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VOA慢速英语2011--Mangrove Forests Among the Most Carbon-r

时间:2011-05-10 05:15:59

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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Mangrove1 Forests Among the Most Carbon-rich Forests in the World

BOB DOUGHTY2: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. This week, we will tell how coastal3 forests help to fight rising temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere. We tell about efforts to clean up the highest mountain on Earth. And we tell about honors for three American scientists.
(MUSIC)
BOB DOUGHTY: A new report says mangrove forests store more planet-warming carbon dioxide than almost any other ecosystem5 on Earth. The report says loss of these forests is releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases trap warm air in the atmosphere. Most climate scientists believe the gases are responsible, at least in part, for climate change.
Mangrove forests are found along coasts in tropical countries. The warm water often serves as a home for fish and other creatures. The plants and trees also help protect coastal areas from storm damage.
FAITH LAPIDUS: The new report was published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Daniel Donato works with the United States Forest Service. He and his team studied tree mass, dead wood and soil carbon in twenty-five mangrove ecosystems6 in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Mr. Donato says these areas are among the most carbon-rich forests in the world. He found that mangroves store about three to four times more carbon per hectare as temperate7 forests or even tropical rainforests. But Mr. Donato says most of the carbon is hidden. The carbon is found mainly in the soil and tree roots.
BOB DOUGHTY: About one-third to one half of the world’s mangrove forests have been cut down in the past fifty years. Some of the forests were cut for wood or wood products. Others were lost to coastal development or aquaculture.
Mangroves make up less than one percent of all tropical forests. Mr. Donato says the report should get the attention of policymakers.
DANIEL DONATO: “It shows mangroves are probably pretty good candidates for things like carbon-market trading to encourage sustainable forest management.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: Some activists8 say carbon markets could be a powerful force for protecting the environment. In such a market, industries can buy the right to produce carbon dioxide in exchange for protecting forests or taking other steps.
Emily Pidgeon works for the group Conservation International. She says the value of the mangrove often is not clear to policymakers.
EMILY PIDGEON: “By suddenly having an actual mechanism9 to value these systems in dollars, it gives you a potentially very large new mechanism for countering the other financial and economic arguments.”
BOB DOUGHTY: Other groups are considering the economics10 of mangrove protection from the buyer’s side. They have urged Western supermarkets and other large buyers to only purchase farmed seafood11 that has little affect on mangrove loss.
Emily Pidgeon says one way to help developing countries value mangroves is to see them as something that provides many services. Those services could include protecting the fisheries that many coastal communities depend on for food and jobs. For many communities, carbon storage is just the latest service they may see mangroves providing.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: There it stands…on the border of Nepal and Tibet …eight thousand eight hundred fifty meters high. Some natives call it Chomolungma, or “Goddess Mother of the World.” But most people know it as Mount4 Everest, the highest mountain on earth.
The sky near the top is a beautiful blue color. New snow lies deep and white. Everything is clear and cold and clean. Or, at least, it once was clean. That was before people began to climb the mountain and leave behind thousands of kilograms of trash!
But help is on the way. Two mountain climbers from Nepal are leading a team that hopes to remove much of the trash.
BOB DOUGHTY: What kind of things have been left up there? The list is long. There are temporary shelters, ropes, oxygen bottles, clothing, sleeping bags, food…and bodies! Over two hundred people have died trying to climb Mount Everest. Many of their bodies are still there, completely frozen12.
This all started in nineteen twenty-one. British climbers were the first to try to reach the place called “the top of the world.” They quickly discovered that going up was hard work. But getting back down safely was even more difficult. The first problem is the weather. It can change quickly. The temperature can quickly drop to forty degrees below zero Celsius13. Winds can reach hurricane speed. Fingers and toes freeze, even if they are covered in thick, protective material.
FAITH LAPIDUS: The next big worry is the lack of oxygen in the air. The higher a climber goes, the thinner the air. Areas near the top of the mountain have only about thirty percent of the oxygen found at sea level.
What climbers have learned is that they must carry a lot of oxygen bottles and other supplies up the mountain if they ever hope to reach the top. But because of the cold weather and lack of oxygen, many climbers become very sick. Getting off the mountain alive is hard enough. Cleaning up all the trash on the way down is nearly impossible.
BOB DOUGHTY: What about all those bodies left on Mt. Everest? Why are they still there? Experts say it is because they are too heavy to bring down. Climbers are told that, if they get sick high on the mountain, or fall and break a bone, they should not expect help. Many climbers have become so tired they have sat down to rest and never gotten up.
So Apa Sherpa, Dawa Steven Sherpa, and their team have decided14 to clean up the mountain. They will be paid a small amount for each kilogram of objects they bring down. But the team’s leaders say the money is not important. They want to do this for their country, and the world.
FAITH LAPIDUS: There have been three other attempts in recent years to clean Mount Everest. But this is the first attempt at removing trash from the “Death Zone.” That is the level above eight thousand meters. Up there, the thin air and cold can kill a person very quickly.
Apa Sherpa knows where to find much of the trash on Mount Everest. He has climbed to the top a record twenty times since nineteen ninety.
(MUSIC)
BOB DOUGHTY: Finally, the National Science Foundation will honor three leading scientists at a dinner tonight in Washington, DC. The three are being recognized for their success in science, engineering and technology.
The National Science Foundation, or NSF, is an independent agency of the federal government. It supports research and education in all areas of science and engineering.
Casey Dunn is a biologist at Brown University in Rhode Island. He is being honored for his work on animal evolution and the origins of biological complexity15. His investigations16 have involved deep-sea creatures called siphonophores. The National Science Foundation says his work has helped increase understanding about how evolution affects the diversity of life.
Casey Dunn will receive the Alan T. Waterman Award. It is the NSF’s highest honor for scientists thirty five years old or younger. He will also receive five hundred thousand dollars over three years to help finance17 his research.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Another honoree is the President of the National Academy of Engineering, Charles Vest. He will receive the Vannevar Bush Award for his leadership in science and technology.
Mr. Vest served as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from nineteen ninety until two thousand four. He has also served as a director of the chemical company Dupont and of IBM. And he served on several federal committees.
BOB DOUGHTY: The NSF also plans to present its Public Service Award to Moira Gunn. She was the first woman to earn a PhD in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in Indiana. She currently18 serves as the managing director of Biotechnology Programs at the University of San Francisco.
Ms. Dunn is being recognized for increasing public understanding of science and engineering. In nineteen ninety-three, she created the radio program Tech Nation. The program examines the effect of science and technology on our everyday lives.
The National Science Foundation will also present a second Public Service Award Tuesday night. It is going to the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake, Jim Tedder19 and June Simms, who was our producer. I’m Faith Lapidus.
BOB DOUGHTY: And I’m Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.


