Our last foray into kid-hatched alternative-energy projects didn’t end too well (although we’re still big Aidan Dwyer fans), but this one looks puncture-proof. The child this time is 13-year-old Cassandra Lin, who two years ago came up with the idea of collecting used cooking oil in the Westerly, R.I., area where she lives and turning it into heating fuel for people in need.

puncture-proof：防刺破的

puncture-proof tyre：防刺轮胎

类似的结构：fool-proof：（防傻瓜的）极简单的；water-proof：防水的

As you might imagine, Lin didn’t actually set up a biodiesel refinery in her backyard. What she did was far more clever: She designed one of those rare systems in which everyone involved receives tangible benefits while also doing a social good. And now her organization, Turning Grease into Fuel (TGIF), is sopping up used cooking oil and generating more than 30,000 gallons of biodiesel annually. That’s $60,000 worth, and a total that offsets some 250 tons of CO2 emissions.

biodiesel refinery：生物柴油提炼厂

Lin’s project was highlighted recently by the United Nations, which notes that Lin will be one of more than 1,400 young people attending the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.

UN Conference on Sustainable Development：联合国可持续发展大会

Here’s how Lin and her cohorts pulled off TGIF: After first convincing the Westerly town council to establish a cooking oil container at the town transfer station, they recruited restaurants and residents to collect and donate their used gunk (keeping the stuff from clogging drains and sewers). TGIF partner Grease Co, then sees to the refining of the grease, with a portion going to local charities for distribution to the needy.

Having conquered Westerly, Lin and her cohorts have moved to extend their program beyond Warwick to several more towns and cities.

The UN recognition isn’t the first time TGIF has won plaudits; in 2009, TGIF was a President’s Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA) regional winner, and Lin was recently written up as an Earth Child Institute Earth Child of the Month. Further information about TGIF can also be found on the website of Westerly Innovations Network, a community involvement organization founded by Lin’s father.

President’s Environmental Youth Awards：总统环境青年奖

【新闻快讯】据《赫芬顿邮报》报道现年14岁的美国华裔女孩林心瑜凭借敏锐的观察力和过人的创造力，将原本被废弃的厨房剩余油脂转化成采暖用的生物燃油，造福众多贫困家庭。她还因此受到奥巴马的接见。“化油脂为燃料”的成果受到许多媒体的报道后引起广泛关注，而林心瑜也因此多次获得大奖，包括2009年的“总统环保奖”等等

回顾：【读报笔记】系列>>

点击查看口译备考专题，阅读更多相关文章！