2014年经济学人 加州旱情 把草坪喷绿

Drought in California

Painting the lawn green

Californians find novel ways to cope with drought

JACK¹ MELLIGAN, a prison guard in Sacramento, was tired of staring at his brown, patchy lawn—a side-effect of the drought that has parched² California for the past three years. He thought about replacing it with shop-bought turf, but worried that he might incur³ hefty fines for watering it, under new statewide water restrictions⁴. So he paid someone $180 to spray-paint his lawn a cheery green instead.

In a state known for special effects, such fakery is to be expected. If Hollywood can make a green screen look like a terrifying desert on an alien planet, it is only natural that Californians should seek ways to make the terrifying deserts in their front yards look verdant⁵. Mr Melligan is not alone; your correspondent has a wardrobe full of green-stained shoes to prove it.

The fad⁶ for trompe l'oeil gardening has been a boon⁷ for lawn-painters such as David Bartlett, the owner of Xtreme Green Grass, whose business has grown 75% this year. Over the same period Jim Power, who runs a lawn-paint supply company called LawnLift, has seen sales triple. “It has become more socially acceptable to paint your lawn,” he says, “especially as it's become more socially shameful⁸ to water it.” At the same time, fewer Californians are buying new turf, says Jurgen Gramckow, who grows the stuff and says sales at his farm in Oxnard are down 20% this year.

The drought, one of the worst in a century, has pushed the state to waste a bit less water. In July California banned such things as allowing sprinkler water to run off lawns on to streets and washing cars with hoses that have no shut-off nozzle. And on August 29th the state legislature passed three bills that would allow local agencies, for the first time, to curb⁹ excessive pumping of groundwater by landowners.

Historically, California has resisted groundwater regulation, favouring local property rights even as every other western state embraced state control. But sentiment has shifted with the realisation that the water might run out. By some measures, the state's $45 billion agricultural industry already accounts for 62% of water consumption. And it is getting thirstier, as profitable fruit trees and vines have replaced other crops. As surface reservoirs are depleted¹⁰, farmers are forced to drill deeper. Perhaps 65% of California's water could come from underground this year, up from 40% in average years, according to the California Water Foundation, a green group. Over-use of wells means that salt water can invade coastal¹¹ aquifers¹², and also that fresh water disappears. A recent study by the California Department of Water Resources found that, in about half of the wells surveyed, water levels had already fallen to their lowest point for a century.

Several cities are trying to conserve¹³ water. Earlier this year Santa Cruz began enforcing rationing¹⁴ for every home and a ban on filling hot tubs and jacuzzis, with weighty fines and “Water School” for transgressors. The results are striking: in July citywide water use fell 26% compared with last year. In comparison, statewide water use had declined by only 7.5% from the previous year, despite recent pleas from Governor Jerry Brown to all Californians to cut water use by 20%.

The state's water shortages can be resolved only by putting a sensible price on water. State law will eventually require water metering on all buildings, but not until 2025. “We are finally moving toward a pricing system,” says Barton Thompson, a professor of natural resources at Stanford Law School, “which is really the only way to truly encourage people to conserve.”

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

3 incur   

vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇

参考例句：

• Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。
• An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 verdant   

adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的

参考例句：

• Children are playing on the verdant lawn.孩子们在绿茵茵的草坪上嬉戏玩耍。
• The verdant mountain forest turns red gradually in the autumn wind.苍翠的山林在秋风中渐渐变红了。

6 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

7 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

8 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

9 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

10 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

11 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。

12 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

13 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

14 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。