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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.
这周总统候选人米勒·罗姆尼承诺会在2020年实现北美能源独立。那是总统竞选策略，因为自理查德·尼克松以来的历届总统都做过类似的承诺，包括罗姆尼的竞争对手巴拉克·奥巴马总统。
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.
据称奥巴马的承诺包括了以上所有的策略：国内生产更多石油以降低进口额。大力支持风力，光能和天然气发电，增加到美国电网。甚至生产更多的煤炭，只要能捕获和封存二氧化碳。
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.
罗姆尼的计划仅在细节上有出入。增加国内石油生产应该从在北极国家野生动物保护区和其它公有土地（比如说东海岸）钻探入手。两位候选人都热衷生物燃料，甚至是玉米提炼的乙醇燃料。
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.
候选人还有另外一处共同点：在竞选活动上对气候变化三缄其口。全球气候变化是美国能源政策导致的最严重的环境后果之一。在过去的半个世纪政策不一致也是导致环境恶化的主要原因。只要气候变化这类事件不在讨论话题之列，那么任何能源计划都只是夸夸其谈而已。
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