美国国家公共电台 NPR California May Have A Way To Block Trump's Offshore Drilling Push

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

President Trump¹'s administration plans to make it easier for oil companies to drill offshore². But more than a dozen states opposed those plans. The drilling would happen in federally controlled waters, which limits how much states can do about it, and yet, California has blocked similar drilling in the past. Lauren Sommer of member station KQED has the story of how.

LAUREN SOMMER, BYLINE³: The last time the West Coast was open for offshore oil drilling was in the early 1980s under President Ronald Reagan.

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SOMMER: It was a priority for his interior secretary, James Watt⁴.

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JAMES WATT: We have enough energy to meet America's needs for thousands of years - thousands of years - if we will have a government that will allow for its reasonable development.

SOMMER: It was not welcome news for John Laird. Today, he's California's secretary for natural resources, but at the time, he was mayor of Santa Cruz, a small coastal⁵ city south of San Francisco.

JOHN LAIRD: He said we're going to do this, and, basically, we're going to run you over, and we had to respond in kind.

SOMMER: He called a meeting with drilling opponents, and everyone agreed - their response had to have some teeth.

LAIRD: And I really struggled thinking, teeth? We're a city, and this is a federal government wanting to do this with tacit approval of the state government.

SOMMER: But then something occurred to him - when oil companies drill offshore, they still need infrastructure⁶ onshore, things like pipelines⁸ and helicopter pads. And who controls the zoning to allow that? It's cities. So Santa Cruz put a measure on the ballot⁹ that said if an oil company wanted to build facilities on land, residents would have to vote on it first. It passed, and then the city hired a guy, Dan Haifley, to spread the idea, like an anti-oil Johnny Appleseed.

DAN HAIFLEY: So I would sleep on couches, and I would travel the state in my little car, a tiny little thing.

SOMMER: He visited local officials along the coast, slide projector¹⁰ in hand.

HAIFLEY: It was grassroots democracy and grassroots activism at its best.

SOMMER: In all, he got 26 cities and counties to adopt similar policies. Even today, oil companies can't build new infrastructure without voter approval in most of those places. That creates what Haifley calls...

HAIFLEY: A coastal wall of resistance.

SOMMER: Now that the Trump administration has proposed new oil leasing off the California coast, the idea is back.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Good afternoon. The assembly session is called to order.

SOMMER: State legislators are considering a bill that would ban new oil pipelines and piers¹¹ in state-controlled waters, which go out three miles offshore. California's lieutenant¹² governor has also threatened to block any pipeline⁷ permits to transport oil. So would that give an oil company pause?

BOB FRYKLUND: Absolutely. I mean, it - the companies look at that. They look at the ease of operation.

SOMMER: Bob Fryklund is with IHS Markit, which does oil industry consulting. But that coastal wall of resistance may not work as well this time around. Fryklund says technology has improved and now companies can get oil without having to build a pipeline to shore. They just use a floating oil rig of sorts.

FRYKLUND: You have a giant ship that fills up full of oil, and then it goes off either to a nearby port and refinery¹³ within that country or off somewhere else. And that's pretty standard operations around the world.

SOMMER: But it's more expensive, so oil companies would have to be enticed¹⁴ by large oil reserves and high oil prices to make that worth it. For now, the industry still has to see how much oil there might be off the U.S. coast. For NPR News, I'm Lauren Sommer in San Francisco.

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1 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。

2 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

3 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。

4 watt   

n.瓦，瓦特

参考例句：

• The invention of the engine is creditable to Watt.发动机的发明归功于瓦特。
• The unit of power is watt.功率的单位是瓦特。

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

10 projector   

n.投影机，放映机，幻灯机

参考例句：

• There is a new projector in my office.我的办公室里有一架新的幻灯机。
• How long will it take to set up the projector?把这个放映机安放好需要多长时间？

11 piers   

n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩

参考例句：

• Most road bridges have piers rising out of the vally. 很多公路桥的桥墩是从河谷里建造起来的。 来自辞典例句
• At these piers coasters and landing-craft would be able to discharge at all states of tide. 沿岸航行的海船和登陆艇，不论潮汐如何涨落，都能在这种码头上卸载。 来自辞典例句

12 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

13 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

14 enticed   

诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He enticed his former employer into another dice game. 他挑逗他原来的老板再赌一次掷骰子。
• Consumers are courted, enticed, and implored by sellers of goods and services. 消费者受到商品和劳务出售者奉承，劝诱和央求。