VOA标准英语2014--Big Apple Weighs Fees on Single-use Plastic Bags

 

Big Apple Weighs Fees on Single-use Plastic Bags 

NEW YORK — The world consumes hundreds of billions of single-use plastic bags each year.  Environmental activists¹ say they are difficult to recycle, wasteful² and damage the biosphere³. They want to ban plastic bags or - as many communities have done - charge a fee for them at the register. But the plastic bag industry defends their use, saying people reuse plastic bags, and industry officials argue recycling is a matter of personal responsibility and should not be regulated.

City officials say New Yorkers use 5.2 billion plastic bags each year. They are offered free with nearly every supermarket, pharmacy⁴ or convenience store purchase.  Many people like them, even if they sometimes feel guilty about using them.

“They’re easy to use, they’re lightweight, and they’re easy to store,” said one man.

“I don’t feel good about it, but I use them sometimes because it’s convenient,” said a woman shopper.

But what happens to those bags after they’ve been used is a huge environmental problem, said Lilly Belanger of noimpactproject.org.

“They are found on beaches. They are found clogging⁵ storm drains. They are caught in trees. They are swallowed by marine⁶ life. And once that happens, we actually eat marine life.  What’s bad for the planet is almost always bad for us,” said Belanger.

Plastic bags are made of petroleum⁷ products and natural gas, and do not biodegrade.  And, Berenger added, they are difficult to recycle. So New York City spends nearly $10 million dollars a year to send 100-thousand tons of plastic bags to landfills out of state. 

Attorney Jennie Romer of PlasticBagLaws.org helps craft state and local legislation to either ban plastic bags or charge a fee for their use. She said nearly 150 American municipalities have already done so, to good effect. 

"In Washington, D.C., a five percent charge on all single-use bags led to about a 60 percent reduction and in Los Angeles County in California, a ban on plastic bags and a 10 cent charge on paper bags led to a 95 percent reduction in single-bag use overall,” said Romer.

Environmental activists and some New York City Council members are proposing a law to charge 10 cents for single-use plastic bags.

That is government overreach, said Mark Daniels of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, an industry trade group. He spoke⁸ with VOA via Skype.

“It’s your personal responsibility as well. If you shop at a convenience store and buy a pack of gum and a Coke, it does not necessarily need a plastic bag. You can refuse that,” said Daniels.   

Jennie Romer counters that people usually don't refuse a free convenience.

“But with a 10 cent charge on bags, customers are much more likely to stop and think about whether they need a bag or not. And that’s really all that these laws are doing,” said Romer.

Mark Daniels said most people reuse plastic bags at home, and limiting the use of American made bags will cost jobs in the plastic bag manufacturing sector⁹ and recycling centers. 

 

Environmental groups are racing¹⁰ to put an increasing number of plastic bag fee proposals on ballots¹¹ and before city and state legislators, as the federal government reports a dramatic rise in the number of plastic bags Americans use each year.

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

3 biosphere   

n.生命层，生物圈

参考例句：

• The entire biosphere was becoming more transparent.整个生物圈越来越透明。
• The impact of modern technology on the biosphere is evident worldwide.现代技术对生物圈的影响在全世界是明显的。

4 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

5 clogging   

堵塞，闭合

参考例句：

• This process suffers mainly from clogging the membrane. 这种过程的主要问题是滤膜的堵塞。
• And you know that eyewitness that's been clogging up the airwaves? 你知道那个充斥着电视广播的目击证人？

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 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。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

11 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》