德州轻质原油公司每桶原油的价格超过100美元（2008年就是这种情况，去年和今年也一样），美国的经济增长就会受到制约。不过较高的价格也在起积极作用，它可以减少需求并刺激供给。今年美国的石油净进口量降至1995年以来的最低水平，假以时日，美国将成为天然气的净出口国。
Many countries have shale gas, but, as it did with the internet revolution, America leads in exploiting it (see our special report this week). Federal money helped finance development of the “fracking” technology that makes shale gas accessible, just as it paid for the internet’s precursors. However its use was commercialized by a Texas wildcatter called George Mitchell, the sort of risk-taker America has in abundance. In Europe shale gas has been locked in by green rules and limited property rights. In America shale has already lowered consumers’ energy bills and, by displacing coal, carbon emissions. In future, it will give a spur to the domestic manufacture of anything needing large amounts of energy.
很多国家都蕴藏有页岩气资源，不过同因特网革命一样，美国也带头开采页岩气（见本期特别报道）。联邦政府为开采页岩气的“水力压裂”技术提供资金支持，就像当年资助开发因特网的先驱一样。不过页岩气的商业化是通过德克萨斯州一个名叫George Mitchell的“野猫”钻井者（美国不乏这样乐于冒险的人）实现的。而欧洲页岩气的开采却受相关环保法规和财产权的制约。美国页岩气的使用降低了消费者的能源支出，同时也取代了部分煤炭使用，减少了碳排放量。将来，这会刺激任何高能耗产品的制造。 America’s work-out is not finished. Even when the results are more visible, it will leave many problems unsolved. Because the companies leading the process are so productive, they pay high wages but do not employ many people. They may thus do little to reduce unemployment, while aggravating inequality. Yet this is still a more balanced and sustainable basis for growth than what America had before—and a far better platform for prosperity than unreformed, elderly Europe. 美国人要做的远不止这些。尽管改革成果愈发明朗，但也会留下很多待解决的问题。比如在经济复苏中发挥重要作用的公司效率极高，他们给的员工工资丰厚，但用工少。这不但不会帮助减少失业，还会拉大收入差距。与昔日之美国不同，今天美国经济发展的基础更加均衡、更具可持续性。而且与缺乏改革、死气沉沉的欧洲相比，美国经济发展的平台更加广阔。What should the next president do to generate muscle in this new economy? First, do no harm. Not driving the economy over the fiscal cliff would be a start: instead, settle on a credible long-term deficit plan that includes both tax rises and cuts to entitlement programs. There are other madness brewing. Some Democrats want to restrict exports of natural gas to hold down the price for domestic consumers—a brilliant strategy to discourage domestic investment and production. A braver Mr. Obama would expedite approval of gas exports. For his part, Mr Romney should back off his promise to brand China a currency manipulator, an invitation to a trade war.
下一任总统应该怎样增强经济实力呢？首先，他不能帮倒忙，不能让美国的经济陷入财政危局。相反地，他应该选择一个可靠的长期债务计划，包括对福利项目增税和削减开支。也有人提出不少欠火候的建议，部分民主党议员想通过限制天然气出口来降低国内天然气价格——一个会打消国内投资和扩大产量积极性的“好点子”。为了顺利当选，奥巴马需要更多魄力，加快实现天然气出口的进程。至于罗姆尼，他应该放弃将中国视作货币操纵者的承诺，以免招致贸易战。
Second, the next president should fix America’s ramshackle public services. Even the most productive start-ups cannot help an economy held back by dilapidated roads, the world’s most expensive health system, underachieving union-dominated schools and a Byzantine immigration system that deprives companies of the world’s best talent. Focus on those things, Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney, and you will be surprised what America’s private sector can do for itself.
其次，下任总统应该改善行将瓦解的公共服务。公路破旧不堪，医疗费用世界排名第一，公立学校教学质量不佳，还有拜占庭式的移民制度将世界上最优秀的人才当在国外，使之无法为美国公司效力。受这些条
件的制约，效率再高的新兴公司都不能在经济恢复中大显身手。奥巴马总统、罗姆尼先生，请在公共服务上多花点心思吧，私营部门自会给你们带来惊喜。
Japan Seeks Slow Nuclear Phase-out
日本将逐步淘汰核能
1 TOKYO—The Japanese government unveiled a long-term energy plan that seeks an end to nuclear power by 2040, responding to strong antinuclear sentiment but stopping short of a clear commitment to make the country nuclear-free.
