2007年VOA标准英语-Environmentalists Cheer US Supreme Court Ruling

By Paul Sisco
Washington, D.C.
04 April 2007
 
Watch Global Warming report

Environmentalists are elated by a U.S. Supreme¹ Court ruling on pollution by automobiles⁴.  They say eventually the ruling could prompt the government to take more direct action to reduce greenhouse gases that most scientists blame for global warming.  VOA's Paul Sisco reports.

 
US Supreme Court
The United States' highest court says the government's Environmental Protection Agency can and should regulate carbon-dioxide and other pollutants⁵ that cars produce.  Until the Supreme Court stepped in, the EPA had declined to set limits on automobile³ exhaust gases, widely seen as a major factor in global warming. 

The ruling is a rebuff for the Bush administration and a major victory for environmentalists.  David Hawkins of the Natural Resources Defense⁶ Council says, "This opinion is a huge hammer blow in favor of doing something about global warming.  The opinion says that the Bush administration has basically gotten the law wrong."

The environmental agency has contended it lacks the authority to regulate new cars' gas emissions⁷, but in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court said such action is a federal responsibility.  The ruling notes that U.S. vehicles are by no means the biggest source of atmospheric⁸ pollution, but the billions of tons of carbon dioxide they produce are a "meaningful" part of the global-warming trend.

"We think this decision is an overdue⁹ wake-up call," said Hawkins.  "We think it will force action."

 
US Senator Barbara Boxer¹⁰
The court ruling does not order any specific regulatory action, but legal analysts¹¹ say it opens the door for future cases that may do so.  Senator Barbara Boxer says lawmakers on Capitol Hill will be watching the administration closely.

"If they don't do what they need to do, and they have the power to do, we will do it with them or for them," the Democratic senator from California said.

The government had questioned whether it was authorized¹² to regulate automobile emissions, but White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said, "Now that the Supreme Court has settled that matter for us, we are going to have to analyze¹³ it and see where we go from there."

The auto² industry says emissions regulations will take years to implement¹⁴ and could raises the cost of every new vehicle by thousands of dollars.  "Prices will go up and, in the end, it is not the companies [but] the consumers that will be paying more," said Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Scientists working with the United Nations are preparing to release a major report on the impact of global climate change, following up their recent finding that human activity and the burning of fossil fuels is warming the planet.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

4 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 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。

7 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

8 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

9 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

10 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

13 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

14 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。