it's prime farmland.

HILLARD: A line of 18 wheelers Dosey Doe at every four-way stop.

SUSAN PHILLIPS: I don't think anybody realizes what the cumulative¹⁰ impact is going to be.

HILLARD: Susan Phillips is the director of the environmental conservancy at nearby Pitzer College.

PHILLIPS: It just worsens climate. It worsens pollution. It makes things hotter. There's so many detrimental¹¹ effects to it that it is a tremendous worry that we've invested so heavily in that infrastructure¹².

JASON KROTTS: Well, I think there's a lot we bring.

HILLARD: Jason Krotts is the managing principal of Real Estate Development Associates. His latest venture is a 150-acre project called the South Ontario Logistics Center.

KROTTS: Between our three project phases, our projects, once stabilized¹³ and fully¹⁴ built out, will create almost 34,000 jobs.

HILLARD: The land, a former dairy with knee-high grass and abandoned barns, became the focus of community backlash after the city modified zoning, paving the way for Krotts' project.

KROTTS: We're constantly monitoring the political climate of all of our cities that we have projects in.

HILLARD: City planners say the decision to move away from agriculture in that area of Ontario was made nearly 25 years ago. Scott Murphy is the city's executive director of community development.

SCOTT MURPHY: The desire was to see this area transition from agricultural use to other uses.

HILLARD: But to some residents, those other uses are heading in the wrong direction.

REGINA SMITH: It's like one warehouse after the next, after the next.

HILLARD: Regina Smith (ph) grew up here.

SMITH: I think we're all guilty of utilizing¹⁵, you know? Like, that huge Amazon warehouse that went up, I use Amazon every day, you know? So we're all guilty of it. But it is disappointing because you're going to see all this disappear.

BEKENDAM: So it's a fight that has to be fought.

HILLARD: Farmer Randy Bekendam, along with the group Ontario for Agriculture, is trying to block the new logistics center with a referendum, which they hope to place on this fall's ballot¹⁶.

BEKENDAM: Let's pause. And for certain, don't pave prime farmland. And let's rethink what we really need for the future.

HILLARD: Bekendam's future is uncertain. The owner of the land he farms recently sold it to a developer. Bekendam has three years remaining on his lease. For NPR News, I'm Gloria Hillard in Ontario, Calif.

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1 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

2 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

3 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。

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 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

6 fertilizing   

v.施肥( fertilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Sometimes the preliminary step must be taken of reducing weed population before fertilizing. 有时候，在施肥之前，必须采取减少杂草密度的预备性步骤。 来自辞典例句
• The self fertilizing garden can also be planted in raised beds. 自我施肥的菜园也可以在苗圃床中种植。 来自互联网

7 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

8 beets   

甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红

参考例句：

• Beets are Hank's favorite vegetable. 甜菜根是汉克最爱吃的蔬菜。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

9 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

10 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

11 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

12 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。

13 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 utilizing   

v.利用，使用( utilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Utilizing an assembler to produce a machine-language program. 用汇编程序产生机器语言的过程。 来自辞典例句
• The study and use of devices utilizing properties of materials near absolute zero in temperature. 对材料在接近绝对零度时的特性进行研究和利用的学科。 来自辞典例句

16 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。