But the people of Bougainville Island in the South Pacific have found another purpose for the coconut.
但南太平洋布干维尔岛的人们发现了椰子的另一个用途。
They now use coconut oil as fuel for their vehicles.
他们现在使用椰子油作为他们车辆的燃料。
And they use the oil for their generators - the machines that produce their electricity.
他们将椰子油用于发电机--一种产生电力的机器。
People on the island agree that this kind of fuel is cheaper.
岛上的人都认为这种燃料更便宜。
And it is kinder to the environment.
而且它对环境更友好。
So how did the idea of using coconut oil in this way first appear?
那么,以这种方式使用椰子油的想法最初是如何出现的?
Bougainville is part of the island state Papua New Guinea.
布干维尔是岛国巴布亚新几内亚的一部分。
For years the people of Bougainville wanted to have their own government.
多年来,布干维尔人民一直希望拥有自己的政府。
But the authorities in Papua New Guinea did not agree.
但巴布亚新几内亚当局并不同意。
One reason for this was that there was a large copper mine on Bougainville Island.
其中一个原因是布干维尔岛上有一个大型铜矿。
It made a lot of money for the Papua New Guinea government.
它为巴布亚新几内亚政府赚了很多钱。
They did not want to lose control over it.
政府不想失去对它的控制。
Relations got worse between the Papua New Guinea government and the Bougainville citizens wanting independence.
巴布亚新几内亚政府与希望独立的路易斯维尔公民之间的关系变得更糟。
Finally, in the 1990s, war broke out.
终于,在20世纪90年代,战争爆发了。
During the conflict, transporting materials by sea was often very difficult.
在冲突期间,通过海路运输物资往往非常困难。
Ships carrying necessary goods could not reach the island.
运送必需品的船只无法抵达该岛。
So, people had to manage with less food and a reduced fuel supply.
因此,人们不得不在食物和燃料供应减少的情况下度日。
This made them think of different ways to operate their vehicles and machines.
这让他们想到了不同的方式来操作他们的车辆和机器。
It was then that someone had the idea of using coconut oil as a fuel.
就在那时,有人有了用椰子油作为燃料的想法。
People discovered that their vehicles and machines worked just as well with this new fuel.
人们发现,他们的车辆和机器在使用这种新燃料时也能正常工作。
Coconut oil is a vegetable oil.
椰子油是一种植物油。
Vegetable oils come from plants growing today, but mineral oil comes from resources under the ground.
植物油来自如今生长的植物,但矿物油来自地下资源。
Coconut oil is a biofuel - a biological substance that produces heat and power when it burns.
椰子油是一种生物燃料--一种燃烧时能产生热量和能量的生物物质。