2015/5/25 Exploring America’s Immigration Story
By VOA 25 May, 2015
More than 25 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island, in New York Harbor. Ellis Island was the place where the U.S. government processed their requests to stay in the country. This was their first step toward becoming U.S. citizens.
Ellis Island is the second-most-popular place to visit in the New York City area. The most popular is the Statue of Liberty.
Many people go to the island to learn about their ancestors and to understand why they decided to come to America.
The Ellis Island immigration center was a busy place from 1892 to 1954. It processed large numbers of immigrants during those years. Most of the new arrivals came from Europe.
But many people moved to North America before the U.S. government opened the center on Ellis Island and after it was closed. A new museum exhibition on the island tells about these immigrants. The exhibit cost $20 million to make. It is called \
Stephen Briganti leads the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. He says Ellis Island is expanding the way it tells about immigration.
\here. Either I came early, or, more likely, I've come recently and you don't say anything about me.' So, one, we wanted to remainrelevant, and, two, we believed it was the right thing to tell the story -- the entire story -- and this was the right place to do it.\
The exhibit shows the earliest days of European exploration in North America. It also tells about colonization and the conflicts with Native Americans, who are often called Indians.
While most immigrants were free, many came as slaves. Others were indentured servants. They agreed to move to and work in America in exchange for their freedom. Clay Gish designed the exhibit. She says it was important to say not everyone was free.
\against their wills, so that, but still they experienced a journey. They ended up having to adapt to this new land.\
A large part of the exhibit shows what happened in the years after 1954, when the Ellis Island center closed. Immigrants came -- and continue to come -- to the U.S. legally and illegally on airplanes or ships and on foot.
Michael Schneider designed the exhibit's technology and media.
\specific interviews with real immigrants and their experience of making the trips.\
\
The new exhibit explores the changing face of immigration and the changing opinions of Americans on the issue.
Rita McGregor visited the new museum. She is from the western city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, just north of the Mexican border.
\receptive to immigrants in the, a century ago, and now we do not treat them the same.\
Mr. Briganti says immigration is an important part of the American story. He says Americans sometimes make it difficult for immigrants to come to the U.S., but he says we are a nation of immigrants and we will continue to be.
I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.
Bernard Shusman reported this story from New York. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
relevant – adj. relating to a subject in an appropriate or useful way
entire – adj. complete or full; not lacking or leaving out any part
indentured servitude – n. a labor system in which people paid for their travel to the United States by working for an employer for a set number of years. The system was widely used in the 18th century in the British colonies in North America.
adapt – v. to change one's behavior
specific – adj. clearly and exactly presented or stated
receptive – adj. willing to listen to or accept ideas or suggestions; willing to accept new situations
Do you want to come to the United States to live? Do you want to become an American citizen? Have you taken steps to do so? How does your country treat immigrants? We want to hear from you. Write your thoughts in the comments section.
2015/5/25 Vietnam Slow To Start Up Renewable Energy
By VOA 25 May, 2015
Vietnam might seem to be a good candidate for renewable energyprojects. With plenty of sunshine and ocean winds, Vietnam seems like the right place to capture energy from the sun and wind. But there are only three big wind farms producing electricity and no considerable solar investment. That puts Vietnam far behind Indonesia, Thailand and other Asian countries in the development of renewable energy.
Critics say the reason is easy to recognize: price controls.
Vietnam keeps a ceiling, an upper limit, on electricity prices. On average that is about seven cents per kilowatt hour. Investors say they need a feed-in tariff that is at least two times that amount. Feed-in tariffs are policies that give money to renewable energy producers. Renewable energies can be costly to start up and the tariffs would help with the price of production.
FILE - A solar water heater, left, and a solar panel, right, are seen at Entech Hanoi, an international trade fair on energy efficiency and the environment, at the Giang Vo Exhibition Center in Hanoi, Vietnam.
People working in the power market have suggested other ways to support renewables. These include a reduction in taxes for energy-related training and education. But when talking about electricity in Vietnam, it often comes to the same criticism.
\Private Finance Advisory Network for Asia Program. The program is part of the United States government's Agency for International Development.
