VOA慢速英语2014 奥巴马宣布保护太平洋倡议（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2014-06-27 Obama Announces Effort to Protect Pacific Ocean 奥巴马宣布保护太平洋倡议

President Barack Obama has launched a new effort to protect parts of the Pacific Ocean from overfishing and environmental damage.  He announced his plan in a video message to an international conference on the oceans.  The meeting took place last week at the State Department here in Washington. 

美国总统奥巴马宣布了一项新的保护太平洋某些水域的倡议，以避免过度捕捞和环境破坏。这项倡议是在美国国务院举办的国际海洋会议上通过录像宣布的。

For years, scientists and environmentalists have warned that oceans are deteriorating because of human activity, mostly pollution and overfishing, but political leaders have lacked the will to do much about it. The Obama administration is now taking a step towards finding a solution.

多年来，科学家和环保人士一直警告说，海洋由于污染和过度捕捞等人为的伤害而恶化，但是，政治领导人却没有足够的意愿来解决这个问题。奥巴马政府现在朝着正确的方向迈出了一步。

Obama announced Tuesday that he is directing the federal government to create a national strategy to combat illegal fishing and pollution in the Pacific Ocean.

奥巴马总统星期二宣布，他将指示联邦政府制定出在太平洋制止非法捕捞和污染的国家战略。

"Pollution endangers marine life, overfishing threatens whole species as well as the people who depend on them for food and their livelihoods. If we ignore these problems, if we deplete our oceans of their resources, we won't just be squandering one of the humanities greatest treasures, we'll be cutting off one of the world's major sources of food and economic growth including for the United States, and we cannot afford to let that happen," said Obama.

奥巴马说：“污染威胁到海洋生物，过度捕捞威胁到一些物种以及靠它们获取食物和谋生的人。我们如果无视这些问题，如果滥用我们的海洋资源，就不仅是在挥霍人类一种最珍贵的宝藏，而是在断送包括美国在内的世界的主要食物来源和经济增长源泉。我们绝不可以让这种局面发生。”

Obama's videotaped message was shown during the "Our Ocean" conference at the U.S. State Department.

在美国国务院举行的名为“我们的海洋”的会议上播放了奥巴马的这段录像。

Some of the possible measures, such as bans on fishing and industrial exploration in parts of the central Pacific, are expected to spark political battles in Washington.

预计有些可能采取的措施会在华盛顿引起政治之争，例如在太平洋中心水域禁止捕捞和工业钻探等。

"I'm going to use my authority as president to protect some of our most precious marine landscapes, just like we do for mountains, rivers and forests," said Obama.

奥巴马说：“我将利用总统权力去保护一些最宝贵的海洋生态，就像我们保护山区、河流和森林一样。”

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, an environmental activist, supports the effort.

好莱坞影星、环保人士莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥支持这个倡议。

"Several billion people a year depend on seafood as a source of protein and yet we are failing to protect these vital waters. If we don't do something to save our oceans now, it won't be just the sharks and the dolphins that will suffer, it will be all of us, including our children and our grandchildren," said DiCaprio.

他说：“每年数百万人依靠海产作为蛋白质来源。可是，我们没有能保护这些重要的水域。我们如果现在不采取措施拯救海洋，受害的将不仅仅是鲨鱼和海豚，还有我们所有的人，包括我们的子孙后代。”

Secretary of State John Kerry hosted the conference, attended by members of the international oceans community, government ministers, scientists and advocates.

国务卿克里主持了这次会议。与会者还有国际海洋界人士、政府部长、科学家和活动人士。

"We have today received commitments for action in over [$1.45 billion] and that is all directed at this ocean effort," said Kerry.

克里说：“我们今天收到了1亿4千5百万美元的捐款承诺，这笔资金将全部用于保护海洋。”

Kerry also announced progress on efforts to get the required number of nations needed to ratify an international port law that would prevent illegally caught fish from going to market.

克里还宣布，在争取更多国家批准国际港口法方面取得了进展。如果这项法律得以实施，就可以防止非法捕捞的鱼类进入市场。

President Obama's proposal is due to go into effect later this year.

奥巴马总统的倡议将在今年晚些时候付诸实施。