Here's What's Sexy About It: Saving Money(3)
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-12-28 01:08 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  Hello!  Hello!  (Applause.)  Thank you guys.  Thank you.  Everybody, please have a seat.

We've got a couple of special guests here today.  First of all, the outstanding senator参议员 from the great Commonwealth1 of Virginia, Senator Mark Warner is here.  Where's Mark?  Right there.  (Applause.)  We've got a couple of champions for job creation here in Northern Virginia -- Gerry Connolly and Jim Moran.  (Applause.)

Can I just ask, how come they got the Home Depot2 thing and you guys don't have it?  (Laughter.)  What, the senators are too cool to put it on?  What's going on here? (Laughter.)

Working to jumpstart安装,引进 our retrofit花样翻新 efforts around the country, Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman3 Peter Welch are here as well.  (Applause.)  We've got Alexandria Mayor William Euille.  Where's William?  There he is.  Good to see you, Bill.  (Applause.)  And we've got Frank Blake and his team here at Home Depot.  Where's Frank?  There he is.  (Applause.)

So seeing how Christmas is just around the corner即将来临, and we’re at Home Depot, I thought I might knock out some of my holiday shopping.  (Laughter.)  I figure my Energy Secretary wants a few million energy-efficient light bulbs.  (Laughter.)  My Press Secretary wants something that will prevent leaks.

AUDIENCE:  Ooooh!

THE PRESIDENT:  Come on, guys.  (Laughter.)  It took a while there for -- (laughter.)  But I’ve also come here to spend some time with workers and contractors4 and manufacturers and small business owners who've been especially hard hit by our economic downturn经济低迷.  A few of us just spent some time at a roundtable圆桌的 talking about the role they want to play in job creation and in our economic recovery, and how government can best help to give them a boost.

I don’t need to remind them or any of you about the situation we found ourselves in at the beginning of this year.  The economy was in a freefall.  As a result of our financial crisis, folks couldn’t access affordable5 credit to run their businesses, or take out an auto6 loan or a student loan or, in some cases, pay their mortgages.  Home values were plummeting骤然下跌.  And we were hemorrhaging大出血,损失 about 700,000 jobs per month.

Today, the economy is growing for the first time in more than a year, and November’s job report was the best that we’ve had in nearly two years.

But the fact is, even though we’ve stopped the rapid job losses that we were seeing just a few months ago, more than seven million Americans have lost their jobs in the two years since this recession began.  Unemployment still stands at 10 percent.  So we’re not finished with our task -- far from it.  We've got a lot of work to do.  And I promise you, in the White House we're hard at work every single day, until every single person who wants a job can find a job.

That's why last week, I announced some additional targeted steps to spur激励,鞭策 private sector8 hiring and give an added boost to small businesses by building on the tax cuts in the Recovery Act and increasing access to the loans desperately9 needed for small businesses to grow.  We'll rebuild and modernize10 even more of our transportation and communication networks across the country.  And I called for the extension of emergency relief like unemployment insurance and health benefits to help those who've lost their jobs, while boosting consumer spending and promoting job growth.

We also want to take some strategic surgical11 steps in areas that are going to generate the greatest number of jobs while generating the greatest value for our economy.  From the moment we took office, even as we took immediate12 steps to deal with the financial crisis, we began investing in newer, stronger foundations for lasting13 growth -- one that would free us from the cycle of boom and bust14 that has been so painful; one that can create good jobs and opportunities for a growing middle class.  That's at the heart of our efforts, and clean energy can be a powerful engine for creating that kind of growth.

That's why the Recovery Act included the single biggest investment in job-creating clean energy in our history:  in renewable sources of energy; in advanced manufacturing; in clean vehicle technology; in a bigger, better, smarter electric grid15 that can carry clean, homegrown energy from the places that harness it to the places that need it.

And after these investments have been given the better part of a year to take root, a picture of their impact is starting to emerge.  I just received a report from Vice16 President Biden that confirms that as a result of the steps that we've taken, a major transformation17 of our economy is well underway.  We are on track to double renewable energy production, and double our capacity to manufacture clean energy components18 like wind turbines and solar panels right here in the United States by the year 2012 -- doubling it.  (Applause.)#p#分页标题#e#

But there's a lot more that we can do, and that's what I've come to Home Depot to talk about.

In our nation's buildings -- our homes and our office consume almost 40 percent of the energy we use and contribute almost 40 percent of the carbon pollution that we produce and everybody is talking about right now in Copenhagen.  Homes built in the first half of the last century can use about 50 percent more energy than homes that are built today.  And because most of our homes and office aren't energy-efficient, much of that energy just goes to waste, while costing our families and businesses money they can't afford to throw away.

The simple act of retrofitting these buildings to make them more energy-efficient --insulation19 new windows and doors, insulation, roofing, sealing leaks, modernizing20 heating and cooling equipment -- is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest things we can do to put Americans back to work while saving families money and reducing harmful emissions21.