Mr. Potash spoke earlier this month at the U.S.-Vietnam Clean Energy Conference in Ho Chi Minh City. Most people at the conference pushed for Vietnam to develop alternative energy sources, like solar and wind power. But doing so would mean the state power company, Electricity Vietnam (EVN), would raise its prices. This could cause political problems. It might invite criticism from Vietnamese consumerswho want low prices and do not trust the state-owned EVN.
Nguyen Anh Tuan is chief editor of the Vietnam Investment Review. His newspaper organized the conference with the U.S. Commercial Service. He said policymakers are trying to find a balance, so Vietnam can have reasonably priced,
yet sustainable energy. Based on talks with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, which owns his newspaper, he said, price increases would have to be made slowly.
\\
In addition to wind and sunlight, Vietnam is working on rules to support energy produced from other sources. These include waste, biomass (such as rice and corn husks), and water currents. Officials are considering the possibility of cutting or suspending taxes temporarily for energy producers, and permitting duty-free imports of machinery. Another idea is promising to buy electricity from companies. It is all part of an official \economic development with low carbon emissions, or less pollution.
Some businesses are putting in solar equipment for their own use already. The Vietnam Business Forum said that it found many companies would pay more for renewable energy because it can be clean and dependable. The government is also considering ways to let private individuals with solar panels sell their extra electricity back to the power company. Fred Burke, managing partner at Baker & McKenzie Vietnam, called this idea \an easy first step.
\
But Vietnam also is increasing coal production. Its Master Power Plan VII says that by 2030, coal will supply just over half of the country's electricity, compared with about 30 percent now. This is true despite the country's fears that it could be hurt by climate change, especially changes resulting from pollution. In Vietnam, pollution comes mainly from energy production.
Citizens have protested the arrival of coal-fired power plants in their neighborhoods. In Binh Thuan province, recent protests forced officials to seek pollution-cutting measures. Nguyen Dang Anh Thi works as an advisor to the
International Finance Corporation. He calls coal a \rain.
\conference. He added, \
Under the strategy, Vietnam would get 4.5 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020, up from 3.5 percent in 2010.
I'm Anne Ball.
Lien Hoang reported on this story from Ho Chi Minh City. Anne Ball adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
renewable energy – n. energy from something that is not used up when used, such as wind or solar power
kilowatt hour – n. a way to measure of electrical energy. One kilowatt hour equals power use of 1,000 watts for 1 hour
consumer – n. a person who gets goods and services; someone who uses something
sustainable – adj. can be kept at a set rate
despite – prep. something that is true, or will happen even though something could prevent it from happening
Do you have renewable energy in your city? What do you think about renewable energy? Leave a comment below and let us know.
2015/5/25 New Tool Maps Buildings' Energy Efficiency
By George Putic 25 May, 2015
Architects, engineers and building supervisors will soon be able to quickly collect information that once took weeks to measure and process.
Scientists have developed a device to gather information about building interiors – the design and exact measurements of a building. The scientists are with the University of California, Berkeley. Their invention connects to a backpack that can be carried on a person's back.
The device requires only one pass through a building to create a three-dimensional, or 3D, model of the structure. In other words, the model shows an object's height, width and depth. The device also is able to collect other valuable information related to the building's energy usage.
An older building may need a new, more efficient heating and cooling system. Experts say the first thing you need to know is the exact shape of all rooms in the building. You have to consider the size and position of heating and cooling equipment, windows and doors. Another consideration is the placement of electrical outlets – the areas where electrically-operated equipment can be connected to the power supply.
Annie Marston is with Baumann Consulting, the business that developed the new device. She says that instead of using a team of experts with laptop computers and other devices, it will soon be possible to send only one person with a space-age backpack.
\and detect the geometry, the lights, the plug load, and once you take it out, you can create a 3D model which can show an IR (infrared) image of each of the walls and look at the thermal capacity of the building, and then it can be transferred into an energy model, and the energy model could be run and look at how the energy is dispersed within the building, and that's when we start looking at saving measures and things like that.\