来源：《卫报》
刊登日期：2021年2月18日
Though the desperate conditions that millions of Texans have suffered for days were triggered by a powerful winter storm, the underlying issues are the work of human beings. At least 2.7 million households were still without power on Wednesday, and nearly 12 million faced water quality issues. Hospitals ran out of water. Families have burned belongings to keep their children warm.
尽管两千多万德克萨斯人所遭受的绝境是由一场强烈的冬季风暴引发的，但根本问题是人类造成的。周三，至少270万户家庭仍然断电，近1200万人面临水质问题。医院的水用光了。为了给孩子取暖，很多家庭都烧了财物。
As bizarre as it may seem that residents of the biggest energy-producing state in the US can be left powerless for so long, these problems were foreseen. While Republican leaders in Texas have blamed a reliance on renewable energy, it was mostly natural gas plants that failed, with a reactor at a nuclear facility also forced offline. The desire to stay free from federal oversight means that Texas has a stand-alone grid, preventing it from importing power. The lack of regulation meant that price competition took precedence over stability of service. 10 years ago, the grid’s operator was warned that equipment needed to be protected against extreme low temperatures, but failed to act. The system prioritised profits instead of the people it was supposed to serve.
美国最大的能源生产州的居民长时间没有电力供应，这看起来很奇怪，但这些问题早已被预料到。尽管德克萨斯州的共和党领导人将此归咎于对可再生能源的依赖，但出故障的主要是天然气发电厂，一个核设施的反应堆也被迫关闭。为了不受联邦监管，德州拥有独立的电网，以阻止电力进口。缺乏监管意味着价格竞争优先于服务稳定。10年前，电网运营商曾被警告需要保护设备免受极端低温的影响，但他们没有采取行动。这个电网优先考虑的是利润，而不是它应该服务的人。
It remains astonishing that the richest country in the world cannot guarantee its residents basic services such as reliable power and clean water. But there should be no self-satisfaction elsewhere. Whether or not the heating of the Arctic is to blame for these particular snowstorms, as some scientists believe – by pushing freezing air from the north pole much further south – global heating means an increase in extreme weather events. Last year alone saw a Siberian heatwave, wildfires in Australia and the US, a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season and storms and floods in many parts of Asia.
令人惊讶的是，这个世界上最富有的国家竟然不能向其居民提供可靠的电力和清洁的用水等基本服务。但其他国家不应该因此有自我满足感。不管是否像一些科学家认为的那样，北极变暖将北极的冷空气进一步向南推进，导致了这些特殊的暴风雪，全球变暖意味着极端天气事件的增加。仅去年一年，就发生了西伯利亚热浪、澳大利亚和美国的野火、创纪录的大西洋飓风季，以及亚洲许多地区的风暴和洪水。
The UN warned last month that governments are failing to take the measures needed to adapt to climate breakdown. While many have recognised the threat, few have made adequate plans and fewer still have found the funding needed.
联合国上个月警告说，各国政府没有采取必要的措施来适应气候变化。尽管许多国家已经认识到这一威胁，但很少有国家制定充分的计划，找到所需资金的国家更少。
Nor is climate change the only threat. The pandemic has underlined the vulnerability of what we previously considered normal life. And as Sir John Armitt, chairman of the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), warned many other elements of infrastructure – from the water supply to massive data systems to transport – are now reliant on electricity.
气候变化也不是唯一的威胁。新冠大流行突出了我们以前认为的正常生活的脆弱性。正如英国国家基础设施委员会(NIC)主席约翰·阿米特爵士警告的那样，基础设施的许多其他元素——从供水到大规模数据系统到运输——现在都依赖电力。
While the UK has one of the most reliable supplies in the world, proper preparation is required as it transitions to a decarbonised supply. Last year’s report on resilience by the NIC warned that we need a new framework for infrastructure that stresses the importance of being able to cope with crises and tests for vulnerabilities regularly. That means a strong role for the government and regulators in setting and maintaining standards. Consumers cannot often choose different levels of resilience, and infrastructure failures do not just affect consumers. “Resilience is not properly valued in the market,” it concluded – as Texans could now testify.
虽然英国是世界上最可靠的电力供应国之一，但在向脱碳供电过渡的过程中，需要做好适当的准备。去年NIC发布的关于恢复力的报告警告说，我们需要一个新的基础设施框架，强调能够应对危机的重要性，定期测试漏洞。这意味着政府和监管机构在制定和维持标准方面发挥着强大的作用。消费者通常无法选择不同的恢复水平，而且基础设施故障不仅会影响消费者。“恢复力在市场上没有得到恰当的重视，”报告总结道——德州人现在可以作证。