节约用水可应对全球变暖

The Water Resources Agency (WRA) of Taiwan has called on people to save water as a way to reduce carbon emissions.

台湾水利署呼吁市民节约用水，以此减少二氧化碳排放量。

The WRA pointed out that the low price of tap water in Taiwan, which has not increased in 14 years, has led people to waste the valuable resource.

台湾水利署指出，台湾自来水价格便宜，14年来没有涨过价，致使人们浪费宝贵的水资源。

The scarcity of water has become a source of global tension ecologically, economically and politically.

水资的源匮乏已经成了全球生态问题、经济问题以及政治问题的根源之一。

Feasible solutions to the problem—WRA suggests a water price hike and the Economist proposed a water cap system—might not appeal to the public amid the current economic slump.

台湾水利署透露，针对该问题的可行解决方案就是上涨自来水价格。而经济学家提议建立一个节水系统。但鉴于眼下正处经济衰退时期，这些方案可能不受大众欢迎。

Before such policy is made, people can save water through many simple ways in addition to vigilantly turning off the tap after every use.

在这些政策出台之前，除了每次用完自来水自觉关闭水龙头之外，人们还可以通过很多种简单的途径实现节水。

According to a study by environmental organization "Friends of earth," if every household in the UK used a dishwasher instead of hand-washing, more than a quarter-billion liters of water would be saved every day.

据环保组织“地球之友”的一项调查，如果英国的每一个家庭都使用洗碗机代替手工洗碗，每天可以节省超过2.5亿公升的水。

Another typical waste of water that can be prevented: Tons of bathing water run down the drain unused every day as people wait for it to be heated. Some people are already saving the cold water by storing it for later use. A more comprehensive way to change the situation is to improve the design of water heaters.

还有一种典型的水资源浪费现象也有办法解决：每天，人们在等洗澡水热起来的时候，数吨水被浪费掉了。有些人把冷水储存起来，供之后使用，从而实现了节水。而改变这种状况的更加有效的方式就是，改进热水器的设计。

Notes:
scarcity:缺乏；不足；稀少
tension:紧张，紧绷
feasible：可行的；可用的
slump：衰退，不景气
tap：水龙头
dishwasher：洗碗机
price hike：涨价
down the drain：浪费掉，化为乌有，落空