评论
打印
Hydroelectric power is another source of clean and renewable energy. It can be harnessed by controlling the natural outflow of water with different methods. The most popular is through dams, which, unfortunately, are no longer considered environmentally friendly. Most of the hydroelectric dams in the world are historically recent, but all reservoirs eventually will fill up with mud and require very expensive excavation to clear them up to become useful again.
水力电能是另外一种既干净又能再生的能源。人们可以通过不同方法来控制自然水流以进行发电。最普遍的方法是通过水坝，但不幸的是，建水坝已被认为是对环境不利的方法了。世界上大多数用于水力发电的大坝建造历史都不长，但是所有的水库最终都会被淤泥填塞，需要耗资巨大进行清淤才能使它们重新得到利用。
Biomass energy derived from plant and animal matter is still another renewable source being considered as a standby replacement for fossil fuels. Organic waste in the form of dead trees, leaves, animal corpses and food processing waste exists in abundance and can be used to produce energy. However, there is no way to ventilate the direct burning of biomass as fuel without diffusing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases can pose a risk to the ozone layer, increasing overall exposure of human beings to harmful UV rays from the sun. Besides, it takes time and money to collect and transport biomass in its raw form to a central point for processing into fuel, and the automation of such a process is too difficult. So, for the time being, biomass has too many costly drawbacks to be a workable alternative to fossil fuels.
动植物物质所产生的生物能源也是一种可再生能源，且被认为是矿物燃料的备用替代品。以死树、枯叶、动物尸体以及食品加工废料的形式存在的有机废物十分充足，可以被用来制造能源。然而，将生物质作为燃料直接燃烧，通风时必然会将二氧化碳及其他温室气体排放到大气中。这些气体会对臭氧层造成威胁，增加人们受到来自太阳的有害紫外线照射的危险。除此以外，将生物质以原始形态进行收集，并将它们运送到某个中心站加工处理成燃料，这一过程既耗时又耗财，而且对这一过程实现自动化非常困难。所以，在目前，生物质能源有太多高成本方面的缺点，不能成为矿物燃料可行的替代品。
Although renewable energies are not yet economically competitive with fossil fuels, their price becomes more attractive when compared with the health and environmental costs associated with burning coal and oil. Perhaps the best solution to our growing energy challenges comes in a bulletin from the Union of Concerned Scientists: "Our society's future success cannot hinge on one single solution. The answer instead must come from a family of diverse energy technologies that share a unified purpose -they do not deplete our natural resources or destroy our environment." Despite the difficulties, it is important to remember that an energy crisis is approaching at supersonic speeds and will soon be upon us. In order to inaugurate a new era in energy, we must act quickly and work toward international collaboration to find the most effective solutions to our energy problems.
虽然从经济实惠方面来说，可再生能源没有矿物能源有竞争力，但是，与燃烧煤和石油所带来的健康及环境代价相比，它们的价格又变得较有吸引力了。也许，对于日益紧迫的能源挑战，最好的解决办法正如"忧思科学家联盟"所出的一份简报上所说的那样："未来我们社会的成功不能依赖于某一单一的解决方案。相反，答案须来自一系列各种不同的能源技术。这些技术有一个共同目的：它们不会耗尽我们的自然资源，也不会破环我们的环境。"尽管困难重重，我们需要牢记的是，能源危机正以超音速逼近，即将来到我们面前。为了在能源领域开创一个新时代，我们必须赶快行动，努力寻求国际合作，以找到能源问题最有效的解决办法。