东京-日本政府为应对人们强烈反核能情绪，公布了一项长期能源计划：在2040年之前结束核能，但并没有明确地承诺成为无核国家。
2 The plan, which comes after considerable backstage wrangling, largely rejects warnings from corporate Japan that moving away from nuclear power could hasten the hollowing out of the country's battered manufacturing base. \goal of having no nuclear plants operating by the end of the 2030s,\Friday by the government's energy and environmental committee.
日本政府经过激烈的内部磋商后拟定了一个计划，该计划主要是拒绝来自日本公司的远离核能的警告。这将会加快冲击该国本已不堪一击的制造业的发展。政府能源环境委员会周五发布的报告称“我们将使用一切可能的政治资源，以实现到2030年底没有核电长的目标。”
3 The long-awaited decision comes in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi crisis in March 2011 and follows moves by Germany last year to phase out its nuclear plants. But the plan is unlikely to appease opponents of nuclear power in the earthquake-prone country since it assumes that nuclear-energy production will actually rise from low levels now as some idled plants are gradually brought back on line.
这个令人期待已久的决定是2011年3月福岛危机之后和德国去年宣布逐步淘汰核电之后做出的。但是该计划不太可能安抚地震多发国家的核电对手，因为它假定当一些闲置的工厂已经逐步恢复使用时，现在核能源生产实际将真正从低水平上升。
4 In addition, the government said that renouncing nuclear power will require more discussion. \zero-nuclear status is an ambition, not a commitment,\said a government official after a briefing.
此外，政府表示，放弃核电将需要更多的讨论。发布会后一位政府官员说“实现零核地位是一个志向而不是一个承诺。”
5 Under the policy, which still requires final endorsement by the cabinet, a new nuclear regulatory body will adopt toughened standards to ensure that plants are safe enough be restarted. But output isn't expected to return to the previous level of nearly 30% of electric output. That figure has fallen to 2.1% as only two reactors—both at a plant in western Japan—have been restarted in the past 18 months.
该政策仍需由内阁最后批准。根据该政策，新的核监管机构将采用钢化标准，以确保核电站是足够安全可以重新启动。但产量预期不会恢复到接近30%的电输出的上级。。这个数据已经下降到2.1%,因为在过去的18个月只有两个反应堆（都被安置在日本的西部）重新启动。
6 As plants reach their life span of 40 years, the policy calls for them to be taken out of service, with all plants offline \
当这些核电站到了它们40年的使用寿命之后，这项政策要求它们全部停产。另外，将不会再建新的核电站。
7 The plan also said uranium enrichment and reprocessing would continue as discussions are
held with local authorities and the international community. The decision to continue with reprocessing—in which uranium and plutonium are extracted and recycled into new fuel bundles—puts to rest questions about the dispositionof Japan's growing stockpile of plutonium and spent fuel rods.
该计划还表示，铀浓缩和后处理将继续举行讨论，以得到地方当局和国际社会的认可。继续进行后处理的决定---提取铀和钚并将其回收到新的燃料束—余下是关于日本日益增长的钚处置问题和燃料棒消耗问题。 8 Tokyo's decision to spare the fuel-cycle program and move toward restarting more idled reactors is being viewed by some in the nuclear industry as a net positive, at least in the near term.
东京决定近期分享燃料循环计划并且重启闲置的反应堆。这个决定在核工业的一些人中被视为最权威的力量。
9 “Japan is not following the same path as Germany in terms of seeking an immediate reduction\in nuclear-power-generating capacity, said Armand Laferrère, president of the Japanese unit of France's Areva SA, which joined with Japan to build its reprocessing facilities.The decision on reprocessing lowers the potential Japan will have to rely solely on France or other nations to reprocess its spent fuel. It also could reduce a growing stockpile of plutonium that some say could be further processed and used in nuclear weapons.
法国阿海珐集团驻日本分公司总裁阿尔芒说“在寻找迅速减少核能发电的方法上，日本不会走跟德国一样的道路。”该公司进军日本是为了建立自己的后处理设施。关于后处理的决定，降低了潜能的日本，这些决定不得不完全依赖法国或其他国家后处理乏燃料。它也能可以减少钚的库存。这些库存钚可能被进一步处理，并用于核武器。
10 “This is very significant because it means the slightly frightful prospect of a Japan brimmingwith fuel rods and not knowing what to do with them can be avoided,\ère.
