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美国海军舰只改用生物燃料

The U.S. Navy is going ahead with plans to convert much of its fleet to expensive biofuels despite opposition¹ from members of Congress who say it is the wrong thing to do at a time when the U.S. military faces nearly $500 billion in budget cuts.

尽管遭到国会议员反对，但是美国海军仍坚持为其部分舰队改用昂贵的生物燃料。国会议员表示，在美国军方面临削减将近5000亿美元军费之际，改用生物燃料是错误的。

Going green

The U.S. Navy has a special message this year at the Rim² of the Pacific exercises bringing together the navies of more than 20 nations off the Coast of Hawaii: It is time to turn green.

美国海军向参加今年在夏威夷沿岸举行的环太平洋军事演习的20多个国家，传达了一个特殊信息：是该环保的时候了。

Joining the vessels³ is what the U.S. Navy calls its Great Green Fleet of warships⁴ powered by fuel from renewable sources like algae⁵, grass, and animal fat.

参加这次军演的美国战舰是由像水藻、杂草和动物脂肪等可再生资源制造的燃料驱动的。美国海军称之为“伟大的绿色舰队”。

Over the last few months, the navy has been showcasing how biofuels can transform the military and eventually lead what Navy Secretary Ray Mabus hopes will be a transition away from energy sources in unstable⁶ parts of the world.

在过去几个月，美国海军一直在展示生物燃料如何改变美国军队，并最终发展成如美国海军部长马布斯所希望的向远离世界动荡地区能源来源的状态过渡。

“The main reason we are moving toward alternative energy in navy marine⁷ corps⁸ is to make us better war fighters, is to reduce our vulnerability on imported fossil fuel," he stated. "(To) Make sure we have energy security and energy independence in the United States military, United States Navy."

美国海军部长马布斯说：“我们在海军和海军陆战队向替代能源过渡的主要原因是使我们更好地应对战争，减少我们对进口化石燃料依赖的弱点，确保我们美国军队、美国海军具有能源安全和能源独立性。”

Converting Navy's fleet, biofuels

The Obama administration wants half the Navy’s fleet to convert to biofuels by 2020 and become a major force in the development of the biofuels market - much in the same way the military in the past has served as the developer of technologies such as GPS, computers, and cell phones.

奥巴马政府希望到2020年一半的美国舰队改用生物燃料，成为发展生物燃料市场的一个主要力量，就像美国军方在过去成为例如全球定位、电脑和移动电话等技术的开创者一样。

“The Air Force is aiming to get half of its domestic jet fuel from alternative sources by 2016. And I’m directing the Navy and the Department of Energy and Agriculture to work with the private sector⁹ to create advanced biofuels that can power not just fighter jets, but also trucks and commercial airliners,” said U.S. President Barack Obama.

美国总统奥巴马说：“美国空军计划到2016年使一半的航空燃料油来自替代能源。我指示海军、能源部和农业部与私人领域合作，创造出不仅用于战机，而且还可用于卡车和商业客机的高级生物燃料。”

Cost effective

But with each gallon of biofuel costing $26 compared to less than $4 that conventional fuel does, there is plenty of opposition from members of Congress who say it is a waste of money at a time when the Pentagon faces deep budget cuts.

但是，每加仑生物燃料耗费26美元，而常用燃料则每加仑不到4美元。结果，来自美国国会议员的反对很多。他们说，在五角大楼面临巨额预算削减之际，这样做是浪费资金。

“It’s going to be more expensive to get these biofuels and it doesn’t provide any operational improvement," said David Kreutzer who is energy analyst¹⁰ at the Heritage Foundation. "That is it’s not denser¹¹ energy. It has to be drop in fuel. We could be getting more fuel from domestic production much more cheaply instead of diverting resources in the navy towards biofuels, we could use them for equipment and material and personnel.”

传统基金会能源分析师大卫.克鲁泽说：“要获得这些生物燃料将更加昂贵，而且也不会带来作战改进。它不是更高能密能源，燃料高能密一定有下降。我们可以从国内生产获得更多的更便宜的燃料，而不是将海军的资金改用于生物燃料，我们可以用于设备、材料和人员上。”

Efforts to convert the Navy are well under way. The U.S.S. Makin Island, the Navy’s first hybrid¹² amphibious assault ship has just completed its maiden¹³ voyage.

海军改用燃料的努力早已开始。美国海军的第一艘混合动力两栖攻击舰“马金岛”号刚刚完成处女航。

The green message has also been carried by the Navy’s famous Blue Angels seen demonstrating the power of biofuels at a recent air show.

海军闻名的蓝天使特技飞行队在最近一次飞行表演上展示生物燃料的威力，传达绿色信息。

With money in short supply at the military, biofuels - for now - may be only for show.

在美国军方极为缺钱的情况下，在目前，生物燃料可能只用于展示。