PBS高端访谈:PBS新纪录片"Earth:The Operator's Manual"

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight: Yesterday was Earth Day, with celebrations around the globe.

　　Hari Sreenivasan talked recently to a geologist¹ who is also the host of a new film. And he's traveled the globe looking for ways human ingenuity² has solved tough energy problems.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: "Earth: The Operator's Manual" is a new three-hour PBS documentary that looks at different ways communities within the United States and the world are making smart energy choices based on their pocketbooks and the environment.

　　The host of the series is Richard Alley³, a professor of geoscience at Penn State university.

　　In this clip, he tells us what ice core samples show us about the Earth's temperature and carbon dioxide over time and takes an extreme leap to make a point.

　　RICHARD ALLEY, Host, "Earth: The Operator's Manual": This is a pattern of natural variability of the climate that our planet has experienced over the past 400,000 years, as recorded in the physics and chemistry of ice cores.

　　The regular ups and downs in temperatures are the result of changes in Earth's orbit around the sun and their subsequent effects on the levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. You can think of this natural variation as the Ice Age roller coaster.

　　Occasionally, we cross some sort of a tipping point and the Earth evolves really rapidly to a new state which is very different. Over the last 100,000 years of the Ice Age cycling, we have had a couple dozen of these large, abrupt⁴, widespread climate shifts, almost as if the Earth was bungee jumping off the climate roller coaster.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Richard Alley joins us now.

　　Thanks for being with us.

　　So, why jump off a bridge to make a point?

　　(LAUGHTER)RICHARD ALLEY: Well, we want the show to be engaging, something that will catch people's attention, but we want to tell the real story.

　　Now, we humans are pushing the climate. We hope that it goes nice and smoothly⁵ and gently. But when we look at history, way back in climate history, we know that when nature pushed the climate, sometimes it was smooth and sometimes it wasn't.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: So when you look at those core samples, you see this fluctuation⁶ up and down. What's to say that—a lot of that happened way before humans were around. So what is to say—what is the impact that humans are having on it?

　　RICHARD ALLEY: Right.

　　So what we see from the core samples is ultimately the climate makes sense. If the sun gets brighter, it gets warmer. If you change where the sun hits the planet with the orbits, the places getting more sun tend to get warmer. If you change the CO2, raise it, it gets warmer.

　　What the core samples show us is that climate makes sense and that our understanding is sort of working pretty well. And so then we ask, what is pushing it now? The orbits are real slow—10,000 years from now, they will matter. Next year, nah.

　　The sun, if anything, has been dimming a little bit, but not much change. It really hasn't been very stable and friendly to us. But we are turning that CO2 knob. So we take the understanding that works in history and apply it to the future, and we see that we're going to matter.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Now, you have had an opportunity to visit several different communities around the country. For example, in Baltimore, some of the poorest folks are actually making the biggest difference and saving the most money when it comes to starting to conserve⁷ the energy that they use.

　　But one of the questions people ask is, will changing my lightbulb really make a big difference?

　　RICHARD ALLEY: Changing your light bulb will make a little difference for you, but it will save you money. And if all of us change our lightbulbs, it really does make a difference.

　　And this is something I think is really important, is that these things work for people. They're—people are enjoying it. They think they are doing the right thing, the good thing, but they are also helping⁸ themselves in the pocketbook.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Now, let's take a look at the producer's side of the equation. You had a chance to go to China and take a look at Shidongkou—or Shidongkou energy plant there, where they have a pretty promising⁹ technology to try to clean up the CO2 that they are emitting.

　　Let's take a look at that clip.

　　RICHARD ALLEY: This plant uses a process called post-combustion capture, PCC, where coal is first burned in a more or less traditional manner, and then the CO2 is captured.

　　JULIO FRIEDMANN, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories: So, Shidongkou is remarkable¹⁰ in every way. They are capturing 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide, and they have been doing that now for about 18 months successfully.

　　RICHARD ALLEY: Shidongkou sells the captured CO2 for use in soft drinks and chemicals, turning it into a resource. In the future, they will scale up and begin sequestering¹¹ the CO2 deep underground.

　　JULIO FRIEDMANN: Already, that means that it works and that the cost and performance are pretty well understood. So, if it can be widely applied¹², then it creates the new benchmark that will define whether or not this works anywhere else.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: I should mention the gentlemen in there is Julio Friedmann from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.

　　Further in the documentary, it says maybe that could work for a 20 percent cost increase. Do we collectively have the will to swallow that kind of pill?

　　RICHARD ALLEY: I think we do. I think ultimately we love the benefits we get from energy.

　　And ultimately we're going to want a lot of energy and we're going to want energy in the way that our grandchildren and their grandchildren can have it. And so we will do what is needed in the brains, in the invention, in the implementation¹⁴ that will get us the energy in the best way. And by finding out what this will cost, what you can do, it lays it out for you.

　　And now you can say, look, this is doable. We can do this. We can mine coal and we can get energy from coal, put the CO2 down. Or we can do wind, or we can do sun, and we can conserve, and we can -- now you have a full menu that you can choose from for what works for you, your country, your individual community, for yourself.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: How important is convincing governments of this?

　　RICHARD ALLEY: There are problems that each of us as an individual can solve. We do not need a federal monitor to make sure I wash my hands after I use the restroom.

　　There are problems that our governments have solved with barely a problem for us. The ozone¹⁵ hole is going to get fixed¹⁶ because inventors came up with new things, and the governments agreed how to implement¹³ them. This problem is—energy and environment is probably big enough that it's going to take us as individuals and us working together.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Richard Alley, thanks so much for joining us.

　　RICHARD ALLEY: And thank you.

1 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

2 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

3 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

4 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

5 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

6 fluctuation   

n.(物价的)波动，涨落；周期性变动；脉动

参考例句：

• The erratic fluctuation of market prices are in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。
• Early and adequate drainage is essential if fluctuation occurs.有波动感时，应及早地充分引流。

7 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！

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 sequestering   

v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的现在分词 )；扣押

参考例句：

• Once installed the wood at further reducing carbon through the sequestering process. 本木料一旦植入，将通过一系列物理化学过程进一步有效降低碳量。 来自互联网
• Sequestration and dispersion force of different kinds of sequestering a-gent are tested. 本文分别测定了几种不同类型络合剂的络合能力和分散能力。 来自互联网

12 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

13 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

14 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

15 ozone   

n.臭氧，新鲜空气

参考例句：

• The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
• The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。

16 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。