阿尔芒先生说：“这是非常重要的，因为它意味着一个可怕未来的日本：充满了燃料棒但却不知道如何处置它们。这种景象是可以避免的。”
11 The future of the government's plan is in some doubt, however, given that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's hold on power is tenuous, with parliament deadlocked amid fierce attacks by the opposition. Mr. Noda is expected to call general elections in November or early next year. 政府未来的计划还有一些疑问，不过，鉴于首相野田佳彦对权利的掌控是脆弱的，再加上议会因反对派激烈的攻击而陷入僵持状态。野田佳彦预计将呼吁于11月或明年年初举行大选。
12 Opinion polls show strong opposition to a renewed heavy reliance on nuclear power plants, over concern about their resiliency to natural disasters. Of those responding to a government survey on the issue, some 87% said they wanted to abandon nuclear power altogether, although broader polls show a more mixed picture, with around 30% to 40% wanting Japan to be nuclear-free and another 30% to 40% saying nuclear power should be kept to no more than 15% of the total energy mix.
民调显示，强烈反对再度过分依赖核电站的关注超过他们对抵御自然灾害的关注度。在这个问题上政府调查的反馈：大约87％的人说他们想完全放弃核电，但更广泛的民意调查显示，一个更复杂的局面，大约有30％至40％希望日本成为无核国，另外30％至40％的人说核电应保持在不超过15％的总能源结构。 13 “The government, the regulators, the operators all lost the confidence of the public,\Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner William Magwood at a recent Senate hearing in Washington. The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party—which was closely allied with the nuclear industry before losing power in 2009—hasn't said whether it would feel bound by an antinuclear pledge if
it regains control.
美国核管理委员会专员威廉.麦格木在近期华盛顿举行的议员听证会上说：“政府，监管机构，运营商都失去了公众的信任。”最大的在野党-自民党-自2009年失势前，一直支持核工业的发展-如果该党重新获得控制权，他们并没有表示是否觉得有必要进行反核承诺。
14 Analysts also point out that much can change over the nearly 30 years it would take to achieve the shutdown. Sweden agreed in a 1980 referendum to wind down nuclear energy over a 30-year period, only to reverse course in June 2010 as global warming became a more urgent concern. 分析师也指出近三十年的改变，它可能被关闭。根据1980年的公民投票，在未来30年间，瑞典政府同意放缓核能发展。仅仅是想扭转2010年6月因为全球变暖而成为一个更加迫切的关注焦点的局面。 15 The government hopes to switch to greater use of renewable energy. Renewables, mostlyhydroelectric power, account for around 10% of energy supply at present.
政府希望转变成更广泛使用可再生能源。可再生能源，主要是水利发电，目前约占10%的能源供应。 16 That leaves Japan increasingly dependent on imported fossil fuels, a risk that had been one of the driving factors in the decades long push to increase nuclear energy.
这使得日本越来越依赖于进口化石燃料，这一直是驱动因素之一，经过几十年的长推，增加了核能的危险。 17 Despite compromise language watering down the commitment to go nuclear-free, the plan received a largely negative reaction from industry leaders. The chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, Kansai Electric Power Co.9503.TO inYour ValueYour Change Short position President Makoto Yagi, on Friday called the DPJ proposal \warned that costs for electricity could surge if nuclear energy is phased out. \hope the government cools down and makes realistic decisions.\
尽管折中的语言缓和了无核的承诺，但是这个计划还是受到来自大部分行业领导者的消极回应。日本电力公司联盟主席，关西电力公司总裁MALOTO Yagi 在上周五向民主党提议：“极为惊人”并且警告说，如果核能被淘汰，电力成本可能激增“我们希望政府冷静下来，并作出符合现实的决定。” —Mochizuki, Takashi, Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2012
Round Up the Guns! Or Don’t
枪支回收争议犹存
REST easy, gun-owners of Cherokee County, Georgia: your sheriff is on your side. Roger Garrison, who won election last year to a sixth term as Cherokee County's sheriff despite questionable taste in Halloween costumes, is \\County.\\through the use of executive orders, prevent law-abiding American citizens from possessing certain firearms and ammunition magazines.\
乔治亚州切罗基县的持枪者可以高枕无忧：你们的司法长官支持你们。尽管有人质疑罗杰.加里森的万圣节服装品味但是他还是当选了去年第六届切罗基县的司法长官。罗杰.加里森是第二修正案的坚定支持者，他发誓不执行任何法律或法规，以否定切罗基县公民的宪法权利。在一封信中，他指控总统、副总统和国会的很多成员利用无辜受害者的死试图通过法律、限制甚至使用行政命令，阻止守法的美国公民拥有武器和枪支弹药。甚至通过行政命令。
Mr Garrison is not alone: the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers' Association (CSPOA) boasts \
Georgia, says that she \which is quite a relief. That precisely nobody in Mr Obama's administration—or indeed anyone outside the perfervid and overworked imaginations of the paranoid fringe right—has proposed doing such a thing seems to have passed unnoticed. In that vein, I wonder what the Gilmer County's sheriff's positions are on making Ashanti America's official language, or selling unicorn steaks without a permit.
