经济学人85:环境保护遭遇攻击

 　　Environmentalism under fire

　　环境保护遭遇攻击

　　Soaring emissions¹

　　不断增加的废气污染

　　The rhetoric² about environmental controls killing³ jobs is getting louder and louder

　　声称环境保护会导致就业机会减少的言论愈演愈烈

　　Jun 2nd 2011 | WASHINGTON, DC | from the print edition

　　.

　　ISN’T it odd, asks Henry Waxman, a Democratic congressman⁴ from California, how the same Republicans who make such a fuss about abortion⁵ do not seem to care if the unborn are poisoned by toxic⁶ chemicals such as mercury? Isn’t it strange, Republicans retort, that people like Mr Waxman, who profess⁷ to care about working Americans, cheer on bureaucrats⁸ determined⁹ to smother¹⁰ business and destroy jobs? It may be hard to discern amid the melodramatic rhetoric, but the two sides are talking about the Environmental Protection Agency, and the various new rules it has in the works to curb¹¹ pollution. Besides the endless toing and froing about government spending, it has become the most fiercely debated topic in Congress.

　　来自加州的民主党议员Henry Waxman称，反对堕胎并对此大作文章的共和党人似乎并不担忧未出生的胎儿是否会受到例如水银这样的有毒物质的毒害；共和党则声称，像Mr Waxman这样宣称关心美国人就业问题却为誓要抑制美国企业成长减少就业的官僚们呐喊助威。我们似乎很难从这些夸张的言论中辨别事非，不过，民主党和共和党争论的对像都是美国环保局以及环保局正在起草的各类污染管制法规。继关于政府开支没完没了的争论之后，环境污染管制成了国会又一激烈争论的对象。

　　As soon as they took control of the House of Representatives in January, Republicans began summoning Lisa Jackson, the head of the EPA, and several of her underlings to answer questions about their job-killing ways. Fred Upton, the head of the committee responsible for energy and environmental regulation, joked that she would be on Capitol Hill so often she would need her own parking space.

　　1月，共和党刚接管众议院就随即召集了环保局主管Lisa Jackson以及她的几位下属，询问关于环保局制定的“扼杀就业”的各种环保措施。能源和环境管制委员会主席Fred Upton说，Lisa Jackson去国会的次数频繁到几乎要单独给她安排一个车位。

　　The Republicans’ chief concern is the EPA’s authority, as affirmed by the Supreme¹² Court in 2007, to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases. But more broadly they worry that the EPA is constantly tightening¹³ restrictions¹⁴ on pollution, at ever higher cost to business but with diminishing returns in terms of public health. They point to a slew¹⁵ of new rules about industrial boilers¹⁶, cooling water at power plants, the disposal of coal ash, and emissions of mercury, ozone¹⁷ and other chemicals from smokestacks, which cumulatively¹⁸, they say, will have a crippling effect on power generation and other industries. “Even God,” says Joe Barton, a Republican congressman, “couldn’t meet some of the ozone standards.”

　　共和党人最为关注的是环保局的权限，最高法院于2007年授权环保局管制温室气体排放。广泛地说，他们担心环保局不断制定越来越严格污染管制措施，使得企业需要付出更高的成本，而对改善公共健康而言，收益却在递减。共和党指出，针对工业锅炉、发电厂水冷却、煤灰处理、汞排放、烟囱臭氧及其他化学物质排放等制定的众多法规，共同重创了电厂和其他工业。共和党议员Joe Barton说，即使上帝也无法满足其中的一些空气标准。

　　Mr Barton is among the many Republicans in Congress who question whether global warming is caused by human activity, let alone whether the EPA should be trying to mitigate¹⁹ it by limiting emissions of greenhouse gases. The House has passed a measure that would rescind²⁰ the EPA’s authority to do so, although it was blocked in the Senate, which the Democrats²¹ still control. The Republican leadership in the House has accused the administration of plotting to raise the price of energy through onerous²² regulation, in an effort to promote otherwise uncompetitive green technologies. It wants the EPA to give more weight to the impact on the economy and jobs when drawing up future rules.

　　许多共和党人仍然对人类活动是否是造成全球变暖的原因表示质疑，更别提环保局是否应该通过限制温室气体排放以缓和全球变暖。Mr Barton就是其中之一。众议院通过了一项旨在废除环保局温室气体管制权限的草案，但被共和党人控制的参议院驳回。众议院共和党领导人指责政府意图通过繁重的管制措施来提高能源价格进而促进本不具备竞争力绿色科技的发展。他们希望环保局在制定未来的管制措施时能够重视措施对经济的冲击和对就业的影响。

　　Republicans outside Congress are warming to the theme. In late May Chris Christie, the much-feted governor of New Jersey²⁴, withdrew his state from a regional pact²³ to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants. Several prominent Republican candidates for president have recanted past support for curbs²⁵ on greenhouse gases. One of them, Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, says the EPA should be abolished altogether and an “environmental solutions agency” more sympathetic to business set up in its stead.

