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The Indian Point nuclear power plant sits on the eastern shore of the Hudson River 35 miles north of New York City. On October 15, a three-judge panel hears evidence on whether the plant should operate for another 20 years. At issue is Indian Point's ability to handle the challenges of aging, as well as its cost estimates for dealing with a meltdown. But what's really at stake is whether nuclear power has a future near the Big Apple.
印第安角核電站坐落在紐約城以北35英里的哈德遜河東岸。10月15號，一個由三名法官組成的專門小組聽取了關于這家核電廠去留的證據。處在爭論旋渦之中的是印第安角處理設備老化的能力，以及處理核泄漏的損失估計。但真正決定利害關系的問題在于核電站在“大蘋果”附近是否有未來。
The two operating reactors on the site produce roughly 17,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year. A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council argues that this electricity could be replaced nearly for free. In fact, the report argues, New York State is already building a new transmission line that will bring in enough power to replace a quarter of the nuclear-generated electricity. But analyses by plant owner Entergy suggest the changeover would come with a hefty bill.
核電站有兩處正在運營的反應堆，它們每年大約要生產一萬七千瓦特小時的電量。一項來自美國自然資源保護委員會的新報告指出，這種規模的產電量完全能被取代，而且幾乎不需要任何成本。這項報告稱，紐約政府實際上已經在修建一條新的輸電線，建成后能帶來足夠的電量來取代四分之一的核電。但是核電廠老板安特吉作的分析認為這樣的轉變需要大量資金的支持。
All parties agree that a shutdown would see an increased role for natural gas—meaning more carbon emissions, exacerbating climate change. Whatever the decision, a warmer future is coming—which means more energy demand to cool off summer in the city. Wouldn't it be nice if that power came without the promise of more heat?
雙方一致認為核電站停業會加大對天然氣的需求，這又意味著會排放更多溫室氣體，從而加速氣候變化。無論結果如何，未來氣候還是會變暖，夏季城市還是會需要更多電量來降溫。如果在供應能量的同時，保證不帶來多余的熱量豈不是更好？
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