密歇根新闻广播 特朗普政党下 环境的保护者是大企业吗?

Word came down recently that Shell — the second-largest oil company in the world — has announced that it will link top executive bonuses to progress being made on managing greenhouse gas emissions¹.

In other words, if they don't hit targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they'll get hit in the wallet.

It's yet another example of business — in this case, a mammoth² oil company — recognizing that its long-term survival depends on its ability to reduce the environmental impact of what it's producing.

And Joe Arvai believes that will help to offset³ President-elect Donald Trump⁴'s pledge to kill off President Obama's sustainability efforts.

Arvai is the Max McGraw Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, and the director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. He joined Stateside's host, Cynthia Canty, to discuss the future of sustainability.

Asked how he felt about climate change and environmental sustainability under a Trump presidency⁵, Arvai expressed concern — particularly over the skeptics of climate change Trump has chosen to surround the government and lead the EPA. But ultimately, Arvai said he's taking "a glass is half-full view."

"I think there are some firewalls out there," he added — which is where big business and even small businesses come in.

And this is the premise⁶ of Arvai's recent piece in The Conversation: "Why Trump's vow⁷ to kill Obama's sustainability agenda will lead business to step in and save it."

Companies don't like to work in "fits and starts," Arvai told Stateside. He explained that companies make plans over time and develop clear, long-term agendas. And, he pointed⁸ out, they've been doing this under President Obama for the last eight years.

Therefore, the agendas they've been developing are "responsive to things like the Clean Power Plan, that's responsive to changes in terms of our cultural values around sustainability," he said.

"So to think that now business will put on the brakes, put on the shelf all of the investments they made, get into their time machine, and go back to 2008, I think that's unrealistic."

Listen to the full conversation above.

1 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。

2 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

3 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

4 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。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

7 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。