As a result of a variety of investments made under the Recovery Act, including state and local energy grants, we're on pace to upgrade the homes of half a million Americans by this time next year -- half a million Americans:  boosting the economy, saving money and energy, creating clean energy jobs that can't be outsourced.  But this is an area that has huge potential to grow.  That's why I'm calling on Congress to provide new temporary incentives22 for Americans to make energy-efficiency retrofit investments in their homes.  And we want them to do it soon.

I know the idea may not be very glamorous24 -- although I get really excited about it.  We were at the roundtable and somebody said installation is not sexy.  I disagree.  (Laughter.)  Frank, don't you think installation is sexy stuff?  (Applause.)  Here's what’s sexy about it:  saving money.  Think about it this way:  If you haven't upgraded your home yet, it's not just heat or cool air that's escaping -- it's energy and money that you are wasting.  If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window up into the atmosphere, you'd try to figure out how you were going to keep that.  But that's exactly what's happening because of the lack of efficiency in our buildings.

So what we want to do is create incentives that stimulate25 consumer spending, because folks buy materials from home improvement stores like this one, which then buys them from manufacturers.  It spurs hiring because local contractors and construction workers do the installation.  It saves consumers money -- perhaps hundreds of dollars off their utility bills each year -- and it reduces our energy consumption in the process.

In other words, most of this stuff is going to pay for itself.  You put in the insulation, you weatherize your home now, you will make up that money in a year or two years or three years, and then everything after that is just gravy26.  But the challenge for a lot of people is getting that money up front.  They know that this is a smart thing to do, but times are tight right now and it's hard to afford making that capital investment. And that's where the government can come in to provide the incentive23 to help people make that initial investment so that they can recover that money over the long term.

These incentives will build on the work that my administration is doing to eliminate existing barriers to retrofitting millions of homes across the country.  My Middle Class Task Force and the Council on Environmental Quality recently released a report titled "Recovery Through Retrofit," that explains some of these hurdles27 and how we can overcome them: providing homeowners with straightforward28 and reliable information on retrofitting their homes, reducing their costs to do it, and ensuring that we've got a well-trained workforce29 ready to make it happen.

So I think this is an extraordinary idea.  All the ideas that we've discussed were talked about at the jobs forum30 we held at the White House a couple of weeks ago.  And in fact, Frank Blake was there and mentioned that 30 percent of Home Depot's business is made up of small contractors of five or fewer employees who often do this kind of work.  And they and the folks that I met with earlier know just how important a program like this could be.

The economic downturn hit both small contractors and our broader construction industry especially hard.  Construction unemployment reached 21 percent in the beginning of this year.  The investments we made under the Recovery Act has helped, but obviously there's a lot more work to do to put construction workers and millions of other Americans who are ready and eager to help rebuild America and move our recovery forward back on the job again.  And we're not going to rest until we do it.

So it's fitting that we're here today at Home Depot with folks who play a vital role in helping31 America's families build strong homes and strengthen the ones that they've got, because that's exactly what we're trying to do -- rebuild our -- rebuild America's house on a stronger foundation of growth and prosperity.  It's not going to be easy, but we've got the concrete poured.  And one thing is clear:  We're moving in the right direction.  So I promise you we are going to get this job done.  Together, we can leave something for future generations that makes America that much stronger.#p#分页标题#e#

And I just want to emphasize one last point.  There's a lot -- a lot of times there's an argument about economic growth versus32 the environment.  And in the debate that's going on about climate change right now, a lot of people say we can't afford to deal with these emissions to the environment.  But the fact of the matter is energy efficiency is a perfect example of how this can be a win-win.  Manufacturers like Owens Corning, whose CEO is here today, they win because they produce this stuff.  And those are American jobs.  And right now -- I just heard from the CEO, because Australia put an incentive to do exactly what we're talking about, they’ve seen a huge increase in their volume of experts -- exports to Australia.  Well, why can't we do the same thing here?

When it comes to contractors, contractors all around the country know that this is work they can do, they can do effectively, they can do well, and it's a reliable business.  It's not going to be subject to as many of the vacillations as home sales are in the current environment where you've got a soft housing market.  So this can help fill the void in a major industry that's taken a big hit.

And the workers, we have somebody who just got trained and is already on the job crawling through attics33 and putting all this stuff together.  Over the course of six months or a year, somebody can get trained effectively.  And LIUNA is doing terrific work with this -- its apprenticeship34 program.  And what this means is that people who are unemployed35 right now, they can get a marketable skill that they can take anywhere.

So this is a smart thing to do, and we've got to get beyond this point where we think that somehow being smart on energy is a job destroyer.  It is a job creator.  But it's going to require some imagination and some foresight36, and it requires us to all work together.  That's what this White House is committed to doing.  I know that's what all of you are committed to doing.

We are going to generate so much business for you, Frank.  We are going to generate so much work for you guys from LIUNA. We're going to create so much business -- so many business opportunities for contractors here that over the course of the next several years, people are going to see this I think as an extraordinary opportunity, and it's going to help America turn the corner when it comes to energy use.

