新加坡如何利用科技解決水資源短缺

新加坡如何利用科技解決水資源短缺

Singapore uses about 430 million gallons of water every day — a number it expects could double in the next four decades.

新加坡每天消耗約4.3億加侖的水，預(yù)計(jì)這個(gè)數(shù)字在未來(lái)40年內(nèi)還會(huì)翻一番。

That kind of consumption is piling pressure on the Asian city state to address growing concerns about global water scarcity. So it's building new technology to prepare itself for a future where obtaining clean water will be even more difficult.

這種用水量給這個(gè)亞洲城市國(guó)家?guī)?lái)了壓力，要求它解決全球水資源短缺日益加劇的問(wèn)題。因此，它正在開(kāi)發(fā)新技術(shù)，為將來(lái)獲取清潔水將更加困難做好準(zhǔn)備。

"Singapore truly has become a global water hub," said Shane Snyder, executive director of the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

新加坡南洋理工大學(xué)南洋環(huán)境與水研究所執(zhí)行主任謝恩•斯奈德表示:“新加坡確實(shí)已成為全球水資源樞紐。”

"But as it stands, it imports approximately 40% of its water today. And with climate change, that water has become far less dependable."

但就目前情況來(lái)看，它目前大約40%的水依靠進(jìn)口。隨著氣候變化，水資源變得越來(lái)越不可靠。”

Rapid urbanization and rising global temperatures are making access to natural water sources increasingly hard to come by. Today, a quarter of the world lives in areas of high water stress. Experts say we're consuming natural resources faster than the earth can replenish them.

快速的城市化和不斷上升的全球氣溫使得獲得天然水源越來(lái)越困難。今天，世界上四分之一的人生活在缺水嚴(yán)重的地區(qū)。專家表示，我們消耗自然資源的速度超過(guò)了地球補(bǔ)充自然資源的速度。

Singapore, meanwhile, is home to more than five million people and is covered in fountains, reservoirs and other water features — including the world's tallest indoor waterfall, a 130-foot Rain Vortex that pumps 10,000 gallons of water per minute. But it has no natural water sources of its own, instead relying heavily on recycled water and imports from its neighbors.

與此同時(shí)，擁有500多萬(wàn)人口的新加坡到處都是噴泉、水庫(kù)和其他水景，其中包括世界上最高的室內(nèi)瀑布，一個(gè)130英尺高的漩渦雨，每分鐘能泵出1萬(wàn)加侖的水。但它自己沒(méi)有天然水源，嚴(yán)重依賴循環(huán)水和從鄰國(guó)進(jìn)口的水。

Snyder's research facility is one of several places developing solutions for Singapore's water dependency. The hope is to create projects that could be used across the city.

斯奈德的研究機(jī)構(gòu)是為新加坡水資源依賴問(wèn)題開(kāi)發(fā)解決方案的幾個(gè)地方之一。希望創(chuàng)造出可以在整個(gè)城市使用的項(xiàng)目。

"What we have become used to as reliable water, may quickly change — so we have to be prepared, we have to be thinking about the infrastructure in advance," Snyder said. "There's a big drive to become water independent — to control our own future — and that is largely dependent on the technologies we're developing."

“我們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣的可靠水源可能很快就會(huì)改變，所以我們必須做好準(zhǔn)備，我們必須提前考慮基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，”斯奈德說(shuō)。“實(shí)現(xiàn)水資源獨(dú)立的巨大動(dòng)力—控制我們自己的未來(lái)—而這在很大程度上依賴于我們正在開(kāi)發(fā)的技術(shù)。”