美国国家公共电台 NPR Meet The White House's New Chief Climate Change Skeptic

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Climate change is a danger to this country. That is the official position of the U.S. federal government. But according to leaked documents, the White House could be moving to challenge that conclusion. The man who appears to be behind this is William Happer. He's a scientist who recently joined the staff of President Trump's National Security Council. NPR's Dan Charles has more.

DAN CHARLES, BYLINE¹: William Happer was born in India when it was a British colony - the son of a Scottish military officer and an American missionary² doctor. They later moved to North Carolina. And Happer became a physicist³ at Columbia University and then Princeton.

STEVEN KOONIN: He is a damn good scientist.

CHARLES: This is Steven Koonin, a professor at New York University. He's known Happer for 30 years.

KOONIN: There are two really significant contributions associated with him.

CHARLES: One made it possible to capture much better images of people's lungs. Another one allows astronomers⁴ to see the stars more clearly. So a respected scientist - also a contrarian and prone⁵ to arguments with environmental scientists. In 1993, for instance, then Vice⁶ President Al Gore⁷ was talking a lot about chemicals eating away at ozone⁸ in the stratosphere, letting in dangerous ultraviolet radiation. Happer had a top job at the Department of Energy at the time, running scientific research. He went over to the White House and said, there's no evidence the ozone hole's hurting anybody. He lost his job over it. Koonin thinks his friend, Will Happer, was just demanding better evidence.

KOONIN: I think that sensitized him to the squishiness, if you like, of a lot of the environmental science.

CHARLES: But other colleagues say it's more like a visceral distrust of that science. In recent years, Happer's been campaigning against the idea that rising carbon dioxide levels are a danger. Here he's giving a speech to the Heartland Institute.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WILLIAM HAPPER: When I got into this area and started learning about it, I learned that I was - when I looked at CO2, I should assume that it caused harmful warming, extreme weather, Noah's flood. You know, I remember thinking, are they mad?

CHARLES: Carbon dioxide's actually good for the planet, Happer says. It's like fertilizer. It makes our crops more productive.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HAPPER: We've got to push back vigorously on the demonization of fossil fuels. They're not demons⁹ at all. They're enormous servants to us.

CHARLES: Some of Happer's colleagues back at Princeton are reluctant to talk about it. It's like discussing a relationship that got messy. Here's Michael Bender, emeritus¹⁰ professor of geoscience - a climate researcher.

MICHAEL BENDER: I mean, I liked him. We would - we went out for coffee after our committee meetings a couple of times.

CHARLES: Bender wouldn't do it now, though, partly because of the scientific dispute. Bender says Happer's misreading the evidence. But it's also Happer's style. He's called climate science a cult¹¹, accused other scientists of whipping up climate fears to boost their own careers. Most offensive for Bender, Happer said people are demonizing carbon dioxide the way Nazis¹² demonized Jews.

BENDER: You know, there came a point where he attacked my colleague's integrity. And I just felt like I couldn't have a cordial relationship with him anymore after that.

CHARLES: Happer wasn't authorized¹³ to talk to us for this story. He's in the White House now - 79 years old, possibly running a new review of climate science. And Robert Socolow, another Princeton colleague, has conflicted feelings about it.

ROBERT SOCOLOW: Everybody has areas of irrationality¹⁴. I think the environment, in general, and climate change, in particular, is an area of Will's irrationality. But nonetheless, I think he can accomplish something.

CHARLES: Socolow is hoping that Happer will now behave less like an argumentative physicist and more like the kind of person who has to prepare for every possibility.

SOCOLOW: The military person doesn't underestimate the enemy. A business person doesn't underestimate the competition.

CHARLES: And Socolow says even if there is uncertainty¹⁵ about our future climate, as Happer says, it's not something we can afford to underestimate. Dan Charles, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER TRIO'S "MMMHMM")

1 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。

2 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

3 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

4 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

6 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。

7 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

8 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。

9 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

11 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

12 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

14 irrationality   

n. 不合理，无理性

参考例句：

• Such stoppages as are observed in practice are thus attributed to mistakes or even irrationality. 在实际情况中看到的这些停工，要归因于失误或甚至是非理性的东西。
• For all its harshness and irrationality, it is the only world we've got. 尽管它严酷而又不合理，它终究是我们具有的唯一的世界。

15 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。