With its references to raging storms, icy currents and gathering clouds, the weather featured heavily in Barack Obama’s first inaugural address. He even promised to do something about it – “to roll back the spectre of global warming”. And he tried. Of his three big first-term reforms, including healthcare and Wall Street, only cap and trade failed. It still damaged his party in the midterm elections. Realists say it would be suicidal to try it again. But inaugurations are meant to lift our gaze to the horizons. Overhauling immigration and curbing gun violence are worthy goals. But neither compares to the health of the planet.
在巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)首次上任的就職演說中，天氣占據(jù)了不少分量——疾風(fēng)暴雨、冰冷寒流和濃云密布均有提及。他甚至承諾著手解決氣候問題——“擊退全球變暖的幽靈”。他也努力了。在他第一個(gè)任期的三大改革中，醫(yī)療改革和金融業(yè)改革均取得成就，只有碳排放限量與交易計(jì)劃(cap and trade)失敗。但這仍然讓民主黨在中期選舉中折戟。現(xiàn)實(shí)主義者認(rèn)為，重啟應(yīng)對氣候變化行動(dòng)將是自尋死路。然而，就職典禮的意義正在于讓人們放眼未來。改革移民制度和限制槍支暴力固然是值得追求的目標(biāo)，但二者均不及地球的健康重要。