The crisis at Japan's Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear energy center has raised questions about the future of the nuclear energy industry.
日本福岛第一核电站危机引发了人们对核能工业未来的质疑。

Arjun Makhijani is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in the United States.
美国能源与环境研究所所长是阿尔琼·梅基耶尼。

He says the disaster in Japan is historic.
他表示在日本发生的这次灾难是历史性的。

We are witnessing a completely unprecedented nuclear accident in that there have never been three reactors in the same place at the same time that have had a severe accident.
我们正在见证一次史无前例的核事故，以前从来没有发生过三个反应堆在同一时间，同一地点出现严重事故的情况。

This week, the chairman of America's nuclear agency said there is little chance that harmful radiation from Japan could reach the United States.
本周，美国核管理委员会主席格利高里·贾茨科说，日本的有害辐射到达美国的可能性很小。

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko also said America has a strong program in place to deal with earthquake threats.
美国核能管制委员会主席格雷戈里·贾兹科也表示美国有应对地震威胁的强有力的预案。

No new nuclear power centers have been built in the United States since 1979.
自1979年以来，美国就再也没有新建过核电站。

That was when America's worst nuclear accident happened at the Three Mile Island center in Pennsylvania.
那年，宾夕法尼亚州三哩岛核电站发生了美国史上最严重的核事故。

The accident began to turn public opinion against nuclear energy.
该事故使得公众舆论开始转向反核能计划。

To support more clean energy production, the Obama administration has been seeking billions of dollars in government loan guarantees to build new centers.
为了支持更多的清洁能源生产，奥巴马政府一直在努力寻求数十亿美元政府担保贷款用于建造新的核电站。

Currently, about 20% of electricity in the United States comes from nuclear energy.
目前，美国大约有20%的电力来自核能。

But critics say nuclear power is too costly and dangerous to be worth further expansion.
但批评人士称，核电成本过高、危险过大，不值得进一步扩张。

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would temporarily close seven nuclear power centers while energy policy is reconsidered.
德国总理安格拉·默克尔表示，德国将暂时关闭7座核电站，并重新考虑核能政策。

The European Union is planning to test all centers in its 27 member nations.
欧盟也正在计划对27个成员国的所有核电站进行（压力）测试。

Developing nations are less willing to slow nuclear expansion.
发展中国家不愿减缓核能开发。

China said it will continue with plans to build about 25 new nuclear reactors.
中国表示，将继续新建大约25座核反应堆。

And India, under a cooperation agreement with the United States, plans to spend billions on new centers in the coming years.
根据一项印美合作协议，印度将在未来几年投资数十亿美元新建核电站。

Japan has made nuclear energy a national priority since the 1970s.
日本从20世纪70年代开始，就将核能列为国家首要能源。

Unlike many major economies, Japan imports 80% of its energy.
日本和其他主要经济体不同，该国80%的能源依赖进口。

The Nuclear Energy Institute says 29% of Japan's electricity came from nuclear sources in 2009.
核能研究所称，在2009年，日本29%的电力来自核能。

The government planned to increase that to 40% by 2017.
日本政府计划到2017年，将这个比例提高到40%。

Nuclear reactors supply 14% of global electricity.
核反应堆供应了全球14%的电力。

Nuclear energy is a clean resource, producing no carbon gases.
核能属于清洁能源，不会产生二氧化碳气体。

But radioactive waste is a serious unresolved issue.
但放射性核废料仍是尚未解决的严重问题。

So is the presence of nuclear power centers in earthquake areas like the one near Bushehr, Iran.
此外，在地震区建核电站也存在严重问题，比如伊朗布什尔附近的核电站。