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Small Nevada Toad Listed as Endangered Due to Power Project

时间:2022-12-15 02:40:21

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Small Nevada Toad1 Listed as Endangered Due to Power Project

A power center that will create electricity by pumping hot water from the earth sounds like a good idea. The company that hopes to build the power center in a part of western Nevada says it will create electricity without creating very much pollution.

But the U.S. government's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) says the project will greatly change the area where a very small toad lives. A toad is a small animal that looks like a frog but has dry skin and lives on land.

The Dixie Valley toad lives in a small area about 160 kilometers from Reno, Nevada. It is the only place it is known to exist on Earth.

Because of the power center plans, the FWS in April temporarily moved the toad from its "threatened" list to its "endangered list." Animals on the endangered list are at a much higher risk of going extinct3, or no longer existing.

Last week, the FWS finalized4 that temporary move. It officially declared the Dixie Valley toad an endangered species5.

In its final ruling, the FWS said it was concerned that the power center will take the hot water from the ground before it can reach the surface naturally. The place where hot water comes up through the ground is a hot spring. The toads6 can only live on land that stays warm and wet because of the water from the ground.

FWS experts do not believe the toad will be able to adapt, or get used to, to the new environment. "These conditions could result in the species no longer persisting," or living, the FWS wrote.

The FWS also noted8 that the power project will change the conditions too quickly to give the toad a chance to adapt.

An environmental advocacy group called the Center for Biological Diversity said it was pleased with the FWS decision to protect the toad.

Patrick Donnelly is the group's director for the area that includes Nevada. He called the decision an "essential step to prevent the extinction9" of a special animal.

Donnelly agreed that clean energy is important in fighting the climate crisis10. "But," he said, "it can't come at the cost of extinction."

The power company behind the project is called Ormat Technology. Its original plan called for building two power plants that would produce 60 megawatts of electricity.

Environmental activists11 took legal action to block the building of the power plant late last year. A Reno judge is still considering the case.

In October, Ormat asked the judge to put the case on hold while it developed a new plan to build just one plant that would produce only 12 megawatts of power.

Ormat's Vice2 President is Paul Thomsen. He said the company's plan to create the power center will "support the fight against climate change" and is in line with U.S. President Joe Biden's plans to create clean energy.

Thomsen said the FWS ruling was not surprising, considering the emergency move to protect the toad last April. He also said the ruling does not change what Ormat is already doing to reduce and avoid possible harmful effects on the toad.

Words in This Story

pump –v. to force air or liquid out of something

persist7 –v. to continue to happen or exist

species –n. a group of animals or plants that are similar

advocacy –n. the act of supporting or asking for something

essential –adj. important or very basic


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1 toad oJezr     
n.蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆
参考例句:
  • Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
  • Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。
2 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
3 extinct CPAzO     
adj.灭绝的,不再活跃的,熄灭了的,已废弃的
参考例句:
  • All hopes were extinct.所有希望都破灭了。
  • Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。
4 finalized 73d0ccbca69b94ee4cd7fc367a8ac9fc     
vt.完成(finalize的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5 species FTizN     
n.物种,种群
参考例句:
  • Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗?
  • This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。
6 toads 848d4ebf1875eac88fe0765c59ce57d1     
n.蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短,一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句
7 persist KSVzi     
v.持续,存留;坚持不懈,执意
参考例句:
  • The bad weather will persist all over the country.这种坏天气将在全国各地持续下去。
  • His strength of will enabled him to persist.他的意志力使他能坚持下去。
8 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
9 extinction sPwzP     
n.熄灭,消亡,消灭,灭绝,绝种
参考例句:
  • The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
  • The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。
10 crisis pzJxT     
n.危机,危急关头,决定性时刻,关键阶段
参考例句:
  • He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明,在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
  • The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。
11 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》

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