来源：《洛杉矶时报》
原文刊登日期：2022年2月4日
While Amazon, FedEx, UPS, Walmart and other companies are racing to replace their fossil-fuel-powered delivery vehicles with zero-emission models, the U.S. Postal Service is careening in the opposite direction.
当亚马逊(Amazon)、联邦快递(FedEx)、联合包裹(UPS)、沃尔玛(Walmart)和其他公司竞相用零排放车型取代化石燃料驱动的送货车辆时，美国邮政服务正朝着相反的方向发展。
The Postal Service, led by Trump-era appointee Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, is planning to spend $11.3 billion on as many as 165,000 new gas-guzzling delivery trucks over the next decade. It’s the first large-scale purchase of trucks in three decades. The service has more than 230,000 vehicles and has said just 10% of the next-generation fleet will be electric.
由特朗普时代任命的邮政署长路易斯·德乔伊领导的美国邮政服务计划在未来10年斥资113亿美元，购置多达16.5万辆耗油量高的新送货卡车。这是三十年来首次大规模购买卡车。美国邮政服务拥有超过23万辆汽车，并表示下一代车队中只有10%将是电动的。
What a wasted opportunity. President Biden and Congress should put a stop to this plan and demand the Postal Service invest in clean, zero-emission vehicles.
真是浪费机会。拜登总统和国会应该叫停这一计划，并要求美国邮政服务投资于清洁、零排放的汽车。
Private-sector delivery companies have recognized that the future is electric and they’re investing now to build up their zero-emission fleets. Although electric vehicles may cost more up front now, they are expected to be cheaper over time because they don’t require pricey fuel purchases and their engines need less maintenance because they have fewer mechanical parts than gas-powered vehicles.
私营快递公司已经意识到未来是电动的，他们现在正在投资建立他们的零排放车队。虽然电动汽车的前期成本可能会更高，但随着时间的推移，它们预计会更便宜，因为它们不需要购买昂贵的燃料，而且它们的发动机需要的维护也更少，因为它们的机械部件比汽油动力汽车少。
It should also be clear that the U.S. cannot prolong its dependence on fossil fuels. The transportation sector produces the largest share of planet-warming emissions in the U.S. If the world has any hope of preventing the worst devastation of climate change, the U.S. must do its part to quickly decarbonize cars, trucks and other vehicles.
同样应该清楚的是，美国不应该延长对化石燃料的依赖。在美国，交通运输业是温室气体排放量最大的行业。如果世界有任何希望阻止气候变化带来的最严重破坏，美国必须尽自己的一份力量，迅速对汽车、卡车和其他车辆去碳化。
The government should be leading that effort. Biden has issued an executive order directing the federal government to buy only zero-emission vehicles by 2035, with an earlier 2027 deadline for light-duty vehicles, such as cars and small trucks. Postal Service vehicles account for a third of the federal fleet and the last generation of mail trucks lasted 30 years, so if Biden is going to meet his own climate goals, it’s especially important that the new mail trucks be clean models.
政府应该领导这一努力。拜登已经发布了一项行政命令，指示联邦政府在2035年之前只购买零排放汽车，而轻型汽车(如轿车和小型卡车)的最后期限提前至2027年。邮政车占联邦车队的三分之一，上一代邮政车使用了30年，所以如果拜登要实现他自己的气候目标，新型邮政车必须是清洁型的，这一点尤为重要。
But the Postal Service is an independent agency and not subject to Biden’s climate orders. Nor does the president have the power to fire the postmaster general. Nevertheless the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and White House Council on Environmental Quality sent letters to DeJoy this week urging him to scrap the purchase plan.
但邮政服务是一个独立机构，不受拜登气候行政令的约束。总统也无权解雇邮政署长。尽管如此，美国环境保护署和白宫环境质量委员会本周致函德乔伊，敦促他放弃购买计划。