2007年VOA标准英语-Ex-White House Aide Denies Distorting Climate R

By Dan Robinson
Washington
19 March 2007

The former chief of staff of the White House environmental policy office has denied charges that he sought to politicize government reports on the causes and effects of global warming. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill Philip Cooney defended himself before a congressional committee.

As chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality until 2005, Philip Cooney is a central figure in the continuing debate involving allegations by some government climate scientists that the Bush administration tried to suppress findings supporting global warming.

Monday's session of the House oversight¹ and government reform committee marked the first appearance by Cooney, who before his White House role worked for 15 years for the American Petroleum² Institute, which represents the interests of oil companies.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Representative Henry Waxman

Committee chairman Henry Waxman said documents received from the White House suggest that Cooney was involved in "a concerted effort directed by the White House to mislead the public about the dangers of global climate change."

Waxman says changes Cooney made to government reports were aimed at injecting doubt into the national discussion about the dangers of global warming. "It would be a serious abuse if senior White House officials deliberately³ tried to defuse calls for action by ensuring that the public heard a distorted message about the risks of climate change," he said.

Cooney asserts that changes he made to a 2003 government strategic plan for climate change, and changes to other reports, were part of "routine and well-established" inter-agency process of providing input⁴.

All of the changes, he says, were in line with findings in a report by the National Academy of Sciences, and reflected both certainties and uncertainties⁵ about climate change.

"The comments and recommendations that I offered in reviewing executive branch policy documents on climate change were consistent with the views and exploration of scientific knowledge that many others in all three branches of our government were undertaking," he said.

At the witness table with Cooney was a government scientist who has accused Cooney and the Bush of trying to minimize scientific findings on global warming.

James Hansen, Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, says the editing of government reports was part of an overall effort to play down links between greenhouse gas emissions⁶ and planetary warming. "The nature of these edits is a good part of the reason for why there is a substantial gap between the understanding of global warming by the relevant scientific community and the knowledge of the public and policy makers⁷, because there has been so much doubt cast on our understanding that they think it is still completely up in the air," he said.

Hansen also alleges⁸ that the Bush administration used budget cuts in certain programs to hamper⁹ climate change research, and used political appointees in public affairs positions at NASA and elsewhere to squelch¹⁰ opposing views. "When you tell scientists that they can't speak, [that] they have got to hang up on a reporter, and report this [to agency officials], and allow the right of first refusal, that someone else can speak for you, it doesn't ring true, it is not the American way, and it is not constitutional," he said.

Cooney was defended by the current chairman of the White House Office of Environmental Quality, James Connaughton. "The committee's focus on my former chief of staff, Mr. Philip Cooney, is misguided, and actually I find it a little bit ironic¹¹. It was Mr. Cooney who was responsible for inviting¹² Dr. James Hansen to the White House in 2003 to brief me and other senior officials on advances in climate change science. It was a remarkable¹³ and important presentation," he said.

Republicans challenged Hansen's contention¹⁴ that he had a right to speak out on global warming issues without being vetted¹⁵ by agency officials. Republican Congressman¹⁶ Darrell Issa renews a longstanding assertion that allegations against the administration are motivated, in part, by politics. "I am concerned that many scientists are increasingly engaging in political advocacy, and that some issues of science have becomes increasingly partisan¹⁷, as some politicians sense that there is a political gain to be found on issues like stem cell[s], teaching evolution, and climate change," he said.

Republican Chris Shays says he believes the Bush administration missed an opportunity on the climate change issue. "I weep that this administration did not seize this issue and claim it as its own, and this issue being climate change is for real and mankind has had an impact," he said.

One of the documents discussed in Monday's hearing is a memo¹⁸ from the White House Council on Environmental Quality to the office of Vice¹⁹ President Dick Cheney. Although portions of it were provided to committee staff and read at the hearing, Congressman Waxman is demanding that the White House turn over the actual document, which he asserts shows "active coordination²⁰" among White House officials to inject uncertainty²¹ into discussions of climate science.

Global warming will be in the spotlight²² again on Capitol Hill this week when former U.S. vice president Al Gore²³ appears before House and Senate committees.

The hearings will focus on Gore's Oscar-winning film about his efforts to raise awareness²⁴ about global warming, as well as the recent report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which said human activities are likely to be causing warming of the earth.

1 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

2 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

3 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

4 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

5 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

6 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。

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

9 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

10 squelch   

v.压制，镇压；发吧唧声

参考例句：

• The President wants to squelch any perception that the meeting is an attempt to negotiate.总统想要消除任何视本次会议为谈判尝试的看法。
• You cannot squelch wanting.你不能压制要求。

11 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

12 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

13 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

14 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

15 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

16 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

17 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

18 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

19 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

20 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

21 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

22 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

23 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

24 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。