篇章:呼吁减少碳排放
Hi, everybody. I m here at Children s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., visiting with some kids being treated here all the time for asthma and other breathing problems. Often, these illnesses are aggravated by air pollution-pollution from the same sources that release carbon and contribute to climate change. And for the sake of all our kids, we ve got to do more to reduce it.
Earlier this month, hundreds of scientists declared that climate change is no longer a distant threat-it has moved firmly into the present. Its costs can be measured in lost lives and livelihoods, lost homes and businesses; and higher prices for food, insurance, and rebuilding.
That s why, last year, I put forward America s first climate action plan. This plan cuts carbon pollution by building a clean energy economy-using more clean energy, less dirty energy, and wasting less energy throughout our economy.
One of the best things we can do for our economy, our health, and our environment is to lead the world in producing cleaner, safer energy-and we re already generating more clean energy than ever before. Thanks in part to the investments we made in the Recovery Act, the electricity America generates from wind has tripled. And from the sun, it s increased more than tenfold.
In fact, every four minutes, another American home or business goes solar-and every panel is pounded into place by a worker whose job cannot be shipped overseas. We re wasting less energy, too. We ve doubled how far our cars and trucks will go on a gallon of gas by the middle of the next decade, saving you money at the pump-and we re helping families and businesses save billions with more efficient homes, buildings, and appliances.
This strategy has created jobs, grown our economy, and helped make America more energy independent than we ve been in decades-all while holding our carbon emissions to levels not seen in about 20 years. It s a good start. But for the sake of our children, we have to do more.
This week, we will.
Today, about 40% of America s carbon pollution comes from power plants. But right now, there are no national limits to the amount of carbon pollution that existing plants can pump into the air we breathe. None.
We limit the amount of toxic chemicals like mercury, sulfur, and arsenic that power plants put in our air and water. But they can dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air. It s not smart, it s not safe, and it doesn t make sense.
That s why, a year ago, I directed the Environmental Protection Agency to build on the efforts of many states, cities, and companies, and come up with commonsense guidelines for reducing dangerous carbon pollution from our power plants. This week, we re unveiling these proposed guidelines, which will cut down on the carbon pollution, smog, and soot that threaten the health of the most vulnerable Americans, including children and the elderly. In just the first year that these standards go into effect, up to 100,000 asthma attacks and 2,100 heart attacks will be avoided-and those numbers will go up from there.
These standards were created in an open and transparent way, with input from the business community. States and local governments weighed in, too. In fact, nearly a dozen states are already implementing their own market-based programs to reduce carbon pollution. And over 1,000 mayors have signed agreements to cut their cities carbon pollution.
So the idea of setting higher standards to cut pollution at our power plants is not new. It s just time for Washington to catch up with the rest of the country.
Now, special interests and their allies in Congress will claim that these guidelines will kill jobs and crush the economy. Let s face it, that s what they always say.
But every time America has set clear rules and better standards for our air, our water, and our children s health-the warnings of the cynics have been wrong. They warned that doing something about the smog choking our cities, and acid rain poisoning our lakes, would kill business. It didn t. Our air got cleaner, acid rain was cut dramatically, and our economy kept growing.
These excuses for inaction somehow suggest a lack of faith in American businesses and American ingenuity. The truth is, when we ask our workers and businesses to innovate, they do. When we raise the bar, they meet it. When we restricted cancer-causing chemicals in plastics and leaded fuel in our cars, American chemists came up with better substitutes. When we phased out the gases that depleted the ozone layer, American workers built better refrigerators and air conditioners.
The fuel standards we put in place a few years ago didn t cripple automakers; the American auto industry retooled, and today, they re selling the best cars in the world, with more hybrids, plug-in, and fuel-efficient models to choose from than ever before.
In America, we don t have to choose between the health of our economy and the health of our children. The old rules may say we can t protect our environment and promote economic growth at the same time, but in America, we ve always used new technology to break the old rules.
As President, and as a parent, I refuse to condemn our children to a planet that s beyond fixing. The shift to a cleaner energy economy won t happen overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way.
But a low-carbon, clean energy economy can be an engine of growth for decades to come. America will build that engine. A future that s cleaner, more prosperous, and full of good jobs-a future where we can look our kids in the eye and tell them we did our part to leave them a safer, more stable world.
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
雅思久攻不克 听力成最大障碍
雅思听力常见的八类陷阱
雅思听力:选择题型解题方法介绍
雅思听力之选择题解题指导
雅思听力配对题的解题技巧介绍
雅思听力之有效提高听力的技巧
雅思听力考试之数字的考点及难点
雅思听力备考需做好量的把握
雅思听力高频词汇:预约医生
雅思听力之听力中混淆视听的短语
雅思考试听力如何提高
决胜雅思 雅思听力高分需把握的五个环节
详解雅思听力配对题的解题技巧(一)
应对雅思听力考试的十三条潜规则
雅思听力备考中需要避开的八大陷阱
雅思听力考试常见的替换规律
雅思听力备考词汇之校园生活
雅思听力答案的正确写法总结
详解雅思听力配对题的解题技巧(二)
简析雅思听力考试中的三个数字考点
雅思听力:数字考点也疯狂
雅思听力提高不止需要熟能生巧
雅思听力高频词汇:生活类
有效提高雅思听力水平的四个要点
雅思听力简单表格题的解题技巧
雅思听力高频词汇:证件办理
考生备考雅思听力易进入的三大误区
解读雅思听力备考中的几个具体问题
雅思听力高频词汇:课题研究
雅思听力的十一个评分标准介绍
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |