President-elect Barack Obama has spent two years talking about how badly this country needs change, particularly on green issues. Now he has a chance to deliver it. But so far, when it comes to his economic stimulus package, the rush to get quick results seems to be pushing the environment to the background and sending the process down a familiar path, as lobbyists and contractors jostle for handouts in another round of what one commentator recently dubbed “K Street Capitalism.”
尽管所有关于破坏我们的石油成瘾并解决全球变暖的讨论，但目前被吹捧为“铲子准备就绪”的大多数项目都不是绿色的。例如，在运输方面，州和联邦运输机构主要是驱逐他们通常的高速公路愿望清单。自然资源国防委员会联邦联邦运输政策总监Deron Lovaas说：“我们在国会山的游说者和员工听到的部分原因是，应根据现有公式汇出美元。”这意味着从1982年开始依靠里根政府的协议，该协议在该协议下，80％的运输基金用于公路，只有20％用于公共交通。（NRDC认为50-50更像是“我们可以相信的改变。”）
那么，即使速度和经济复苏至关重要，也有什么环境开明的方式来花费联邦呢？我们如何摆脱目前根据政治影响力分发资金的桥梁系统？
We need a clear break from business as usual, and the economic stimulus package is a perfect opportunity to test the idea of a green scorecard for smart spending. It would consist of a checklist of objectives, many of them necessarily economic: Does this proposal create American jobs? Does it foster industries where the United States can take a decisive lead? Does it have a short payback period? Does it offer a good return on investment?
记分卡将迫使每个人，从国防承包商到环保主义者，以不同的方式思考。
但是绿色标准的重量相等：它会减少我们的碳足迹吗？它会鼓励能源独立吗？它可以提高空气质量吗？它可以解决水质和供应问题吗？它会鼓励智能增长而不是蔓延吗？它保护野生动植物和其他自然资源吗？
A proposed project would win or lose points on each metric, and move forward only if it achieved a specific overall point total.
Reducing a funding decision to numbers might sound simplistic. But simplicity can be a good thing. Say you’re trying to ease the traffic bottleneck caused by tractor-trailers on a major transportation route. The choice: Either expand the highway to eight lanes, or boost capacity on the adjacent intermodal rail line. The rail project is almost certain to rack up more points for being quicker to start, cheaper to build, and delivering freight five times farther than trucks on the same gallon of fuel, releasing one third the greenhouse gas emissions.
Even a relatively simple point system can leave room for nuance. The entire power transmission grid is overdue for an upgrade, but the point system would probably direct early funding to underdeveloped wind power transmission routes. Biofuel in the form of corn ethanol would gain points on energy independence, for instance, but lose them on carbon emissions. A housing project might get +1 point for creating short-lived construction jobs, while an alternative energy plan might score +3 for long-term jobs in manufacturing.
记分卡会迫使每个人的思维方式有所不同。除了在水质和供应方面的额外点，一个传统环境bailiwick之外的国防项目可能会更加努力地减慢径流。寻求政府支持的开发商希望将市中心或现有过境路线的项目集中到项目，以减少开车时间来得分气候点。
Likewise environmentalists might find themselves paying closer attention to mainstream economic concerns. For instance, climate change activists frequently urge consumers to buy compact fluorescent lights and energy efficient electronic devices (+3 for reducing carbon emissions). But those products are generally manufactured overseas (-3 for U.S. job creation), according to Jackie Roberts, director of sustainable technology for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
罗伯茨说，使用经济刺激资金为气候化项目提供现金折扣，将在美国制造的绝缘，热窗和其他气候化产品，以便在经济和环境评分上提供快速的结果（并收集点）。
Last week, a coalition of 17 U.S. environmental groups put forward a “green stimulus” proposal for 80 projects to reduce pollution, save energy, protect public health and safety, and restore the environment. The coalition said the proposed projects — which include road and bridge repairs but no new roads — would create up to four million jobs and cost $160 billion.
EDF和杜克大学最近还编写了一份全球变暖的清单，这些修复程序准备在任何经济刺激提案中成为第一轮的一部分。例如，北卡罗来纳州开发了一种新技术，将牲畜废物转化为盆栽土壤，从而降低了二氧化碳排放量97％。这项技术还将为解决水和空气质量问题和创造美国制造业就业机会而得分。
记分卡的想法并不是什么新鲜事物。俄勒冈州使用“进度指标”系统来衡量国家机构的绩效。前总统候选人汤姆·维尔萨克（Tom Vilsack）在爱荷华州州长时也采用了这样的系统，他在总统初选期间在联邦一级提倡这一想法。
In an interview withYale Environment 360, Vilsack said a spending scorecard would be “a terrific opportunity for the Obama Administration to send a different message to the people: ‘This is huge, it’s complicated, but we’re going to be transparent. We’re going to tell you what we’re spending, why we’re spending it, and what benefit will accrue to the American people.’”
鉴于游说者的影响力和联邦一级的选举周期，提出任何形式的记分卡通常是天真的，更不用说是绿色的。国会议员将拒绝将其宠物项目保留在数字上 - 国会山相当于没有孩子留下的。在短期内，在短期内更容易和政治上更有意义，而不是争论要打出什么数字。
The scorecard could eventually become a standard for all federal spending, reducing the influence of lobbyists.
But the debate over the auto industry bailout has made people painfully aware that it’s not enough to have a budget. We need a plan, and it needs to be a plan where fixing things in the short-term doesn’t just make them worse a few years out.
President-elect Obama currently has the political clout to deliver scorecard criteria for the economic stimulus package without prolonged debate.如果他做到了，绿色记分卡最终可能会成为所有联邦支出的标准，从而减少了游说者的影响，并迫使立法者专注于结果。但是目前重要的是，这样的记分卡将为奥巴马提供他对经济复苏的预算测试，并承诺“在美国关于气候变化领导的新篇章”的承诺。
All he needs is the political will.