VOA标准英语2012--Alaskan Wins Environmental Prize for Opposing Offshore Drilling

Alaskan Wins Environmental Prize for Opposing Offshore¹ Drilling

Saving her village traditions means everything to community activist² Caroline Cannon³. This includes the annual hunt for one bowhead whale, in which villagers use wood-framed boats covered with seal skins. Cannon is from Point Hope, a coastal⁴ community of 700 Inupiat people in northern Alaska. She says their lives revolve⁵ around the whale. 

“We have the graveyard⁶ site, that’s been there hundreds of years, that was built with whale bones. And I particularly like the ice cellar - we call it the salon⁷ - where we store away our food, and it’s covered with permafrost, it’s underground, and it’s built with whale bone,” Cannon said. 

In recent years, there’s been growing national interest in opening the Arctic waters to oil and gas development. Cannon says she’s not against drilling, but doesn’t think oil and gas companies could contain an oil spill in the Arctic - even if they say they can. Since the sea is frozen half the year, she says an oil spill could last for months, destroying the ecosystem⁸. 

“There’s no technology on how to clean an oil spill out in the Arctic. They have not done an actual cleanup in that kind of an environment,” Cannon said.

Cannon says she’d be “more than willing” to support oil exploration if the companies could prove there was a safe way to contain an oil spill. She's been involved in lawsuits⁹ to stop oil drilling in the Arctic. She also taken her fight to lawmakers in Washington.

“The Arctic is such a beautiful place, it’s untouched. They always refer to Alaska, 'as the last frontier.' That’s so meaningful for me,” Cannon said.

Some residents of Point Hope want the oil companies to come in because there would be jobs. Federal regulators have approved the Shell Oil company’s spill response plans in the region, meaning the company might be able to drill soon. For Cannon, that would be devastating¹⁰.

“I know I’m going to lose some sleep, but I know I gave it the best I knew how. I gave it all I had. So that’s what’s going to count. It’s a scary thought,” Cannon said.

Cannon, like the other five winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize, also received $150,000. She says she will give money to the village to help protect its lifestyle. 

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 revolve   

vi.(使)旋转；循环出现

参考例句：

• The planets revolve around the sun.行星绕着太阳运转。
• The wheels began to revolve slowly.车轮开始慢慢转动。

6 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

7 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

8 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。

9 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。