　　国会之外的共和党人也在积极参与这次争论，5月下旬，备受称赞的新泽西州州长Chris Christie 宣布新泽西退出旨在降低发电厂温室气体排放的一份区域协定。几位卓越的共和党总统候选人也已宣布不再支持对温室气体排放进行管制，前众议院发言人Newt Gingrich就是其中之一。他认为，应该撤销环保局，建立一个企业友好型的 “环境保护方案机构”来取代。

　　EPA officials appear baffled by this barrage²⁶ of hostility²⁷. All the regulations they are promulgating²⁸, they point out, are based on laws passed by Congress, usually on a bipartisan basis. The Clean Air Act, for example, which is the basis of the EPA’s proposed regulation of greenhouse gases, was signed by Richard Nixon, and strengthened with the support of George Bush senior, both Republicans. The agency, they say, already conducts cost-benefit analyses of all important regulations, in addition to submitting them for expert review and public comment. Every dollar spent on pollution controls mandated²⁹ by the Clean Air Act, including the ozone restrictions that Mr Barton is complaining about, will bring $30 in benefits to public health, the EPA reckons.

　　针对如此密集的反对声，环保局官员显得很不理解。他们指出，所有颁布的规定都是以国会（通常是共和党和民主党共同参与）批准通过法律为基础的。例如，环保局起草的温室气体管制方案是以洁净空气法案为基础的，而洁净空气法案是共和党人Richard Nixon签署并得到共和党人老布什总统的进一步支持。另外，环保局所有重要的法规不仅咨询了专家意见及公共建议，同时还进行了成本效益分析。环保局估计，用于洁净空气法案规定的污染控制的每一美元都将给公共健康带来30美元的回报。

　　Under Mrs Jackson many of the most significant new rules are also being subjected to a separate review of the impact on jobs; though since onerous environmental restrictions can be labour-intensive, that is not always a good measure of the overall economic benefit. Moreover, the EPA is producing so many regulations at once in part because it is legally bound to. One of the rules the Republicans are complaining about, regarding mercury, arsenic³⁰ and other toxic chemicals released by power plants, has been in the works for over 20 years. The EPA’s original regulations on the subject were thrown out by the courts as too lax. Anyway, so a combative³¹ official told her Republican interrogators earlier this year, complaints about the toll³² on business of pollution controls are almost always wildly exaggerated.

　　在Mrs Jackson领导下，许多重要的新法规都需要单独评估其对就业市场的影响，尽管繁重的环境管制措施可能会对劳动密集型产业产生影响，但是，这样的片面的评估并不总能体现出它对整体经济利益的影响。此外，环保局同时出台如此众多的管制措施，部分原因是由于其法律上的义务。共和党人控拆的其中一项规定是针对发电厂排放汞、砷及其它有毒物质的规定，这项规定用了20年才最终出台。法院曾以管制措施过于松散为由驳回了环保局最初的草案。无论如何，一名官员在面对共和党人质询时曾说，人们在报怨环境保护措施给企业带来不利影响时总是极尽夸张之能。

　　Yet the EPA is clearly stung by the criticism. The White House recently announced that the agency had scrapped³³ a rule requiring leaks of dairy products to be treated as oil spills, as part of a government-wide review of red tape that may be impeding³⁴ economic growth. It is now considering revisions to a further 31 regulations. It has also delayed the implementation³⁵ of the new regulations concerning industrial boilers, after loud complaints from the businesses affected³⁶. And it seems in no hurry to use its authority over greenhouse gases, settling instead for a lengthy³⁷ rule-drafting period that could forestall³⁸ the imposition of any restrictions until after next year’s elections.

　　但是批评显然让环保局备受煎熬。白宫近日宣布，在进行的一项政府范围内对可能阻碍经济发展的红头文件的复审中，环保局取消了一项要求将乳制品泄漏与石油泄漏同等处理的规定。同时环保局正考虑对另31项法规进行修订。另外，由于被影响企业的极力报怨，环保局推迟了有关工业锅炉管制的新法规的执行。看来，环保局并不急于使用他们的温室气体排放管制权利，而是满足于冗长的法规起草过程，从而阻止了任何管制条例在明年的选举之前的实施。

　　That is in part, presumably, because at the mid-terms last year the Republicans succeeded in portraying³⁹ the Democrats’ plans to restrict emissions via a cap-and-trade scheme as an all-out assault on the economy, to great effect. John Shimkus, another Republican congressman, says Republicans will benefit again if environmental regulation remains⁴⁰ a fraught⁴¹ issue next year. But Democrats like Mr Waxman argue that the Republicans are reading too much into their victory last year. Voters may put their immediate⁴² economic concerns ahead of more amorphous⁴³ worries about global warming in the wake of the recession, he says, but they are still not willing to tolerate a broader assault on regulations that protect public health.

