第14期清洁能源的需求对水资源的影响 - 英语阅读

Thirsty Clean Energy May Add to Water Stressed World
对清洁能源的需求可能会给水资源增加压力
As the world gets hotter and drier thanks to our predilection for
由于我们对燃烧化石燃料的偏爱，
burning fossil fuels.
世界变得越来越炎热，越来越干燥。
The choices we make balancing power and water are already becoming
斯德哥尔摩环境研究所的阿曼达·芬斯尔说，
an urgent issue in the fight against climate change, says Amanda
我们保证水电平衡的这一选择在应对气候变化的角度上已经成为
Fencl of the Stockholm Environment Institute.
了一个紧迫的问题。
While cutting emissions is necessary to curb global warming, some renewable
美国能源部发布的一份报告指出，虽然削减温室气体排放是遏制全球变暖所必备的条件，
and clean energy sources use more water than fossil fuel-powered plants,
但一些可再生能源和清洁能源比化石燃料发电厂需要更多的水资源。
finds a report released by the US Department of Energy - DoE) that
这份报告对美国电力基础设施
looked at how resilient the US's power infrastructure is to climate change.
是否能面临气候变化的考验进行了探讨。
The biggest users of water in the US are power plants, particularly
在美国，水资源使用大户是发电厂，尤其是
the fossil fuel and nuclear plants that together generate almost 90
化石燃料发电厂和核电厂为美国创造了90%
per cent of the nation's energy.
的能源。
Nearly half the water the US consumes is used to cool these plants
美国所消耗的水资源中，有将近一半的水资源是用于冷却这些发电设备
and drive their turbines. But some renewable and clean energy sources
和驱动涡轮机的。但是，美国能源部的报告指出，
also need a lot of water, says the DoE report.
一些可再生能源和清洁能源也需要大量的水资源。
The main consumer is hydropower, which requires large reservoirs
消耗的主力军是水力发电，这就需要储蓄
of water to generate electricity.
大量的水来发电。
Other technologies use it indirectly, to irrigate biofuel crops,
其他的技术可以使用水资源来灌溉生物燃料作物，
for example, or cool and wash solar panels.
例如冷却和清洗太阳能电池板。
Currently renewable and clean energy technologies only make up a small
目前，可再生能源和清洁能源仅仅占据了美国能源结构的一小部分，
proportion of the US's energy mix-for example, hydroelectric provides
7 per cent of the county's power,
例如，水力发电提供了7%的国家能源，
and solar less than 1 per cent-but if the US is going to meet its target of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, renewables and clean
而太阳能提供的能源不超过1%，但如果美国要满足
energy will need to feature more heavily in future.
到2050年，碳排放量减少80%的目标，可再生能源和清洁