14 News & Topics
14 News & Topics July 2022 | World and Press Trump saved this old-fashioned lightbulb. Biden’s now phasing it out. ENERGY EFFICIENCY The end has come for the old-fashioned incandescent lightbulb. mit Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. By Anna Phillips -Vokabeltrainer |Photo: Pixabay 1 THE ENERGYDepartment finalized two rules Monday requiring manufacturers to sell energy-efficient lightbulbs, effectively putting a “sell-by” date on older, inefficient bulbs that don’t meet the new standards. The move will speed the pace of a lighting revolution that is already well underway, driving down electricity use, saving consumers money, and slashing greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. 2 The new rules, which reverse a Trump-era policy, expand energy-efficiency requirements to more types of lightbulbs and ban the sale of those that produce less than 45 lumens per watt – a measure of how much light is emitted for each unit of electricity. This will eventually prohibit most incandescent and halogen lightbulbs and shift the country toward more efficient and compact fluorescent and LED bulbs. 3 Biden administration officials estimate that, taken together, the two rules will save consumers about billion annually when fully implemented. They also project that the changes will cut carbon emissions by 222 million metric tons over the next 30 years, roughly equivalent to what 28 million homes generate annually. 4 “The lighting industry is already embracing more energy-efficient products, and this measure will accelerate progress to deliver the best products to American consumers and build a better and brighter future,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. 5 Although sales of LED lightbulbs have grown rapidly, the most recent sales data shows that incandescent or halogen bulbs still made up about 30% of the market in 2020. 6 The American Lighting Association, a trade group, had asked the Biden administration to postpone fully implementing stricter lightbulb efficiency standards for two years. [Last year], it warned that a faster pivot away from incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs would result in “major financial losses” for lighting manufacturers and retailers, as well as “a glut of stranded inventory, piling up at individual showrooms and eventually landfills.” … 7 If not for Donald Trump, the United States would have banned the sale of incandescent lightbulbs two years ago, with only a handful of exceptions. A 2007 law signed by President George W. Bush made saving energy from lightbulbs a national goal. But before new energy-efficiency standards could take effect, the Trump administration rolled them back on the grounds that they were “not economically justified.” At the time, the Natural Resources Defense Council advocacy group said the rollback could boost energy consumption by an amount equal to the output of 30 large power plants. 8 But Trump decried more efficient lightbulbs, telling House Republican lawmakers in 2019, “The light’s no good. I always look orange.” … © 2022 The Washington Post 0 – 1 (INCANDESCENT) LIGHTBULB “ÆInkœn"de s´nt‘ Glühbirne — to phase out schrittweise aus dem Verkehr ziehen — effectively quasi — sell-by date Ablaufdatum — to meet entsprechen — to be well underway (fig) in vollem Gange sein — to slash (coll) drastisch reduzieren — greenhouse gas emissions Treibhausgasausstoß; s.w.u. carbon e. CO 2 -Ausstoß 2 – 3 to reverse “rI"v‰…s‘ rückgängig machen — to emit “i"mIt‘ ausstrahlen — eventually “I"ventSu´li‘ letztendlich — to shift umstellen — fluorescent bulb “flO…"res´nt‘ Leuchtstofflampe — administration official Regierungsvertreter(in) — billion Milliarde — to implement “"ImplIment‘ umsetzen — to project “-"-‘ prognostizieren — metric ton Tonne — equivalent to … “I"kwIv´l´nt‘ was … entspricht 4 – 6 to embrace h.: setzen auf — to accelerate “´k"sel´reIt‘ beschleunigen — Energy Secretary Energieminister(in) — association “´Æs´Usi"eIS´n‘ Verband — trade group Branchenverband — pivot “"pIv´t‘ Umstellung — retailer Händler — glut Überangebot — stranded aufgelaufen — inventory “"Inv´nt´ri‘ Bestände — showroom Verkaufsstelle — landfill Mülldeponie 7 – 8 to take effect in Kraft treten — to roll back rückgängig machen; s.w.u. rollback — on the grounds that … mit der Begründung, dass … — Natural Resources Defense Council Umweltschutzorganisation — advocacy group “"œdv´k´si‘ Interessengruppe — consumption “k´n"sømpS´n‘ Verbrauch — power plant Kraftwerk — to decry “di"kraI‘ schlechtmachen — House = House of Representatives — lawmaker Abgeordnete(r) Get the vocabulary trainer! www.phase6.de/wp/1422 Crocodiles are thriving in the NT and it could be because of feral pigs AUSTRALIA Scientists believe the reptiles have shifted from marine prey towards land-based food sources in the Territory, helping to boost numbers. mit -Vokabeltrainer By Donna Lu 1 THE EXPONENTIALincrease in saltwater crocodile populations in the Northern Territory in recent decades may be partly a result of them preying on feral pigs, new research suggests. Scientists who have analysed the diets of saltwater crocodiles in the Territory believe the reptiles have shifted from marine prey to predominantly terrestrial food sources in the last 50 years – driven specifically by an abundance of feral pigs. 2 Using stable isotope analysis of crocodile bones, which gives an indicator of long-term dietary A saltwater crocodile in Australia. | Photo: Enguerrand Blanchy/Unsplash Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. habits, the researchers found that the carnivores feed on more landbased prey and have a less diverse diet than their historical counterparts. 3 The research, published in the journal ‘Biology Letters’, analysed differences between the diets of 24 contemporary saltwater crocodiles caught near Darwin and 22 historical specimens caught between 1968 and 1986. The researchers measured changes in ratios of carbon and nitrogen isotopes. 4 Hamish Campbell, a professor at Charles Darwin University and leader of the research project, said the carbon and nitrogen Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. signatures were more depleted in the present-day crocodiles, indicating that they were feeding more on terrestrial food sources. 5 “They’re generalist feeders, but what [the analysis] showed us is that they’re adapting to localised prey sources,” he said. “We think of crocodiles as aquatic animals, but they’re obviously having quite serious implications for … feral pig ecology. There isn’t anything else out there in the floodplain that exists at that high a nutritional value and biomass that could be supporting the crocs.” 6 Previous research, published in 2018, found that saltwater crocodiles in Kakadu National Park derive a large proportion of their nutrients from land animals. Campbell said the new study stemmed from a desire to understand the drivers behind rising crocodile numbers in recent decades. “Crocodiles have gone from a population of … probably a few thousand individuals across the top of Australia in the 1970s, to over 100,000 adults in the Northern Territory alone.” … 7 The scientists could not determine whether the carnivores were having an impact on feral pig populations in the Territory, and plan to conduct further research into the ecological impacts of the high crocodile population. “[Feral pigs] are probably our most destructive feral animal right across Australia, and we virtually have no idea what the population numbers are,” Campbell said. © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd 0 – 1 TO THRIVE“TraIv‘ gedeihen — NT = Northern Territory austral. Bundesterritorium — feral pig “"fer´l‘ Wildschwein — to shift s. umstellen — marine Meeres- — prey Beutetier; s.w.u. to prey on jagen — predominantly “prI"dÅmIn´ntli‘ überwiegend — terrestrial “t´"restri´l‘ landgebunden — specifically “sp´"sIfIk´li‘ insbesondere — abundance “´"bønd´ns‘ Überfluss 2 – 4 stable isotope analysis “"aIs´t´Up‘ Untersuchung stabiler Isotope — dietary habits “"daI´t´ri‘ Ernährungsgewohnheiten — carnivore “"kA…nIvO…‘ Fleischfresser — counterpart h.: Artgenosse — specimen “"spes´mIn‘ Exemplar — ratio “"reISi´U‘ Verhältnis — carbon “"kA…b´n‘ Kohlenstoff — nitrogen “"naItr´dZ´n‘ Stickstoff — signature Spur — to deplete verringern 5 generalist feeder Allesfresser — localised örtlich angepasst — aquatic “´"kwœtIk‘ Wasser- — implications Folgen — floodplain Flussniederung — nutritional value “nju…"trIS´n´l‘ Nährwert; s.w.u. nutrient “"nju…tri´nt‘ Nährstoff — to support ernähren — croc (coll) Krokodil 6 – 7 to derive beziehen — proportion Teil — to stem from s.th. etw. entspringen — driver Ursache — to determine “dI"t‰… mIn‘ bestimmen — destructive “dI"strøktIv‘ zerstörerisch — virtually “"v‰…tSu´li‘ praktisch
World and Press | July 2022 Literature 15 By Edward Posnett 1 ALMOST Adecade ago, a group of Canadian and British scientists made a remarkable observation about the social lives of sperm whales in the Sargasso and Caribbean seas. While mother whales dived deep to hunt for squid, others assumed the role of “allomothers”, caring for the calf at the water’s surface (the popular press referred to these whales as “babysitters”). The paper by the scientists was part of a growing body of eye-opening research into whales’ social behaviour, which centres on those close-knit groups called pods. 2 Pods, human as well as cetacean, come up repeatedly in Doreen Cunningham’s debut book world ‘Soundings’ by Doreen Cunningham old son, Max, and their journey to follow the whales that migrate from Baja California to the Arctic. But this is not really a work of natural history. 3 Mother and son are in a state of turmoil and, like the whales they pursue, must navigate an environment that appears callous, if not hostile, and rely on friendship to get by. The experiences of the alienated pair are inseparable from their literary quarry, and as they travel up the Pacific coast, whale and human cultures seem to converge, eroding the gap between ourselves and our distant mammalian cousins. 4 An engineering graduate, Cunningham had a busy career as a London-based climate journalist, covering stories all around ‘Soundings’, a striking, brave, and often lyrical book that defies easy interpretation. It’s the story of a single mother and her two-yearthe world, including in Alaska (her time with Iñupiat whalers provides a key thread in the book, as well as a wealth of fascinating ethnographic material). After a painful custody dispute with her son’s father, she returns with the boy to Jersey, the island where she grew up. Depleted, insolvent, and isolated, she takes refuge in a hostel for single mothers, and it is here that she conceives her plan to follow whales with her young son. 5 Cunningham adroitly sidesteps much of the male-dominated narratives about whales and whaling, and clearly takes inspiration more from Inuit mythology than from Herman Melville. She and her son make for an unconventionally heroic pair, travelling by plane, train, bus, and boat, and incurring disapproving looks and small humiliations in their quest to spot grey whales. Initially it seems that nothing fits, including lifejackets, and at times the landscape seems irredeemably hostile. Whale mothers and their calves, meanwhile, surface and dive alongside the pair, and Cunningham movingly describes their bonds of cooperation, which find pointed echoes and contrasts in her travelling companions and personal relationships. Her sensuous descriptions of grey whales and humpbacks provide some of the book’s richest passages; she looks at the whales and then looks at her son, looking at whales, which look back. … 6 At times the