美国国家公共电台 NPR Soaring gas prices have Biden talking up the importance of domestic drilling

Soaring gas prices have Biden talking up the importance of domestic drilling

Transcript¹

Russia's war on Ukraine and the resulting oil price spike² have forced the Biden White House to consider all kinds of measures for fossil fuel that it once would have shunned³.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

President Biden is calling for more oil drilling in the United States and around the world. The effort to isolate⁴ Russia, one of the world's biggest oil producers, makes that essential. But the White House insists it is still sticking by a long-term goal of phasing out fossil fuels. NPR's Scott Detrow reports.

SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE⁵: Republicans see inflation as a top political weapon ahead of this fall's midterm elections. With the price of gas far past $4 a gallon, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sees a political opportunity.

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KEVIN MCCARTHY: These aren't Putin prices. They're President Biden's prices.

DETROW: Republican attacks have fallen along familiar lines. The President Biden's return to tougher environmental standards and push for a shift away from oil and toward clean energy is to blame. Congressman⁶ Steve Scalise is McCarthy's No. 2.

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STEVE SCALISE: The challenge is that President Biden still won't say yes to American energy.

DETROW: In the past, energy crises and rising cost often led to a retreat from aggressive climate goals. There are signs the president is keenly aware of the political risks here. Already, Biden, who made climate change more central to his campaign than anyone else ever elected president, has stood in the White House, essentially⁷ bragging⁸ about how much oil is being drilled in the U.S.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Even amid the pandemic, companies in the United States pumped more oil during my first year in office than they did during my predecessor's first year. We're approaching record levels of oil and gas production in United States, and we're on track to set a record oil production next year.

DETROW: And administration officials have been reaching out to big oil producers all over the world to try to get more crude onto the markets. A delegation⁹ even traveled to Venezuela to talk to an authoritarian¹⁰ government the U.S. doesn't even officially recognize. That's led to, at times, awkward explanations from press secretary Jen Psaki.

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JEN PSAKI: There was a discussion that was had by members of the administration over the course of the last several days. Those discussions are also ongoing¹¹.

DETROW: Still, amid all of this...

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BIDEN: It's just not tenable.

DETROW: ...Biden insists he's sticking to his goal of having U.S. carbon emissions¹² from 2005 levels by the end of the decade.

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BIDEN: Loosening environmental regulations or pulling back clean energy investment won't - let me explain - won't - will not lower energy prices for families. But transforming our economy to run on electric vehicles powered by clean energy with tax credits to help American families winterize their homes and use less energy - that will.

DETROW: Many climate activists¹³ have been frustrated¹⁴ with Biden lately, largely because the major legislation behind his ambitious climate plan is stalled in the Senate. That's put his long-term emissions targets in doubt. But they're largely heartened by how Biden is framing this in what they see as a key moment. Mary Anne Hitt is a senior director at Climate Imperative¹⁵.

MARY ANNE HITT: One path leads us to doubling down on fossil fuels, and the other path is to phase out our reliance on them by cleaning up our electricity, advancing renewable energy and electrifying¹⁶ our vehicles.

DETROW: Biden has already steered¹⁷ billions of dollars to the electric vehicle market through the Infrastructure¹⁸ Act. The Biden EPA has toughened mileage¹⁹ standards for new vehicles. Those steps will lower demand for oil, but not in the short term.

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BIDEN: And if we can, if we do what we can, it will mean that no one has to worry about price at the gas pump in the future.

DETROW: That, however, will largely come down to whether Biden can figure out how to change the math in the Senate to get his clean energy spending bill unstuck and then somehow get it passed before the midterms, when Democrats²⁰ could lose their majority.

Scott Detrow, NPR News, The White House.

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1 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。

2 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

3 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

9 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

10 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 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。

13 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》

14 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

16 electrifying   

v.使电气化( electrify的现在分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The dancers gave an electrifying performance. 舞蹈演员们的表演激动人心。
• The national orchestra gave an electrifying performance of classic music. 国家交响乐团举行了一次古典音乐的震撼性演出。 来自辞典例句

17 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 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。

19 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

20 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》