https://online2.tingclass.net/lesson/shi0529/0008/8713/97.mp3
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Millions of Americans enjoy playing golf. But golf courses are not known to be environmentally friendly. They demand a lot of fresh water, fertilizers and herbicides to keep them looking green. That’s true of most golf courses. But let’s look at one that is trying something different. This is the Miami Beach Golf Club. The grass used here is called “seashore paspalum”.
“It’s the most environmentally friendly grass in the world.” Dr. Ron Duncan is a turf researcher at the University of Georgia and a leading expert on seashore paspalum. “And environmentally friendly from the standpoint that you can save the potable water use from the human side and utilize all other alternative water sources like brackish water or water out of sewage plants to irrigate this grass. Also you have a reduced management budget because it requires about half the fertilizers that you normally use on the other grasses. Also you can save on pesticide use.”
What makes seashore paspalum so special is that it can survive and thrive in high-salt environments. So brackish water or partially salty water can be used to irrigate this grass. This translates into big savings for the golf course.
“We estimate at this point we are gonna reduce our dependency on fresh water by about 65-75%, that'll save us somewhere, in a range of 175-200 thousand dollars annually on fresh water.”
Steve Forrest is the architect who designed this golf course. He says seashore paspalum has other advantages besides being environmentally friendly.
“This grass is able to provide a striping pattern and the black you would see on a football field or if you are vacuuming your carpet. This grass is also greener or darker green in texture, so you can again have different contrast in color throughout the golf course which is desirable from the architectural standpoint of view.”
So do golfers rate seashore paspalum as a birdie or a bogie?
“I will definitely come back and I was very impressed to it."
"We've come down the play three rounds and we've played at three different courses and this is by far the best.”
“The end use is here, it’s not in my research plot, it’s not at the University of Georgia. It’s where it's gonna be used. And the acceptance of the golfers now, and various people trying this grass in a lot of different areas, that’s the pleasure that I’m getting.”
Seashore paspalum appears to be a green solution that's par for the course.
參考中文翻譯:
許多美國人喜歡打高爾夫球。但是高爾夫球場對環(huán)境不是那么好,因為需要許多淡水,肥料和除草劑使球場保持綠色。對許多高爾夫球場來說卻是需要這樣。但是看一下這個高爾夫球場,他們正在嘗試一些不同的方法。這就是邁阿密沙灘高爾夫俱樂部。這里用的草叫做海濱雀稗(“seashore paspalum”)。
“這是世界上最環(huán)保的草。”Dr. Ron Duncan是佐治亞大學(xué)的草地研究者,也是海濱雀稗方面的領(lǐng)先專家。“這種草比較環(huán)保是從以下角度來講的,可以為人類節(jié)約可飲用水,可以利用其它水源,比如咸水或者污水廠的水來灌溉這種草。同時可以減少預(yù)算管理,因為這種草只需要相當(dāng)于其他草一半的肥料,還可以減少殺蟲劑的用量。”
海濱雀稗如此特別是因為它可以在高鹽度的環(huán)境中生存繁榮,所以咸水可以用來灌溉。這可以為高爾夫球場節(jié)約很多費用。
“從這一點來看,我們估計可以減少淡水用量65%到75%,在淡水方面每年可以為我們節(jié)約17.5到20萬美元。”
Steve Forrest是設(shè)計高爾夫球場的建筑師。他說海濱雀稗除了對環(huán)境比較好之外還有其他方面的優(yōu)勢。
“這種草可以提供一種條形圖案,在足球場上或者對地毯進行真空處理的時候可以看到。在質(zhì)地方面,這種草顏色更綠,或者說顏色更深,所以從建筑的角度來講,也可以從顏色方面和其他高爾夫球場進行對比。”
那么打高爾夫球的人對海濱雀稗評價如何呢?
“我以后一定還會再來,我對這種球場印象非常深刻。”
“我們在三個不同的球場打了三場球,這絕對是最好的一次。”
“使用終端是在這里,而不是在我的研究點佐治亞大學(xué)。這是應(yīng)該利用的地方。被打高爾夫球隊人接受,并且很多人嘗試在其他不同的場所使用這種草是我最高興的地方。”
海濱雀稗似乎是高爾夫球場的綠色解決方案。