无独有偶：宪法司法长官和和平警察协会夸耀说“越来越多的行政长官对奥巴马枪支管制说不”。吉尔默县的行政长官格鲁吉亚说她“将不会是挨家挨户收缴武器的那类人”这是一件轻松的事情。在奥巴马执政时期，确切的说没人或者实际上是除了十分热情而接近类似偏执狂边缘的过度想象力的之外的人，已经打算做这件事似乎已经被忽略了。本着这种精神，我怀疑吉尔默县的治安官的职位可以将阿散蒂语变成美国的官方语言或者无许可售卖独角兽肉排。
It may dismay Mr Garrison, but issuing executive orders is not an impeachable offense. Presidents do it all the time. And it may surprise Mr Garrison, but the executive orders Mr Obama has issued are in fact rather anodyne. They do not ban or attempt to ban any guns, accessories or magazines of any kind; in fact, by providing more money for \assigned to schools), they may well increase the number of regularly-armed Americans.
这可能让加里森先生沮丧了，但是发布的行政命令不构成弹劾的行为。总统一直都在这样做。这可能让加里森先生吃惊了，但是奥巴马先生行政命令的发布已成事实而不是止痛而已。他们没有禁止或者尝试禁止任何枪支、配件或任何相关弹药库；事实上政府为“学校资源警官”提供了更多的资金（武装警察进驻学校），他们可能更好的提高常规武装的美国的数量。
Now, Mr Obama also has among his legislative goals a strengthened assault-weapons ban, as well as bans on armour-piercing bullets and magazines that hold more than ten bullets, but those will have to pass Congress, just like any other law. It may both surprise and dismay Mr Garrison that in fact nothing Mr Obama has proposed runs afoul of the constitution. In 2008 the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v Heller that the second amendment allows private gun-ownership, and that total bans on handguns, like the one at issue in Heller, are therefore unconstitutional. But the court also held that \not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose\
现在，奥巴马在他的立法目标也有一个加强突击武器的禁令，以及对穿甲子弹和容纳超过10发子弹弹仓的禁令，但这些禁令必须通过国会，就像任何其他的法律。这可能会让加里森先生沮丧和吃惊，但事实是奥巴马先生的建议没有与宪法相违背。2008年最高法院裁决了哥伦比亚特区诉海勒案。在这一案的判决中，以宪法第二条修正案为据，宣称个人有权在家中拥有强制武器，并称绝对禁止枪支像海勒案中的问题，是不符合美国宪法规定的。但是法庭也支持“第二条修正案的权利是有限制的。法案规定不管以何种方式和因为何种目的都没有权利存有和持有武器。”顺便说一句，这是由安东宁.斯卡利亚所指定的条文。 Mr Garrison and his ilk among CSOPA seem gripped by two common fallacies. The first is the belief that county sheriffs can violate federal laws that they happen to disagree with, and can deny federal officers the right to enforce federal law in their counties. This is simply hogwash. It is true that as a local law officer Mr Garrison will not be required to enforce federal laws, but neither can he violate them just because he happens to believe they are unconstitutional. As for keeping federal officers out, well, the South has tried that a couple of times before. It did not end well. 在CSOPADE 的加里森先生和他的同类似乎被二个常识性的错误所吸引。首先是他们相信当联保法律与他们本身发生冲突时，城市的执行长官们可以违反联邦法律，而在他们的城市中他们能够否定联邦官员执行联邦法律的权利。这简直是一派胡言。事实上是，作为一位当地的执法官员加里森先生不会被要求强制执