pbs高端访谈:美国环保署推进净化温室气体排放的建议

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF:And we turn to the EPA's new regulations requiring cleaner gasoline.

　　The Obama administration announced the proposed changes today. They would require two-thirds less sulfur¹ in gasoline and a reduction in other emissions³ beginning in 2017. They also would set tighter pollution limits for new vehicles themselves at the same time.

　　The EPA says that it would reduce premature⁴ deaths and improve public health for a minimal⁵ cost. But opponents say it could hit consumers at the pump by adding as much as nine cents a gallon.

　　Juliet Eilperin broke this story for The Washington Post and she joins me now.

　　Welcome to the NewsHour.

　　JULIET EILPERIN, The Washington Post: Thanks so much.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:So why is the Obama administration doing this, putting these proposals out there?

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Well, there are a couple of reasons.

　　One is the fact that they are requiring vehicles to be cleaner in the years ahead. They have basically reduced greenhouse gas emissions from these vehicles. And so you will see between 2016 and 2025 the vehicles are going to become much more efficient. They're going to get more miles per gallon.

　　And so one of the things automakers have been asking for is for cleaner fuel because the sulfur in gasoline really affects the catalytic converter and makes it less efficient, results in more tailpipe emissions. So they actually have an incentive⁶ to have cleaner fuel.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:So I was going to say, it is interesting who is in favor of this, that it is not just the environmental advocates. It's the car manufacturers.

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Absolutely.

　　The car manufacturers, who already basically have to comply with these rules in California, which is a huge part of the U.S. market, have asked for uniformity. And so they were actually in the Office of Management of Budget just this month asking for these rules to come through. And so that's one of the reasons why the Obama administration was comfortable moving ahead with this.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Now, on the other side is the oil and gas industry. And what is the argument they're making?

　　JULIET EILPERIN:They're argument is that oil refineries⁷ in the United States, which aren't quite as profitable as, say, the big oil companies, will take a hit because it will be expensive to reduce the sulfur in their emissions.

　　They have already reduced it 90 percent since 2004 because of federal regulations. And they're saying it will both be costly⁸ for them to do this, and also in fact it will require more energy, which will increase their carbon output from these refineries.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:But the administration is disputing that. So what is the administration basing their argument on?

　　JULIET EILPERIN:The administration is saying that this will add less than a penny a gallon to any gallon of gasoline.

　　And they say that, first of all, the oil industry is inflating⁹ their statistics. They have done a survey of refineries and they have looked at what kind of modifications¹⁰, that only a tiny fraction of the roughly 140 refineries in the country will have to do a major overhaul¹¹, and also that they allowed for flexibility¹² in this proposal, so that the smallest refineries and the ones that will take the biggest hit will have, you know, an easier transition to this new regime.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:But the industry, again, the oil and gas industry, is pushing back?

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Absolutely.

　　They're saying that, you know, on average, it's at least going to be two cents per gallon and, in some instances, it's going to be as much as nine cents because they estimate that it will cost $10 billion dollars to do the upgrades that they will need for that.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:And, Juliet Eilperin, it is my understanding also the administration is saying that this will save money in terms of public health costs.

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Absolutely.

　　When you do the math, what they are saying is because these tailpipe emissions, nitrogen oxide¹³, soot¹⁴, things like that, volatile¹⁵ organic compounds, those can contribute both to smog and in the case of soot also to heart and lung disease.

　　So overall they're saying that, by 2030, the benefits will be between $8 billion and $23 billion dollars, outweighing¹⁶ the cost of compliance¹⁷.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:And just to clarify, Juliet, the argument here is that it's not that the sulfur itself in gasoline is the problem; it's what it does to the catalytic converter, the emissions device.

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Right. That's what is very interesting.

　　Basically, the more sulfur you have, the less effective the catalytic converter is. So, as a result, you have greater tailpipe emissions. And it is these emission², the volatile organic compounds, the nitrogen oxide, the carbon monoxide and the soot, that are what actually affects the air that we breathe and what it does to our heart and lungs.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Now, let's broaden this out, because at the same time the administration issued these proposals today, meanwhile, everybody is out there waiting for two other sets of, I guess, regulations or proposals from the administration.

　　One has to do with of course the Keystone oil pipeline¹⁸.

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Right.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:The other one are the greenhouse gas emissions for power plants.

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Right.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:How does this factor in to those sets of regulations which are—we're waiting to hear now?

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Right.

　　I think it's all part of the broader Obama second-term agenda. And so what they are obviously saying is, they are moving ahead with this, this one. They have made it more cost-effective and they're saying it is a huge public benefit. At the same time, the environmentalists are looking at all these other fronts. And they're saying, for example, on the Keystone pipeline, that they are saying that, you know, yes, this will supply oil from Canada, but it's basically a referendum on what Obama will do on climate.

　　So that is a very difficult decision that he will be making this summer. It is unclear what he is going to do, whether he is going to disappoint the community. And what also looking at is whether they will regulate both greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants. That's something that should be finalized¹⁹ soon, but may not be. Or are they going to regulate existing power plants in the future?

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:So how do you see the calculus²⁰ here in announcing this while these others are pending²¹?

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Well, certainly, this is something that was broadly welcomed by the environmental community.

　　And it's really going—it's going to be, with one possible exception, one of the most significant air policy rules that the Obama administration does. But it's not going to make up for, for example, if they decide to allow the Keystone pipeline to go through. That and regulating existing power plants, those are the two biggest litmus tests for the Obama administration this term.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:And just quickly, these are proposals, but is it expected that they will take effect?

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Yes. While they haven't outlined the timeline—for example, the rules that were unveiled today could take a few months.

　　These are proposed rules, but there is an expectation that, since they have already done some negotiations²², the final rule that will be adopted in a matter of months will be very similar to what we are seeing today.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Juliet Eilperin, the Washington Post, thank you very much.

　　JULIET EILPERIN:Thank you so much.

1 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

2 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

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 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

5 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

6 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

7 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

10 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

12 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

13 oxide   

n.氧化物

参考例句：

• Oxide is usually seen in our daily life.在我们的日常生活中氧化物很常见。
• How can you get rid of this oxide coating?你们该怎样除去这些氧化皮？

14 soot   

n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟

参考例句：

• Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
• The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

15 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

16 outweighing   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的现在分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• Consider(sth good or positive)as balancing or outweighing(sth bad or negative) 视（某好的事物）可抵消或抵偿（某坏的事物） 来自互联网
• The accused and accusers all succeed in outweighing the Bible. 原告和被告都成功地通过了第一项测试。 来自互联网

17 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

18 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

19 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

21 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

22 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。