It's minus eight degrees Celsius in western Massachusetts, but the weather has not stopped the crew preparing this 8000-panel solar farm.
在马塞诸塞州西部,这里的气温是零下八摄氏度,但天气没有阻碍工人建造一个拥有8000个太阳板的太阳能农场。
Veteran electrician Ed Martell says installations have been going nonstop for the last several years.
经验丰富的电工艾德·马特尔称这项工作在过去几年一直没有停过。
I thought it was gonna be a flash in the pan a couple years ago. I've seen solar keep going and going and going.
过去几年过得很快,太阳能发展一直在不断壮大。
Martell says the boom has been good for electricians like him.
马特尔称这一发展对像他这样的电工来说是好事。
The industry has been growing at a time when he says there has not been much other work.
太阳能产业在不断发展,他说那时没有太多其他工作可做。
If it wasn't for solar, there would have been a two-year period when I wouldn't have worked at all. So, yes, it's very good for us.
如果不是太阳能,我可能有两年没有事情做,所以这对我们有利。
Massachusetts now ranks third nationwide in solar jobs behind California and Florida.
从太阳能就业来看,马赛诸塞在全国排名第三,落后加州和佛州。
Renewable energy is just one way the state is dealing with global warming.
可再生能源只是该州应对全球变暖的一种手段之一。
In Washington the climate debate is polarized between Democrats calling for an end to fossil fuels
在华盛顿,关于气候变化的讨论呈现两极分化,民主党呼吁停止化石燃料,
and Republicans saying these proposals will destroy jobs.
共和党称这些提议将影响就业。
But Massachusetts Republican governor Charlie Baker took over from a Democrat and held firm on climate policy.
但马赛诸塞的共和党州长查理·贝克尔同意民主党意见,坚持气候政策。
In Massachusetts, climate change is not a partisan issue.
在马赛诸塞,气候变化不是两极分化的问题。
While we sometimes disagree on specific policies, we understand the science.
我们有时会在具体政策上出现分歧,但我们懂得科学。
The state set a target back in 2008 to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80% by mid-century.
2008年该州定下目标,要在世纪中期减少80%的温室气体。
It charges power companies for carbon pollution and sets policies that encourage efficiency and renewable energy.
并向制造碳污染的能源公司收取费用,并制定了鼓励高效和可再生能源的政策。
And the state has invested in new technology like this wind turbine testing center outside Boston.
该州投资了新技术,比如波士顿外的风力涡轮机检测中心。
It's paying off according to Steve Pike, head of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center,
马赛诸塞清洁能源中心主任史蒂夫·派克称这产生了效果,
an agency created to help the state meet its climate goals.
该中心是为实现气候目标而创立的。
Over the course of the last eight years, every single year, the number of employees, the number of workers
在过去的八年间,而且是在每一年,员工数量,工人数量,
in the clean energy industry has grown. And in total has grown since 2010 by 84%,
在清洁能源产业的人数在增加,自2010年起总数增长了84%,
so not only does investing in clean energy make good sense in terms of climate change, but it also makes economic sense for Massachusetts.
所以投资清洁能源不仅仅在应对气候变化上起到作用,而且还帮助了该州的经济发展。
Clean energy is now a 13-billion-dollar industry here, employing 110,000 workers.
清洁能源产业的价值是130亿美金,雇员为11万人。
The state's economy has grown more than 20 percent since 2000 while greenhouse gas emissions have fallen nearly 22%.
该州的经济自2000年增加了20%多,温室气体排放减少了近22%。
Pike says fighting climate change does not have to mean wrecking the economy.
派克称应对气候变化不一定就意味着影响经济。
Certainly in Massachusetts what we have found over the last 10 years is just the opposite. In fact it grows the economy.
在过去十年里,我们在马赛诸塞所发现的恰恰相反,它促进了经济发展。
There's work to do to power the world without wrecking the climate.
我们还需要努力为全球加油助力,但不会影响环境。
Steve Baragona VOA news Wales, Massachusetts
史蒂夫·巴洛格娜,VOA新闻马赛诸塞威尔斯报道。