外国人最想和你聊的时事话题：未来能源
- 双语介绍
- 关键词句
What is future energy 什么是未来能源
Future Energy is a former accreditation scheme for green electricity in the United Kingdom, designed to support and stimulate electricity generation from renewable energy sources. The scheme was launched in 1999 and was operated by the Energy Saving Trust until funding expired in 2002.
It is thought that funding was not renewed because too few suppliers were prepared to accept the new requirements for green tariffs proposed by the Trust following the introduction of the Renewables Obligation. As of 2007 the scheme has not been replaced, although Friends of the Earth, who used to run their own scheme, have been among those calling on the government to do so.
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished.) Renewable energy is an alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear power, and was commonly called alternative energy in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2008, about 19％ of global final energy consumption came from renewable, with 13％ coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.2％ from hydroelectricity. New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) accounted for another 2.7％ and are growing very rapidly. The share of renewable in electricity generation is around 18％, with 15％ of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3％ from new renewable.
Wind power is growing at the rate of 30％ annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 158 gigawatts (GW) in 2009, and is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United States. At the end of 2009, cumulative global photovoltaic (PV) installations surpassed 21 GW and PV power stations are popular in Germany and Spain. Solar thermal power stations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 megawatt (MW) SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert. The world's largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane, and ethanol now provides 18％ of the country's automotive fuel. Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.
Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global financial crisis better than many other sectors. Scientists have advanced a plan to power 100％ of the world's energy with wind, hydroelectric, and solar power by the year 2030, recommending renewable energy subsidies and a price on carbon reflecting its cost for flood and related expenses.
While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. Globally, an estimated 3 million households get power from small solar PV systems. Micro-hydro systems configured into village-scale or county-scale mini-grids serve many areas. More than 30 million rural households get lighting and cooking from biogas made in household-scale digesters. Biomass cook stoves are used by 160 million households.
未来能源（future energy）的各种形式都是直接或者间接地来自于太阳或地球内部深处所产生的热能(thermal energy)。包括了太阳能(solar energy)、风能、生物质能(biomass energy)、地热能(geothermal energy)、核聚变能(nuclear fusion energy)、水能(hydro energy)和海洋能(ocean energy)以及由可再生能源衍生出来的生物燃料(biofuel)和氢所产生的能量。也可以说，未来能源包括各种可再生能源(renewable energy)和核能(nuclear power)。相对于传统能源，未来能源普遍具有污染少、储量(reserve volume)大的特点，对于解决当今世界严重的环境污染问题和资源（特别是化石能源fossil energy）枯竭问题具有重要意义。同时，由于很多未来能源分布均匀，对于解决由能源引发的战争也有着重要意义。
Many energy experts say that more investment in hydroelectricity is the only way to meet future demand.
许多能源专家讲道，在水利电力上进行更多的投资是唯一能满足未来能源需求的方法。
The sun seems to be the most promising source for the future.
太阳似乎是未来最有希望的能源。
Land and other resources should not constrain the development of biomass as a renewable energy source for the future.
土地和其他资源应该不妨碍作为未来可更新能源的生物量的发展。
Although fuel cells have been around since 1839, fuel cells sound like the energy source of the future.
尽管燃料电池在1839年就出现了，可听起来它还是像一种未来的能源。
The importance of water is further enhanced as it is expected to be the source of energy in the future.
当人们期望着水成为未来的一种新能源的时候，水的重要性进一步增加了。
The preceding biofuel comes from food, but scientists want to make biofuel by waste farm products.
上面的生物能源来自于食物，未来科学家们想用农业产品垃圾来制造生物能源。
Already we have seen tremendous advances in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and many people regard nuclear energy as the answer to almost all of our future energy needs.
我们已经看到和平利用核能所带来的巨大好处，并且很多人认为核能可以看作解决未来人类能源需求问题的答案。
The research of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) techniques is a powerful act to resolve the energy crisis and environment pollution.
激光核聚变研究是人类解决未来能源危机及改善严重环境污染的一项重大举措。
Much more emphasis has been placed on electric vehicle (EV), due to consideration of energy development, energy safety and environment protection.
为满足未来能源发展、能源安全以及环保的要求，电动汽车越来越受重视。
As a secondary energy, Hydrogen will become one of the main energy in the future.
氢气作为二次能源将成为未来的主要能源之一。
The relationship of different kind energy consumption trend quantity and economy varies because of different countries and areas.
不同种类的能源消费趋势量与经济的关系因国家和地区的不同而有差别。
EU citizens have done an immeasurable service to future generations of all nations through its courageous new energy policies.
欧盟公民通过这项胆识过人的新能源政策，为各国未来世代子孙所带来的利益将难以计量。
Part 3 Let's Talk！ 开始交流吧！
Cathy: What do you think of the lecture?
凯西：你认为这个讲座怎么样？
Leon: You mean the one On Future Energy?
雷昂：你是说"未来能源"吗？
Cathy: That's right.
凯西：对。
Leon: I think it was very interesting and helpful.
雷昂：我觉得很有趣，也很有帮助。
Cathy: Do you really mean that?
凯西：你真的这么认为？
Leon: Yes. Don't you?
雷昂：对。你不这么想？
Cathy: But I think some of his view points are not correct.
凯西：但是我想他的一些观点并不正确。
Leon: Yes?
雷昂：是吗？
Cathy: Take the coal for instance.
凯西：拿煤炭来说吧。
Leon: What about it?
雷昂：煤炭怎么了？
Cathy: Coal won't become important again. Everybody can see that.
凯西：煤炭不会再重要了，这一点人人都可以看到。
Leon: Why not?
雷昂：为什么？
Cathy: For one thing, it's too dirty. We won't be able to find people to work down coal mines in the future. For another, we'll use up all the coal underground. We have to develop new kinds of energy such as atomic energy.
凯西：一方面它太脏，将来我们不会看到有人在地下的煤矿采煤，另一方面地下的煤会被用完，我们必须开发新的能源，例如原子能。
Leon: We'll invent new kinds of machinery to mine underground for us and nobody can tell exactly how much coal there is underground. Atomic energy can't take the place of coal because it's too dangerous to produce. Once leakage occurs, it'll bring disastrous.
雷昂：我们可以制造新型机械来代替人工在地下采煤，并且没有人确切地知道地下到底有多少煤。原子能无法取代煤炭，因为生产原子能太危险，一旦发生泄漏，将会有灾难性的后果，许多人反对发展原子能。
Cathy: Nonsense. When atomic energy is used widely, we'll certainly have more advanced and stricter preventive measures to prevent any kind of leakage. It's safe and clean as well.
凯西：也不对。当原子能广泛使用时我们当然会采取更先进更严格的预防措施来防止任何泄漏发生。它既安全又卫生。
Leon: You have something there. Perhaps we can use coal, oil and atomic energy side by side.
雷昂：你说得有道理。也许我们可以同时利用煤炭、石油、原子能能源。
Cathy: Yes. The future is always hard to predict. It's decided by many unexpected factors.
凯西：对。将来难以预测。它是由许多意想不到的因素决定的。
Leon: That's right. Let's hope for the best.
雷昂：是的。让我们对未来寄予最好的希望。
