奧巴馬禁止開發北冰洋和大西洋油氣資源

President Barack Obama has declared much of U.S. waters in the Arctic Ocean and some areas in the Atlantic Ocean permanently unavailable to oil and gas drilling.

奧巴馬宣佈在美國北冰洋大部分水域以及大西洋部分水域永久禁止石油和天然氣鑽探活動。

The Obama administration announced the action as the government of Canada took similar measures. Canada is placing a temporary ban on new oil and gas leasing in parts of the Arctic Ocean that it controls.

奧巴馬政府稱要採取行動，加拿大政府也採取了相似的措施。加拿大臨時禁止在其控制領域內的北冰洋部分地區頒佈新的石油和天然氣租約。

Obama is using part of a 1953 law to ban leases for oil and gas drilling. Offshore drilling involves recovering oil or gas below the bottom of the sea. The law the administration is using says, "the president of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf."

奧巴馬政府引用了1953年的一項法律，以用來禁止頒發石油和天然氣鑽探租約。海上鑽探包括回收海底以下的石油和天然氣。奧巴馬政府引用的法律條文稱，“美國總統有權在適當時機將外大陸架未批租土地從市場上撤回。”

The Continental Shelf is an area near land where the ocean is not very deep.

大陸架是指鄰近陸地且不是很深的海洋區域。

Environmental groups hope the move will make it difficult for future presidents to change the ban.

環保組織希望此舉會使得以後的總統難以改變這條禁令。

The Obama administration said the ban was an answer to environmental concerns. These include the importance of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas to native Alaskans, and the risk that an oil spill presents to the ecosystems there.

奧巴馬政府表示，這條禁令是爲了迴應一些環境問題而頒佈的，其中包括楚科奇海、波弗特海對阿拉斯加本土的重要性以及石油泄漏對當地生態系統的風險。

Some oil industry officials disagreed with the president's action.

一些石油行業的官員並不認同奧巴馬總統的這一行爲。

Dan Naatz, of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said that the ban would put the U.S. on a path of energy dependence for many years. He said that the U.S. instead should be a global energy leader.

美國獨立石油協會的丹·納茨表示，這條禁令將會使美國走上能源獨立的道路還有很長時間。他說，美國應該成爲全球能源領導者。

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to make major changes to how the U.S. produces energy. He has chosen Cabinet nominees who are strongly opposed to Obama's environmental and climate change policies.

當選總統川普曾經承諾，要對美國能源生產方式做出改革。他遴選了一些強烈反對奧巴馬環境和氣候變化政策的內閣提名人。

Trump's election victory has put pressure on environmental groups and businesses that rely on tourism and fishing. Trump has said he wants to use all available fuel reserves to reduce energy imports.

川普贏得選舉給環保組織以及依賴旅遊和漁業的企業帶來了不小的壓力。川普曾表示，他希望利用所有可用的燃料儲備來降低能源進口。

Jackie Savitz is a senior vice president at the environmental group Oceana. She says that the decision will help protect coastal tourism and fishing businesses from offshore drilling. She says that oil drilling provides smaller profits than supporters promise and can harm coastal life.

海洋環境保護組織高級副總裁傑姬·薩維茨表示，這項決定有助於防止沿海旅遊業和漁業企業受到海上鑽探的衝擊。她說，石油鑽探產生的利潤低於其支持者的承諾，並且會傷害沿海生物。

What is not clear is how difficult it will be for future presidents to change Obama's decision.

目前尚不清楚未來總統要改變奧巴馬的這一決定會有多難。

In 2008, President George W. Bush used a legal action to permit drilling on Outer Continental Shelf lands.

2008年，布什總統採取了一項法律行動允許在外大陸架土地上進行鑽探。

However, administration officials have noted that previous "indefinite withdrawals" are still in place.

然而，政府官員注意到，以前的“無限期撤出”仍然存在。

Lawmakers have had mixed reactions to the move.

立法者對此舉有着不同反應。

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey said that President Obama is putting the interests of millions of Americans ahead of oil companies.

馬薩諸塞州民主黨參議員埃德·馬基說，奧巴馬總統優先考慮石油公司利益而不顧數百萬美國人的利益。

However, Utah Representative and chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources Rob Bishop says that the president is only trying to please special interest groups.

然而，猶他州衆議員以及衆議院自然資源委員會主席羅伯·比修普表示，奧巴馬總統只是想取悅特殊利益集團。

"This is not a moral calling; it's an abuse of power," he said.

他說，“這不是道德的召喚，這是濫用權力。”

The ban is one of several efforts Obama has made in recent months to leave an environmental legacy for his presidency.

這項禁令是奧巴馬最近幾個月採取的一些他任期內留下的環保遺產的措施之一。

In August, the Obama administration announced it will increase the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii to 1.5 million square kilometers. This makes the monument the largest marine protected area in the United States.

今年8月份，奧巴馬政府宣佈將夏威夷的帕帕哈諾莫庫阿克阿國家海洋紀念地擴大到150萬平方公里，這使得它成爲了美國最大的海洋保護區。