美国国家公共电台 NPR 8 Years After Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Is Another Disaster Waiting To Happen?

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Eight years ago today, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 people and led to a massive oil spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico. The accident prompted big changes in how the country regulates offshore² drilling. Now there's a push to expand offshore drilling, and some environmentalists are worried. Here's NPR's Jeff Brady.

JEFF BRADY, BYLINE³: As the Deepwater Horizon crew was finishing drilling a well, there was a fiery⁴ explosion that was portrayed⁵ in a 2016 movie.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DEEPWATER HORIZON")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Deepwater Horizon.

BRADY: Millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. The film pins most of the blame on employees of oil giant BP. That echoes a presidential commission report that said the disaster also raised questions about the safety of the entire offshore drilling industry.

DON BOESCH: We have to never forget the lessons of 2010.

BRADY: Marine⁶ science professor Don Boesch was a member of the commission. While not all of the recommendations were implemented⁷, Boesch says offshore drilling is safer now.

BOESCH: I think that the government is in a much better position than it was in 2010. And the industry is much better prepared.

BRADY: Before the accident, promoting and regulating offshore drilling was all under one federal agency. That created conflicts of interest. So a new agency was created within the Interior Department called the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Insiders call it BSEE. Now Boesch and others warn that the lines between regulating and promoting are once again being blurred⁸. They point to statements like this from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke before an oil industry gathering⁹ in March.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RYAN ZINKE: Interior should not be in the business of being an adversary¹⁰. We should be in the business of being a partner.

BRADY: And Zinke chose Louisiana politician Scott Angelle to head BSEE. Angelle has received campaign contributions and support from the oil and gas industry. He also served on the board of a pipeline¹¹ company. After the Deepwater Horizon accident, he led the opposition¹² to a drilling moratorium¹³. Here he is firing up an oil-friendly crowd in July 2010, arguing against calls for a faster transition to renewable energy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SCOTT ANGELLE: Let's keep the conversation real. America is not yet ready to get all of its fuel from the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees.

(APPLAUSE)

BRADY: And since taking over BSEE, Angelle has maintained his ties to oil, says Jackie Savitz with the environmental group Oceana.

JACKIE SAVITZ: He's clearly been proactive in meeting with the industry and addressing its concerns. And it doesn't seem like, you know, he sees the other side as something that he needs to be invested in.

BRADY: Angelle and BSEE declined NPR's interview request. But in a statement, the agency says Angelle is laser focused on safety and that is not at odds¹⁴ with also focusing on robust¹⁵ production. Still, Angelle's meetings with industry led to a series of regulatory changes. There's talk of combining BSEE with another agency that manages offshore leases. And strict requirements aimed at keeping offshore wells from blowing out could be overhauled¹⁶. BSEE's first director, Michael Bromwich, says that rule took six years to develop.

MICHAEL BROMWICH: The regulated industry is having too much influence in reshaping the regulations to make them less onerous¹⁷, less costly¹⁸ in some sense but also less protective of safety and the environment.

BRADY: The industry rejects that argument. Randall Luthi is president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore energy companies.

RANDALL LUTHI: No company wants to have an accident. There is no economical bonus, no economical reason that helps you if you have an accident. Safety and good economics go hand in hand.

BRADY: Luthi says the tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon accident and the $65 billion it cost BP made the industry more safety conscious. He says offshore drillers don't need a heavy-handed regulator to ensure companies won't make the same mistakes again. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

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 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

5 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

8 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

11 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。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

14 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？

15 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

16 overhauled   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A mechanic overhauled the car's motor with some new parts. 一个修理工对那辆汽车的发动机进行了彻底的检修，换了一些新部件。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

18 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。