中国石油职称英语考试通用教材电子版（2007年）二十八

28. The Energy Crisis of 1973 and Nixon"s Energy Policies（1973年能源危机与尼克松总统的应对政策）

　　1. The energy crisis of 1973 underscored the necessity Of developing a coordinated national energy policy and concentrating the government"s various energy programs into one agency. On April 18,1973,six months before renewed conflict in the Middle East, President Nixon noted that the United States, with 6 percent of the world"s population, consumed one-third of the world"s energy. In the immediate future, the president predicted, the United States might face energy shortages and increased prices. Again, as in 1971, Nixon cautioned that America"s energy challenge could become an energy crisis if current trends continued unchecked. Declaring that the Nation"s energy demands had grown so rapidly that they now outstripped available supplies, the President amended his 1971 proposal for a cabinet department by requesting Congress to establish a department of energy and natural resources with responsibility for energy policy and management as well as research and development. Meanwhile, Nixon established the Special Energy Committee of senior White House advisors, including special assistants for domestic, foreign, and economic affairs, and the National Energy Office, headed by Charles J. DiBona, to identify issues and coordinate energy analysis between the various offices and agencies.

　　1、1973年的能源危机突出地表明，制定一个协调的国家能源政策以及将政府各个能源项目集中在同一部门是极为必要的。1973年4月18日，在中东冲突卷土重来的前六个月，尼克松总统指出：占世界人口百分之六的美国消耗了地球上三分之一的能源。他预言，在不久的将来，美国将面临能源短缺及其价格的飙升。尼克松再次如1971年那样，提出警告说，如果目前的趋势得不到控制，美国所面临的难题将会演变成能源危机。他断言，国家的能源需求增长过速，目前已超过了供给能力，于是尼克松总统修改了1971年对内阁的建议，请求议会建立一个能源与自然资源部门，专门负责能源的政策和管理，及其研究与开发。与此同时，尼克松还设立了一个由白宫高级顾问组成的特别能源委员会，其中包括国内外及经济事务特别助理，以及由CharlesJ、DiBona领导的国家能源办公室，他们的任务是发现问题、协调不同部门和机构对能源的分析与研究。

　　2. Nixon"s proposal for a department of energy and natural resources stalled in Congress. The House and Senate held subcommittee hearings, but the proposal received no further attention during 1973. Although he did not abandonhope for an energy department, the President, turned to immediate, interim solutions to the organizational problem. At the urging of Roy L. Ash, director of the Office of Management and Budget, Nixon established the Energy Policy Office, which combined and expanded the responsibilities of the Special Energy Committee and the National Energy Office. The new Energy Policy Office established on June 29, 1973, under the leadership of Governor John A. Love of Colorado, with DiBona remaining at the White House as Love"s deputy, was responsible for formulating and coordinating energy policies at the presidential level. Nixon also proposed creating the Energy Research and Development Administration to develop the government"s energy research programs and to work with industry in developing and fostering new energy technologies. The new administration would combine the energy research and development activities of the Atomic Energy Commission andthe Department of the Interior. The Atomic Energy Commission"s licensing and regulatory responsibilities would continue in the independent five-member Nuclear Energy Commission.

　　2、尼克松的(设立)能源和自然资源部门的建议遭到议会的搁置。尽管众参两院举行了附属委员会的听证，该提议在1973年期间并没有得到更多的关注。但尼克松总统并没有放弃，他立即启用了组织机构问题的临时解决方案，在联邦预算和管理局局长Royl、Ash的督促下，能源政策办公室成立了，该办公室将特别能源委员会和国家能源办公室合并，并且扩大了职责范围。新的能源政策办公室成立于1973年6月29日，由科罗拉多州州长JohnA、Love领导，DiBona作为JohnA、Love的副手，留在在白宫里负责阐述和协调总统级别的能源政策问题。与此同时，尼克松总统还提议建立能源研发局，进行政府的能源项目研究，并与工业界合作开发和培育新的能源技术。新设立的部门将兼并(美国)核能委员会和(美国)内务部所负责的能源研究和开发活动。核能委员会的审批及立法职能仍由其五人独立委员会承担。

　　3. By September 1973 the President, while asserting the Nation was not yet in an energy crisis, continued to stress America"s energy problem. Nixon especially encouraged congressional enactment of four bills to provide for the construction of the Alaskan pipeline and deepwater ports, deregulation of natural gas, and new standards for surface mining. He also expressed hope that Congress would quickly authorize the Department of Energy and Natural Resources and the Energy Research and Development Administration. Unfortunately war broke out in the Middle East on October 6, 1973. America"s energy challenge and problem would soon become a bona fide crisis.

　　3、1973年9月之前，尽管尼克松总统承认能源危机并未出现，但他仍然继续强调美国的能源问题，尼克松尤其督促议会通过了有关阿拉斯加输油管道、深水码头的建设、放松天然气管制，以及地表采矿新标准的四个法案。他还表示，希望议会能够尽快批准(设立)能源和自然资源部以及能源研发局。不幸的是，1973年10月6日，中东战争爆发，美国的能源问题很快变成了一场名副其实的危机。