美国国家公共电台 NPR--President Biden plans to sign a new executive order on environmental justice

President Biden plans to sign a new executive order on environmental justice

Transcript¹

NPR's Michel Martin talks to National Climate Adviser² Ali Zaidi about the order which makes it the mission of every federal agency to protect the environmental health of communities across the U.S.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Today, President Biden plans to sign a new executive order on environmental justice. The White House says the new directive makes it the mission of every federal agency to protect the environmental health of communities across the U.S. The move follows the passage of the country's historic climate legislation last summer and the White House's approval of the controversial Willow³ drilling project in Alaska. For more on this, I'm joined by White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi. Good morning.

ALI ZAIDI: Good morning.

MARTIN: So in clear terms, as briefly⁴ as you can, what does this order aim to do?

ZAIDI: This order sees the intersecting issues of environmental injustice⁵, racial injustice, economic injustice. And this is the president directing all of his agencies to tackle those intersecting issues, make sure that we're fielding a full team as we tackle the climate crisis, do it in a way that cuts consumer costs, creates good-paying jobs, invests in communities that have been systematically⁶ disinvested in. That means building on things like turning our iconic yellow school buses into vehicles that don't belch⁷ diesel⁸ pollution, tackling risks from lead pipes, getting all of those out across the country - putting methane⁹ pollution into the sky - cleaning up brownfields and superfund sites, turning them into hubs of economic activity, planting trees in neighborhoods that have been redlined.

MARTIN: Talk to me about this new Office of Environmental Justice. This is going to be housed, I think, within the White House Council on Environmental Quality. It's being created under this order. Help me see this. Like, what is the problem that this more centralized office will fix? In other words, like, what does it do that the executive branch isn't already doing?

ZAIDI: Two big things that we need to lean into further. First is to accelerate progress where we have data and science gaps. We don't fully¹⁰ understand how things like the cumulative¹¹ burdens from various pollution stressors impact public health and environmental justice. We need to accelerate progress with our scientific agencies and collect data around that so we can do a better job of addressing those issues. The other part is making sure that in addition to coordinating¹² action across the federal agencies, we are making accountability and transparency part of that program. That's what this office will do, make sure there's a scorecard that can be viewed by the public...

MARTIN: OK.

ZAIDI: ...That shows the progress we're making, whether it's at the Health and Human Services, Department of Labor¹³ or the EPA.

MARTIN: OK. So the order comes weeks after the president approved a 30-year drilling project in Alaska, despite his earlier pledge not to approve new oil projects on federal land. Does his approval of that project weaken the impact of this order?

ZAIDI: This order is a historic step forward. It builds on the largest investments in environmental justice that we've ever seen in this country, the largest investments in remediation, in tackling legacy¹⁴ pollution. It also builds on the president's commitment to tackling the climate crisis, with the largest-ever program to do that, built on this premise¹⁵ that we can invest in America to make the solutions here, get them to every zip code in the country.

MARTIN: OK, I got it. Before we let you go - congressional Republicans want to repeal¹⁶ much of that signature climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of their negotiations¹⁷ over the debt ceiling. As briefly as you can, how worried are you about that?

ZAIDI: I'm just surprised that you would want to have Congress spend time on a measure that would raise the costs of energy for consumers, that you would want to have Congress spend time on something that would undermine U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, undermine U.S. energy security...

MARTIN: OK.

ZAIDI: ...Sideline our workers in the global clean energy race. So look; the president's economic agenda has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars of capital into this fight. And we're focused on delivering results.

MARTIN: Ali Zaidi is the White House's national climate adviser. Thank you.

ZAIDI: Thanks so much.

(SOUNDBITE OF MINOTAUR SHOCK'S "MY BURR")

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 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

4 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

5 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

6 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

7 belch   

v.打嗝，喷出

参考例句：

• Cucumber makes me belch.黃瓜吃得我打嗝。
• Plant chimneys belch out dense smoke.工厂的烟囱冒出滚滚浓烟。

8 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。

9 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。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

12 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

16 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

17 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。