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1 mangrove 4oFzc2     
n.(植物)红树,红树林
参考例句:
  • It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
  • Many consider this the most beautiful mangrove forest in all Thailand.许多人认为这里是全泰国最美丽的红树林了。
2 doughty Jk5zg     
adj.勇猛的,坚强的
参考例句:
  • Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质:脾气倔强,性格刚强。
  • The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
3 coastal WWiyh     
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。
4 mount 6Fixv     
n.山峰,乘用马,框,衬纸;vi.增长,骑上(马);vt.提升,爬上,装备
参考例句:
  • Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
  • She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。
5 ecosystem Wq4xz     
n.生态系统
参考例句:
  • This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
6 ecosystems 94cb0e40a815bea1157ac8aab9a5380d     
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 temperate tIhzd     
adj.温和的,温带的,自我克制的,不过分的
参考例句:
  • Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
  • Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。
8 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
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》
9 mechanism zCWxr     
n.机械装置;机构,结构
参考例句:
  • The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
  • The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。
10 economics grzxZ     
n.经济学,经济情况
参考例句:
  • He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学,该学科是很重要的。
  • One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。
11 seafood 7j6zUl     
n.海产食品,海味,海鲜
参考例句:
  • There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
  • Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。
12 frozen 2sVz6q     
adj.冻结的,冰冻的
参考例句:
  • He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上,他被冻死了。
  • The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。
13 Celsius AXRzl     
adj.摄氏温度计的,摄氏的
参考例句:
  • The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
  • The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。
14 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
15 complexity KO9z3     
n.复杂(性),复杂的事物
参考例句:
  • Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
  • The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
16 investigations 02de25420938593f7db7bd4052010b32     
(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究
参考例句:
  • His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查,但没有发现什么。
  • He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。
17 finance cktxR     
n.财务管理,财政,金融,财源,资金
参考例句:
  • She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
  • A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。
18 currently SvMzI2     
adv.通常地,普遍地,当前
参考例句:
  • Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
  • Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。
19 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

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