美国国家公共电台 NPR Activists Push Democrats On Climate Change, A New Priority For Party's Base

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The presidential field is getting smaller. Washington state's Governor Jay Inslee ended his campaign yesterday. His focus had been climate change. And in San Francisco today, Democratic Party officials are considering whether to dedicate an entire debate to that issue. NPR's Jeff Brady reports on the activists² who are pushing for that.

JEFF BRADY, BYLINE³: The Sunrise Movement is raising the profile of climate change through protests like one recently in Philadelphia.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Singing) Which side are you on now? Which side are you on?

BRADY: A few dozen young people held yellow and black signs calling for a climate debate.

NICOLE KARSCH: The climate crisis is an emergency, and we need the DNC to start acting⁴ like it.

BRADY: Nicole Karsch is one of the organizers. Another is Isa Flores-Jones, who says a state Democratic Party office is their focus.

ISA FLORES-JONES: So we're out here today demanding that the Pennsylvania Democrats⁵ publicly endorse⁶ our call for a climate debate.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: What do we want?

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Climate debate.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: When do we want it?

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Now.

BRADY: About a dozen activists staged a sit-in. Police came to the building lobby and led them out in plastic handcuffs as fellow activists sang encouragement.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Singing) We will, we will walk with you, walk with you.

BRADY: One problem, though - there is no Democratic Party office in that building. Sunrise Movement communications director Stephen O'Hanlon says they got bad information, but he says it's the message that's important. O'Hanlon says Sunrise hopes to motivate young people so they'll elect climate-focused candidates next year.

STEPHEN O'HANLON: We are planning to register thousands of voters in Pennsylvania and around the country in 2020 and to make sure they turn out. And a big part of that is having candidates and the Democratic Party show that they're willing to fight for the issues that young people care about.

BRADY: The Green New Deal is a focus for the Sunrise Movement. The proposal would speed the country's transition away from fossil fuels, and it aims to remake the economy by guaranteeing people good-paying jobs and health care. Last November was the first time many people heard of Sunrise. That's when the group's activists occupied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and drew high-profile support from newly elected Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

ANTHONY LEISEROWITZ: The Sunrise Movement comes at just a perfect moment for them to get a lot of attention.

BRADY: Anthony Leiserowitz is director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. He says more Americans see climate change as something that is happening now and harming people. At the same time, Leiserowitz says, the most liberal Democratic voters, the party's base, rank the environment and climate change as their top issues, behind only health care.

LEISEROWITZ: And that's never been the case for either political party in American history, where climate change was truly one of the top-priority voting issues.

BRADY: And now nearly every Democratic presidential candidate has a detailed⁷ climate change plan, and most say they support the Green New Deal. Sunrise leaders plan to maintain momentum⁸ by building an activist¹ infrastructure⁹ that includes so-called movement houses in key swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan.

(SOUNDBITE OF GRATER)

BRADY: At a rowhouse in West Philadelphia, Isa Flores-Jones is grating zucchini for a vegan dinner she'll share with six housemates.

FLORES-JONES: I think that doing chores and figuring out a schedule and all of the work that goes into just everyday living is a really - you know, it's the same thing that goes into sustaining a movement, sustaining longer-term campaign work. You know, we really just have to find ways to support one another.

BRADY: Even if the Democratic Party rejects Sunrise's request for a climate-focused debate today, CNN plans to hold a climate change town hall with candidates next month, and MSNBC plans a climate forum¹⁰ with candidates a few weeks later.

Jeff Brady, NPR News, Philadelphia.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。