2. 外语
  3. Throughout George Bush’s presidency, the federal government has refused to support any regulation of the greenhouse gases that c

Throughout George Bush’s presidency, the federal government has refused to support any regulation of the greenhouse gases that c

admin2012-04-09  51
问题     Throughout George Bush’s presidency, the federal government has refused to support any regulation of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Whenever the subject comes up, officials tend to mumble (含糊地说) about uncertainties. But on April 2nd, the Supreme Court at last settled one of the biggest outstanding questions, whether the government has the authority to curb emissions in the first place.
    The court ruled that the Clean Air Act—a law from the 1960 designed to combat smog—gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the power to regulate carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. It also said the EPA would need an excuse if it decided not to use this power. It dismissed the justifications the EPA had provided for inaction—that emissions from American cars were insignificant in the grand scheme of things and that unilateral (单方面的) action by America would undermine efforts to achieve international consensus on global warming—as inadequate. Strictly speaking, the ruling applies only to emissions from vehicles, but a very similar case regarding coal-fired power plants is pending (未决的) in federal court. The EPA says it is now examining the ruling.
    The EPA might examine it for some time, of course. Any regulation it comes up with in response might still defer action into the distant future, since the law allows the EPA to delay implementation until appropriate technology can be acquired at a reasonable cost. Even if it proceeds quite swiftly, a new president and Congress with globe-cooling ideas of their own will be in place long before any new rule come into effect.
    That suits the environmental lobby just fine. They hope the ruling will spur Congress to address global warming with proper legislation. After all, it makes little sense for such an important issue to be tackled tangentially (无关 地) through a 40-year-old law. And if a greener president takes office, he or she will now have the power to dictate stricter fuel efficiency, in the form of lower CO2 emissions, without reference to Congress.
    California set an example. In 2002, the state assembly passed a law regulating emissions of CO2 from vehicles, based on a provision of the Clean Air Act that allows California to adopt stricter pollution standards than the federal government. Carmakers have challenged the law, in part on the ground that CO2 was not an air pollutant. The car industry quickly declared that the issue of global warming is best handled at the federal level by Congress.
What is the Supreme Court’s attitude towards the government’s function in control of greenhouse gases?
选项 A、The government has the obligation to set up stricter regulation.
B、The government that shies away from this problem makes the public disappointed.
C、The government is the only organization that can control greenhouse gases.
D、The government is not the chief organization authorized to control greenhouse gases.
答案D
解析 细节推断题。定位句提到，最高法院澄清了其中最突出的问题之一，即政府是否具有限制排放量的优先权。据此可以推断，最高法院认为政府不是具有行使限制温室效应气体排放权力的首要机构。
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