VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：加州為節(jié)約用水，要買斷農(nóng)民水權(quán)

VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：加州為節(jié)約用水，要買斷農(nóng)民水權(quán)
 
Some lawmakers in the U.S. state of California want to use taxpayer money to buy out farmers.
美國(guó)加利福尼亞州的一些立法者想用納稅人的錢買斷農(nóng)民的“水權(quán)”。
 
A proposal in the state Senate would spend up to $1.5 billion for their "senior water rights."That would permit farmers to take as much water as needed from the states rivers and streams to grow their crops.If state officials owned those rights, they could leave the water in the rivers to aid endangered salmon and other fish.
州參議院的一項(xiàng)提案是花費(fèi)15億美元來(lái)購(gòu)買他們的“高級(jí)水權(quán)”。水權(quán)允許農(nóng)民從該州的河流和溪流中取水，以種植作物。如果州政府買斷水權(quán)，就可以將河水留在河里，以救助瀕危的鮭魚和其他魚類。
 
California has faced severe lack of water for most of the last 20 years.Lawmakers want to more closely examine the states complex water system to see how it might be changed to ensure continual supplies during especially dry periods.A separate state proposal would pay farmers to grow fewer crops to save water.
在過去20年的大部分時(shí)間里，加州都面臨著嚴(yán)重缺水的問題。議員們希望更仔細(xì)地檢查該州復(fù)雜的供水系統(tǒng)，看看如何改變它，才能確保在特別干旱的時(shí)期不間斷供水。另一項(xiàng)州提案是將向農(nóng)民支付減少作物種植以節(jié)約用水的費(fèi)用。
 
Currently, about 98 percent of the state has severe drought conditions.Summer months in California rarely produce any major rainfall.Many areas have begun restricting water use for homeowners.And farmers have had their water supply from the two major state-owned water systems reduced or, in some cases, completely shut off.
目前，該州約98%的地區(qū)嚴(yán)重干旱。加州夏季的幾個(gè)月很少有大的降雨。許多地區(qū)已經(jīng)開始限制房主用水。農(nóng)民從兩大國(guó)有供水系統(tǒng)獲得的供水已經(jīng)減少，在某些情況下，甚至完全被切斷。
 
Legally, all the water in California is the property of the government.But farmers have "water rights" that let them take water for agriculture.Farmers have used those rights to turn Californias Central Valley into a major agricultural center.The area provides much of the nations fruits, nuts and vegetables.
從法律上講，加州所有的水都是政府的財(cái)產(chǎn)。但農(nóng)民擁有允許他們?yōu)檗r(nóng)業(yè)取水的“水權(quán)”。農(nóng)民們利用這些權(quán)利將加州的中央山谷變成了一個(gè)主要的農(nóng)業(yè)中心。這個(gè)地區(qū)提供了這個(gè)國(guó)家的大部分水果、堅(jiān)果和蔬菜。
 
California now has a record budget surplus of nearly $100 billion.The $1.5 billion proposal to buy senior water rights would involve either buying the land connected with the rights or buying just the right itself.Lawmakers could also require that the water be used for fish and other animals and plants.
加州目前有近1000億美元的創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄預(yù)算盈余。這項(xiàng)15億美元的購(gòu)買高級(jí)水權(quán)的提議將涉及要么購(gòu)買與水權(quán)相關(guān)的土地，要么只購(gòu)買水權(quán)本身。立法者還可以要求這些水用于魚類和其他動(dòng)植物。
 
The proposal is part of budget negotiations between lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration that should be completed by the end of this month.
這項(xiàng)提案是立法者和州長(zhǎng)加文·紐瑟姆政府之間預(yù)算談判的一部分，談判應(yīng)于本月底完成。
 
Regulators measure water by "acre foot."An acre foot is defined as enough water to cover 1 acre, or 0.4 hectares of land to a depth of 30 centimeters.That is the same amount as 1.2 million liters.
監(jiān)管者用“英畝英尺”來(lái)衡量水資源。一英畝英尺的定義是足夠覆蓋1英畝或0.4公頃土地30厘米深的水。相當(dāng)于120萬(wàn)升。
 
The $1.5 billion would be enough to buy about 200,000 acre feet of water.That amount is based on an average price of $7,500 per acre foot, says Tom Birmingham.He is the supervisor of Westlands Water District, the largest agricultural water district in the U.S.
15億美元將足以購(gòu)買約20萬(wàn)英畝英尺的水。湯姆·伯明翰說，這個(gè)數(shù)字是基于每英畝英尺7500美元的平均價(jià)格計(jì)算的。他是美國(guó)最大的農(nóng)業(yè)水區(qū)韋斯特蘭茲水區(qū)的主管。
 
Right now, the only way to get more water flowing in rivers and streams is to get state and federal regulators to change the rules.They can do that by requiring more water be left in rivers and streams.But that means less water for farmers.Those rule changes often bring about lawsuits that can take 10 years or longer to reach a decision, said Lester Snow.He is a former secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency and regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
目前，讓更多的水流入河流和溪流的唯一方法是讓州和聯(lián)邦監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)改變規(guī)則。他們可以通過要求更多的水留在河流和小溪中來(lái)做到這一點(diǎn)。但這意味著農(nóng)民得到的水更少。萊斯特·斯諾說，這些規(guī)則的變化往往會(huì)帶來(lái)訴訟，可能需要10年或更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才能做出決定。他曾任加利福尼亞州自然資源署秘書，也是美國(guó)填海局地區(qū)主管。
 
"We need a way to take much quicker action.And I think acquiring water rights for that purpose is one of the ways to do that," he said."With climate change, we just dont have that kind of time."
“我們需要一種更快采取行動(dòng)的方法。我認(rèn)為，為此目的獲得水權(quán)是實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo)的方法之一。”他說。“面對(duì)氣候變化，我們沒有那么多時(shí)間。”
 
For this to work, farmers would have to voluntarily sell their water rights.Tom Birmingham says that should not be a problem.Lots of farmers try to sell their water rights to Westlands Water District every year, he said.
要想實(shí)現(xiàn)這一點(diǎn)，農(nóng)民必須自愿出售他們的水權(quán)。湯姆·伯明翰表示，這應(yīng)該不是問題。他說，許多農(nóng)民每年都試圖將他們的水權(quán)出售給韋斯特蘭茲水區(qū)。
 
Birmingham added, "For many farmers ... their children simply are not interested in continuing to farm."
伯明翰補(bǔ)充道：“對(duì)許多農(nóng)民來(lái)說……他們的孩子根本沒有興趣繼續(xù)種地。”
 
Im Ashley Thompson.
阿什利·湯普森報(bào)道。