济溪公益翻译活动待翻译文章

kefodshen

任公益行动专区版主不久就想了这么个活动，不过真正查找国外公益组织资料和资讯的时候才发现困难重重，首先我都不知道国外有哪些像NGOCN一样的公益门户……尽量选了一些个人认为有一定阅读价值的文章（为保证翻译词汇量大略一致，部分为节选），希望大家参与之后能有所收获。
因为论坛对英文的支持不是很好，很多单词换行时会分成两截，大家可以把要翻译的文章复制到word中，以免出现理解上的错误！
  

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1.Digital Volunteerism – Effective Disaster Relief the GreenTech Way

A good in-depth description of how Voluntweeters works and what it can do can be found in this case study of its response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake by Kate Starbird and Leysia Palen from the University of Colorado at Boulder. At the time of the Haiti earthquake, very few people in the country were using Twitter, but it was enough to get news of needs out to the world. With only four twitterers in-country, their messages were retweeted (forwarded) and translated by hundreds of digital volunteers. This information was then picked up by first responders who were able to get help and to where it was needed.
A very interesting part of the report describes the personal motivations for digital volunteers to be involved in disaster relief work, some of them for as many as 80 hours per week during the crisis. That was the case with Mirela Monte, who blogged about her experience. Not surprisingly a number of Voluntweeters had some type of personal connections to Haiti - a friend or relative who was there. For others it was not so clear.
Another great example of what Voluntweeters can do is the case of Red Cross voluntweeters responding to the more recent February 2011 Chicago blizzard. Volunteers mobilized by Twitter crowdsourcing converged on Lake Shore Drive, distributing water and food to hundreds of people stranded in cars until warming buses arrives to take them to Red Cross shelters. Red Cross tweets, news, and updates generated so much credibility among the Chicago community that offers of cash, blood donations, and volunteer assistance immediately followed the crisis.
In several, if not all, instances of online crisis relief efforts, multiple volunteer digital disaster relief projects work together to coordinate efforts. One of the main ones that anchors this work is Ushahidi. Ushahidi is an NGO project from Kenya that hosts a free online service that collects reports about a stricken area via mobile phone or computer and then maps them so relief efforts can respond. TechSoup has helped to publicize Ushahidi's work several times, especially its extraordinary work in Haiti. Another more recent example of Ushahidi's  expanding work is its efforts in the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
Disaster relief is one of the primary activities of the NGO sector, and crowdsourced volunteer digital disaster work is an important and expanding part of it. It's quite incidental that it's a green technology in that it allows people to have significant impact without needing to travel to stricken areas. Aside from being a more environmentally friendly option, it also frees up transport systems for the responders who need to be on-site while still giving people a way to lend a hand from home.

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2.Cool App Roundup: Disaster and Emergency Edition

This edition of the App It Up project "Cool App Roundup" highlights different ways apps can be used in disaster, crisis, and emergency situations.

Preparing for Disaster
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers a free emergency preparedness app. The FEMA app includes preparation guidelines for a variety of disasters, including checklists, safety tips, and local shelter maps. Once you've downloaded the app, all this information is accessible regardless of whether you have phone service or internet access during an emergency. The FEMA app is available in the Android marketplace, with iPhone and Blackberry versions coming soon.

The Red Cross has a simple shelter search web app, accessible via any web browser. Shelter information is updated every 30 minutes.

Notifying Family and Friends
The notification app J-ResQ was developed in response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The app was developed on the Windows Azure platform, a cloud-based platform for building and hosting web applications. J-ResQ allows anyone in a disaster situation to easily record and send a voice message and email from their mobile phone, telling friends and family about their status. A GPS-based location is also included with the message. Photos and video can also be included. Concerned parties can then search for information and updates using the message sender's email address.

