2007年VOA标准英语-Experiment With Biofuel Production in Senegal R

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
10 January 2007

A Senegalese experiment with biofuel production will start within the coming weeks, as part of President Wade¹'s plan to reduce oil imports and to revive the rural economy. Where biofuel supporters see a green solution to their growing energy crisis, critics worry about the problematic - and possibly dangerous - tradeoffs in the rush to exploit environmental cash crops. Phuong Tran files a report from the West African Bureau in Dakar.

Jatropha plant to be used in the first phase of biofuel production in Senegal

Biofuel production will soon began in the southern Senegalese towns, Kolda and Tambacounda.

Working in partnership² with the Brazlian company Tecbio, the Senegalese government plans to produce crops on 50,000 hectares of land that can then be changed into biofuels, or renewable fuels created from agricultural crops.

The environmental group Global Forest Coalition³ calls biofuels a disaster in the making. Nnimmo Bassey, a Nigerian environmentalist, is one of its members.

"If people do not look at it critically, then the immediate⁴ response is 'yes let's go for it'," said Nnimmo Bassey. "Biofuels at a limited level as a supplement, community energy - no problem at all. When we are talking about using it as a major energy source, it is a wrong direction."

President Wade has said that he wants to replace the more than 30,000 barrels of oil the country consumes each day with renewable fuels.

Mr. Wade's "Return to Agriculture Program" positions biofuel production as a way to revitalize the sagging⁵ rural economy - giving small-scale farmers a new cash crop to export.

This is a trend that Maryam Niamir-Fuller has seen in developing countries. She is a technical advisor⁶ for the Global Environment Facility, which helps developing countries' environmental programs.

"What is happening with this massive demand coming up, many many countries see this as the new cash crop that countries can try to get foreign exchange fund for their economies," said Maryam Niamir-Fuller.

Niamir-Fuller is worried that, in the rush to cash in on biofuels, increased demands on the land may lead to food security problems.

"Some people are using the term food or fuel," she said. "Does the small-scale farmer focus on enhancing their own food security or do they convert everything to a cash crop, such as a biofuel?"

The Senegal Ministry⁷ of Energy's technical advisor for renewable energies, Alassane Niane, says there does not have to be a choice between food and fuel.

He says that that some of the crops that may be grown to be converted to biofuels can also be consumed, such as sugar cane⁸ and wheat - that there is not a dichotomy like critics claim.

Nigerian environmentalist Bassey disagrees.

"Those who believe that biofuel production will not harm the already precarious⁹ situation of food in Africa are just being too optimistic," he said.

Niamir-Fuller raises a second concern about potential land degradation¹⁰.

"How will the move to biofuel production affect land use? What impacts that might have on land degradation? Whether it's overuse of chemical fertilizers, and pesticides¹¹ or converting land that isn't suitable. Kind of like mining the land to produce biofuels," she said.

Her third concern is the effect this plan will have on small-scale farmers.

"In a situation in many countries, where land tenure¹² is very insecure, this demand for biofuel production can very easily result in expropriation of land from small landholders," said Maryam Niamir-Fuller.

Senegal's technical partner to help it develop biofuel production capabilities¹³ is the Brazilian company Tecbio. One of its directors, Jose Neivas Santos, dismisses concerns about environmental and economic tradeoffs of biofuels.

Santos says that the technology to set up biofuel conversion¹⁴ plants costs less than what the Senegal currently spends to cover its oil needs. He says that the use of biofuels can cut carbon dioxide emissions¹⁵ and reduce the use of non-renewable oils. He also says that there are almost no disadvantages of the technology used to produce biofuels.

During the oil crisis of the 1970's, Brazil's state-run and subsidized alcohol fuel program was set up to reduce its dependence¹⁶ on Middle Eastern petroleum¹⁷.

After decades when the popularity of the program sunk because of high sugar prices and lower oil prices, the use of biofuels is picking up again in Brazil because of government incentives¹⁸ and the rising price of oil.

Niamir-Fuller with the UNDP, cautions Senegal as it embarks¹⁹ on its biofuels experiment.

"Yes, it can be a panacea²⁰, but it has got to be done right," she said.

The first phase of biofuel production in Senegal will plant jatropha plants, which is a wild plant largely available throughout Africa.

It has been touted²¹ as an oil-rich plant that can be planted on marginal lands with little need for water or fertilizers, reaping returns once converted to biofuels.

But analysts²² caution over-optimism, saying that more testing about the plant's yield and suitability needs to be conducted.

1 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

9 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

10 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

11 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

13 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

14 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

15 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。

16 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

17 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

18 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

19 embarks   

乘船( embark的第三人称单数 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• Patricia is a free-spirited girl who embarks on an erotic odyssey. 翠茜亚是个任性少女、毅然踏上一次性爱之旅。
• Passenger train driver: Punctually embarks. 客车司机：准时出发。

20 panacea   

n.万灵药；治百病的灵药

参考例句：

• Western aid may help but will not be a panacea. 西方援助可能会有所帮助，但并非灵丹妙药。
• There's no single panacea for the country's economic ills. 国家经济弊病百出,并无万灵药可以医治。

21 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

22 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。