VOA常速英语2016--奥巴马应对气候变化取得成效（在线收听）

奥巴马应对气候变化取得成效

Next an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

下面的社论反映了美国政府的观点。

Climate change and global warming are an urgent global challenge that needs to be addressed without delay.“200 nations around the world … agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it,”said President Barack Obama during his annual State of the Union Address.

气候变化和全球变暖是迫在眉睫的全球挑战，需要立即加以解决，“全世界有200个国家一致认为这是个问题，并希望进行解决，”巴拉克·奥巴马总统在年度国情咨文中如是说。

As the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases,the United States must lead the way in the global effort to fight climate change.Ultimately, the solution depends on our ability to move away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy economy.And that transition must begin at home,something we have already begun to do, said President Obama:“Seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history.Here are the results.In fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power.On rooftops from Arizona to New York,solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills and employs more Americans than coal-- in jobs that pay better than average.”

作为全世界第二大温室气体排放国，美国必须在全球抗击气候变暖努力中发挥领导作用。最终的解决方法要取决于我们从化石燃料转向清洁能源经济的能力，这一过渡必须从美国国内开始，而我们已经开始这么做了，奥巴马总统说，“七年前，我们做出了美国历史上最大规模的单项投资，下面就是其结果，从爱荷华到德克萨斯的发电站，风力比肮脏、传统的电力要廉价。从亚利桑那州到纽约的屋顶上，太阳能每年为美国人节省了数千美元的能源支出，与煤炭行业相比，还以高出平均工资的薪酬雇佣了更多美国人。”

By now it should be obvious that the necessary changes need not be painful.Not only does renewable energy save consumers money,it also creates new jobs and a new opportunity for businesses.

从目前看来，做出必要的改变未必是痛苦的。可再生能源不仅为消费者省了钱，还能创造就业，并为企业提供更多机会。

Indeed, the shift toward sustainable energy will create great markets for new technologies,and an opportunity for American businesses to continue engaging in the production and sale of the energy of the future.

向可持续能源的转变将为新技术创造巨大的市场，并为美国企业提供机会继续进行未来能源的生产和销售。