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抑制环境污染方案之奥巴马的电厂减排方案。
A carbon price would be better, but Barack Obama's plan to cut emissions from power plants is welcome
为碳排放定价显然更为理想，但奥巴马的电厂减排方案依然备受欢迎。
NOTHING is too good for the United States Congress. The Capitol even has its own power station. The Capitol Power Plant in south-east Washington is still puffing away, though it was built in 1910—making it older than most museums of power—and even though it has not generated any electricity since 1951. It pipes steam and chilled water to heat or cool the nation's legislators, and in the process it pumps out over 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. In 2000, when the administrator of the plant tried to switch it over from burning coal to natural gas to cut that pollution, senators from coal-producing states ganged up to stop him.The plant symbolize everything that is wrong with America's power sector and the policies that influence it.
这对美国国会来说不是什么好事。国会甚至拥有自己的电站。位于华盛顿东南部的国会电力工厂建于1910年，历史比大多数电力博物馆还悠久。虽然这家电厂自从1951年后就不再发电，却还在造成污染。电厂通过管道输送蒸汽和冷冻水来为立法者们取暖纳凉，在这个过程中，电厂每年会排放超过100,000吨二氧化碳。2000年，电厂管理者试图将原来的燃料煤换成天然气，来减少污染。但是，生产煤的各州议员却联合抗议。了解此电厂，可知道美国电力部门出现的问题以及影响电力部门的各项政策。
So President Barack Obama's proposal on June 2nd to cut CO2 emissions from power plants is welcome. Power stations are the single biggest source of greenhouse-gas emissions in America, accounting for a third of the total. The plan to cut them by 30% from their 2005 level by 2030 is the biggest step an American president has taken to curb climate change for several decades.
抑制环境污染方案之令人满意的平庸方案。
Assuming the plan is carried out, it would reduce total American carbon emissions by around5%. That is a lot for one measure, though tiny compared with the overall cuts required to rein in climate change. American power plants have already reduced their emissions by 15% since2005, so requiring them to cut the same amount over a longer period is not too arduous. The plan will raise electricity prices and kill some jobs, but it will also save lives, most immediately by cutting particulate pollution.
假设这项提议得以实施，美国的碳排放量会减少约5%。虽然对于应对气候变化所要求的总排放量这还不够，但对于这一具体措施，已然进步巨大。自2005年以来，美国的电厂已经将温室气体排放量减少了15%，因此，在更长时间期限内减少等量气体排放应该是可行的。这项提议会提高电费，减少部分工作，但也因减少了粒状物污染拯救了部分生命。
It is far from the best policy. Ideally, Congress would have passed a carbon tax or created a carbon market, putting a price on emissions and letting buyers and sellers decide on the cheapest way to reduce them. Instead, the government is telling a particular sector how much to cut and when—and then adding layers of complexity by allowing different states different ceilings. As a method of dealing with a problem, this has all the attractions of a blackout in a blizzard.
这不是最好的方案。理想来说，国会应该通过碳税提案或建立碳市场，给排放定价，让买家卖家自行决定，使用最便宜的方式减少温室气体排放。相反，需要政府告知一个特定部门(电力提供商)减排量以及减排时间。由于不同州有不同的排放量上限，实施又变得更复杂。这是解决问题的一个方法，是应对打击的一次管制。
But it became inevitable once Congress rejected a better approach—cap-and-trade legislation—during Mr Obama's first term. The current approach is at least better than nothing, the most likely alternative. In climate policy, delay is rarely good. The more carbon is in the atmosphere, the more expensive it is to cut back and the more damage it does in the meantime. Anyway, Mr Obama's command-and-control approach does not forestall setting up a carbon market later.
但一旦国会拒绝了另一项更好的方案—奥巴马第一任期提出的“总量控制和排放交易”法案，此项提案必会得以采用。现有的方案至少比什么措施也没有更好，是最好的替代方案。气候政策拖延不得。大气中的二氧化碳越多，要减量就更贵，同时会产生更大的破坏。此外，奥巴马的“命令与管制”方案不会阻碍日后建立碳市场。
以上就是关于GRE阅读黄金御用资料之抑制环境污染方案的经验分享，希望对考生备考有所帮助。
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