76 Green Towns-Low

Green Towns FOCUS Question Why are green communities important?

绿色城镇焦点问题为什么绿色社区很重要?

Going Green People everywhere are taking steps to help protect the environment. Whole communities are even "going green." These cities and towns have committed to using only renewable resources to get electricity. These resources, such as solar and wind, will not run out. Why go green? Nonrenewable resources that are burned to make electricity, such, as gas, oil, and coal, are limited. These resources cannot be replaced after they are used. Burning them releases gases that trap heat near Earth's surface and cause global temperatures to rise. This global warming destroys habitats and harms organisms, including people. Do You Know? Cities have a huge environmental impact. They release more than 70 percent of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

各地的人们都在采取措施帮助保护环境。 整个社区甚至都在“走向绿色”。 这些城镇已经承诺只使用可再生资源来发电。 这些资源，如太阳能和风能，不会枯竭。 为什么要环保?燃烧发电的不可再生资源，如天然气、石油和煤，是有限的。 这些资源在使用后不能被替换。 燃烧它们会释放出气体，在地球表面附近捕获热量，导致全球气温上升。 全球变暖破坏了栖息地，伤害了包括人类在内的生物。 你知道吗?城市对环境有巨大的影响。 导致全球变暖的温室气体中，有70%以上是它们排放的。

Getting Power to the People Every community needs electricity it can depend on. Electricity is often produced far from the people who use it. It travels a great distance through a complex network known as a grid. Most towns and cities in the United States are connected to a regional power grid. Many power plants make electricity, often from nonrenewable resources. Thousands of power lines distribute this energy throughout the region. Transformers at substations change how electricity flows. Some raise the voltage so it can travel long distances. Others reduce the voltage so it can safely enter homes. Some green communities get electricity in a different way. They build small grids that use local renewable energy sources. This is called community energy. One city might build a dam and power plant on a local river. Electricity from moving water is called hydroelectric power. A town might put solar panels on office buildings. The panels convert sunlight into electricity. The town might also build a wind farm where machines called turbines make electricity from moving air.

每个社区都需要它可以依赖的电力。 电力通常是在远离使用者的地方生产的。 它通过一个被称为网格的复杂网络传播很长一段距离。 美国的大多数城镇都与区域电网相连。 许多发电厂利用不可再生资源发电。 数千条输电线将这种能量分布在整个地区。 变电站的变压器改变了电流的流动方式。 有些可以提高电压，使其可以传播很长的距离。 另一些则降低电压，使其可以安全地进入家庭。 一些绿色社区以不同的方式获得电力。 他们利用当地的可再生能源建造小型电网。 这就是所谓的社区能源。 一个城市可能会在当地的河流上建造大坝和发电厂。 流动的水产生的电叫做水力发电。 一个城镇可能会在办公大楼上安装太阳能电池板。 太阳能板将阳光转化为电能。 该镇还可能建造一座风力发电场，在那里，一种名为涡轮机的机器可以从流动的空气中发电。

These green communities no longer need energy from a large grid. They can make their own energy from cleaner local sources. Other green communities still rely on a regional grid. However, they use only electricity made from renewable sources.

这些绿色社区不再需要来自大型电网的能源。 他们可以利用当地更清洁的能源生产自己的能源。 其他绿色社区仍然依赖区域电网。 然而，他们只使用可再生能源产生的电力。

Green by Name Greensburg Kansas, isn't green in name only. Residents agreed to go green after a tornado forced them to rebuild their town in 2007. They decided to get energy from the very same resource that caused so much damage to their small town. Most of their electricity now comes from a wind farm built nearby. The town also uses solar panels and geothermal energy, which is heat from inside Earth. It cost more at first to use renewable energy. Now Greensburg saves hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on energy. The people who live there are proud to have made a difference in the world for future generations.

堪萨斯州的格林斯堡不仅仅是名符其实的绿色。 2007年，一场龙卷风迫使居民们重建了他们的城镇，他们同意环保。 他们决定从给他们的小镇造成巨大破坏的同一种资源中获取能源。 现在他们的大部分电力来自附近的一个风力发电场。 该镇还使用太阳能电池板和地热能，地热能是来自地球内部的热量。 最初使用可再生能源的成本更高。 现在格林斯堡每年在能源上节省了数十万美元。 生活在那里的人们为能够为后代改变世界而感到自豪。

A College Town Goes Green You can learn a lot in Hanover, New Hampshire. It's the home of Dartmouth College. It is also one of a few towns in the state working to go green by 2030. The town plans to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable resources. Residents have already put solar panels on many buildings. They will also buy more wind and solar power from the regional grid. Hanover has another goal as well. It intends to use only renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2050. Dartmouth College now gets heat by burning oil. Soon it plans to replace the oil with renewable resources. The college aims to cut the amount of greenhouse gases it produces by 80 percent!

在新罕布什尔州的汉诺威你可以学到很多东西。 它是达特茅斯学院的所在地。 它也是该州少数几个致力于到2030年实现绿色的城镇之一。 该镇计划100%的电力来自可再生资源。 居民们已经在许多建筑物上安装了太阳能电池板。 他们还将从地区电网购买更多的风能和太阳能。 汉诺威还有另一个目标。 该国计划到2050年只使用可再生能源供暖和运输。 达特茅斯学院现在通过燃烧石油来取暖。 不久，该公司计划用可再生资源取代石油。 该学院的目标是将其产生的温室气体减少80% !