2019山东考研英语《经济学人》阅读：环保珊瑚礁化狂热

数学 | 政治 | 英语| 专硕

Environmental policy

环保政策

Reefer madness

珊瑚礁化狂热

Turning oil rigs reefs saves money and marinelife. Yet many greens oppose it

石油钻塔变成群礁，既可以省钱，又可以拯救海洋生命。然而，许多绿色环保人士依旧反对这项举措

WHEN an offshore well stops producing oil, what should be done with the rig? One option is tohaul it ashore, break it up and recycle it. This is expensive. For a big, deep-water oil or gasplatform, it can cost $200m. Just hiring a derrick barge massive enough to do the job cancost $700,000 a day. But there is an alternative: simply leave most of the structure where itis. That is what you would expect a greedy oil firm to do: despoil the ocean just to save a lousyfew million dollars. The surprise is, the cheap option may actually be greener.

当海上油井停止产油，那我们该怎样处置钻塔呢?其中一个做法就是将其拉上岸，分解再重新循环利用。但其费用昂贵。一个大型的深海石油或天然气平台大约花费2亿美金。租一艘井架驳船就足够搞定，其费用为每天70万美元。还有另外一个选择：放任其不管。而那样做的只会是贪婪的石油公司，他们打劫海洋，省下几百万。然而，让人吃惊的是，最便宜的选择也许是最环保的。

For a start, it takes a lot of energy to move a rig. The ships that would be needed to shiftCalifornia's largest one would emit 29,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide, by one estimate. Andmoving a rig disturbs the organisms that have attached themselves to its underside, or jacket.Far better, some say, to turn old rigs coral reefs.

一开始，要移除钻塔需要费很大力气。若想要动加州最大的钻塔，那么运输船在这个过程中预估会释放出2.94万吨二氧化碳。而且，移动钻塔会影响附着在塔周围的有机体。若要全面考虑的话，有些人认为应该把老的钻塔转换成珊瑚礁。

“Reefing” typically involves bringing a platform's above-water parts ashore and cropping thelower parts to leave at least 26m of clearance: deep enough for ships to pass over, yet shallowenough for photosynthesis to nourish organisms on its upper reaches (see picture). Oil-rigreefs may shelter and feed up to eight tonnes of fish. In 2009 Shell moved a jacket in the Gulfof Mexico ten kilometres (six miles) away. The fish followed.

“珊瑚礁化”过程往往涵盖了把石油平台水上的部分拉上岸以及保证水下部分26米的空隙，这样方便船只通过，但对滋润生物的光合作用空间却依然不够(详情见图)。石油钻塔珊瑚礁可以给高达8吨的鱼群提供庇护以及食物。2009年，谢尔把位于墨西哥湾的钻塔挪了大概6米，鱼群也跟着移动了。

More than 490 platforms in American waters have become reefs in the past three decades. Thefederal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement urges states to issue reefing permits.State coffers gain: oil firms typically hand over half the money they save by reefing.

在过去的三十年间，美国海域里超过490个石油钻井平台已经转变成珊瑚礁了。美国联邦安全和环境执法局督促各州“珊瑚礁化”。国库增加，而且石油公司往往可以从“珊瑚礁化”中直接获得超过一半的钱。

Those savings vary greatly. Small platforms in shallow waters can often be removed for $10m,but sometimes for as little as $1m, according to DecomWorld, a consultancy. But for stateswith lots of offshore oil rigs, the windfalls soon add up. Mississippi pocketed an average of$625,000 for each of the 12 permits it has issued, according to Melissa Scallan of the state'sDepartment of Marine Resources. Louisiana's take has averaged $270,000 per reefing—and thestate has seen 336 of them, says Mike McDonough of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife andFisheries.

从“珊瑚礁化”中省下的钱数目各不相同。在浅水海域，小钻井平台所需费用大概是1亿美元，有时候也可能只要100万美元。这些数据来源于DecomWorld顾问公司。但是，拥有的海上钻塔数量越多，就越能大发横财。国家海洋能源局梅丽莎提供信息，表明在12个钻塔中，密西西比州能从中平均每一个钻塔获得62.5万美元。来自路易斯安那野生动物与渔业局的麦克认为，该州平均从每个珊瑚礁获利27万美元，而且目前已经发现了336座珊瑚礁。

Currently, less than a tenth of America's old oil and gas platforms are reefed. Sometimes thereasons for this are practical. For example, platforms may be removed if waiting for a permitmeans weathering another hurricane season (in 2005 150 defunct platforms in the Gulf ofMexico were toppled by winds and waves). Operators typically favour reefing but it is not alwayseconomical or allowed, says David Welch of Stone Energy Corporation. The firm has onlyreefed 12 of the 60 Gulf of Mexico platforms it has decommissioned.