[ti:Some US Cities Move to Limit Natural Gas Use]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
[00:00.04]Cities in the American states of California, Washington and Massachusetts
[00:08.25]are considering bans or limits on the use of natural gas in homes and buildings.
[00:17.00]The bans, if approved, could affect heating systems in large buildings
[00:23.68]and even cooking stoves in homes.
[00:26.96]In July, Berkeley, California, became the first U.S. city to pass a law
[00:34.47]banning gas systems in new buildings.
[00:38.96]Reuters news agency spoke with local officials,
[00:43.11]activists and industry groups about the issue.
[00:47.95]They told Reuters other cities may soon do the same.
[00:53.52]Los Angeles and Seattle are among the cities considering laws that could cut natural gas use.
[01:02.96]Local officials and environmentalists point to evidence that gas leaking from pipes
[01:10.82]and other places hurts the climate more than carbon dioxide.
[01:17.20]Carbon dioxide gas is released when carbon-based fuels are burned.
[01:23.70]Carbon dioxide is considered a heat-trapping gas
[01:28.76]that causes the Earth's atmosphere to warm.
[01:33.52]Until recently, many environmentalists considered natural gas
[01:39.57]to be a "bridge fuel" to a future of renewable energy.
[01:46.55]U.S. utilities currently get about 35 percent of their electricity from natural gas.
[01:56.26]However, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
[02:02.92]notes that utilities have increased their use of renewable fuels in the past 10 years,
[02:11.31]from 9 to 17 percent of all power.
[02:18.40]The Environmental Protection Agency says buildings and homes
[02:23.70]produce about 12 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
[02:30.76]Greenhouse gases are heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.
[02:38.16]If natural gas bans in buildings become widespread,
[02:43.96]they could hurt the business plans of some of the world's biggest energy companies.
[02:50.55]Companies like Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP
[02:55.69]are investing billions of dollars to produce and ship more natural gas.
[03:02.55]Big gas producers argue that gas improves the environment
[03:08.81]by replacing fuels, such as coal, that pollute more.
[03:15.04]Natural gas companies oppose bans.
[03:19.43]They have started an advertising campaign and supported research
[03:25.26]that says gas is a better cooking fuel and a low-cost energy option.
[03:33.72]"We are trying to get ahead of it," said Stuart Saulters,
[03:38.05]the Director of Government Affairs of the American Public Gas Association.
[03:44.80]He added that he thought there was a chance that the push for bans could grow larger.
[03:53.07]The American Petroleum Institute (API) represents the U.S. oil and gas industry.
[04:01.84]The API rejects claims that natural gas is bad for the environment.
[04:09.96]API spokesman Reid Porter said that the industry is
[04:15.34]limiting methane emissions with improved technology.
[04:20.91]He pointed to data from the Environmental Protection Agency
[04:26.07]showing a decrease in recent years.
[04:31.24]Seattle City Council Member Mike O'Brien
[04:35.15]is working on a law that could ban gas hookups in new buildings.
[04:41.26]The fuel, he said, "is odorless and invisible but has a huge impact on the climate."
[04:49.88]In July, a group called Californians for Balanced Energy Solutions held a press conference.
[04:58.47]The group was formed by Sempra Energy which owns a gas company.
[05:05.16]The group invited Southern California restaurant owners who use gas stoves.
[05:12.28]Charles Lu, who took part in the event, owns a Chinese restaurant chain.
[05:19.57]"We need instant, really strong fire," he said.
[05:24.56]"Otherwise, I think it will kill the business."
[05:28.26]Wealthier homeowners may also resist electrification of kitchens and fireplaces,
[05:35.97]said Nic Dunfee of the environmental advising business TRC Companies.
[05:42.46]He told a recent meeting of California energy officials
[05:46.98]that home builders are pushing back against proposed laws requiring electric stoves.
[05:55.88]"They don't feel that they are able to sell a home
[05:59.68]that doesn't have natural-gas cooking," he said.
[06:03.71]I'm John Russell.
[06:05.82]And I'm Anne Ball. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
END OF TRACK. "END OF TRACK." The two men bowed. "Whoever was that person you were talking to?" she enquired, as soon as they stood together. The took of triumph faded from her eyes, she had grown worn and weary. The roses were wilting on the walls, the lights were mostly down now. Hetty, looking in to see if anything was wanted, found herself driven away almost fiercely. I only saw Master Jervie once when he called at tea time, The year 1747 was opened by measures of restriction. The House of Lords, offended at the publication of the proceedings of the trial of Lord Lovat, summoned the parties to their bar, committed them to prison, and refused to liberate them till they had pledged themselves not to repeat the offence, and had paid very heavy fees. The consequence of this was that the transactions of the Peers were almost entirely suppressed for nearly thirty years from this time, and we draw our knowledge of them chiefly from notes taken by Horace Walpole and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. What is still more remarkable, the reports of the House of Commons, being taken by stealth, and on the merest sufferance, are of the most meagre kind, sometimes altogether wanting, and the speeches are given uniformly under fictitious names; for to have attributed to Pitt or Pelham their[112] speeches by name would have brought down on the printers the summary vengeance of the House. Many of the members complained bitterly of this breach of the privileges of Parliament, and of "being put into print by low fellows"; but Pelham had the sense to tolerate them, saying, "Let them alone; they make better speeches for us than we can make for ourselves." Altogether, the House of Commons exhibited the most deplorable aspect that can be conceived. The Ministry had pursued Walpole's system of buying up opponents by place, or pension, or secret service money, till there was no life left in the House. Ministers passed their measures without troubling themselves to say much in their behalf; and the opposition dwindled to Sir John Hinde Cotton, now dismissed from office, and a feeble remnant of Jacobites raised but miserable resistance. In vain the Prince of Wales and the secret instigations of Bolingbroke and Doddington stimulated the spirit of discontent; both Houses had degenerated into most silent and insignificant arenas of very commonplace business. "It certainly will be. Miss Widgeon," answered Maria, with strictly "company manners." "One who has never had a brother exposed to the constant dangers of army life can hardly understand how glad we all feel to have Si snatched from the very jaws of death and brung back to us." "Just plug at 'em as you would at a crow, and then go on your way whistlin'?" persisted Harry. "Hurroo!" echoed Hennessey; "that's the ticket." "Come forward, keeper," continued the baron, "and state how these arrows came into your hands!" "Yes." HoMEJULIA京香2018下载
ENTER NUMBET 0015www.yxlable.org.cn
zjhjw.com.cn
hlj1.com.cn
ebaycoin.com.cn
limdac.com.cn
energyroad.com.cn
finconn.com.cn
www.er40c.net.cn
mqread.com.cn
oarj.com.cn