首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
A former Government chief scientist once told me that we should always have a Plan B ready in case Plan A doesn’t work—or doesn’
A former Government chief scientist once told me that we should always have a Plan B ready in case Plan A doesn’t work—or doesn’
admin
2015-01-10
84
问题
A former Government chief scientist once told me that we should always have a Plan B ready in case Plan A doesn’t work—or doesn’t happen. He was speaking in relation to the possibility of " geo-engineering" the climate if it becomes obvious that global warming is beginning to tip irrevocably towards a potentially dangerous state. He could only say this once he was out of office of course because the official Government view at the time—as it is now—was that "there is no Plan B" in relation to climate change, that the only conceivable way of avoiding dangerous global temperature increases in the future is to curb the production of greenhouse gas emissions now.
Geo-engineering is defined as the deliberate, large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system in order to limit undesirable climate change, but it is seen by many as a technical fix too far. At its most outlandish, geo-engineering envisages putting giant mirrors in space to deflect incoming solar radiation, but it also includes more benign interventions, such as solar-powered "artificial trees" in the desert for soaking up carbon dioxide in the air. Despite the official view of there being no Plan B, however, last week’s fifth report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)has placed geo-engineering firmly on the agenda—even if the scientific panel rather denigrates the idea as probably unworkable and potentially dangerous. Nevertheless, for some critics of geo-engineering the mere mention of the concept in such an official and high-profile publication is enough to see red.
Indeed, the Canadian-based ETC Group of environmentalists perceived a Russian-led conspiracy to subvert the IPCC process. Russia had insisted on the addition of geo-engineering to the report and it is Russia where many geo-engineering projects are being tested, the ETC Group claims. Before getting carried away with the inclusion for the first time of geo-engineering in an IPCC report, it is worth pointing out that the panel emphasizes the inherent flaws of the proposals to counter rising temperatures. Deflecting sunlight with artificially created white clouds over the oceans, for instance, would do nothing to prevent the acidification of the oceans and, if it had to be stopped for any reason, global surface temperatures would soon rise again even higher than before.
In short, if we rely on a technical fix to combat climate change, rather than addressing the root problem, we could become addicted to the illusion that all is well when, in fact, all that we are doing is delaying the inevitable, while increasing the risk of some serious unintended consequences, which history tells us are never far away from big engineering proposals of this kind. Take for instance the relatively small-scale geo-engineering project to divert the rivers running into the Aral Sea of the former Soviet Union. Half a century ago the Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world with a thriving commercial fishery, but by 2007 it had declined to about 10 per cent of its original size, with fishing boats stranded in the middle of a toxic salt pan.
Soviet scientists diverted water from two rivers running into the Aral Sea to irrigate fields of cotton and other crops. But in the end they created a barren, dusty landscape where once there was a sea filled with wildlife. Toxins and salt blown from the Aral’ s parched basement even threatened the very crops that the project was meant to generate. So when some people talk about the possibility of "fixing" the climate with technological interventions rather than cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, let’s not forget history. Perhaps HM Government is right: there is no Plan B. Talking of carbon dioxide, I have just returned from an interesting visit to the Czech Republic where health tourism, rather than being frowned upon, is positively encouraged.
What has this got to do with carbon dioxide, you may ask? Well one of the more curious, if not bizarre, "medical" treatments you can buy is a dip in a dry bath of carbon dioxide. For 20 minutes or so you bathe everything below your waist(fully clothed)in an atmosphere of "natural" carbon dioxide pumped from underground sources. It is said by those who sell it to cure a range of conditions and even acts like a dose of Viagra. Strictly in the interests of science I volunteered. I intend to publish my findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal—that is if I can find one prepared to overlook my limited set of data points.
Why does the author introduce the small-scale geo-engineering project?
选项
答案
the project; to divert the rivers running into the Aral Sea of the former Soviet Union/to use it as an example to show the failure of such measures/50 years ago the fourth largest lake in the world/by 2007 reduced to about 10 percent of its original size/measure: divert water from two rivers to irrigate fields of cotton and other crops/the consequence; a sea originally filled with wildlife was turned into a barren, dusty landscape/toxin and salt blown from the sea’s basement threatened the crops that the project meant to generate/
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/ZDSO777K
本试题收录于:
NAETI高级口译笔试题库外语翻译证书(NAETI)分类
0
NAETI高级口译笔试
外语翻译证书(NAETI)
相关试题推荐
Ofalltheareasoflearningthemostimportantisthedevelopmentofattitudes.Emotionalreactionsaswellaslogicalthought
AcenturyaftertheGerman-bornscientistformulatedhisfamoustheoryofrelativityinSwitzerland,and50yearsafterhisdeat
Uponcompletinghisexaminationoverthepatient,thedoctorofferedhisjudgmentofherconditions.
VisitorstoBritainmayfindthebestplacetosamplelocalcultureisinatraditionalpub.Butthesefriendlyhostelriescanb
Thecentralgovernmenthopestocurtailmilitaryspendinginthenextyear.
Lackgovernmentsupport,theyhadtoapproachsponsors,organizers,andmusiciansontheirown.
Still,awhiteskinisalwaysfairlyconspicuous.
Whenonehasgoodhealth,________shouldfeelfortunate.
随机试题
卢某殴打陈某造成轻伤,下列说法正确的是?()
将病毒RNA的核苷酸顺序的信息,在宿主体内转变为脱氧核苷酸顺序的过程是
载脂蛋白CⅡ能激活A.脂蛋白脂肪酶B.卵磷脂胆固醇酰基转移酶C.肝脂肪酶D.胰脂酶E.所有酯酶
承包商在施工过程中,由于设计单位的个别施工图纸变更拖延,造成工程局部施工拖延约3个月时间。在这种情况下,承包商向发包人提出工期和费用索赔,其工作程序应该是()。
某土方工程,施工合同约定:工程无预付款,进度款按月结算,工程保留金从第一个月起按工程进度款5%的比例逐月扣留,监理工程师签发月度付款凭证的最低金额为25万元。经监理工程师计量确认,施工单位第一个月完成工程款23万元,第二个月完成工程款42万元,则第二个月监
对项目规模评估的方法包括()。
模糊性比较高的工作任务,()。
通过假定垄断者测试界定相关商品市场的基本路径是:假设反垄断审查关注的经营者是以利润最大化为经营目标的垄断者,在其他商品的销售条件保持不变的情况下,看其能否持久而小幅提高其商品的价格,并仍然有利可图。下列选项中对上述“看其能否持久”的时间和“小幅”的幅度的表
随着世界人口的急剧增长,许多人纷纷发出警告:地球将无法养活超过100亿的人口。然而,一些乐观的人士反对这种_______的说法。他们认为,虽然陆地上可耕地的开发已近_______,但地球还有广阔的海洋可供开发,大海完全有可能成为人类未来的粮仓。依次填入画横
下列选项中,在Windows2003系统的DNS服务器中可配置的是()。
最新回复
(
0
)