美国国家公共电台 NPR--Transitioning away from coal leaves Navajo communities struggling

Transitioning away from coal leaves Navajo communities struggling

Transcript¹

Despite years of warnings about coal mines and power plants shutting down on the Navajo Reservation, promised funding to help an economic transition has failed to materialize.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

People who promote an energy transition in this country promise two things - an end to coal-powered electricity and new economic development for people who make their living from coal. One thing is happening; the other less so. And the people affected² include parts of the Navajo Nation. Here's Alice Fordham from our member station KUNM in New Mexico.

ALICE FORDHAM, BYLINE³: In the rocky, red landscape outside Farmington, N.M., the San Juan coal mine is a broad, dark smudge.

(SOUNDBITE OF MACHINERY⁴ CLANGING)

FORDHAM: Miners work alongside hulking machinery, but they're not digging in to the rich, black scene. They're filling in shafts⁵ and tunnels.

STEVEN PIERRO: We're closing the mine. We've sold all the equipment, and we've sealed the portals.

FORDHAM: General manager Steven Pierro says about 200 people used to work here. Just a few dozen are left. In the background looms⁶ a silent power plant, smokeless smokestacks against the blue sky.

PIERRO: We were the sole supplier for the generating station. We have nowhere else to sell our coal.

FORDHAM: The station employed another 220 people. It closed in September, one of several coal power plants either closed or slated⁷ to close around here. They supported many families.

BARRY DIXON: Started out at age 19, I believe, and I worked for 34 years in the coal mines.

FORDHAM: Barry Dixon is a member of the Navajo Nation, like many of the workers at mines and plants in this Four Corners region.

DIXON: They were extremely important because they helped create the Navajo middle class to a great extent.

FORDHAM: In an area of deep poverty, the coal industry provided hundreds of well-paid union jobs. Dixon started as a laborer⁹, became an electrician, built a life. And his family didn't have to labor⁸ the way he did.

DIXON: So we were able to pay for our children's needs while in college. So having a home and owning our property - things of that nature like that was, I think, a big benefit to my children, knowing that they knew where home was.

FORDHAM: Things started to change in 2017 when the utility PNM announced a plan to close the generating station as renewables got cheaper and clean air laws got tighter. Then New Mexico passed a climate law with a detailed¹⁰ plan for the shutdown. Dixon gave up pressing for it to stay open and negotiated severance¹¹ as best he could. But the ripples¹² of the closure are wide and deep. For instance, many laid-off workers have already moved to work in mines and plants elsewhere, in some cases, leaving relatives to look after their kids.

At an elementary school in the nearby town of Kirtland, Principal Debi Tom says some are struggling.

DEBI TOM: They are familiar with the strains and stresses that it puts on Mom, Dad. Their families having to even be displaced to caregiving families as opposed to being one family unit.

FORDHAM: And beyond that, the school district relies on tax revenue from power plants.

TOM: The impact has been felt, and it has put some into disarray¹³ because, you know, that was kind of the way of life here.

FORDHAM: For many, this economic pain is especially galling¹⁴ because it was predicted. When New Mexico passed its Energy Transition Act in 2019, it recognized the likely impact of the closure. It called on the utility, PNM, to build a renewable power plant in the school district and for ratepayers to contribute $20 million for economic development in the area, but neither has happened. The utility says third-party companies considering building a solar plant got delayed by supply chain issues, among other things. The $20 million got held up by legal disputes.

Local businessman Jason Sandel says this is not fair.

JASON SANDEL: We've got a history of supplying energy to, really, the Western United States. And my message is, don't forget about us.

FORDHAM: In August, David Turk, the U.S. deputy secretary of energy, visited and announced a new plan to help. He said, quote, "This community doesn't have time to just wait for the transition. We've got to be rapid." A rapid response team was set up - part of a nationwide effort to help coal-dependent communities. The National Laboratory at nearby Los Alamos is leading it, but they say actually economic transition isn't rapid.

Jolante Van Wijk leads a group of scientists there.

JOLANTE VAN WIJK: So if you look historically at how these energy transitions have evolved, they take time - a generation or so.

FORDHAM: Which isn't helping¹⁵ laid-off workers pay their bills. Barry Dixon, the former miner, has had about enough of promises.

DIXON: Fairly disappointed with the state of New Mexico in regard to moving faster than a speeding snail¹⁶.

FORDHAM: It's hard to keep track of the legislation, lawsuits¹⁷, initiatives. And people come to him with questions.

DIXON: How do I pay for health and welfare? I've got kids at home that I've got to take care of. My parents live with me, or my mom lives with me. When is this money going to be made available to us? When?

FORDHAM: He has to tell them he has no idea.

For NPR News, I'm Alice Fordham in Kirtland, N.M.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

5 shafts   

n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等）

参考例句：

• He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把，摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下，并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句

6 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

11 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

12 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

13 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

14 galling   

adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的

参考例句：

• It was galling to have to apologize to a man she hated. 令人恼火的是得向她憎恶的男人道歉。
• The insolence in the fellow's eye was galling. 这家伙的傲慢目光令人恼怒。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

17 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句