譯／王麗娟
In the Trump era, it has mainly been blue states that have taken the lead on climate change policy, with liberal strongholds like California and New York setting ambitious goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Now, at least one deep-red state could soon join them: Alaska, a major oil and gas producer, is creating its own plan to address climate change. Ideas under discussion include cuts in state emissions by 2025 and a tax on companies that emit carbon dioxide.
在川普時代，於氣候變遷政策上扮演領頭羊的主要是美國的藍色州，加州、紐約州這些自由派重鎮都為減少溫室氣體排放訂下遠大目標。
現在，至少有一個深紅州可能即將加入藍州的行列，那就是阿拉斯加這個石油和天然氣的主要生產州，該州正制定自己的計畫，以因應氣候變遷問題。討論中的點子包括在2025年前讓該州進一步減排，以及對排放二氧化碳的公司課稅。
While many conservative-leaning states have resisted aggressive climate policies, Alaska is already seeing the dramatic effects of global warming firsthand, making the issue difficult for local politicians to avoid. The solid permafrost that sits beneath many roads, buildings and pipelines is starting to thaw, destabilizing the infrastructure above. At least 31 coastal towns and cities may need to relocate, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, as protective sea ice vanishes and fierce waves erode Alaska’s shores.
“The change has been so real and so widespread that it’s become impossible to ignore,” Byron Mallott, the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor, said while visiting Washington to discuss climate policy. “Folks are realizing that it’s something we have to deal with.”
儘管許多保守州抗拒施行積極的氣候政策，但阿拉斯加已親眼目睹全球暖化的巨大影響，以致當地政治人物難以再躲避這個問題。位於許多道路、建築物和管道下方的堅實永凍層已開始融化，破壞了上方基礎設施的穩定。由於保護性的海冰消失，強浪侵蝕阿拉斯加海岸，至少31個沿海城鎮可能必須遷移，耗資數億美元。
該州民主黨籍副州長拜倫．馬洛特訪問華盛頓，討論氣候政策時說：「變化如此真實又廣泛，令人無法忽視。人們意識到這是我們非得處理不可的問題。」
The state is still finalizing its climate strategy. In October, Gov. Bill Walker, a former Republican who won election as an independent in 2014, created a task force headed by Mallott that would propose specific policies to reduce emissions and help the state adapt to the impacts of global warming. The recommendations are due by September.
In addressing climate change, Alaska will have to grapple with its own deep contradictions. Roughly 85 percent of the state’s budget is funded by revenues from the production of oil, which is primarily exported to the rest of the United States, and local politicians have largely been unwilling to curtail the supply of fossil fuels. Both Walker and Mallott supported the recent decision by Congress to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, a move opposed by environmentalists.
該州仍在為其氣候策略作最後的拍板定案。原為共和黨員，2014年以無黨籍身分參選並當選的州長比爾．沃克，去年10月設置了一個由馬洛特領導的專案小組，針對該州減排以及適應全球暖化衝擊，提出具體政策。這些建議應於9月前提出。
在對付氣候變遷上，阿拉斯加將必須努力克服自身的嚴重矛盾。該州約85％的預算來自生產石油的歲收，這些石油生產主要輸往美國其他地區，而該州在地政治人物大抵不樂意削減這些化石燃料供應。沃克和馬洛特兩人都支持國會最近的決定，開放「北極國家野生動物保護區」，以進行石油和天然氣探勘，環保人士則反對這項行動。
“The state will continue to be an energy producer for as long as there is a market for fossil fuels,” the men wrote in a recent Op-Ed for The Juneau Empire. But, they added, “We should not use our role as an energy producer to justify inaction or complacency in our response to the complex challenge of climate change.”
To that end, the state’s climate task force released a draft in April that included a proposal for Alaska to get 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources like solar, wind, hydropower, and geothermal by 2025, up from 33 percent in 2016.
這些人最近在「朱諾帝國」報的言論版寫道：「只要化石燃料市場存在一天，本州就會繼續成為能源生產州。」不過，他們也寫道：「我們不該拿我們是能源生產州的角色，作為我們在對氣候變遷這項複雜挑戰的反應上，不作為或自以為是的藉口。」
為此，該州的氣候專案小組四月提出了一份草案，建議之一是2025年之前，阿拉斯加從太陽能、風能、水力發電和地熱等再生能源取得50％的電力，高於2016年的33％。
※說文解字看新聞
文章一開始即提及美國的藍州（blue states），指的是民主黨勢力較強的州，紅色則是共和黨的代表色，因此共和黨勢力較強的州是紅州（red states）。本文主角阿拉斯加州被標識為深紅（deep-red），表示一向是共和黨的票倉，也是支持現任美國總統川普的州。文章特別提及阿拉斯加州的政治色彩，旨在強調該州與不相信氣候變遷（climate change）的川普背道而馳，正設法制定包括減排（emissions cuts）二氧化碳（carbon dioxide）在內的政策。
阿拉斯加州地底下的永凍層（permafrost）已開始融化（thaw）， 是該州積極制定氣候變遷政策主因。永凍層指的是超過2年維持在攝氏零度以下低溫的土層。thaw可作動詞或名詞用，意為融化、融解、融雪。thaw也可指關係解凍，食物解凍，如The icy relationship between North Korea and South Korea seems to be thawing thanks to the Winter Olympics.（由於冬季奧運會，北韓和南韓之間的冰冷關係似乎正在解凍。）There are many ways to safely thaw frozen foods.（有許多方法可安全解凍冷凍食物。）
