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Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney pledged to achieve North American energy independence by 2020 this week. That's a presidential move because every president since Richard Nixon has pledged some version of the same thing, including Romney's opponent President Barack Obama.
這周總統候選人米勒·羅姆尼承諾會在2020年實現北美能源獨立。那是總統競選策略，因為自理查德·尼克松以來的歷屆總統都做過類似的承諾，包括羅姆尼的競爭對手巴拉克·奧巴馬總統。
Obama's version is called the all of the above strategy: more domestic oil production to reduce imports. More electricity derived from wind, sunshine and natural gas added to the U.S. grid. Even more coal, as long as it has CO2 capture and storage attached.
據稱奧巴馬的承諾包括了以上所有的策略：國內生產更多石油以降低進口額。大力支持風力，光能和天然氣發電，增加到美國電網。甚至生產更多的煤炭，只要能捕獲和封存二氧化碳。
Romney's plan differs only in the details. That increased domestic oil production should come from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other public lands, for example, as well as off the Eastern seaboard. Both candidates love biofuels, even ethanol from corn.
羅姆尼的計劃僅在細節上有出入。增加國內石油生產應該從在北極國家野生動物保護區和其它公有土地（比如說東海岸）鉆探入手。兩位候選人都熱衷生物燃料，甚至是玉米提煉的乙醇燃料。
The candidates share another similarity as well: an inability to discuss climate change on the campaign trail. And global warming is one of the largest environmental consequences of U.S. energy policy or, for the past half century, the lack of a coherent one. Until issues like climate change are included in the discussion, any energy plan is just a lot of hot air.
候選人還有另外一處共同點：在競選活動上對氣候變化三緘其口。全球氣候變化是美國能源政策導致的最嚴重的環境后果之一。在過去的半個世紀政策不一致也是導致環境惡化的主要原因。只要氣候變化這類事件不在討論話題之列，那么任何能源計劃都只是夸夸其談而已。
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