President Bush and Republican presidential candidate John McCain are both calling for an end to a moratorium on developing oil and natural gas resources along much of the U.S. coastline. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes such a move, saying the country needs to move away from oil. Meanwhile, public-opinion polls show U.S. consumers favoring more development of domestic resources to offset high fuel prices.
美国总统布什和即将获得共和党总统候选人提名的约翰·麦凯恩都呼吁结束暂禁在美国大部分海岸线外开采石油和天然气储藏的禁令。而预料会获得民主党总统候选人提名的巴拉克·奥巴马则反对这样的举措，他说，美国需要做的是结束对石油的依赖。与此同时，民意调查显示，美国消费者则倾向进一步开发国内石油资源，以应对昂贵的燃油价格。
Energy has become one of the main issues clearly dividing the two U.S. political parties as they prepare for their national conventions. With oil trading on the world market at above $130 a barrel, U.S. consumers are feeling the economic impact at the gasoline pump and in increased food prices.
在美国两大政党为今年的总统大选竞选造势的同时，能源问题已经很清楚地成为两党的主要分歧之一。当世界市场上的石油价格上涨到每桶130美元以上时，美国消费者在加油站以及上涨的食品价格中感受到了经济压力。
During a speech Tuesday in Houston, Senator John McCain called for an end to a moratorium on energy development in coastal areas.
麦凯恩参议员星期二在德克萨斯的休斯顿演讲时，呼吁结束对沿海地区能源开发的限制。
"The broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production," he said.
他说：“联邦政府的广泛禁令阻碍了能源的勘探和生产”。
The ban, which has been in effect since 1981, covers more than 80 percent of the U.S. coastline and the outer continental shelf. The ban was put in place to reduce the chances of environmental damage from oil spills and in part to protect the tourist industry. Senator McCain once opposed development in coastal areas, but he says the rapidly rising cost of fuel makes it necessary.
这项禁令是1981年生效的。禁令涵盖了美国超过百分之80以上的海岸线和大陆架地区。实施这项禁令的目的是消除石油泄漏可能对环境产生的污染，另一部分原因是保护旅游业。麦凯恩参议员一度也反对在沿海地区进行开采，但是，他现在表示，飞涨的燃油价格使得有必要解除禁令。
"As a matter of fairness to the American people and a matter of duty for our government, we must deal with the here and now and assure affordable fuel for America by increasing domestic production," he added.
“出于对美国人民的公平待遇，以及联邦政府的职责，我们不得不此时此地解决问题，通过增加国内产量，以保证美国人获得支付得起的燃油。”
Senator Barack Obama responded in a chat with reporters on board his campaign plane Tuesday, criticizing McCain for changing his position on the issue from his earlier stance and deriding the notion that offshore oil development would reduce the energy crunch.
奥巴马参议员星期二在自己的竞选运动飞机上与记者闲聊时谈到了这个问题。他对麦凯恩改变先前在这个问题上的立场进行了批评，并对开发沿海石油会减少能源危机的说法不以为然。
"There is no way that allowing offshore drilling would lower gas prices right now," he said. "At best you are looking at five years down the road."
“允许进行沿海石油开发就会马上削减汽油的价格是不可能的。充其量，只能在五年后才会看到这样的情况。”
In a conference call with reporters, former Democratic Governor of Iowa and Obama supporter Tom Vilsack accused McCain of pandering to voters rather than providing a long-term energy solution.
爱奥华州的前民主党籍州长威尔萨克是奥巴马的支持者，他在与记者举行的电话会议上，指责麦凯恩是在迎合选民，而不是提供解决能源问题的长久之计。
"It is clear that the strength of this country is going to be dependent on us moving away from oil, not towards more oil," he said.
“很清楚，这个国家的力量来自我们摆脱对石油的依赖，而并非取决于生产更多的石油。”
Energy sector analysts say both sides in this debate have legitimate points, but that the high cost of fuel is likely to influence voters in favor of more drilling.
能源行业的分析人士说，争论的双方都有道理，但是，昂贵的能源价格很可能会影响选民，使得他们赞成扩大开发。
One man who has a politically neutral perspective, is Charles Groat, who teaches at the University of Texas and served as director of the U.S. Geological Survey under both Presidents Clinton and Bush. He says the potential of the coasts is shown by the vast amounts of oil that have been extracted with little environmental impact from offshore sites in the Gulf of Mexico.
在德克萨斯大学教学的查尔斯·格罗特在这个问题上有中立的政治观点，不受政治党派的左右。他在克林顿政府以及布什两任政府中都担任美国地质勘探局局长一职。他说，在墨西哥湾沿海大量开采石油却没有造成什么环境污染的事实表明沿海采油的可行性。
"You have got to think that, with modern exploration techniques, the chances for finding substantial amounts of oil and gas off both our east and west coasts has got to be significant, but they have to have a chance to try and with the moratorium that is not happening these days," he noted.
“你必须这样想，随著现代勘探技术的提高，在我们的东、西海岸找到大量石油和天然气储藏的机率将是很大的。他们必须有机会去尝试这样做，而由于这个禁令，这种可能性今天都没有成为现实。”
Groat acknowledges that it may take a few years to find the oil and begin developing the infrastructure to extract it, but he says that oil could be very welcome in a few years if energy prices keep climbing, as they surely will given global demand.
格罗特承认，找到石油以及开始发展开采石油的基础设施建设可能需要几年的时间，但是，他说，如果油价继续攀升，今后几年石油可能还是非常受欢迎的。而考虑到全球的需求，油价继续攀升几乎是肯定的。
As for alternative energy, Groat says there is nothing on the horizon at present that would substantially replace the need for oil and gas.
"I think the missing consideration in the real push towards alternatives is that demand growth for traditional fuels, transportation fuels in particular, is substantial in the United States and globally as well," he added. "That is not going to abate even if we do have some fairly effective conservation moves. So the demand for traditional hydrocarbons is going to grow, not shrink, even if we move more and more into alternatives."
Groat says failure to address the issue of rising energy costs could lead to a severe economic downturn. |