Well, Russia is one of the world's largest energy producers of both crude oil and natural gas.
俄罗斯是世界上最大的原油和天然气能源生产国之一。
Prices for both commodities have skyrocketed since the war started almost two weeks ago.
两周前战争爆发以来,这两种商品的价格一直在飙升。
And they are in near record territory.
它们的数量接近历史最高纪录。
Europe especially relies on Russia natural gas.
欧洲尤其依赖俄罗斯的天然气。
But now the Biden White House is raising possible new harsh sanctions on this vital sector.
但现在,拜登领导的白宫可能对这一至关重要的领域提出新的严厉制裁。
The Biden administration tonight is considering a ban on U.S. imports of Russian crude oil to punish the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine and to further isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.
今晚,拜登政府正在考虑禁止美国进口俄罗斯原油,以惩罚克里姆林宫入侵乌克兰,并进一步孤立俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的政权。
Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Sunday the U.S. is actively discussing the matter with European allies.
美国国务卿布林肯星期天表示,美国正在与欧洲盟国积极讨论这个问题。
We are now talking to our European allies and partners to look, in a coordinated way, at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil, while making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world markets.
我们现在正在与我们的欧洲盟友和伙伴进行谈判,以协调一致的方式考虑未来禁止进口俄罗斯石油,同时确保世界市场上仍有适当的石油供应。
President Biden, though, has been reluctant to curb Russian oil shipments to the U.S. or impose energy sanctions in ways that would reduce supply,
不过,拜登总统一直不愿限制俄罗斯向美国的石油运输,也不愿以减少供应的方式实施能源制裁,
since rising inflation and high gas prices have been key concerns for Democrats as they try to defend their fragile majorities in the House and the Senate in this midterm election year.
因为不断上升的通胀和高油价一直是民主党人的主要担忧,因为民主党人试图在本次中期选举年捍卫他们在众议院和参议院中脆弱的多数席位。
Across the country, gas prices are nearing all-time highs, hovering just above $4 a gallon, with the cost of gas having inched up every day since the Russian invasion.
在全国范围内,天然气价格接近历史高点,每加仑略高于4美元,自俄罗斯入侵以来,天然气价格每天都在小幅上涨。
Yesterday, it was $4.29. Now it's $4.39. I don't know what to do about it.
昨天是4.29美元。 现在是4.39美元。 我不知道该怎么办。
The president also risks backlash from environmentalists, who argue the U.S. should not use Russia's Ukraine invasion to expand domestic oil or gas drilling, which some Republicans have been urging.
总统还面临着环保人士的强烈反对,他们认为美国不应该利用俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的事件来扩大国内石油或天然气的开采,而一些共和党人一直在敦促这样做。
Beyond the political considerations, two administration sources say the White House is still assessing whether a U.S. ban would actually hurt the Russian economy, since Russia sends most of its petroleum products to Europe and Asia.
除了政治方面的考虑,两名政府消息人士说,白宫仍在评估美国的禁令是否会损害俄罗斯经济,因为俄罗斯将其大部分石油产品出口到欧洲和亚洲。
We don't import a lot of Russian oil, but we are looking at options that we can take right now if we were to cut the U.S. consumption of Russian energy.
我们不大量进口俄罗斯石油,但如果我们要减少美国对俄罗斯能源的消耗,我们现在就在寻找我们可以采取的措施。
But what's really most important is we -- that we maintain a steady supply of global energy.
但最重要的是我们——我们要保持全球能源的稳定供应。
Russian oil made up only about 3 percent of all the crude shipments that arrived in the U.S. last year, according to government data.
根据美国政府的数据,俄罗斯的石油仅占美国去年进口原油总量的3%左右。
Some experts caution, a U.S. ban could force other countries to follow suit, sending oil prices soaring round the globe.
一些专家警告说,美国的禁令可能会迫使其他国家效仿,从而导致全球油价飙升。
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki today said the president is still deliberating.
白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基今天表示,总统仍在审议中。
Well, no decision has been made at this point by the president about a ban on imports -- a ban on importing oil from Russia.
嗯,总统目前还没有做出关于禁止进口的决定——禁止从俄罗斯进口石油。
What the president is most focused on is ensuring we are continuing to take steps to deliver punishing economic consequences on Putin, while taking all action necessary to limit the impact to prices at the gas pump.
总统最关注的是确保我们继续采取措施,给普京带来惩罚性的经济后果,同时采取一切必要的行动,限制对加油站价格的影响。
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is among those pushing back against blocking Russian energy exports, saying today in a statement:
德国总理奥拉夫·肖尔茨是反对阻止俄罗斯能源出口的人之一,他今天在一份声明中表示:
"At the moment, Europe's supply of energy for heat generation, mobility, power supply and industry cannot be secured in any other way.
“目前,欧洲用于供热、移动、供电和工业的能源供应无法以任何其他方式获得保障。
It is therefore of essential importance for the provision of public services and the daily lives of our citizens."
因此,这对提供公共服务和公民的日常生活至关重要。”
The U.S. oil industry, for its part, has come out in support of a ban on Russian oil imports.
而美国石油行业则表示支持禁止进口俄罗斯石油。
U.S. refiners say they have already started relying less on Russian supply.
美国炼油商表示,他们已经开始减少对俄罗斯供应的依赖。
Meantime, as President Biden announced in his State of the Union address, he is releasing 30 million barrels of oil from U.S. Strategic Reserves, part of a global effort to ease oil supplies amid the Ukraine war, as the White House weighs whether to impose a total ban on Russian oil.
与此同时,正如拜登总统在国情咨文中宣布的那样,他将从美国战略储备中释放3000万桶石油,这是在乌克兰战争期间缓解石油供应的全球努力的一部分,因为白宫正在权衡是否对俄罗斯石油实施全面禁令。
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Geoff Bennett.
这是PBS新闻一小时,我是杰夫·班尼特。
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!