VOA常速英语2019--特朗普认为应对气候变化会影响本国经济

Coal mines are quiet in the hills of Appalachia. The power plants they fuel are shutting down one by one as electric utility companies switch to greener energy. At a recent coal industry conference, the outlook was grim. Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Secretary, former coal executive Charles Snavely said experts forecast coal use will keep falling. And if we’re already projecting a significant decrease over time, I think that it will probably be worse than that. Though the Trump¹ administration has worked to weaken environmental rules, many big corporations are taking their own steps to fight global warming. Walmart, Microsoft, Toyota and other giants have set climate goals, and they are pushing state and federal governments to act, says Ali Roberts with the corporate² sustainability nonprofit Ceres.

阿巴拉契亚山脉的煤矿一片寂静。由煤矿供能的发电厂一个接一个地倒闭了，因为电力公司转而使用更环保的能源了。从最近的一次煤炭工业会议上，可以看出该行业前景黯淡。肯塔基州能源和环境部长、前煤炭业高管查尔斯·斯内弗利表示，一些专家预测，煤炭的使用量会持续衰减。而如果我们已经预测到煤炭使用量随时间衰减的话，我认为实际情况会比预测的更糟糕。虽然特朗普政府一直在努力削弱环境法规的力度，但很多大型公司依然在通过自己的方式来抗击全球变暖。沃尔玛、微软、丰田等行业巨头已经设定了许多气候目标，而且他们也在敦促州级政府和联邦政府采取行动，企业可持续发展非营利机构Ceres的阿里·罗伯茨如是说道。

Their ability to tackle climate change and to call on policy makers³ to speed up the scale of action is essential. Climate change has moved up the agenda in Washington since the 2018 elections swept a wave of left-leaning lawmakers into office. And as Democrats⁴ campaign for the 2020 presidential election, they see an opportunity to run against Republican climate denial and inaction. Hi, governor, what do you have to say about climate change? A lot. Sanders has a far-reaching plan to address climate change. President Trump says bring it on. They want to take away your car, reduce the value of your home and put millions of Americans out of work, spend a hundred trillion dollars which, by the way, there’s no such thing as a hundred trillion, you have to spend a hundred trillion dollars. And remember this, no other country except us is gonna do it. That’s a little problem too. While no other country has followed the United States out of the Paris agreement, no country has cut its greenhouse gas emissions⁵ nearly enough to avoid what scientists say will be catastrophic global warming, says UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. Guterres says nations need to step up at the UN climate summit in New York in September.

这些行业巨头能否解决气候变化问题，以及能否呼吁政策制定者们加快行动规定，这是至关重要的。气候变化在美国政府议程中的位置已经得到提升，因为2018年大选后，一批左翼议员当选。此外，民主党现在正在为2020年总统大选组织竞选活动，他们也看到了机会，可以对抗共和党对气候问题的嗤之以鼻和毫无作为。州长您好，请问您对气候变化问题有什么想说的是吗？很多想说的。桑德斯有影响深远的气候变化应对方案。特朗普表示可以提上来。他们想拿走你的车、降低房价、让无数美国人失业、划掉100万亿美元。虽然根本没可能，但还是要求你划掉100万亿美元。此外，要记得：除了美国，没有哪个国家会做这件事。不过，也会有一点小问题。虽然美国退出巴黎气候公约后，并没有国家步美国的后尘，但也没有哪个国家将温室气体排放量下降到足够低的水准，所以也就无法避免科学家所说的灾难性全球变暖，联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯如是说道。古特雷斯认为，各国需要在9月份纽约举行的联合国气候峰会上加紧讨论这一问题。

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 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。