VOA标准英语2012--Trees Stand Tall Against Climate Change
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(十一月)
Trees Stand Tall Against Climate Change
The next U.N. Climate Change Conference gets underway November 26 in Doha, Qatar. Once again, negotiators will try to reach a broad agreement on dealing 1 with rising global temperatures. Deforestation is expected to be on the agenda.
The meeting is known as COP 18, or the 18th meeting of the Conference of Parties of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. There are now 195 parties to the treaty, but a definitive 2 agreement on coping with a warming planet has been hard to come by.
In 1997, parties adopted the Kyoto Protocol 3, which aimed to legally bind 4 developed countries to specific emission 5 reduction targets. The protocol’s original commitment period was supposed to end this year. But last year, negotiators agreed to extend it, possibly by either five or eight years. That’s yet to be decided 6.
In advance of COP 18, 60 experts with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations have released a new report on reducing carbon emissions 7. The report said, “The relationships between biodiversity, carbon, forests and people are complex and interdependent.” It added that “reducing the rates of global deforestation and forest degradation 8 will yield substantial gains for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.”
One of the authors is John Parrotta, chair of the Global Forest Expert Panel on Biodiversity, who said keeping forests healthy is vital to mitigating 9 the effects of climate change.
“They can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases contribute to climate change. They can either absorb them -- if they’re expanding and growing -- or forest areas can be a source of carbon dioxide and exacerbate 10 climate change, if, as we are seeing in many parts of the world, forests are being lost, being cleared or being degraded. So forests actually are a very important piece of the overall climate change picture,” he said.
Parrotta, a senior scientist with the U.S. Forest Service, has tracked the rate of deforestation worldwide.
“The rate of forest decline is actually slowing worldwide, but there’s still a net loss of forests globally. Between 1990 and 2000, forest area was lost at a rate of 8.3 million hectares per year. And over the next 10 years, between 2000 and 2010, forest area loss went down to 5.2 million hectares. It’s still a very, very rapid rate of forest loss worldwide,” he said.
There’s also forest degradation. While this does not mean a loss of forest area, it does mean a loss of quality in forest ecosystems 11, including soil, vegetation and animal life. This has a direct effect on those whose livelihoods 12 depend on forests.
The U.N. estimates the world population will reach 9 billion by 2050, bringing with it a much greater demand for food. Growing appetites could lead to greater deforestation as more trees are felled to make room for agriculture. The report recommended smarter agricultural practices to bring greater productivity on existing agricultural land.
When the super storm Hurricane Sandy battered 13 the northeastern United States, it renewed debate and interest on the effects of rising global temperatures.
Asked whether it would take a natural disaster regarding forests to raise awareness 14, the scientist said, “History suggests that might be the case. One hopes you don’t have to wait until you’re at the edge of the cliff to do something. In the case of the scientific community, we’re trying to compile and communicate what we know, and hopefully that will help guide decision-making.”
There is a proposed U.N. mechanism 15 to protect forests and ease climate change. It’s called REDD, which stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in developing countries. The U.N. says REDD relies on the technical expertise 16 of the Food and Agriculture Organization, the U.N. Development Program and the U.N. Environment Program. One of the goals is to include indigenous 17 peoples and forest-dependent communities in policymaking.
The report said critics of the program warn of a “lack of clarity” regarding funding, as well as possible “environmental and social risks and inequity associated with various aspects of REDD.”
Parrotta said while deforestation has been on the climate change conference agenda, it’s time to act.
“The sooner the better. The sooner the better. As long as the current trends continue with respect to current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and with respect to the extent and condition of forests, the worse it’s going to be to try to reverse these trends,” he said.
He added, “Actions that reduce deforestation and degradation are likely to have the most immediate 18 and greatest benefits for both carbon and biodiversity.”
COP 18, the U.N. Climate Change Conference, will be held in Doha from November 26 to December 7.
- 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。
- This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
- No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。
- We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
- The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。
- I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
- He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。
- Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
- Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。
- Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。
- Are there any mitigating circumstances in this case ? 本案中是否有任何情况可以减轻被告的罪行？ 来自辞典例句
- A sentencing judge is required to consider any mitigating circumstances befor imposing the death penalty. 在处死刑之前，要求量刑法官必须考虑是否有任何减轻罪行之情节。 来自口语例句
- WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
- In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。
- 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
- First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
- With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。
- He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
- The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。
- There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
- Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
- 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。
- We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
- You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。
- Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
- Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。