美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Nord Stream leaks are a wake-up call for countries with vulnerable pipelines

The Nord Stream leaks are a wake-up call for countries with vulnerable pipelines²

Transcript³

A week after several suspicious ruptures⁴ were discovered along the undersea Nord Stream pipeline¹, gas has reportedly stopped leaking but the questions keep flowing. Namely: What — and who — caused the damage? And how can countries try to prevent similar incidents going forward?

Scientists say the two leaks were likely caused by powerful underwater explosions, based on seismic⁵ data from Sweden and Denmark. And European leaders believe those leaks were no accident, with NATO blaming "deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage⁶."

Sweden, Denmark and Germany have all opened investigations⁷, while Russia — whose state-controlled energy company, Gazprom, is the main owner of the pipelines — is calling for a review and blaming the West.

Neither pipeline was operational at the time of the leaks, since Moscow cut flows to Nord Stream 1 in August (in retaliation⁸ for Europe's support of Ukraine and sanctions in Russia) and Germany postponed⁹ the opening of Nord Stream 2 just before Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Still, the incident has raised a number of concerns about the impact on the environment (because of the massive amount of climate-damaging methane¹⁰ it released) and Europe's energy supply, as well as the vulnerability of critical infrastructure¹¹ more broadly.

The Nord Stream leaks serve as a warning that any one of the numerous gas, power and telecommunication¹² cables crisscrossing Europe could be a target, as NPR's Jackie Northam put it. Taking note, countries like Norway, Denmark, Italy and Poland have ramped¹³ up security and surveillance around their own undersea pipelines in recent days.

There are about 730,000 miles of pipelines around the world, enough to circle the Earth 30 times, says national security analyst¹⁴ Juliette Kayyem. And that's not including wires connecting the internet, which she says amount to "another million miles of cable, essentially¹⁵."

These pipelines are "lifelines for these countries to continue moving and living and having access to electricity," Kayyem told Morning Edition's A Martínez on Monday. "They're vulnerable because they're large, they are exposed — at least under the ocean floor — and they are very hard to protect."

What steps can countries take to protect their critical infrastructure?

That doesn't mean no one is trying to protect these vulnerable pipelines, Kayyem says.

"We should think about it more and people do think about it," she explains. "The standard is not, 'Can we make it safe?' It's just sort of, 'Can we make it safer?' at this stage, can we minimize the risk for these pipelines."

There are four primary ways that security experts think about minimizing risk, according to Kayyem, who describes the approach as "layered defenses."

It involves building more protective pipes that can withstand intrusion, controlling access to pipelines, monitoring them and intercepting¹⁶ potential attacks.

Kayyem says the Nord Stream incident shows the importance of surveillance, and making sure countries know which boats and submarines are around the pipeline. These kinds of pipelines have lots of detection devices, she adds, which can help authorities figure out if the object nearby is a whale or an actual threat.

And if something does look like it's attacking the pipeline, are a country's forces prepared to go after it? Kayyem says they could use battleships, submarines or even equipment like drones to "take things out."

"It's a little bit like warfare¹⁷, because you are protecting something that would be attacked in a war," she adds.

Not all threats come by land or sea. It was just last spring when a ransomware attack temporarily shut down the Colonial Pipeline, which carries gas, diesel¹⁸ and jet fuel along the U.S. East Coast from Texas to New York.

Kayyem says it's crucial for countries and companies to plan for these kinds of disruptions so they can prepare to restore their systems as fast as possible.

"We just have to anticipate that there will be attacks," she says. "And then the standard of success is, can we get back online quickly."

The audio interview was produced by Naina Badarinath Rao and Julie Depenbrock, and edited by Simone Popperl and Reena Advani.

1 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。

2 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 ruptures   

n.（体内组织等的）断裂( rupture的名词复数 )；爆裂；疝气v.（使）破裂( rupture的第三人称单数 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• Fault ruptures may consist of a single narrow main break. 断层破裂可能只包括单独一条狭窄的主裂隙。 来自辞典例句
• The dry seed ruptures and the green leaf uncurls. 干瘪的种子裂开了，卷曲的绿叶伸展了。 来自辞典例句

5 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

6 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

7 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

8 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

10 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

13 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

14 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

15 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

16 intercepting   

截取（技术），截接

参考例句：

• The police had been intercepting my mail, ie reading it before it was delivered. 警方一直截查我的邮件。
• We've been intercepting radio transmissions from Moscow. 我们已从莫斯科拦截到无线电信号。

17 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

18 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。