VOA标准英语2013--环保局乙醇标准改变令农民担忧

 

Midwest Farmers Concerned With EPA Changes to Ethanol Standards 环保局乙醇标准改变令农民担忧

POLO, ILLINOIS — In November, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed lowering the mandated² amount of ethanol mixture in the nation’s gasoline supply.  Current  law requires refiners to use 68 billion liters of ethanol by 2014.  The proposed changes would cut that requirement to about 56 billion liters.  Farmers in the  midwestern United States who produce corn used to make ethanol say the proposed changes could hurt them financially.

It's a prosperous year in the cornfields of Polo, Illinois, for farmer Brian Duncan.

“This year we had record yields, and a huge crop," said Duncan.

It is a similar story across the country…farmers coming off one of the worst years on record because of last year’s drought now face some of the best yields in  recent memory.

That, however, is where Duncan says the good news ends.

“As we look at the increased bushels, our inventories³ are gonna be worth $3 a bushel less than what they were valued at a year ago," he said.

As the sun sets each day on Duncan’s golden harvest, the price of corn continues to decline, from an all time high of more than $7 a bushel set during the peak of the  drought last year.

"Four-dollar corn in this environment is tough enough, let alone $2.50 or $2.75 corn, which is what we could be looking at with another big crop, which is why we  needed higher blend rates of ethanol," he said.

Demand for ethanol, a liquid fuel created from corn, grew in 2007 when the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, was put in place.  The RFS mandated that fuel makers⁴ blend  ethanol into their gasoline, with the amount increasing over time.  That was good news for corn producers like Duncan, who saw a steady increase in demand for their  product... and its price.  Times, however, are changing, says GrainAnalyst.com contributing editor Craig Turner.

“We’ve hit the blend wall.  Since 2008, the United States consumes about 9 percent less gasoline than we used to.  We can only use 10 percent of ethanol in a gallon  of gasoline [before it harms some engines], and we basically hit that wall.  So we can’t produce any more ethanol; we have to stay the same, and if fuel efficiency  gets even better, then the ethanol mandate¹ could come down even further," said Turner.

Turner says one ironic⁵ factor driving down demand for ethanol is the growing number of fuel-efficient vehicles on the road.

“Every year we take older cars off the road and replace them with more fuel-efficient cars, we’re going to be using less gasoline, so now that we’ve reached this  peak in corn ethanol it’s actually hurting farmers," he said.

That's certainly not the scenario⁶ farmer Brian Duncan was banking⁷ on.

“We’re happy for the market, but we have ever increasing yields, and ever increasing production capabilities⁸, for ethanol, and we were kind of planning on the EPA  following through with their increase and inclusion of green fuels," he said.

The biggest uncertainty⁹ for farmers used to be the weather. But with changing ethanol standards, falling corn prices, and the lack of action in the U.S. Congress on a  new farm bill, the weather seems to be the least uncertain obstacle Brian Duncan and other U.S. farmers face in the new year. 

1 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

2 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

3 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。

4 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》

5 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。

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 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。