I'm excited about it.  I hope you are, too.  See, I told, insulation is sexy.  Thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.)

END



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 commonwealth XXzyp     
n.共和国,联邦,共同体
参考例句:
  • He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
  • Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。
2 depot Rwax2     
n.仓库,储藏处;公共汽车站;火车站
参考例句:
  • The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
  • They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。
3 Congressman TvMzt7     
n.(美)国会议员
参考例句:
  • He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
  • The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
4 contractors afd5c0fd2ee43e4ecee8159c7a7c63e4     
n.(建筑、监造中的)承包人( contractor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后,接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 affordable kz6zfq     
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
参考例句:
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。
6 auto ZOnyW     
n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车
参考例句:
  • Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
  • The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。
7 plummeting a560b06f9b99975167411b72966f5588     
v.垂直落下,骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
  • The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句
8 sector yjczYn     
n.部门,部分;防御地段,防区;扇形
参考例句:
  • The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
  • The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。
9 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
10 modernize SEixp     
vt.使现代化,使适应现代的需要
参考例句:
  • It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化,明显失败了。
  • There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。
11 surgical 0hXzV3     
adj.外科的,外科医生的,手术上的
参考例句:
  • He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
  • All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前,必须消毒。
12 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
13 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
参考例句:
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
14 bust WszzB     
vt.打破;vi.爆裂;n.半身像;胸部
参考例句:
  • I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
  • She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。
15 grid 5rPzpK     
n.高压输电线路网;地图坐标方格;格栅
参考例句:
  • In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下,要用载体把格栅密封起来。
  • Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。
16 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
17 transformation SnFwO     
n.变化;改造;转变
参考例句:
  • Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
  • He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。
18 components 4725dcf446a342f1473a8228e42dfa48     
(机器、设备等的)构成要素,零件,成分; 成分( component的名词复数 ); [物理化学]组分; [数学]分量; (混合物的)组成部分
参考例句:
  • the components of a machine 机器部件
  • Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。
19 insulation Q5Jxt     
n.隔离;绝缘;隔热
参考例句:
  • Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
  • It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。
20 modernizing 44bdb80e6ee4cb51b9829f1073fceee0     
使现代化,使适应现代需要( modernize的现在分词 ); 现代化,使用现代方法
参考例句:
  • Modernizing a business to increase its profitability and competitiveness is a complicated affair. 使企业现代化,从而达到增加利润,增强竞争力的目的,是一件复杂的事情。
  • The young engineer had a large share in modernizing the factory. 这位年轻工程师在工厂现代化的过程中尽了很大的“力”。
21 emissions 1a87f8769eb755734e056efecb5e2da9     
排放物( emission的名词复数 ); 散发物(尤指气体)
参考例句:
  • Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
  • Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。
22 incentives 884481806a10ef3017726acf079e8fa7     
激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 ); 刺激; 诱因; 动机
参考例句:
  • tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
  • Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者,提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
23 incentive j4zy9     
n.刺激;动力;鼓励;诱因;动机
参考例句:
  • Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中,钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
  • He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。
24 glamorous ezZyZ     
adj.富有魅力的;美丽动人的;令人向往的
参考例句:
  • The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊,但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
  • It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差,并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。
25 stimulate wuSwL     
vt.刺激,使兴奋;激励,使…振奋
参考例句:
  • Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
  • Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。
26 gravy Przzt1     
n.肉汁;轻易得来的钱,外快
参考例句:
  • You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
  • The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。
27 hurdles ef026c612e29da4e5ffe480a8f65b720     
n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 );跳栏;(供人或马跳跃的)栏架;跨栏赛
参考例句:
  • In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时,必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句
28 straightforward fFfyA     
adj.正直的,坦率的;易懂的,简单的
参考例句:
  • A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
  • I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。
29 workforce workforce     
n.劳动大军,劳动力
参考例句:
  • A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
  • A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。
30 forum cilx0     
n.论坛,讨论会
参考例句:
  • They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
  • The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。
31 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
32 versus wi7wU     
prep.以…为对手,对;与…相比之下
参考例句:
  • The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
  • The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。
33 attics 10dfeae57923f7ba63754c76388fab81     
n. 阁楼
参考例句:
  • They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics. 他们把暂时不需要的东西放在抽屉里、壁橱中和搁楼上。
  • He rummaged busily in the attics of European literature, bringing to light much of interest. 他在欧洲文学的阁楼里忙着翻箱倒笼,找到了不少有趣的东西。
34 apprenticeship 4NLyv     
n.学徒身份;学徒期
参考例句:
  • She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
  • He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。
35 unemployed lfIz5Q     
adj.失业的,没有工作的;未动用的,闲置的
参考例句:
  • There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
  • The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。
36 foresight Wi3xm     
n.先见之明,深谋远虑
参考例句:
  • The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
  • It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。
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