2007年VOA标准英语-Global Warming Activists Run Sahara, North Pole

By Cathrine Drew
London
12 April 2007
 
Watch EarthFireIce report

A South African man and his British friend have launched a campaign to get people around the world to help fight global warming.  They call it the EarthFireIce campaign, and they want people to log onto their website and pledge to stop using a hair dryer¹, or turn down their heat, or walk more and drive less. To kick off their campaign and raise awareness², the two founders³ have taken part in the hottest and coldest marathons in the world.  Catherine Drew caught up with them in London after they ran in the Sahara marathon and before they traveled to compete in a race at the North Pole.

 
Runner in Sahara Marathon
This is not a jog on the beach.  It is the Sahara Marathon, maybe the toughest race in the world.  Even in the winter, temperatures can easily rise to over 30 degrees Celsius⁴.  But each year a few hundred runners come to Algeria to compete for charity

The race is held to raise money and awareness for the Saharawi people, refugees who were forced from their land in western Sahara 30 years ago.   They continue to live in refugee camps

This year, South African Ed Stumpf and his British colleague Sean Cornwell were there in a bid to kick-start what they have called the EarthFireIce campaign against global warming.

 
Briton Sean Cornwell
Cornwell says desertification caused by global warming will mean that more people could find themselves suffering the harsh conditions endured by the Saharawi people.   But [he says] individuals in Europe and elsewhere can do something about it.

 "There's a very common perception that only governments and businesses can make any difference in the climate change arena,” Cornwell says.  “If an individual wants to make a difference, they [think they] have to make these huge enormous sacrifices in their life – like I'm never going to fly again, I'm going to live in a hippie commune or something [like that].   And we're trying to show exactly the opposite: actually you don't have to make these huge sacrifices, and yet you can still have a significant impact."

While Cornwell and Stumpf have put around $20,000 of their own money into the campaign, they have attracted some sponsorship and hope more companies will support them. 

 
South African Ed Stumpf
People can log on to their website to make a pledge to do their part to fight global warming, and invite family and friends to do the same.  Stumpf says what the team really wants is not money, but action.

"Seventy five percent of the world's CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions⁵ come from the first world, and yet the affects are far and away the most severe in the developing world,” he says.  “And a short trip, even our trip to the Sahara, really pushed home that point.  It's quite obvious: what would these people do if global climate changed?"

The EarthFireIce founders hope as many as one million people will join the campaign – which they believe is the first to target individuals.

1 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

2 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• 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。

3 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

4 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

5 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。