2007年VOA标准英语-Debate Underway in US Over Coal's Future

By Malcolm Brown
Washington, D.C.
24 July 2007
 

The future of coal has become a hot topic in the United States. The debate sets concerns about global warming against the desire to reduce America's dependence¹ on foreign energy sources. With the United States estimated to be sitting on about one-fourth of the world's coal reserves, the stakes are high. Malcolm Brown reports from a part of the country where the debate is being watched especially closely.

A pilot from the SouthWings conservation organization takes to the skies over West Virginia -- America's number two coal-producing state.

SouthWings provides these flights for free, so that reporters and others can get a clear view of a controversial technique for extracting the coal.

Frank O'Donnell

The industry calls it mountain top mining. Critics call it mountain top removal. While they have long disagreed, the issue has been given renewed impetus² by the current debate over energy.

Back in Washington, Frank O'Donnell, president of the environmental watchdog group, Clean Air Watch, sees conflicting pressures.

"Right now people are saying, 'Let's burn more coal, let's convert it into diesel³ fuel and that way we don't have to import so much oil,'” says O’Donnell. “The problem is, if we do that, we're probably going to increase greenhouse gas emissions⁴ at the same time. So, our desire to limit greenhouse gas emissions is almost pitted against our desire for energy security."

Over half of America's electricity comes from coal-burning power stations such as this one

More than half of America's electricity comes from coal-burning power stations. Even this plant, which heats and cools the U.S. Capitol building, uses coal.

Its abundance makes coal a big player in any discussion about the politically appealing concept of American energy independence.

From her desk close to Capitol Hill, Carol Raulston of the National Mining Association monitors the debate; a debate that she feels is going the industry's way.

"We think coal does have a bright future,” says Raulston. “We need to correctly manage the environmental aspects of coal mining and coal use and we believe, with a really concerted effort towards developing new technologies, that there's a whole new day out there for coal."

Ed Wiley

Back in West Virginia, Ed Wiley is doing all he can to prove her wrong. He once worked in the coal industry, but says he won't anymore, leaving him plenty of time to tend his vegetable garden.

His view changed forever following multiple trips to bring his ailing⁵ granddaughter home early from a local school. Wiley became convinced that fumes⁶ and dust from adjacent coal operations were making her and other pupils ill.

"It really hit home,” says Wiley. “It really woke me up. It was like taking a sledgehammer and just hitting me upside the head with it." That experience made him a campaigner.

The mountaintop mining is what the activists⁷ are fighting. They say the surface mining technique, using explosives and heavy machinery⁸, is environmentally disastrous⁹ and dangerous for those who live nearby.

"We're actually blowing up part of the United States to keep power in here,” Wiley adds. “We're destroying our own living quarters to have power for people and we're destroying ourselves. That's what we're doing."

It's not just the United States using coal from West Virginia. The state's industry association says coal is shipped to 25 countries. Activists want end users to realize the price the region is paying.

From the air, you can see the bodies of waste water left over from coal processing. Opponents call these "toxic¹⁰ lakes". They worry about the contamination of local water supplies and the disaster that would follow any dam failure.

However, coal companies say their work is governed by environmental regulations, including the need to 'reclaim¹¹' mined areas. Industry representative Carol Raulston says the result is economically productive level ground in a mountainous landscape.

"Not only do we think we can handle the environmental concerns, but it allows for really more of a sustained economy in those areas, because the sites can be used for other applications," she says.

Economic arguments work well in a state where the per capita income is among the lowest in the US.  The industry says it pumps nearly a billion dollars a year into West Virginia's economy in wages alone.  But to some locals, whose ancestors are buried in these mountains, the economic argument doesn't wash.

Yet with the U.S. government backing efforts to design a "pollution free" coal-powered plant, it's clear that the fuel is still considered an energy of the future.

1 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

2 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

3 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

4 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。

5 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

6 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

11 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。