Make Coal History(2)
Yet coal still accounts for around 27% of the raw energy used to power everything from cars to electric grids. Unlike natural gas and oil, it is concentrated carbon, and thus it accounts for a staggering 39% of annual emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels (see Briefing). If global emissions are to fall far enough, fast enough, the task now is to double down on the West’s success and repeat it in Asia. It will not be easy. 然而,在用于驱动从汽车到电网的所有原始能源中,煤炭仍占约27%。不同于天然气和石油,煤炭属于浓缩碳,因此每年占化石燃料二氧化碳排放量的39%(请参阅简报),十分惊人。若要尽快尽可能降低全球碳排放量,当下任务便是让西方的成果翻倍,并将其复制到亚洲。任务艰巨。
Coal came of age in the Industrial Revolution. In the rich world its use in furnaces and boilers peaked in the 1930s and faded as cleaner fuels became available. Consumption in the West has recently collapsed. In Britain the last coal-fired power plants could close as soon as 2022. Peabody Energy, a big American coal miner, has warned that it may go bankrupt for the second time in five years.
早在工业革命时期,煤炭技术就已成熟。20世纪30年代富裕国家中,煤炭在熔炉和锅炉中的使用达到顶峰。而随着清洁燃料的使用,煤炭逐渐淡出视线。西方煤炭使用量近期更是一度暴跌。在英国,最后一座燃煤发电厂将于2022年关闭,美国大型煤炭开采企业皮博迪能源公司(Peabody Energy)也宣称将在五年内第二次破产。
【积累表达】
- account for 占有
- double down on 翻倍
- come of age 成熟
- go bankrupt 破产
- concentrated 浓缩的
- staggering 惊人的
- fade 逐渐消失(强调变化过程缓慢)
- collapse 崩塌(强调变化过程迅速)