2022年10月31日 VOA慢速英語：歐洲在能源危機(jī)期間轉(zhuǎn)向柴火

 

Europe's energy crisis has forced some people to turn to less costly heating sources such as firewood.
歐洲的能源危機(jī)迫使一些人轉(zhuǎn)向成本較低的取暖資源，例如木柴。
 
But as demand increases, the public is facing rising prices, shortages and even reports of firewood theft. Foresters are using GPS devices to follow their logs while others fear the environmental impact of increased air pollution and tree cutting.
但隨著需求的增加，公眾正面臨價格上漲、短缺甚至木柴被盜的報道。林務(wù)員正在使用 GPS 設(shè)備跟蹤他們的原木，而其他人則擔(dān)心空氣污染增加和砍伐樹木對環(huán)境的影響。
 
In Moldova, Tudor Popescu splits firewood that will heat his home in the capital of Chisinau. As the nights turn colder, the load of firewood has been growing higher around him — his supplies for the coming winter.
在摩爾多瓦，Tudor Popescu 劈柴，為他在首都基希訥烏的家供暖。隨著夜色變冷，他周圍的柴火越來越高——他為即將到來的冬天提供的物資。
 
In the past, Popescu depended on natural gas for warmth in the mornings and firewood at night. But gas is now in short supply, following Russia's major cut to gas exports.
過去，波佩斯庫早上依靠天然氣取暖，晚上依靠柴火。但隨著俄羅斯大幅削減天然氣出口，天然氣現(xiàn)在供不應(yīng)求。
 
Russian energy business Gazprom has threatened even more reductions.
俄羅斯能源企業(yè) Gazprom 威脅要進(jìn)一步減產(chǎn)。
 
"I won't use gas anymore, so it's going to only be wood," Popescu said. "But what I have isn't enough."
“我不會再用汽油了，所以它只會是木頭，”波佩斯庫說。“但我所擁有的還不夠。”
 
The demand for firewood in Europe is not limited to poorer nations like Moldova. Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic's state-owned forests are seeing much stronger demand for the limited amounts of firewood they sell as part of their sustainable forest programs.
歐洲對木柴的需求不僅限于摩爾多瓦等較貧窮的國家。作為可持續(xù)森林計劃的一部分，德國、波蘭和捷克共和國的國有森林對他們出售的有限數(shù)量的木柴的需求要大得多。
 
The German forestry service has reported getting requests for firewood from people who had never sought firewood before. The people seemed not to know that the firewood process takes two years. That is how long it takes to fully dry the wood so it will burn in wood stoves, said the forestry office in the southwestern state of Hesse.
德國林業(yè)局報告說，以前從未找過柴火的人要求柴火。人們似乎不知道柴火的過程需要兩年時間。西南部黑森州的林業(yè)辦公室說，這就是木材完全干燥以便在木爐中燃燒所需的時間。
 
German forest rangers also report increased incidents of people gathering fallen wood in forests, often not knowing it is illegal.
德國護(hù)林員還報告說，人們在森林里收集倒下的木頭的事件越來越多，他們通常不知道這是非法的。
 
State forests in the Czech Republic also report increased demand for firewood. The government sells the wood for use at home, only. Officials say they have had to limit the amount of firewood sold to individuals.
捷克共和國的國有森林也報告對木柴的需求增加。政府只出售木材供家庭使用。官員們表示，他們不得不限制出售給個人的木柴數(shù)量。
 
In Poland, demand for small firewood from state forests increased by 46 percent through the end of August from a year earlier. Larger firewood demand was up 42 percent. A spokesman for Poland's State Forests said, "small firewood is probably the cheapest heating material in the EU countries." He said theft of firewood is also on the rise.
在波蘭，截至 8 月底，對國有森林小木柴的需求比去年同期增長了 46%。較大的木柴需求增長了 42%。波蘭國家森林的一位發(fā)言人說，“小柴火可能是歐盟國家最便宜的取暖材料。” 他說，盜竊木柴的行為也在增加。
 
To prevent theft in Germany, the forestry department is experimenting with hiding GPS devices in logs. The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is the latest to try the technology. Foresters in neighboring Hesse have been using GPS devices since 2013 and say they have been able to solve several thefts that way.
為了防止德國的盜竊，林業(yè)部門正在嘗試將 GPS 設(shè)備隱藏在日志中。德國北萊茵-威斯特法倫州是最新嘗試這項技術(shù)的州。鄰近黑森州的林務(wù)員自 2013 年以來一直在使用 GPS 設(shè)備，并表示他們已經(jīng)能夠通過這種方式解決幾起盜竊案。
 
Austrian police recently warned people to watch for those claiming to sell firewood online. Police in Germany have issued similar alerts.
奧地利警方最近警告人們注意那些聲稱在網(wǎng)上出售柴火的人。德國警方也發(fā)出了類似的警報。
 
Germany's statistics agency says prices for firewood and wood products used in home heating rose over 85 percent in August from a year earlier. Even so, heating with wood is still less costly than natural gas. Gas costs 20.9 cents per kilowatt hour of heat, while wood products cost 14.88 cents.
德國統(tǒng)計局表示，8 月份用于家庭取暖的木柴和木制品價格比去年同期上漲了 85% 以上。即便如此，用木材取暖的成本仍然低于天然氣。天然氣每千瓦時熱量成本為 20.9 美分，而木制品成本為 14.88 美分。
 
In Britain, prices of firewood also are going up. Company Certainly Wood says it has seen "a massive increase in demand" even though the price is 15 to 20 percent higher than last year.
在英國，木柴的價格也在上漲。公司當(dāng)然伍德表示，盡管價格比去年高出 15% 到 20%，但它已經(jīng)看到“需求大幅增加”。
 
In Denmark, the demand for wood-burning stoves is growing along with demand for firewood itself. The Danish sales site DBA said searches for wood-burning products have increased by over 1,300 percent in the past year.
在丹麥，對燃木爐具的需求隨著對木柴本身的需求而增長。丹麥銷售網(wǎng)站 DBA 表示，去年木材燃燒產(chǎn)品的搜索量增加了 1,300% 以上。
 
At the same time, government officials and environmentalists have warned Danes about the risk of burning firewood. The smoke produced can be dangerous and adds to pollution, they say, and the tree loss adds to climate change problems.
與此同時，政府官員和環(huán)保人士警告丹麥人燃燒木柴的風(fēng)險。他們說，產(chǎn)生的煙霧可能很危險，會增加污染，而樹木的流失會加劇氣候變化問題。