美国国家公共电台 NPR--Environmentalists sue after the White House resumed sales of oil and gas leases

Environmentalists sue after the White House resumed sales of oil and gas leases

Transcript¹

Federal oil and gas drilling lease sales on public land resumed in June — the first since President Biden took office. His administration had paused quarterly sales because of environmental concerns.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit² this week claiming that the federal government broke environmental laws when it resumed sales of oil and gas leases on public land in June. The Biden administration has paused quarterly sales for climate concerns. Wyoming Public Radio's Caitlin Tan has more.

CAITLIN TAN, BYLINE³: Southwest Wyoming is home to one of the top producing natural gas fields in the country. Jonah Energy's vice⁴ president, Paul Ulrich, is giving a tour. Some antelope⁵ and cows graze in the distance.

Are those wild horses?

PAUL ULRICH: Sure are.

TAN: Oh, wow.

ULRICH: (Laughter).

TAN: But mostly, one sees hundreds of natural gas well pads checkered⁶ across the land. The field feels pretty calm and quiet. Driving down a gravel⁷ road, Ulrich says that's a stark⁸ difference from 15 years ago during the gas drilling boom.

ULRICH: We had 18 rigs running, thousands of individuals out here working on behalf of the field. It was, at times, overwhelming and Exciting.

TAN: There's now just one active drilling rig in the area. But there are plans to steadily⁹ expand. Ulrich says new oil and gas lease sales are crucial.

ULRICH: Any reduction of viable¹⁰ leases, you know, could result in less production, less tax revenue, less jobs down the line.

TAN: Until this spring, lease sales were paused for 15 months. President Biden did so on the basis of concerns about climate change. In previous administrations, lease sales happened four times a year. But following a court order, the administration announced it would hold lease sales this spring in nine states, which led to disappointment from many environmental groups. Dan Ritzman is with the Sierra Club.

DAN RITZMAN: As we do the important work to move away from oil, the first thing we need to do is to stop looking for new oil.

TAN: And the extractive industry has issues with the sales, too. Here's the Petroleum¹¹ Association of Wyoming's president, Pete Obermueller.

PETE OBERMUELLER: The lease sale itself is smoke and mirrors from the Biden administration. They did less than the bare minimum in order to comply with that court order.

TAN: Meaning, only about 20% of public land that the industry hoped for is up for auction¹². And royalty¹³ rates that companies have to pay were increased by 50%. The American Petroleum Institute says the changes create new barriers that discourage companies from investing in drilling on public lands. Obermueller says the leases that are being offered aren't that useful.

OBERMUELLER: Many of them are in some of the most remote, most difficult places to reach.

TAN: Meanwhile, leases that the industry purchased under the Trump¹⁴ administration are up for more environmental review after a court settlement earlier this year. Jeremy Nichols is with WildEarth Guardians¹⁵, which led the lawsuits¹⁶.

JEREMY NICHOLS: This opens the door to take into consideration things like climate science, the public interest and whether it makes sense for public lands to be sacrificed for more oil and gas extraction.

TAN: It's unclear whether the Biden administration plans to return to quarterly lease sales. Two related court cases that would require that are pending¹⁷.

For NPR News, I'm Caitlin Tan in Pinedale, Wyo.

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 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

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 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。

5 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

6 checkered   

adj.有方格图案的

参考例句：

• The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。
• He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。

7 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

8 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

9 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

10 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

11 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。

12 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

13 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

14 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

15 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

16 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

17 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。