应对气候变化对奥巴马总统而言至关重要

AS IT IS 2015-08-28 Fighting Climate Change Important to President Obama 应对气候变化对奥巴马总统而言至关重要

President Barack Obama remains¹ focused on the fight against climate change even as he fights to win support for the Iran nuclear agreement. For many years, he has called climate change the greatest threat to national security.

At the National Clean Energy Summit earlier this week, the president talked about the growth in solar energy use. Mr. Obama noted² that businesses and home owners in the United States now generate 20 times more electricity from the sun as they did in 2008.

He says the world’s largest group of solar panels began converting energy from the sun into electricity last year. It has nine million panels. It generates enough electricity for more than 100,000 homes. He said that clean, renewable energy is being generated, in his words, “not in Germany, not in China, not in Saudi Arabia -- right here in the United States of America.”

At the meeting in Las Vegas, the president announced plans to lower the cost of renewable energy sources, including solar.

Earlier this summer, he announced a plan to cut carbon emissions³ from coal-fired power centers. His political opponents in the Republican Party -- and supporters of coal, oil and gas -- say the plan will hurt the economy.

Next week, Mr. Obama will travel to the Arctic area of Alaska. He will be the first president to do so. He will talk about the effects of global warming.

Benton Strong is an associate director of the Center for American Progress, a liberal research group.

He says some people who live in villages in the Arctic are, in his words, “seeing their villages melt into the ocean.” Mr. Strong notes that the president will be going to the place where there are more areas of wildfire damage than any other place in the country. He says the president will be able to see for himself the effects of climate change.

Mr. Strong notes the president has reached agreements with the leaders of China and India on fighting climate change. He says 30, 40 or 50 years from now people will say that the most important part of the Obama presidency⁴ was making plans to deal with climate change.

Geoff Mirkin started a company in Maryland six years ago to place solar panels on homes and buildings. It began with three employees. There are now more than 50.

He questions why there is opposition⁵ to government plans to increase the amount of renewable energy the country uses. He notes oil, gas and coal producers have been getting help from the government for many years. He says solar power has been forced into the country’s political wars. He says he is a Republican, but he believes in solar power because it helps people save money on electricity and helps the environment.

I have children, he says, and I care about their future.

Words in This Story

generate – v. to produce (something) or cause (something) to be produced

renewable – adj. restored or replaced by natural process

emissions – n. something sent out or given off

solar panel – n. a large, flat piece of equipment that uses the sun’s light or heat to create electricity

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 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。

4 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。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。