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VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-05-24 New Study Predicts Huge Species Loss from Climate Change

时间:2013-06-06 09:28:49

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AS IT IS 2013-05-24 New Study Predicts Huge Species Loss from Climate Change

From VOA Learning English, this is At It Is.

Welcome! I’m Caty Weaver1.

This week, American scientists said carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere had risen to its highest level in 2.5 million years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric2 Administration measured carbon dioxide at more 400 parts per million. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography recorded a similar measurement. 

The announcement led to renewed fears and discussion of climate change. But the 400 level reading is not that important, scientists say. They are more concerned about the speed at which carbon dioxide levels have climbed.

On today’s show we tell about some major climate change research. Two teams of scientists looked at large-scale environmental effects of rising temperatures instead of the more common study of local environments.

A new study has found that many plants and animals will disappear forever unless people take steps to stop climate change. Researchers considered how climate change might affect about 50,000 common plant and animal species. As Christopher Cruise reports, the study was the largest ever about the possible effects of a warming atmosphere.

The researchers looked at plant and animal losses in a world four degrees Celsius3 warmer than it was in 1800. They found that major losses are likely by the year 2100. Rachel Warren is a professor of climate research at University of East Anglia in Britain. She led the study.

“And we found that if there is no action to reduce emissions4 of greenhouse gases, that more than half of the plants and one-third of animals would lose more than half of their climatic range.”

She says if nothing is done to stop or slow the rising temperatures, life will be affected5 in almost every part of the world.

“And we found those losses were greater, although they are quite large everywhere, the biggest losses were in sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, Amazonia, Australia, North Africa, Central Asia and Southeastern Europe.”

So picture a world where common species like cocoa beans, coffee or frogs have become rare or endangered. Rachel Warren says the disappearance6 of even a small number of life forms can harm ecosystems7. This also results in harm to the life support systems those systems provide.

“These are things like the purification of water and air, the cycling of nutrients8, which is very important for our agriculture, pollination9, the provision of food and fuel for societies that depend on land, Flood control and soil erosion, all of these are affected by ecosystems.”

The study also attempted to predict the effects of possible human action against climate change. The researchers considered what would happen if greenhouse or industrial gases reached a high in 2016 and then started to drop by two to five percent a year.

“In that scenario10, we found that we could avoid 60 percent of these range losses. We then compared that with a situation where emissions peaked in 2030 and then were reduced at five percent yearly and found that we could still avoid 40 percent of the losses.”

However, greenhouse gas emissions keep climbing. And, more so than the rates researchers were even considering.

“The emissions are currently increasing at a rate that slightly exceeds that in our 4 degrees (warmer) scenario.”

Rachel Warren says the study makes clear the need to reduce emissions.

I’m Christopher Cruise.

Some scientists continue to debate the extent to which people have affected the environment. But others warn of planetary changes comparable to the glacial snow and ice melt of more than 11,000 years ago. These scientists say the world’s water systems are seriously threatened.

Researchers have been debating the issue at a meeting this week in the German city of Bonn. Jim Tedder11 has our report.

The scientists are considering whether to add an epoch12 to the World Geological Scale. The scale divides Earth’s physical history into main epochs, or periods, of change. Scientists say the Anthropocene epoch would represent the major planetary changes caused by human activity.

Anik Bhaduri is executive officer of the Global Water Systems Project, based in Bonn.

“For nearly a decade, the Global Water Systems Project has been coordinating13 and supporting the broad research to study the complex water systems with interactions between natural and human components14. And what we found is human activities play a very central role in inducing and influencing the changes in the global water systems.”

Traditionally, scientists use information about local environments to study human effects on water systems. But, the Global Water Systems Project takes a worldwide look at how human activity affects such systems. Mister Bhaduri calls that is a game changer in environmental research.

“Humans are impacting the global water systems by building dams, through land use changes, and it influences the global water cycle. As a consequence, the global water systems is vulnerable to local-scale human-induced traces. And it has wide-scale ramifications15 at larger regional and continental16 and global scales.”

For example, one paper under discussion is from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program. The paper says that, “on average, humanity has built one large dam every day for the last 130 years.”

It adds that tens of thousands of large dams now re-direct river flows that have supported ecosystems for thousands of years.

The paper says groundwater and hydrocarbon17 pumped into low-lying coastal18 areas have caused land to sink. This land helps to protect coastlines from storms and tsunamis19.

The paper says people now move more rock and rock sediment20 than the forces of ice, wind and water combined. The drainage of wetlands for development also removes a natural barrier to floods.

Anik Bhaduri says the world may reach a point where damaged water systems cannot be repaired.  He says international efforts to ensure water security for humans can sometimes work against the environment. And he says water security means both water availability and water quality.

Project co-chair Charles Vorosmarty says 500 billion dollars a year is spent on concrete, pipes, pumps and chemicals to deal with water problems. He says this has created, in his words, “a technological21 curtain separating clean water…and the highly stressed natural waters that sit in the background.”

The meeting in Bonn ends on Friday. I’m Jim Tedder.

And that’s As It Is for today. I’m Caty Weaver.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
2 atmospheric 6eayR     
adj.大气的,空气的;大气层的;大气所引起的
参考例句:
  • Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
  • Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。
3 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。
4 emissions 1a87f8769eb755734e056efecb5e2da9     
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。
5 affected TzUzg0     
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。
6 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
7 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
8 nutrients 6a1e1ed248a3ac49744c39cc962fb607     
n.(食品或化学品)营养物,营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
  • Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 pollination FOGxH     
n.授粉
参考例句:
  • The flowers get pollination by insects.这些花通过昆虫授粉。
  • Without sufficient pollination,the growth of the corn is stunted.没有得到充足的授粉,谷物的长势就会受阻。
10 scenario lZoxm     
n.剧本,脚本;概要
参考例句:
  • But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
  • This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。
11 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
12 epoch riTzw     
n.(新)时代;历元
参考例句:
  • The epoch of revolution creates great figures.革命时代造就伟大的人物。
  • We're at the end of the historical epoch,and at the dawn of another.我们正处在一个历史时代的末期,另一个历史时代的开端。
13 coordinating fc35d08ba9bb2dcfdc96033a33b9ae1e     
v.使协调,使调和( coordinate的现在分词 );协调;协同;成为同等
参考例句:
  • He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
  • He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的,难道我们不去请他? 来自电影对白
14 components 4725dcf446a342f1473a8228e42dfa48     
(机器、设备等的)构成要素,零件,成分; 成分( component的名词复数 ); [物理化学]组分; [数学]分量; (混合物的)组成部分
参考例句:
  • the components of a machine 机器部件
  • Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。
15 ramifications 45f4d7d5a0d59c5d453474d22bf296ae     
n.结果,后果( ramification的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
  • What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢? 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
17 hydrocarbon tcMzs     
n.烃,碳氢化合物
参考例句:
  • During incomplete combustion some of the hydrocarbon fuel is cracked.在不完全的燃烧中,一些烃燃料裂解。
  • The hydrocarbon must be an alkene.这个碳氢化合物必定是烯烃。
18 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。
19 tsunamis a759fe8c9bbe15580d54b753ecec1e73     
n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山,包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
  • Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧! 来自辞典例句
20 sediment IsByK     
n.沉淀,沉渣,沉积(物)
参考例句:
  • The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后,水变清了。
  • Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。
21 technological gqiwY     
adj.技术的;工艺的
参考例句:
  • A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
  • Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今, 随着科技进步,生活节奏不断增快。

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