全球社会热点新闻 夏日凉快又省钱的妙招（在线收听）

Some tips on spending the summer cooly and ecnomically

夏日凉快又省钱的妙招

With electricity costs rising along with global-warming guilt consumers across the country are struggling to wean themselves from the A/C.

夹在电价上涨和全球变暖恶果之间的美国消费者在是否应关掉冷气的问题上很是挣扎。

It remains to be seen whether they'll take a cue from Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch and stash their undies in the icebox.

不知道他们会不会从玛丽莲梦露的电影《七年之痒》中找到灵感，把内衣裤装在冰箱里，好随时给自己降降温。

But they're trying just about everything else.

不过,其他所有能想到的办法都被他们拿来一试了。

In Thousand Oaks, Calif., Adina Nack keeps the thermostat at 28 and lets her toddler dance around the house in a bathing suit, spritzing herself with cool water from a spray bottle.

家住加州千橡树镇的艾蒂娜奈克把空调温度调到28度，并让自己蹒跚学步的小孩穿着泳衣在家里乱走,还用喷水瓶给自己洒凉水降温。

Cara Cummins, in Atlanta, turns on the air conditioner only when she's expecting guests.

亚特兰大市的卡拉库明斯只有在客人来家里时才把空调打开，

Otherwise, she makes do by snacking on watermelon cubes soaked in chilled bourbon.

其余时间她靠吃几块泡在冰镇波旁威士忌里的西瓜来抵御酷暑。

Because many power plants run on natural gas, which has shot way up in price,

由于美国许多发电站都靠天然气发电,而随着燃气价格暴涨,

utilities in every region of the nation have imposed or are planning big rate increases this year, some approaching 30%.

今年全美各地电价要么已大幅上调，要么正在筹划涨价,有的地方电价涨幅甚至逼近了30%。

In response, nearly two thirds of families are cutting back on air conditioning, according to a recent Associated Press and Yahoo News poll.

据美联社和雅虎新闻的最新联合调查显示，将近2/3的美国家庭都因此减少了空调的使用。

They're buying ceiling fans and programmable thermostats; burning up hot afternoons in malls and movie theaters; and bombarding blogger Erin HufiF-stetler,

他们添置了吊扇和可编程控温器;去商场和电影院度过炎热的夏日午后，并向撰写博客介绍如何勤俭持家的艾琳哈弗斯泰德勒提出了一大堆问题，

who writes about frugal living, with questions about the merits of tinting their windows dark to block the sun.

比如怎么把窗户染黑，减少阳光的照射等。

In Arizona, 50,000 customers of the Salt River Project utility have cut energy use by an average of 13%,

在亚利桑那州，盐河项目的5万名用户已平均减少了 13%的用电量,

thanks to a gizmo that lets them monitor their daily bill, so they can see exactly how much they save by bumping up the thermostat a few degrees.

原因是他们安装了一个能实时显示每日用电量的小仪器，这样他们可以清楚地看到如果把室温调髙几度就能少用多少电。

In Texas, Reliant Energy reports an 8% drop in per-customer energy use since 2005.

能源企业Reliant Energy表示,德克萨斯州的人均用电量自2005年以来减少了8%。

The Department of Energy calculates that heating and cooling account for nearly half the energy used in a typical home.

美国能源部做过计算,一栋普通住宅供应暖气和冷风的用电成本占了总电费的近一半,

That's more than all the light bulbs, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the hot-water heater and the washer and dryer-combined.

比一个家庭中灯泡、洗碗机、冰箱、热水器、洗衣机和烘干机全部加起来的耗电量都要多。

Replacing a standard air conditioner set at 22 degrees with an energy-efficient model set at 25.5 can cut your cooling costs in half,

明尼阿波利斯市的地方公用事业企业埃克西尔能源公司表示,如果把标准的22摄氏度室内空调温度改为25.5度的节电模式,

though savings vary by climate, according to Xcel Energy Inc., a regional utility based in Minneapolis.

大约能够节省一半的电费,当然,具体程度根据外界温度而有所不同。

A programmable thermostat can save as much as 12%. A ceiling fan can lower a room's temperature by several degrees.

安装一个室内温控器可以节省12%的电费,在天花板上安装吊扇可以降低几度室温,

Even something as simple as switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs can make a big difference in electricity bills.

甚至使用节能灯泡都有助于显著减少电费。

Micki Wehmeier offers another tip: Marry a man who likes it hot.

米琪韦麦尔还有一个小窍门:嫁给一个不怕热的老公。

Ms. Wehmeier and her husband, Gaiy, are renting a modest apartment tiiis summer while they fix up a house they just bought in Des Peres.

今年夏天，韦麦尔太太和她丈夫盖瑞要给刚在密苏里州Des Peres买的房子装修,于是租了一个小房子过渡一下。

To save money, they resolved to keep the thermostat at 24.

为了省钱,他们决心把室内温度调到24度.

"He's got more willpower, " his wife says.

米琪说道:“他的意志力比我坚定。”

And Heba Kennedy, who turned off her central air altogether?

那么,关掉中央空调的瑞芭肯尼迪境况如何呢？

Ms, Kennedy now cools just the three rooms she uses most in her San Antonio home, with window units set at 25.5 degrees.

现在,住在圣安东尼奥的瑞芭只在最常用的3个房间使用窗式空调,温度调为25.5度。

To her surprise, she has found it pleasurable. With her downstairs windows open, she can smell the honeysuckle in her yard.

令她没想到的是，这种降温方法能让人过得很舒服,她把楼下的窗户打开，院子里金银花的香味阵阵飘来,

She loves the look of her sheer curtains blowing in the breeze.

而且她还喜欢看到微风撩起窗帘的样子。

Last week, though, when she reviewed her electric bills, Ms. Kennedy found tliat her sacrifices haven't translated into savings.

然而,上周她收到电费账单时,发现自己的牺牲没有得到应有的回报。

In June of 2006 with the central air on full blastshe used an average of 26-kilowatt hours a day. Last month? An average of 44.

2006年6月份——中央空调完全打开的那个月，家里每天的平均耗电量是26度。但2008年6月份呢？每天的平均耗电量是44度。

Harvey Sachs, a senior fellow at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, says that isn't surprising, because window units are notoriously inefficient.

美国节能经济委员会的资深成员哈维萨奇说，这并不奇怪,因为窗式空调非常费电。

Her advice to middle-class families: Pull the plug.

她对中产阶级家庭的建议是:拔掉电源插头。