Brazil's environmental agency recently refused to give oil company Petrobras permission to search for oil under the ocean near the mouth of the Amazon River.
最近，巴西环境部门拒绝了巴西国家石油公司在亚马逊河口附近海域寻找石油的许可。
Petrobras is Brazil's state-run oil company.
巴西国家石油公司是巴西的国有石油公司。
The oil company wanted to start a drilling project near the northern coast of Brazil, in an area known as the Tapajos Basin. Activists describe the area as "unique" and say it contains plants and coral reefs that are sensitive to chemicals. A number of environmental organizations pushed the agency to reject Petrobras' application.
这家石油公司希望在巴西北部海岸附近的塔帕若斯盆地开始一项钻探项目。活动人士称该地区是“独特的”，并表示该地区含有对化学物质敏感的植物和珊瑚礁。一些环保组织敦促该机构拒绝巴西石油公司的申请。
When the environmental agency's leader, Rodrigo Agostinho announced his decision last week, he said the company did not fix some "technical inconsistencies" in its proposal.
上周，当环境保护局局长罗德里戈·阿戈斯蒂尼奥(Rodrigo Agostinho)宣布他的决定时，他说该公司没有解决其提案中的一些“技术矛盾”。
The head of Petrobras is Jean Paul Prates. He said the company has never had an oil leak during offshore projects. His word, however, was not enough to persuade the agency of the project's safety.
巴西国家石油公司的负责人让·保罗·普拉特斯表示，该公司从未在海上项目中发生过石油泄漏。然而，他的话不足以说服该机构相信该项目的安全性。
Petrobras noted that it would appeal the decision. The oil company believes exploring the northern coast is important for the nation's economy. Brazil's oil production, Petrobras said, is expected to reach its highest level soon and then start to drop off. The company planned to invest half of its $6 billion exploration budget for the next five years in the area.
巴西国家石油公司指出，它将对这一决定提出上诉。这家石油公司认为，勘探北部海岸对国家经济至关重要。巴西国家石油公司表示，预计巴西的石油产量将很快达到最高水平，然后开始下降。该公司计划在未来五年将其60亿美元勘探预算的一半投资于该地区。
Agostinho called the area "a new exploratory frontier with high... vulnerability" in his announcement.
阿戈斯蒂尼奥称该地区为“高……脆弱性”。
Groups such as the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace were among the organizations asking the agency to reject Petrobras' request.
世界野生动物基金会(World Wildlife Fund)和绿色和平组织(Greenpeace)等组织要求该机构拒绝巴西石油公司的请求。
Another group was Health and Happiness, a Brazilian nonprofit led by Caetano Scannavino. He was pleased with the decision and said it was an example of "prioritizing science in the service of the collective."
另一个组织是由卡埃塔诺·斯卡纳维诺(Caetano Scannavino)领导的巴西非营利组织“健康与幸福”(Health and Happiness)。他对这一决定感到高兴，并表示这是“优先为集体服务的科学”的例子。
He went on to say any mistake in the area would hurt the environment. If the agency had permitted drilling, he said, it would be going against the Brazilian government's "promise of a decarbonized future."
他接着说，该地区的任何错误都会损害环境。他说，如果该机构允许钻探，那就违背了巴西政府“对未来去碳化的承诺”。
The Climate Observatory is a network of environmental nonprofit groups. It said the agency is protecting an "unknown ecosystem and maintains the coherence of the Lula government."
气候观察是一个由环保非营利组织组成的网络。它说，该机构正在保护一个“未知的生态系统，并保持卢拉政府的一致性。”
Brazil's president is Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He had been president from 2003 to 2010 and permitted offshore drilling during that term. The large oil projects helped pay for improvements in Brazilian health, education and welfare programs. Some members of Lula's Workers' Party political group consider oil money as a way to increase social spending.
巴西总统是路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦。他在2003年至2010年期间担任总统，并在该任期内批准了海上钻探。这些大型石油项目为改善巴西的健康、教育和福利项目提供了资金。卢拉的工人党政治团体的一些成员认为石油收入是增加社会支出的一种方式。
Lula now says he supports the environment. His promises about protecting the Amazon rain forest helped him win last year's election over former President Jair Bolsonaro.
现在，卢拉表示支持环境保护。他关于保护亚马逊雨林的承诺，帮助他在去年的选举中击败了前总统雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗。
Experts and activists say Lula's reputation would be hurt if his government permitted the offshore drilling project.
专家和活动人士说，如果卢拉政府批准海上钻探项目，他的声誉将受到损害。
Suely Araujo is a former head of Brazil's environment agency and now works with the Climate Observatory. Araujo said the decision to block the drilling project means Brazil should also start to end its dependence on fossil fuels, like oil and gas.
苏埃利·阿劳霍是巴西环境机构的前负责人，现在与气候观察合作。阿劳霍表示，阻止钻探项目的决定,意味着巴西也应该开始结束对石油和天然气等化石燃料的依赖。
However, not everyone from the area close to the drilling site was pleased with the decision. Randolfe Rodrigues is a senator from Amapa State, the state that stood to gain the most if Petrobras found oil.
