VOA标准英语2008年-UN Initiative Calls for World's Citizens to Pla

By Alex Villarreal
United Nations
14 May 2008

The United Nations is looking for innovative¹ ways to combat global warming. One initiative aims to plant seven billion trees worldwide - nearly one for every person on the planet. From U.N. Headquarters in New York, VOA's Alex Villarreal has more.

Head of the U.N. Environment Program, Achim Steiner, says the public response to the Billion Tree Campaign has been overwhelming.

The initiative's call to action prompted the planting of two billion trees in just 18 months. Its success has inspired an even more ambitious goal. UNEP says it wants seven billion trees planted by the U.N. Climate Change Conference in 2009.

"Essentially², we are saying for every citizen on this planet, let us take this number as a target," Steiner said. "It is an ambitious target, but it is also a very practical expression of this idea that people can do something about climate change, and they can also send a very powerful message."

Trees play a critical role in regulating the climate, since they absorb carbon dioxide from the air. When they are destroyed, carbon is released. Deforestation accounts for more global emissions³ each year than any other source - cars, trucks and planes included.

Trees also contribute to soil fertility, water and the overall health of the ecosystem⁴. Steiner says this makes them integral to the productivity of agricultural land - especially important now, amid the global food crisis.

UNEP and the World Agroforestry Centre launched the Billion Tree Campaign at the 2006 climate change conference, as a way to empower citizens to fight global warming at the grassroots level.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai, inspired the campaign with a tree-planting movement in Kenya. She is now a patron of the U.N. initiative along with Prince Albert of Monaco.

Since the launch, the Billion Tree campaign has sparked plantings in more than 150 countries. More than half the total has been planted on the African continent, with 700 million in Ethiopia alone.

The initiative's support base includes heads of state, multi-national organizations and individuals - who make up half of all participants. People who would like to help can go online and make a pledge.

1 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• 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。

4 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。