奥巴马打破禁令开近海采油

Barack Obama President Barack Obama has announced he will stick with a Bush-era plan to drill oil and natural gas off the coast of Virginia but says he will not pursue energy development in waters off the US Northeast and the West Coast that were recently opened to drilling.

奥巴马总统宣布，他将继续坚持布什时代的能源开发计划，在弗吉尼亚海岸开采石油和天然气。但是他还说，他不会在最近开钻的美国东北部地区水域以及西海岸寻求能源开发。

Obama, who wants Congress to move a stalled climate change bill, has sought to reach out to Republicans by signalling he is open to allowing offshore drilling, providing coastlines are protected. Allowing offshore drilling would also create jobs and reduce US long-term dependence on foreign oil.

奥巴马希望国会能够提出一项气候变化法案，打破当前僵局。他想让共和党人看到，他允许近海开采石油，但前提是保护好海岸线。奥巴马也想以此来拉近他与共和党的距离。他还说，允许海上探油也能创造就业岗位，改变美国长期依赖国外进口石油的现状。

"What I want to emphasize is that this announcement is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy," Obama said in a speech at Andrews Air Force Base.

奥巴马在安德鲁斯空军基地上的讲话中提到，“我想强调的是，这则公告是一项更长远战略的一部分，我们要改变经济现状，从依赖进口燃料和石油转变到自主开采本国燃料，开发清洁能源。”

He said his administration would consider new areas for drilling in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while protecting sensitive regions in the Arctic.

他说，美国政府将考虑在大西洋中部和南部，以及墨西哥湾等地区设立新的开采点，同时保护在北极的敏感地区。

The president, who needs bipartisan support to pass the bill that would set limits on US greenhouse gas emissions, cautioned that expanding drilling was not a catch-all answer to US energy challenges.

这项法案对美国温室气体的排放做了限制，奥巴马需要两党的共同支持方能通过此法案。他告诫说，扩大开采范围不能完全解决美国能源问题。

"Drilling alone cannot come close to meeting our long-term energy needs, and ... for the sake of the planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now," Obama said.

他说，“钻井不能满足我们长期的能源需求，还有，为了环保以及我们的能源独立，我们需要开始转向开发新能源了。”