Engaging the Community in Innovative Ways
Fire Department is an innovative app created by the San Ramon Valley Fire Department. The app alerts CPR-certified individuals to cardiac emergencies in their area. In response to a cardiac incident, emergency dispatchers can send a notification message to Fire Department app users, including the victim's location and the location of the nearest Automated External Defibrillator (AED) device. The hope is that CPR-trained Good Samaritans nearby may be able to respond even more quickly than emergency services, in some cases. The San Ramon Valley Fire Department has recently launched an initative to extend the reach of the app beyond San Ramon.

For more innovative and engaging ways to use technology for disaster relief, check out NetSquared's tips on Mobilizing Online Communities in the Face of Disaster and the value of crowdsourcing for nonprofits. Also, Jim Lynch's piece about digital volunteerism and disaster relief, and Elliot Harmon's post about The Extraordinaries and Ushahidi being used in response to the Haiti earthquake.

Resources for Responders
S.O.S. by the American Red Cross is a free Android-only app that provides emergency medical care instructions and a resource guide for emergencies, geared at average citizens.
WISER, the Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders from the National Library of Medicine is a free resource for first responders to hazardous material incidents. Its searchable database includes material identification, health impacts, and recommendations for managing the incident. The WISER mobile app is available for Apple, Windows, Blackberry and Palm devices. This tool clearly has a fairly specific target audience, but it's a good example of how an app can be a useful and comprehensive resource in emergency situations.

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3.Natural disaster "risk map" to help urban planning

Chinese authorities are drawing up a national natural disaster "risk map" in a bid to improve planning of urban construction projects in western China to avoid potential catastrophes.

"We've started many natural disaster risk evaluation projects in China since August this year," Zou Ming, director of the disaster relief department of China's Civil Affairs Ministry, told Xinhua in an interview.

Just like the census, Zou pointed out the natural disaster risk evaluation will be of great value in China's future urban construction policy making.

Zhou said the "risk map" would help city planners build cities and towns while avoiding danger-prone locations, such as areas where earthquakes, floods and mudslides are likely to occur.

China's vast western regions have experienced three major natural disasters in recent three years: An 8.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Wenchuan, Sichuan province in May, 2008; a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that jolted Yushu, Qinghai province in April, 2010, and devastating mudslides which claimed nearly 2,000 lives in Zhouqu, Guansu province in August 2010.

Such repeated disasters have caused western China's city planners to look for a "risk map" for future city designing.

Earlier this month, southwest China's Sichuan province issued a circular requesting all cities and counties submit an evaluation report, specifically asking for suggestions on improvements and relocation proposals be submitted before October 30.

The province was reviewing post-quake rebuilding projects to ensure new homes and public facilities are safe and built away from areas prone to geological disasters.

"We'll re-study all reconstruction projects to double-check their safety," the document noted, "so as to make sure they are located away from earthquake rupture belts and areas prone to floods and geological disasters."

The circular further said the provincial government would readjust some rebuilding plans based upon the results of the evaluation.

China's western regions have been developed quickly during the past ten years. Along with fast-paced economic growth, more people also moved into towns and cities, accelerating the increase in urban populations, Shi Peijun, deputy director of National Committee of Disaster Relief, said.

But due to lack of a "risk map", many people did not know if they were living in areas prone to natural disasters, said Shi.

Take Zhouqu county, for example, Shi said, which is located in a valley where landslides often happen. It is not suitable to build a county with a population of 47,000 people here, Shi noted.

"Now, avoiding possible dangers and utilizing land rationally tops government agenda," Shi said.

"That's what we gained from the disasters," he said.

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4.Non-disturbance Practices Help Menke Through Drought

Ray Menke of rural Fort Madison admits the main reason he switched to no-till farming in 1987 was his inability to afford new expensive farm equipment and machinery. Now, 25 years later, Menke is still leaving the soil undisturbed and he’s reaping the benefits during this year’s extreme drought.

Menke says he doesn’t know exactly how his 600 acres of corn and soybeans will yield this year, but if history is any indication his no-till system will be helped by better soil conditions compared to farmers who perform tillage. “In the bad (weather) years our yields always seem to be better, particularly on marginal ground,” he said.

Keeping soil undisturbed offers many benefits, including aiding in plant growth, reducing soil erosion, saving money, and providing wildlife habitat. Rick Bednarek, state soil scientist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Iowa, says Menke is benefitting from high organic matter content in the soil from years of non-disturbance. “Soil left undisturbed for several years becomes more tolerant to weather extremes,” he said. “The organic matter in undisturbed soil contains more moisture for plant use when rainfall totals are lower than normal. Conversely, healthy soil has the structure that allows excess water to infiltrate into the ground more easily.”

When soil is disturbed through practices like tillage, the soil structure and habitat for soil organisms gets destroyed, water infiltration is reduced, runoff is increased, and productivity declines. “Tillage ruins pores in the soil that help it breathe and drain excess water,” said Bednarek. “Tillage disrupts the soil’s natural biological cycles and wrecks the structure of the soil, making it susceptible to erosion.”

Menke thinks his annual crop yields are competitive with other farmers in the area. He says the trouble is nobody will tell him. “Nobody who tills wants to admit to me that they yield 200 bushel corn when I yield the same with fewer inputs,” he said. “I think farmers who till the soil feel pressure to yield 20 bushel more per acre than me. If they aren’t, my net profits are going to be higher than theirs.”

By today’s farming standards Menke relies very little on inputs. He covers many of his fields with dry manure over a four-year period and applies liquid nitrogen annually in the spring during planting. He uses 1972 tractor to plant, and he has a few smaller tractors to pull a manure spreader. “You can no-till with an old tractor with bald tires running half throttle,” says Menke. “We hardly use any fuel. It is benefits like that people don’t understand with no-till.”

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5.Flood

Responding Appropriately During a Flood
Listen to area radio and television stations and a NOAA Weather Radio for possible flood warnings and reports of flooding in progress or other critical information from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
When a flood or flash flood warning is issued for your area, head for higher ground and stay there.
Stay away from floodwaters. If you come upon a flowing stream where water is above your ankles, stop, turn around and go another way. Six inches of swiftly moving water can sweep you off of your feet.
If you come upon a flooded road while driving, turn around and go another way. If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising rapidly around you, get out of the car quickly and move to higher ground. Most cars can be swept away by less than two feet of moving water.
Keep children out of the water. They are curious and often lack judgment about running water or contaminated water.
Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize flood danger.
Because standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flooding, it’s important to have protection from the floods associated with hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rains and other conditions that impact the U.S. For more information on flood insurance, please visit the National Flood Insurance Program Web site at www.FloodSmart.gov.

Take the Appropriate Steps to Stay Safe
•    Return home only when officials have declared the area safe.
•    Before entering your home, look outside for loose power lines, damaged gas lines, foundation cracks or other damage.
•    Parts of your home may be collapsed or damaged. Approach entrances carefully. See if porch roofs and overhangs have all their supports.
•    Watch out for wild animals, especially poisonous snakes that may have come into your home with the floodwater.
•    If you smell natural or propane gas or hear a hissing noise, leave immediately and call the fire department.
•    If power lines are down outside your home, do not step in puddles or standing water.
•    Keep children and pets away from hazardous sites and floodwater.
•    Materials such as cleaning products, paint, batteries, contaminated fuel and damaged fuel containers are hazardous. Check with local authorities for assistance with disposal to avoid risk.
•    During cleanup, wear protective clothing, including rubber gloves and rubber boots.
•    Make sure your food and water are safe. Discard items that have come in contact with floodwater, including canned goods, water bottles, plastic utensils and baby bottle nipples. When in doubt, throw it out!
•    Contact your local or state public health department to see if your water supply might be contaminated. You may need to boil or treat it before use. Do not use water that could be contaminated to wash dishes, brush teeth, prepare food, wash hands, make ice or make baby formula!

陈小婷

本来不困的，尝试看了一下，然后困了~~~

希怀

尝试翻译中~~~

m-a-o-q-i

google可以尝试

dftv188

我知道你的苦~~~

explorer

五篇文章是不是有点少？