以色列帮助加州对付水短缺问题

AS IT IS 2015-07-12 Israel Helps California Deal with Water Shortages 以色列帮助加州对付水短缺问题

Israel knows how to deal with drought. The small Middle Eastern country has experienced dry weather conditions and water shortages for many years. The American state of California is in the fourth year of a drought. So a Jewish group proposed a conference to show Californians what Israelis can offer in terms of technology, knowledge and support.

Barry Broad is head of the Sacramento Jewish Federation¹. He says the idea for the meeting was a product of Sacramento’s Sister City relationship with the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

“We thought given California’s water situation -- we’re in a very serious drought -- and Israel’s advanced technology in this area…this would be the perfect Sister City event to plan. Bringing experts from Israel to tell us what are the things we can learn from Israel’s longer and more extensive history dealing² with life in a permanently³ arid⁴ climate.”

In California, hundreds of thousands of people pay a flat rate for their water. In other words, they pay the same amount, whether they use a lot of water or very little.

Israel treats water differently. Eilon Adar is director of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev desert. He says water is considered a national resource, like oil or natural gas. The Israel Water Authority sets the price of water. Mr. Adar says that the more water someone uses, the more they must pay.

“In my country, when I buy a unit of water to my house, I pay for the water as a commodity; I pay for the transmission, and I pay for the treatment of the water released later on from my house. And this, I think, is the key for success.”

Israel has five desalination⁵ plants in operation. They remove salt from sea water so it can be drunk and used to cook and clean clothes. More than half of the water for homes, farms and businesses comes from this desalination process.

A desalination plant will soon begin operating near the city of San Diego, California. California Governor Jerry Brown has called for a 25 percent reduction in the use of water. And in November, voters approved a plan for the government to raise money to help solve the state’s water problems.

Mr. Adar says the biggest barrier to solving California’s long-term water problem may have more to do with politics than technology. He says large cities in the southern part of the state demand fresh water from the northern part.

Darryl Steinberg is the former president of the California Senate. He says cities throughout the state have to stop fighting each other for water.

“Truth is, we don’t have room for division here. It’s one state.  There’s less water. There’s more people, and we’re going to have to be much more aggressive and come together in a much more effective way over time, if we’re going to deal with this. And I’m confident we can.”

Mr. Adar says farmers, property owners and water companies must work together to save water. He says Israel will use its advanced technology, information and experience to help any country that asks.

Words in This Story

drought – n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

resource – n. something that a country has and can use to increase its wealth

advanced – adj. having or using new and modern methods

extensive – adj. large in size or amount; very full or complete

arid – adj. very dry; having very little rain or water

unit – n. a single thing, person or group that is a part of something larger

transmission – n. movement

key – adj. important to

desalination – n. the process of removing salt from (something, such as water)

1 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

4 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

5 desalination   

n.脱盐(作用)

参考例句：

• Crops can be grown on this land after desalination. 这片土地经过脱盐就可以种植庄稼了。
• One source is by desalination-taking the salt out of salt water to make it drinkable. 淡水的来源之一是使水淡化--把含盐的水中的盐份去掉，使之能够饮用。