美国国家公共电台 NPR California Eyes Climate Leadership Role, But Trump's EPA Holds A Key On Cars

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST: 

There's been a little bit of political wrangling¹ recently in this country as well of course. Red states fought hard against the Obama administration. And now governors of left-leaning states are ready to do battle with the Trump² White House. And that is all the talk here in California. Odds³ are an early flashpoint is going to be climate change. Governor Jerry Brown, in his annual State of the State speech, said California will ramp⁴ up its ambitious climate policies. Lauren Sommer from member station KQED reports that the Trump administration could really get in his way.

LAUREN SOMMER, BYLINE⁵: Governor Jerry Brown had one key message about climate change - perseverance⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

JERRY BROWN: We can't fall back and give in to the climate deniers. The science is clear. The danger is real.

SOMMER: Just as President Trump was taking the oath of office on Friday, California released its latest plan tackling climate change, which includes renewable energy and putting millions of electric cars on the road. It's a challenge Brown first made in December, when climate scientists from around the world were meeting in San Francisco.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SOMMER: The mood at their conference had been dismal⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROWN: Thank you.

SOMMER: Scientists were worried about losing federal funding for research, even the NASA satellites that collect basic climate data.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROWN: And if Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite. We're going to collect that data.

SOMMER: Brown has also spearheaded his own international climate agreement with more than 160 cities and states.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROWN: A lot of people say - what the hell are you doing, Brown? You're not a country.

SOMMER: What California is, Brown says, is the sixth largest economy in the world. So he had a warning for the Trump administration.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROWN: So we've got the scientists. We've got the lawyers. And we're ready to fight. We're ready to defend.

SOMMER: Playing defense⁸ may be in California's future. The state has tough rules limiting carbon pollution from cars. But it can't have those rules without permission from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. That came up last week at the nomination⁹ hearing for Scott Pruitt, who could run the EPA. California Senator Kamala Harris wanted to know - would Pruitt uphold California's special permission, its waiver for tougher car rules?

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SCOTT PRUITT: Senator, as you know, administrators¹⁰ in the past have not granted the waiver and, in fact, have granted a waiver. That's a review process that will be conducted if confirmed.

KAMALA HARRIS: What is your intention, sir?

PRUITT: I don't know without going through the process to determine that, Senator. And one would not want to presume the outcome.

SOMMER: California has been in this kind of fight before. Back in 2007, the Bush administration denied California's request to have tougher pollution rules for cars, saying it would create a patchwork¹¹ of regulations. California took the federal government to court. But before the case was decided¹², Obama was elected, and California got its waiver. Now...

MICHAEL WARA: The first legal disputes are going to be about cars. And I'd be surprised, actually, if we didn't see those disputes.

SOMMER: Michael Wara is a professor at Stanford Law School. He says this isn't just about California. Thirteen other states have adopted the same clean car standards. But the bigger question, he says, is a political one.

WARA: How a Pruitt EPA responds to some of these issues with California is going to really test Scott Pruitt's and the administration's commitment to conservative values.

SOMMER: As attorney general of Oklahoma, Pruitt sued the EPA, arguing that his state had the right to set its own environmental rules.

WARA: So that logic¹³ would seem to imply that California should have the right to set its own agenda. But we'll see how that trades off against the desire to roll back regulations relating to greenhouse gases.

SOMMER: Something California is watching closely, lawyers at the ready.

For NPR News I'm Lauren Sommer in San Francisco.

(SOUNDBITE OF TYCHO'S "SLACK")

1 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

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 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

7 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

10 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

11 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。