策劃、編譯■謝雯?
墨西哥灣目前已正式進入颶風季。
然而自4月20日深水地平線鑽油平台爆炸以來的漏油問題，卻無減緩跡象。
颶風可能將海上數千萬加侖的漏油變成巨大黑浪，讓更多區域覆蓋在刺鼻黏稠的油污中。
美國南部沿岸河口及濕地，將會在颶風季遭到更嚴重的生態威脅。
如何徹底對治這場由油污所造成的生態浩劫，成為與時間賽跑的艱難課題。
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正當英國石油公司（BP）嘗試新的方式來截取外漏的原油之際，美國政府和BP警告，深水地平線鑽油平台爆炸對墨西哥灣造成的災難，可能到8月前都不會停止。
US government and BP officials are warning that the blown-o ut oil well causing an environmental disaster on the Gulf Coast may not be stopped until August as the company begins preparations on a new attempt to capture the leaking crude.
截至5月31日為止已發生42天的這場災難，目前成為美國歷史上最嚴重的一次漏油事件，官員們也稱這次事件是美國史上最大的一次環境浩劫。
The disaster, in its 42nd day on Monday, is already the largest oil spill （1） in US history and officials are calling it the country’s biggest environmental catastrophe （2）.
上週末，想要在BP油井中填入鑽泥的封頂法（top kill）面臨空前失敗；BP的執行長海華德（Tony Hayward）隨後表示，在兩個月內，墨西哥灣的漏油可能都不會停止。
In the wake of a devastating failure this weekend to plug the BP well with the tricky "top kill" operation, BP chief executive Tony Hayward said the Gulf of Mexico leak may not be stopped for two months.
「毫無疑問地，根本的解決方式只有靠減壓井，這要到8月才能備妥。」他於5月30日巡視路易斯安那威尼斯時表示。該區原是漁業大本營，但因石油污染，被迫停工。兩座減壓井在5月開始鑽鑿，這個方式雖然昂貴，卻是攔截漏油和後續為漏油油井加蓋的可靠方式。
"There’s no doubt that the ultimate solution lies on the relief well （3）, which is in August," he said on Sunday as he toured the Louisiana fishing hub of Venice, largely idled by the spill but reliable way to intercept and cap the leaking well.
同時，海華德表示，BP需要「以積極的心態遏制原油進入海底、浮上海面及侵入海岸線」。
In the meantime, Hayward said BP needs "to be in the mind-set of containment in the sub-sea, containment on the surface and defending the shoreline, in a very aggressive way".
這起事件每天預估讓1.2萬到1.9萬桶（約50.4萬到79萬加侖，或190萬到300萬公升）的原油噴湧入海，已經超過1989年「艾克森瓦爾狄茲號」（Exxon Valdez）油輪在阿拉斯加州外海觸礁漏油事件，成為美國史上最嚴重的漏油事件。
The Gulf spill has surpassed the Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska in 1989 as the worst US oil spill, with an estimated 12 000 to 19 000 barrels (1,9-million to three million litres) leaking per day.
目前，BP準備在低位海下立管截油系統（lower marine riser package，LMRP）上裝置一個油蓋帽，所謂的LMRP位在海平面底下一英里海床，裝在防噴閥上。如果這項遏制措施真的管用（BP將在本週稍晚，裝置成功後知曉結果），那麼至少可以將部分漏出的原油收集起來，運到海平面。
Right now, BP is preparing a containment cap to place on top of a lower marine riser package (LMRP), which is a piece of equipment that sits atop the failed blowout preventer at the seabed 1,6km below the surface. If the containment operation works -- and BP expects to know later this week -- then at least some of the leaking oil could be piped to the surface.
不過歐巴馬的行政團隊最終期待的，還是可望8月完工的減壓井措施。歐巴馬當局因為在這場災難中反應緩慢，承受猛烈攻擊。
But even President Barack Obama’s administration, facing a barrage of criticism that they have been slow to respond to the crisis, is looking toward August and the relief well solution.
選舉壓力逼近
Elections loom
「在8月之前，可能都還會有原油溢出。」白宮能源暨氣候變遷顧問布朗納（Carol Browner）週日接受CBS訪問時表示。「我們需準備好面對最糟的情況。」
"There could be oil coming up until August," top White House energy adviser Carol Browner told CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday. "We are prepared for the worst."
漏油事件讓憤怒情緒奔騰而出，在美國國內對歐巴馬和他所屬的民主黨造成巨大威脅，特別是當他們正面對11月的國會大選時。
The oil spill has unleashed a surge of public anger that poses a major domestic challenge to Obama and his party as they face congressional elections in November.
墨西哥灣是全美最豐富的生態系統之一，同時也是產值65億美元（約新台幣2千1百億元）的重要漁業繁殖地。
The Gulf Coast is one of America’s richest ecosystems （4） and a vital breeding ground for a $6,5-billion seafood industry.
在5月30日於路易斯安那州貝萊沙賽舉辦的海產嘉年華中，一名參展的牡蠣養殖者塔斯維克（Kuzma Tesvich）表示，未來幾年，他的生計都會受影響。
Kuzma Tesvich, an oyster fisherman attending the Seafood Festival in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, on Sunday, said his livelihood could be hurt for several years.
「如果漏油持續的話，如果我們的牡蠣全都被殺死了，重新踏上養殖之路至少要3年，可能還會花上更久。」塔斯維克說。
"If this goes on, if our oysters are totally killed, it would be at least three years before we can come back, it could be a lot longer," Tesvich said.
漏油事件讓很大一部分的漁撈業停工。為了要參加這次海產嘉年華，塔斯維克帶了從密西西比河東部未受限海域捕來的牡蠣。
The spill has already shut down a good chunk of the fishing business. For the festival, Tesvich brought in oysters from unrestricted waters east of the Mississippi River.
路易斯安那州民的怒氣在封頂法失敗後有增無減，希望政府能夠多做一些。歐巴馬政府對這次漏油事件的處理，讓他們想起2005年卡崔娜颶風後，小布希政府的笨拙回應。
Louisianians, whose anger has only grown after the top kill failure, want the government to do more. They remember the fumbled response of former president George Bush’s government to Hurricane Katrina （5） in 2005.
「他們應該下來這裡，看看救災團隊正在做什麼，看看油污殺害的每一種生物。他們應該下來這裡，支持路易斯安那的人民。」凱蒂范德格里夫（Cathy Van Der Griff）造訪紐奧良頗富盛名的世界咖啡館時表示。
"They should be down there seeing what it’s doing, everything that it’s killing. They should be down here supporting the people of Louisiana," said Cathy Van Der Griff as she visited New Orleans’ famous Cafe du Monde.
5月28日第2度訪視墨西哥灣漏油災情的美國總統歐巴馬，本週將派遣執政團隊中3名首席能源和環境官員至墨西哥灣區坐鎮。
Obama, who made his second visit of the disaster to the Gulf last Friday, is sending three of his top energy and environmental officials back to the Gulf this week.
（路透Reuters）
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關鍵字詞
Key Words
1. oil spill
(n.) 石油外漏
2. catastrophe
(n.) 災難
3. relief well
(n.) 減壓井
4. ecosystem
(n.) 生態系統
5. Hurricane Katrina
(n.) 卡崔娜颶風
文章來源: 台灣立報
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