TED演讲:石油真正的代价(4)

 Now, here you see-of course, as you go further on,  如图所示－当然，当你将视线拉远，

these trucks become like a pixel.  这些卡车彷佛图中的小点。

Again, imagine those all back and forth¹ there.  同样地，想象一下这片区域。

How large is that one portion of a mine?  占整个矿场多大部分？

That would be a huge, vast metropolitan² area,  相当于幅员广大的都会区，

probably much larger than the city of Victoria.  或许比维多利亚城大得多。

And this is just one of a number of mines,  这只是众多矿场之一，

10 mines so far right now.  目前共有10个矿场。

This is one section of one mining complex,  这只是其中一个矿场的一部分，

and there are about another 40 or 50 in the approval process.  目前大约有四、五十个矿场正进行审核，

No tar³ sands mine has actually ever been denied approval,  事实上不曾有任何油砂矿无法通过审核，

so it is essentially⁴ a rubber stamp.  因此基本上只是走走过场。

The other method of extraction is what's called the in-situ.  另一种开采方式叫做“就地钻探”。

And here, massive amounts of water are super-heated and pumped through the ground, 如图所示，大量水经高温加热后泵入地底，

through these vasts networks of pipelines,  通过管线，

seismic⁵ lines, drill paths, compressor stations.  震测线、钻探途径及压缩站组成的庞大网络。

And even though this looks maybe not quite as repugnant as the mines, it's even more damaging in some ways.  尽管看起来或许不如露天采矿场般那么令人怵目惊心，但以某种程度来说，却造成更大破坏。

It impacts and fragments a larger part of the wilderness,  它使更大片原野受到影响、支离破碎，

where there is 90 percent reduction of key species,  导致关键物种减少90％，

like woodland caribou⁶ and grizzly⁷ bears,  例如北美驯鹿和灰熊，

and it consumes even more energy, more water,  消耗更多能源及水源，

and produces at least as much greenhouse gas.  产生至少与前者相当的温室气体。

So these in-situ developments are at least as ecologically damaging as the mines.  因此就地钻探对生态的破坏至少与露天采矿不相上下。

The oil produced from either method produces more greenhouse gas emissions⁸ than any other oil.  藉由以上两种方式开采的原油比以其他方式开采的原油排放更多温室气体。

This is one of the reasons why it's called the world's dirtiest oil. 这正是它被称为世上最脏油类的原因之一。

It's also one of the reasons why it is the largest and fastest-growing single source of carbon in Canada, 这也是使它成为加拿大最大、增长最迅速的碳排放源头的原因之一，

and it is also a reason why Canada is now number three in terms of producing carbon per person. 更是使加拿大个人排碳量名列世界第三的原因之一。

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

3 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

4 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。

5 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

6 caribou   

n.北美驯鹿

参考例句：

• Afar off he heard the squawking of caribou calves.他听到远处有一群小驯鹿尖叫的声音。
• The Eskimos played soccer on ice and used balls filled with caribou hair and grass.爱斯基摩人在冰上踢球，他们用的是驯鹿的毛发和草填充成的球。

7 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

8 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。