VOA标准英语2013--Will There be Enough Water for Everyone?

 

Will There be Enough Water for Everyone?

As the global population grows, so does the need for water. The Worldwatch Institute says increased demands for food, energy and industry, along with climate change, could lead to water scarcity¹ in some places. The warning comes on World Water Day, March 22.

Worldwatch says billions of people are already facing some kind of water scarcity or shortage. Spokesperson Supriya Kumar said that it’s only expected to get worse as the population increases.

“Over 1.2 billion are basically living in areas of physical water scarcity. And almost 1.6 billion face economic water shortage. And these are really extreme numbers. And as our population continues to grow there’s just going to be more problems. And we’re going to really have to face drastic measures in order to make sure the people have access to water.”

There are several types of water scarcity. The first is called “physical.”

“Physical water scarcity really just means that there’s not enough actual water to meet all demands. Water is not distributed evenly. Areas in the Middle East, in northern China, in northwestern India – very arid² regions – where there’s just not enough water. And so there’s just not physical availability,” said Kumar.

And then there’s economic water scarcity.

“Economic water scarcity refers to just the lack of investment in water programs and water capacity. And that’s something seen in large parts of Africa, where there’s actually physical water available, but just not enough investment made to make sure that water is available and accessible to the people that live in that region,” she said.

Kumar said that action to relieve these problems can be taken on the local, national and regional levels.

“In terms of the local level,” she said, “we could put more investment into water harvesting – into better methods of reusing water that’s wasted -- treating it to be reused for agriculture or for other industries.”

On the national level, the Worldwatch Institute recommends that governments develop better water policies, which could include fewer or revised agricultural subsidies³.

“For example, in India, a lot of farmers have subsidies that provide them with the use of electricity for 24 hours without any fees. And so, that leads them to pump water constantly, which is really depleting⁴ the ground water,” she said.

Worldwatch says, globally, 70 percent of what’s called “water withdrawals⁵” is for agriculture; 19 percent for industry and 11 percent for municipal demands. Some of the countries with very high withdrawals include India, China and the United States.

Many water sources are not confined within a particular country’s borders. Rivers and lakes are often used by several nations and therefore regional agreements would be needed on water use.

Climate change – with its rising global temperatures – has a direct effect on water scarcity, said Kumar, especially when it comes to rainfall.

“The changes in the rainfall patterns seriously affect some of the sectors⁶, especially agriculture, for example. In India, a lot of farmers are unable to prepare for what crops they’re going to grow because they’re just not sure of the amount of rainfall they’re going to receive and when they’re going to receive that rainfall. And that’s the large effect that climate change is having.”

Kumar said that uncertainty⁷ about rainfall can directly affect food security.

What’s more, the Worldwatch Institute expects that in the Mediterranean⁸ basin and the semi-arid areas of the Americas, Australia and southern Africa, there will be reductions in river runoff. It also expects aquifers⁹ – underground water saturated¹⁰ rock – to take much longer to recharge. In Asia, large areas of irrigated¹¹ land could be adversely¹² affected¹³ by changes in water runoff patterns.

Also, highly populated delta¹⁴ regions could be affected by reduced fresh water runoff, rising sea levels and greater salinity¹⁵.

The Worldwatch Institute’s concerns about water scarcity can found in its online Vital Signs reports.

1 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

2 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。

3 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 depleting   

使大大的减少，使空虚( deplete的现在分词 )； 耗尽，使枯竭

参考例句：

• Regulations are outlawing certain refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which contain ozone-depleting chemicals. 随后出台的政策禁用了部分制冷剂，如破坏臭氧层的氟氯碳化合物。
• Aging, being a series of continual losses, can be keenly depleting. 老龄化，作为一个系列的连续亏损，可以清楚地消耗。

5 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

6 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

9 aquifers   

n.地下蓄水层，砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
• Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30％。 来自辞典例句

10 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

11 irrigated   

[医]冲洗的

参考例句：

• They irrigated their crops with water from this river. 他们用这条小河里的水浇庄稼。
• A crop can be sown, weeded, irrigated, and fertilized uniformly. 一种作物可以均匀一致地进行播种，除草，灌溉和施肥。

12 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

15 salinity   

n.盐分；咸度；盐浓度；咸性

参考例句：

• In the sea water sampled the salinity is two parts per thousand.在取样的海水中，盐度为千分之二。
• In many sedimentary basins the salinity of the formation water increases with depth or compaction.在许多沉积盆地中，地层水的含盐量随深度或压实作用而增高。