　　部分原因可能是，去年的中期选举中，共和党将民主党通过设立排放上限并对减少排放的企业给予经济奖励的方式限制温室气体排放的计划成功地描述成了“竭尽所能阻挠经济发展”。共和党议员John Shimkus说，如果环境管制问题明年仍然充满争议的话，共和党则会从中获益。Mr Waxman等民主党人则认为，共和党高估了他们去年的胜利。尽管经历经济衰退之后，比较于交错复杂的全球变暖问题，选民更倾向于关注当前经济问题；即使如此，选民仍然不会容忍对保护公共健康法规的大规模的抨击。

　　In short, both the Democrats and the Republicans think they have found a winning theme in the other party’s environmental policies. And they may both, in fact, be right. Most polling suggests that the environment is not a critical issue in the eyes of many voters. But talking about it is a great way to fire up activists⁴⁴ and donors⁴⁵ on both sides.

　　简而言之，共和党和民主党都认为对方的环境政策有可攻之处，并且都认为各自可以取得胜利。实际上，双方可能都正确。众多民意调查显示，环境问题在许多选民眼中并不是十分重要的问题，但是，仅仅谈论这个话题就可以刺激到双方的积极活动份子和捐赠人。

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 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

6 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。

7 profess   

v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰

参考例句：

• I profess that I was surprised at the news.我承认这消息使我惊讶。
• What religion does he profess?他信仰哪种宗教？

8 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 smother   

vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息

参考例句：

• They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket.他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。
• We tried to smother our laughter.我们强忍住笑。

11 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

15 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

16 boilers   

锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even then the boilers often burst or came apart at the seams. 甚至那时的锅炉也经常从焊接处爆炸或裂开。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The clean coal is sent to a crusher and the boilers. 干净的煤送入破碎机和锅炉。

17 ozone   

n.臭氧，新鲜空气

参考例句：

• The ozone layer is a protective layer around the planet Earth.臭氧层是地球的保护层。
• The capacity of ozone can adjust according of requirement.臭氧的产量可根据需要或调节。

18 cumulatively   

adv.累积地，渐增地

参考例句：

• Mind has become self-reproducing through man's capacity to transmit experience and its products cumulatively. 通过传递生活经验和积累创造的产品，人类的智慧在不断地进行着自我丰富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At first, the drug does no harm, but cumulatively its effects are bad. 这药开始对人没有害处，但连续服用后果就坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

20 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

21 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

23 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

24 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

25 curbs   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In executing his functions he is not bound by any legal curbs on his power. 在他履行职务时，他的权力是不受任何法律约束的。 来自辞典例句
• Curbs on air travel were being worked out and would shortly be announced. 限制航空旅行的有关规定正在拟定中，不久即将公布。 来自辞典例句

26 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

27 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

28 promulgating   

v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的现在分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等）

参考例句：

• While they promulgating the Christianity, English was also publicized in China. 他们在传教的同时，英语也在中国得到了广泛的传播。 来自互联网
• It is a philosophy of life, promulgating numerous and complicated existence. “生活艺术论”是林语堂文化观、人生观和审美观的集中体现。 来自互联网

29 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

30 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。

31 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

32 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

33 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

34 impeding   

a.(尤指坏事)即将发生的，临近的

参考例句：

• Fallen rock is impeding the progress of rescue workers. 坠落的石头阻滞了救援人员的救援进程。
• Is there sufficient room for the kiosk and kiosk traffic without impeding other user traffic? 该环境下是否有足够的空间来摆放信息亭？信息亭是否会妨碍交通或者行走？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

35 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

36 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。

37 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

38 forestall   

vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止

参考例句：

• I left the room to forestall involvements.我抢先离开了这房间以免受牵累。
• He followed this rule in order to forestall rumors.他遵守这条规矩是为了杜绝流言蜚语。

39 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

40 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。

41 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

42 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

43 amorphous   

adj.无定形的

参考例句：

• There was a weakening of the intermolecular bonds,primarily in the amorphous region of the polymer.分子间键合减弱，尤其在聚合物的无定形区内更为明显。
• It is an amorphous colorless or white powder.它是一种无定形的无色或白色粉末。

44 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》

45 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》