narrator seems fixated on obtaining a transformative encounter with the whale, almost betraying a desire to jump the species barrier. Yet she is no Ahab; it is not a single whale to which she is drawn, but the collective, and in the end the whales act as stepping-stones, bridges to human relationships on her journey, notably with other women and mothers. What at first seems a reckless, near-mystical pursuit of an imagined being leads her to find a human pod of her own. © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd ‘Soundings’ by Doreen Cunningham, 288 pages, is published by Virago, ISBN 978-0349014951. 0 – 1 SOUNDINGS dt. Titel: Der Gesang in den Meeren — sperm whale “"sp‰…m ÆweIl‘ Pottwal — squid Tintenfisch — to assume übernehmen — allomother “"œl´U--‘ Allomutter — calf Kalb — popular press Boulevardpresse — paper wissenschaftl. Arbeit — a growing body of research e-e wachsende Zahl an Forschungsarbeiten — eye-opening aufschlussreich — closeknit eng — pod kleinere Walschule 2 cetacean “sI"teIS´n‘ … von Walen — lyrical “"lIrIk´l‘ lyrisch — to defy s.th. “dI"faI‘ s. etw. entziehen — to migrate ziehen — natural history Naturkunde 3 to be in a state of turmoil “"t‰…mOIl‘ völlig aufgewühlt sein — to pursue “p´"sju…‘ folgen; s.w.u. pursuit Verfolgung — to navigate s. zurechtfinden in — callous “"kœl´s‘ hartherzig — hostile “"hÅstaIl‘ feindselig — to get by zurechtkommen — alienated “"eIli´neItId‘ von der Welt zurückgezogen — inseparable from “In"sep´r´b´l‘ untrennbar verbunden mit — quarry “"kwÅri‘ Beute — to converge “k´n"v‰…dZ‘ s. einander annähern — to erode auflösen — mammalian “mœm"eIli´n‘ Säugetier- 4 whaler Walfänger(in); s.w.u. whaling Walfang — thread Erzählstrang — a wealth of e-e Fülle an — custody dispute “"køst´di‘ Sorgerechtsstreit — depleted “dI"pli…tId‘ erschöpft — insolvent “In"sÅlv´nt‘ überschuldet — to take refuge “"refju… dZ‘ Zuflucht suchen — hostel Wohnheim — to conceive a plan “k´n"si…v‘ e-n Plan fassen 5 adroitly “´"drOItli‘ geschickt — to sidestep umgehen — to make for ergeben — to incur “In"k‰…‘ erleiden müssen — humiliation “hju…ÆmIli"eIS´n‘ Demütigung — quest Suche — lifejacket Rettungsweste — irredeemably “ÆIrI"di…m´bli‘ hoffnungslos — to surface “"s‰…fIs‘ auftauchen — pointed pointiert — sensuous “"sensjU´s‘ sinnlich — humpback Buckelwal 6 narrator “n´"reIt´‘ Erzähler(in) — to be fixated on doing “fIk"seItId‘ darauf fixiert sein zu tun — transformative “trœns"fO… m´tIv‘ lebensverändernd — encounter Begegnung — to betray erkennen lassen — to jump the species barrier “"spi…Si…z‘ die Artengrenze überwinden — Ahab vgl. Kapitän Ahab aus Herman Melvilles Roman „Moby-Dick“ — collective Gesamtheit — stepping-stone (fig) Wegbereiter — notably “"n´Ut´bli‘ insbesondere — reckless waghalsig crossword puzzle | By Katrin Günther All the words are in the articles on pages 14 and 15. Solution on page 24. Across 1 To find one’s way through s.th. (Book world) Down 2 A very large quantity of s.th. (Crocodiles) 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 6 Heartless (Book world) 3 A whole group (Book world) 7 In progress (Lightbulb) 8 The act of reducing or reversing (Lightbulb) 9 To come together from different directions so as eventually to meet (Book world) 12 An animal that eats meat (Crocodiles) 15 In a way that is impossible to correct, improve, or change (Book world) 17 Damaging (Crocodiles) 18 An oversupply (Lightbulb) 19 A quantity of merchandise or goods held in stock (Lightbulb) 20 Prey (Book world) 4 Any substance that plants or animals need in order to live and grow (Crocodiles) 5 To obtain s.th. from a specified source (Crocodiles) 10 The amount used (Lightbulb) 11 In a clever or skilful way (Book world) 13 To put into action (Lightbulb) 14 Giving or expressing pleasure through the physical senses (Book world) 16 A room used to display goods for sale (Lightbulb) 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
