人工草坪球場席捲全美

Across the country, cities and towns are replacing grass fields with synthetic turf, a change that is driven by youth sports teams eager for more year-round playing spaces and the multibillion-dollar turf industry working to convince communities that plastic fields are better than natural ones.

在全美各地，城市與城鎮正紛紛將天然草地球場換成人造草皮。這股變化的推動力來自於渴望全年都有比賽空間的青少年運動隊伍，以及多達數十億美元規模的人造草皮產業，它們正努力說服各地社區：塑膠草皮優於天然草地。

Many local officials, at the urging of families involved in youth sports, say turf fields can easily be played on after it rains and don’t need to be mowed or reseeded.

在有參與青少年體育活動家庭的敦促下，許多當地官員表示，人造草坪場地在雨後可以輕鬆使用，且不需要修剪和重新播種。

But some residents, environmentalists and coaches are pushing back, claiming turf — which is made of plastic blades that mimic the look of grass and often sit on a layer of crumb rubber — is expensive to maintain, is vulnerable to flooding and exposes children to harmful chemicals and hotter temperatures.

然而，一些居民、環保人士與教練則提出反對，主張人造草皮—由模仿草地外觀的塑膠草葉製成，底層常鋪設橡膠顆粒—不僅維護成本高，易受淹水影響，還可能讓兒童暴露於有害化學物質與更高的地表溫度中。

The debate over whether to install turf over grass fields has become a referendum on sports, health, the environment and the use of scarce public resources. In 2022, Boston effectively banned the installation of artificial turf, and municipalities in California, Connecticut and elsewhere have followed suit.

是否在草地球場上鋪設人造草皮的爭論，已成為關於運動、健康、環境以及有限公共資源使用方式的公投議題。2022年，波士頓實質上禁止新建人工草皮球場，加州、康乃狄克州及其他地區的市政當局也紛紛跟進。

The rift has been particularly intense in Ridgewood, New Jersey, community of 26,000 residents about 15 miles west of Manhattan. Disputes over turf have spilled onto local blogs and into public meetings, where some of the village’s powerful youth sports leagues — there are at least 10 — have lobbied for replacing grass fields at schools and parks with synthetic turf to give their athletes more chances to play, rain or shine.

在新澤西州里奇伍德鎮，分歧尤為激烈。該鎮距離曼哈頓約15英里，人口約2.6萬。關於人造草皮的爭執已蔓延至當地部落格與公開會議，一些鎮內影響力雄厚的青少年運動聯盟，至少有10個，正大力遊說將學校與公園的草地球場改成人造草皮，讓他們的選手無論晴雨都能多一些出賽機會。

Scientists have presented their findings about the chemicals in the fields to village officials.

科學家已將他們關於球場化學成分的研究結果呈交鎮政府官員。

In 2023, about 1,500 large turf fields were installed in the United States, bringing the total to around 19,000 fields nationwide, according to AMI Plastics, an industry data organization.

產業數據機構AMI Plastics指出，全美在2023年鋪設了約1500座大型人造草坪運動場，讓全國人造草坪運動場總數增加至1萬9000座。

New Jersey has been a focus for the industry. FieldTurf, which has installed fields in Ridgewood, called the state the “FieldTurf Capital of America.” In 2020, the company said its fields in New Jersey covered more than 5,500 hectares —“enough to surface all of Central Park, twice!”

新紐澤西州一直是該產業的重點市場。曾在里奇伍德鋪設球場的FieldTurf公司，稱該州為「美國的人造草皮之都」。2020年，該公司表示，光是在新澤西州，他們鋪設的人造草皮面積超過5500公頃—「足以覆蓋整整2座中央公園！」

美環保署擬取消70億美元家用太陽能補助

The Trump administration is preparing to terminate $7 billion in federal grants intended to help low- and moderate-income families install solar panels on their homes, according to two people briefed on the matter.

兩名知情人士指出，川普政府正準備終止試圖協助中低收入的家庭在房屋安裝太陽能板的70億美元聯邦補助款。

The Environmental Protection Agency is drafting termination letters to the 60 state agencies, nonprofit groups and Native American tribes that received the grants under the “Solar for All” program, with the goal of sending the letters by the end of this week, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

兩人透露，環保署正草擬終止函，準備寄給全美60個州政府機構、非營利團體與美洲原住民部落，這些機構與團體皆在「全民太陽能」計畫下獲得補助。環保署的目標是在本周結束前寄出這些信件。兩位知情人士因未獲授權公開發言，所以要求匿名。

If finalized, the move would escalate the Trump administration’s efforts to claw back billions of dollars in grants awarded under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature climate law. And it would be certain to draw legal challenges from grant recipients, many of whom have pursued projects in Republican-led states.

若此決策最終定案，將進一步升高川普政府回收資金的行動力度，這些資金原先是根據2022年的《降低通膨法案》發放，而該法案是拜登擔任總統時的代表性氣候法。這項行動勢必引發受補助單位的法律挑戰，其中許多項目甚至是在共和黨執政的州推動的。

Representatives for the EPA did not initially respond to a request for comment. After this article was published, Carolyn Holran, an EPA spokesperson, said no final decision had been made on the grants.

環境保護署的代表們最初沒有回應置評請求。本篇報導刊出後，環保署發言人卡洛琳．霍蘭表示，目前尚未對這筆補助作出最終決定。

“EPA is working to ensure Congressional intent is fully implemented in accordance with the law,” Holran wrote in an email.

「環保署正努力確保國會的立法意圖能夠完全按照法律落實，」霍蘭在電郵中寫道。

Already, the EPA has sought to cancel $20 billion out of the $27 billion in climate grants authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act. That move has prompted a legal battle and a widening controversy involving the EPA, the Justice Department, the FBI and Citibank, where the funds are being held.

在此之前，環保署已經試圖取消《降低通膨法案》授權的270億美元氣候補助中的200億美元。該舉動已引發法律戰，並牽連環保署、司法部、聯調局以及代管資金的花旗銀行。

The Solar for All program was not only intended to help low- and moderate-income homeowners go solar. It was also meant to expand community solar initiatives, which bring solar power to people who don’t own their own homes or otherwise can’t install their own panels.

全民太陽能專案不只是試圖協助中低收入屋主使用太陽能。這也意味著拓展社區太陽能倡議，讓沒有房屋和無法安裝太陽能板的人們也能使用太陽能。

The program was projected to help 900,000 households access solar energy, according to estimates by the Biden administration. The idea was to reduce the use of fossil fuels, the burning of which is dangerously heating the planet, while also helping to lower electricity bills. The participating households were expected to collectively save more than $350 million each year on utility costs.

拜登政府估計，這項專案預計協助90萬戶家庭獲取太陽能。這個想法是為了減少化石燃料使用，因為燃燒化石燃料正危險地導致地球升溫，而該計畫同時也有助於降低電費。參與計畫的家庭預計每年將共節省3億5000萬美元的水電費。

Under the Biden administration, the EPA awarded all $7 billion Congress had allocated to the Solar for All program. Of that money, roughly $53 million has been spent so far, according to an analysis by Atlas Public Policy, a research firm.

拜登政府執政期間，環境保護署將國會撥給全民太陽能專案的70億美元款項全數核發。研究機構「亞特拉斯公共政策」分析指出，這筆款項目前為止已有約5300萬美元被使用。