纽约时报 对煤炭欲罢不能 地球已经岌岌可危(5)

President Trump¹ has promised, unsuccessfully so far, to revive coal mining jobs

特朗普总统承诺重新开放煤炭开采岗位，虽然目前还未兑现，

and instructed his Environmental Protection Agency to roll back rules to reduce emissions² from coal-fired power plants.

他还指示环保局放松对煤电厂减排方面的要求。

That message might be welcome in American coal country,

这一消息或许会受到煤炭地区的欢迎，

but the industry’s future in the United States is not promising³.

但该行业在美国的前景并不乐观。

There are cheaper fuels, including natural gas;

因为美国有更便宜的能源，天然气就是一例；

gas now accounts for around 31 percent of total power generation in the United States, the same share as coal.

目前，天然气占到了美国发电总量的31％左右，与煤炭所占比例持平。

China has imposed tariffs⁴ on coal imports from the United States, in the tit-for-tat trade dispute.

中国也在针锋相对的贸易争端中对从美国进口的煤炭征收了关税。

More than 200 coal plants have closed since 2010,

自2010年以来，美国已有200多家燃煤电厂被关，

and coal consumption has continued to decline, contrary to Mr. Trump’s false claims.

煤炭消耗持续下降，与特朗普虚假的声明恰恰相反。

Coal mining jobs have plummeted⁵ over the last decade,

过去十年里，煤炭开采工作的数量大幅缩水，

despite a modest increase of about 4 percent in the first 18 months of the Trump presidency⁶.

尽管特朗普总统任期的前18个月中出现了大约4％的小幅增长。

‘We have coal. We are producing more every year.’

“我们有煤炭。我们的产煤量年年都在增长。

The economics, and the political calculus⁷, are very different in the world’s biggest democracy: India, population 1.3 billion.

在世界上最大的民主国家，有着13亿人口的印度，与煤炭相关的经济状况以及政治考量则大不相同。

Ajay Mishra, the career civil servant in charge of energy in the central Indian state of Telangana, knows firsthand.

阿贾伊·米什拉，是印度中部泰伦加纳区负责能源的职业公务员，对此有着深切的体会。

Five years ago, he said, daily power cuts cursed his state.

他说，五年前，他所在的地区每天都会停电。

Ceiling fans cut out on stifling⁸ summer afternoons.

夏日闷热的午后，天花板上的吊扇就会停止。

Factories ran on diesel-guzzling generators⁹.

工厂靠柴油发电机撑着。

The people of Telangana were furious.

泰伦加纳区的人民是怨声载道。

State officials had to do something to fix the electricity problem.

当地官员不得不采取措施解决电力问题。

They harnessed the sun, briefly¹⁰ making Telangana a leading solar power producer in India.

他们利用起了太阳能，让泰伦加纳区建成了印度首个太阳能发电厂。

They also turned to what government officials have relied on for over a century:

他们还将目光转向了政府官员一个多世纪以来一直依赖的东西：

the vast vein¹¹ of coal that sat underground, stretching across the hills and forests of central India.

横跨印度中部大片山丘和森林的漫长产煤地带。

Telangana now has round-the-clock electricity.

如今，泰伦加纳区已经有了24小时全天候的电力供应。

Its farmers get it free to pump water.

当地农民还可以免费用电抽水。

It sweetens the re-election bid of Telangana’s top elected official, K. Chandrashekar Rao, in state polls later this year.

这一改善也降低了泰伦加纳区票数最多的官员K. 昌德拉谢卡在该州今年晚些时候的民意调查中的连任竞选之路变得更加通畅了。

“We have coal,” Mr. Mishra said. “We are producing more every year. For the next 100 years we have it.”

“我们有煤炭，”米什拉先生说。 “而且我们的煤炭产量年年都在增长。接下来的100年，我们都有煤炭可用。”

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

5 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

8 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

9 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。