Rural China Goes Green 中国农村走向绿色环保
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2011年2月09日
- 最后更新于 2024年5月25日
- 发布于 2013年9月25日
- 作者:Mike Lee
- 点击数:231
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Eco-friendly technology shows great potential … in the long run 环保科技日久见真章
This small village on the Zouma River – inside the municipal boundaries of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province – is the site of a fascinating effort to fight one of China’s biggest problems: the dangerous levels of pollution in its rivers and streams.
河川污染已达危险程度是中国最大的问题之一,而位于四川省会成都市行政辖区内走马河畔的这座小村子,在克服污染的问题上,展现了令人动容的努力。
“In the last 30 years, China’s economic miracle has helped pull millions from poverty, but has put tremendous pressure on its esosystems,” said Ma Jun, whose 1999 book China’s Water Crisis has been compared to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. “Sixty percent of our rivers are polluted,” and “300 million rural residents have no clean drinking water.”
「过去三十年来,中国的经济奇迹帮助数百万的人们脱离贫困,但也为生态系统带来巨大的压力。」马军表示。他一九九九年的著作《中国水危机》曾被拿来与瑞秋.卡森的《寂静的春天》相提并论。「我们的河流有六成遭到污染,」而且「三亿的农村居民没有干净的饮水。」
China’s leadership has recognized the problem and adopted new regulations on industrial and agricultural pollution. Some government officials, [in order] to meet the new standards, may support Chinese nongovernmental organizations that work to clean up the environment. And that’s how I came to be hurtling down a country road to look at a project run by the Chengdu Urban Rivers Association, or CURA, which works to persuade the public of the need to save the rivers.
中国的领导阶层已意识到这个问题,并针对工业及农业污染,实行了新的规定。一些政府官员可以补助致力于保护环境洁净的中国非政府组织,以符合新标准。这就是我之所以会在乡下路上一路飞驰以观察成都城市河流研究会(简称河研会)主持的一项计划的缘由。河研会致力于说服民众了解拯救河川的必要性。
Raising awareness, providing solutions 提升意识,提供解决之道
“Half of our problem is agricultural pollution,” said Tian Jun, CURA’s energetic general secretary, who formerly worked for the government on projects to treat two terribly polluted rivers running through Chengdu. Despite progress, officials faced a continuing problem of runoff from chemical pesticide used by farmers living upstream from Chengdu.
「我们有一半的问题是农业污染。」河研会活力充沛的秘书长田军说。她原本为政府工作,处理两条流经成都而严重污染的河流。尽管有所进展,官员仍需面对住在成都河流上游的农民使用化学杀虫剂持续溢流的问题。
So Tian helped form CURA to try to strengthen environmental awareness in the rural communities living on waterways that feed the city’s rivers. The group received support from Chengdu mayor and about $14,000 in seed money contributed by local real estate developers who didn’t want Chengdu’s rivers to be smelly. (It now receives support from other individual donors, a Hong Kong NGO and the local government.)
因此田军协助成立河研会,试着加强住在农村水地道区民众的环境意识,这些水道是该市河流的水源。河研会获得成都市长的援助,而当地的房地产开发商则捐赠约一万四千美元做为种子基金,因为他们也不愿意成都的河流臭气冲天。(河研会现在获得其他个人捐献者、香港一家非政府组织及当地政府的补助。)
单词发音
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municipal [mjuˋnɪsəp!] adj. 市政的
nongovernmental organization 非政府组织
persuade [pɚˋswed] v. 说服
seed money 用来吸引更多资金的种子基金;创业基金
smelly [ˋsmɛlɪ] adj. 有使人难受的气味的;臭的
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Earth-friendly ideals 环保理想
The group focused on Anlong and two adjacent villages, which form a collection of whitewashed bungalows dispersed among trees and riverside farmland. Their goal: to end the farmers’ “addiction” to chemical fertilizers and encourage organic farming. The going was rough: 100 families (out of 1,000 in a three-village cluster) are now using biogas, but only four of the 20 families who tried organic farming are still committed to it. The reason: Organic farming is more labor-intensive, and the land takes three to five years to recover from chemical fertilizers, meaning farmers’ income drop in the short term.