然而，并不是靠近钻井地点的所有人都对这一决定感到满意。兰多尔费·罗德里格斯是来自阿马帕州的参议员，如果巴西石油公司在此发现石油，该州将获得最大收益。
He said the restriction on oil exploration will hurt the development of Amapa. He said he would put a group together to fight the decision.
他说，对石油勘探的限制将损害阿马帕州的发展。他说，他将成立一个小组来对抗这一决定。
Petrobras said its proposal did not violate any requirements set forth by the government, and its exploration area was far away from the river. The oil company said it would continue to look for new drilling areas, but also work to find a way to drill in the area it first targeted.
巴西国家石油公司表示，其提案没有违反政府提出的任何要求，而且它的勘探区域远离河流。这家石油公司表示，将继续寻找新的钻探区域，但也会努力找到在最初目标区域钻探的方法。
There are other projects for the environment agency to consider. They include the repair of a highway through the rain forest, construction of a major railway for transporting grain and the renewal of a hydroelectric dam's operating permit.
环境机构还需要考虑其他项目。其中包括修复一条穿越雨林的高速公路，修建一条运输粮食的主要铁路，以及更新一座水电站的运营许可证。
I'm Dan Friedell.
丹·弗里德尔报道。
Brazil's environmental agency recently refused to give oil company Petrobras permission to search for oil under the ocean near the mouth of the Amazon River.
Petrobras is Brazil's state-run oil company.
The oil company wanted to start a drilling project near the northern coast of Brazil, in an area known as the Tapajos Basin. Activists describe the area as "unique" and say it contains plants and coral reefs that are sensitive to chemicals. A number of environmental organizations pushed the agency to reject Petrobras' application.
When the environmental agency's leader, Rodrigo Agostinho announced his decision last week, he said the company did not fix some "technical inconsistencies" in its proposal.
The head of Petrobras is Jean Paul Prates. He said the company has never had an oil leak during offshore projects. His word, however, was not enough to persuade the agency of the project's safety.
Petrobras noted that it would appeal the decision. The oil company believes exploring the northern coast is important for the nation's economy. Brazil's oil production, Petrobras said, is expected to reach its highest level soon and then start to drop off. The company planned to invest half of its $6 billion exploration budget for the next five years in the area.
Agostinho called the area "a new exploratory frontier with high... vulnerability" in his announcement.
Groups such as the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace were among the organizations asking the agency to reject Petrobras' request.
Another group was Health and Happiness, a Brazilian nonprofit led by Caetano Scannavino. He was pleased with the decision and said it was an example of "prioritizing science in the service of the collective."
He went on to say any mistake in the area would hurt the environment. If the agency had permitted drilling, he said, it would be going against the Brazilian government's "promise of a decarbonized future."
The Climate Observatory is a network of environmental nonprofit groups. It said the agency is protecting an "unknown ecosystem and maintains the coherence of the Lula government."
Brazil's president is Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He had been president from 2003 to 2010 and permitted offshore drilling during that term. The large oil projects helped pay for improvements in Brazilian health, education and welfare programs. Some members of Lula's Workers' Party political group consider oil money as a way to increase social spending.
Lula now says he supports the environment. His promises about protecting the Amazon rain forest helped him win last year's election over former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Experts and activists say Lula's reputation would be hurt if his government permitted the offshore drilling project.
Suely Araujo is a former head of Brazil's environment agency and now works with the Climate Observatory. Araujo said the decision to block the drilling project means Brazil should also start to end its dependence on fossil fuels, like oil and gas.
However, not everyone from the area close to the drilling site was pleased with the decision. Randolfe Rodrigues is a senator from Amapa State, the state that stood to gain the most if Petrobras found oil.
He said the restriction on oil exploration will hurt the development of Amapa. He said he would put a group together to fight the decision.
Petrobras said its proposal did not violate any requirements set forth by the government, and its exploration area was far away from the river. The oil company said it would continue to look for new drilling areas, but also work to find a way to drill in the area it first targeted.
There are other projects for the environment agency to consider. They include the repair of a highway through the rain forest, construction of a major railway for transporting grain and the renewal of a hydroelectric dam's operating permit.
I'm Dan Friedell.
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Words in This Story
inconsistency -n. the quality of not having all parts agreeing with each other or of not being the same
frontier -n. an area that distant from where people are and is not known well
vulnerability -n. a weakness or a quality that permits something or someone to be hurt or damaged
prioritize -v. to make something important so it will be dealt with soon
decarbonized -adj. (environmental) related to effort to reduce the amount of carbon-based fuels used for energy
ecosystem -n. everything that exists in a particular environment and that is connected with its surroundings
coherence -n. the quality of being well organized and logical
reputation -n. other peoples' opinion about a person
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