Millions of Americans enjoy playing golf. But golf courses are not known to be environmentally friendly.
许多美国人喜欢打高尔夫球。但是高尔夫球场对环境不是那么好,
They demand a lot of fresh water, fertilizers and herbicides to keep them looking green. That's true of most golf courses.
因为需要大量淡水,肥料和除草剂使球场保持绿色。对许多高尔夫球场来说确实是需要这样。
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".
但是看一下这个高尔夫球场,他们正在尝试一些不同的方法。这就是迈阿密沙滩高尔夫俱乐部。这里用的草叫做海滨雀稗。
"It's the most environmentally friendly grass in the world."
“这是世界上最环保的草。”
Dr. Ron Duncan is a turf researcher at the University of Georgia and a leading expert on seashore paspalum.
罗恩·邓肯博士是佐治亚大学的草地研究者,也是海滨雀稗方面的领先专家。
"And environmentally friendly from the standpoint that you can save the potable water use from the human side
“这种草的环保性在于以下几个角度,可以为人类节约可饮用水,
and utilize all other alternative water sources like brackish water or water out of sewage plants to irrigate this grass.
可以利用其它水源,比如咸水或者污水厂的水来灌溉这种草。
Also you have a reduced management budget because it requires about half the fertilizers that you normally use on the other grasses.
同时可以减少预算管理,因为这种草只需要相当于其他草一半的肥料,
Also you can save on pesticide use."
还可以减少杀虫剂的用量。”
What makes seashore paspalum so special is that it can survive and thrive in high-salt environments.
海滨雀稗如此特别是因为它可以在高盐度的环境中生存繁荣,
So brackish water or partially salty water can be used to irrigate this grass. This translates into big savings for the golf course.
所以咸水可以用来灌溉。这可以为高尔夫球场节约很多费用。
"We estimate at this point we are gonna reduce our dependency on fresh water by about 65-75%,
“从这一点来看,我们估计可以减少淡水用量65%到75%,
that'll save us somewhere, in a range of 175-200 thousand dollars annually on fresh water."
在淡水方面每年可以为我们节约17.5到20万美元。”
Steve Forrest is the architect who designed this golf course.
史蒂夫·福里斯特是设计高尔夫球场的建筑师。
He says seashore paspalum has other advantages besides being environmentally friendly.
他说海滨雀稗除了对环境比较好之外还有其他方面的优势。
"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.
“这种草可以提供一种条形图案,在足球场上或者对地毯进行真空处理的时候可以看到。
This grass is also greener or darker green in texture,
在质地方面,这种草颜色更绿,或者说颜色更深,
so you can again have different contrast in color throughout the golf course which is desirable from the architectural standpoint of view."
所以从建筑的角度来讲,也可以从颜色方面和其他高尔夫球场进行对比。”
So do golfers rate seashore paspalum as a birdie or a bogie?
那么打高尔夫球的人对海滨雀稗评价如何呢?
"I will definitely come back and I was very impressed to it."
“我以后一定还会再来,我对这种球场印象非常深刻。”
"We've come down the play three rounds and we've played at three different courses and this is by far the best."
“我们在三个不同的球场打了三场球,目前为止这绝对是最好的一次。”
"The end use is here, it's not in my research plot, it's not at the University of Georgia.
“使用终端是在这里,而不是在我的研究点佐治亚大学。
It's where it's gonna be used. And the acceptance of the golfers now,
这是应该被利用的地方。被打高尔夫球队人接受,
and various people trying this grass in a lot of different areas, that's the pleasure that I’m getting."
并且很多人尝试在其他不同的场所使用这种草是我最高兴的地方。”
Seashore paspalum appears to be a green solution that's par for the course.
海滨雀稗似乎是意料之中的绿色解决方案。