河研会工作的重点地区是安龙村和两个与之相邻的农村,这是一个散布于林间及河边耕地上的白色灰泥小屋群聚。他们的目标是终止农民对化学肥料的「上瘾」,鼓励有机农作。这是一条艰困的路:(在这三个农村、为数一千户农家的聚落里,)有一百户家庭如今使用沼气,但是在二十个尝试有机农作的农家里,只有四家仍然坚持下去。原因是有机农作需要更密集的劳力,土地需要三至五年的时间才能摆脱化学肥料的副作用而重新恢复生机,这代表农民的收入在短期内会减少。
Success story 成功案例
But conversations with the organic farmers give insights into rural life and values. In the Gao family, daughter Qing Rong, who returned home after 10 years as a migrant factory worker, says her new work gives her “more dignity.”
不过,和有机农民谈话,就能洞察农村的生活与价值。高家的女儿高清蓉在做了十年的流动工人后,回到老家,她说新工作让她有「更多的尊严」。
Her brother, Gao Hai, a former disc jockey in Shanghai, cooked up an organic feast for journalists from the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies’ International Reporting Project: several varieties of greens, celery with vegetarian “pork,” potato puree, squash, long green beans and luscious tea made with lemongrass and peppermint – all picked that day.
她的兄弟高海曾在上海做过音乐节目主持人,他为来自约翰霍普金斯大学国际研究学院主办的国际报导计划的记者煮了一顿有机大餐,包括好几种蔬菜,芹菜配素猪肉,马铃薯泥,栉瓜,长豆,以及柠檬香茅(译注:或称香茅草)与薄荷制成的美味茶,全都是当天现摘的食材。
When asked whether she minded earning less, the Gaos’ mother, Li Zhilan, responded: “We don’t think about this. We think organic food is good for us to eat, good for the soil, and good for the people who eat what we grow.”
当被问到是否在意钱赚得比较少时,高家母亲李芝兰回答说:「我们不想这些。我们认为有机食物让我们吃得健康,让土地健康,也让吃我们种的东西的人健康。」
And the Gaos’ income is increasing: They deliver their organic produce directly to 150 families in the city, in a van labeled with huge Chinese characters that read: “No chemical fertilizers or pesticides, everything is healthy.” If Chengdu starts a farmers’ market or its trendy restaurants go organic, demand could increase.
高家的收入正在增加:他们将有机产品,用一辆标示着大大的中国字:「没有化学肥料或杀虫剂,所有产品都健康」的厢型车,直接运送到城里的一百五十户家庭。如果成都设立有农民市集,或是时髦的餐厅开始采用有机食材,那么(对有机作物的)需求就可能增加。
Tian Jun hopes CURA can promote this model to other areas and develop a “river protection belt.” Officials from other towns have already come to examine the project.
田军希望河研会可以将这个模式推广到其他地区,并发展出一个「河流保护带」。其他市镇的官员已经纷纷来考察这个计划。
-by Trudy Rubin
单词发音
Vocabulary Focus
in the long run 最后 a long time in the future
fascinating [ˋfæsn͵etɪŋ] adj. 迷人的,吸引人的 extremely interesting
hurtle [ˋhɝt!] v. 飞驰 to move very fast, especially in what seems a dangerous way
runoff [ˋrʌn͵ɔf] n. (溪)溢流 the excess liquid that was not absorbed by the ground
adjacent [əˋdʒesənt] adj. 毗连的,邻接的 very near, next to or touching
bungalow [ˋbʌŋgə͵lo] n.(屋前或周围有平台的)平房,小屋 a house that has only one story or level
luscious [ˋlʌʃəs] adj. 甘美多汁的;美味的 having a pleasant and sweet taste
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whitewashed [ˋhwaɪt͵wɑʃt] adj. 用石灰水粉刷的
rough [rʌf] adj. 难受的,艰难的 full of hardship or trials
biogas [ˈbaɪoˌɡæs] n. 沼气
disc jockey [ˋdʒɑkɪ](电台)唱片音乐节目主持人
cook up 快速做(饭等)to prepare (a meal), esp quickly
green [grin] n. 蔬菜
celery [ˋsɛlərɪ] n. 芹菜
puree [pjʊˋre] n. 煮烂过滤或制浆的食物;浓汤
squash [skwɑʃ] n. 南瓜属植物;南瓜
lemongrass [ˋlɛməŋgræs] n. 柠檬草,香茅
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