You can impress a certain kind of person at a party by reciting the fact that there are more yoga instructors in the US than there are coalminers. In fact, the disparity(差距；悬殊) is greater than this catchy phrasing(朗朗上口的说法) suggests: there are actually more yoga instructors in the US than there are people employed in the entirety of the coalmining industry, miners and otherwise(矿工及其他岗位). It’s not even especially close: about 38,000 people in the US work in coal, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(美国劳工统计局), compared to about 100,000 yoga instructors who are registered(注册的；登记的) with the Yoga Alliance(瑜伽联盟，美国瑜伽行业认证组织), an industry group.
在派对上，你若能说出美国瑜伽教练比煤矿工人还多，准能让某些人刮目相看。事实上，这一差距比这个朗朗上口的说法还要大：美国瑜伽教练的人数，实际上超过了整个煤炭开采业——包括矿工和其他所有岗位——的就业人数。差距甚至相当悬殊：根据美国劳工统计局的数据，美国约有3.8万人从事煤炭工作，而在行业组织瑜伽联盟注册的瑜伽教练约有10万人。
If you looked only at the numbers, you might think a politician would be incentivized to talk about the interests of the yoga industry, about the dignity that yoga jobs give to American families, or about the need to foster growth in the yoga industry, more than they talk about these things for coal; after all, yoga, not coal, is putting food on the table in more American households.(如果只看数字，你可能会以为政客更有动力去谈论瑜伽行业的利益、瑜伽工作给美国家庭带来的尊严，或扶持瑜伽行业增长的必要性，而不是为煤炭说这些话；毕竟，在更多美国家庭里，端上餐桌的是瑜伽，而不是煤炭。) But no politician would ever talk about the interests of yoga teachers, or wax poetic(诗意地赞美；滔滔不绝) about their role in the American dream, the way they do with coal miners; if they did, they’d be laughed out of the room(被轰出房间；遭人耻笑). And we all know why: yoga is thought of as decadent(颓废的；堕落的), cosmopolitan(世界主义的；国际化的) and feminine, while coal mining is imagined as hardscrabble(艰苦的；勉强糊口的), honorable and masculine.
如果只看数字，你可能会以为政客更有动力去谈论瑜伽行业的利益，谈论瑜伽工作给美国家庭带来的尊严，或谈论扶持瑜伽行业增长的必要性，而不是为煤炭说这些话；毕竟，在更多美国家庭里，端上餐桌的是瑜伽，而不是煤炭。但绝不会有政客去谈论瑜伽教师的利益，或像对待煤矿工人那样，诗意地赞美他们在美国梦中的角色；若真有人这么做，只会被轰出房间。原因我们都清楚：瑜伽被视为颓废、世界主义和女性化的，而煤矿开采则被想象成艰苦、光荣且充满男子气概的。
This was at the forefront of my mind(在我脑海中挥之不去) this past weekend when the EPA(美国环保署) announced that it would lift(取消；解除) limits on carbon emissions from coal- and gas-burning power plants, a reversal(逆转；推翻) of Biden and Obama era climate policies. It’s just the latest in a long line of energy industry deregulation efforts by the Trump administration, which has also loosened or removed limits on carbon emissions from vehicles and household appliances; in 2022, the Republican-dominated supreme court ruled, in a six to three decision along party lines, that the EPA lacks the independent authority to regulate carbon at all.(这不过是特朗普政府一系列能源行业放松管制举措中的最新一例，此前它还放宽或取消了汽车和家用电器的碳排放限制；2022年，由共和党主导的最高法院以6比3的党派划线裁决，认定环保署根本不具备监管碳排放的独立权力。)
上周末，当美国环保署宣布将取消燃煤和燃气发电厂的碳排放限制时，这一点在我脑海中挥之不去。这不过是特朗普政府一系列能源行业放松管制举措中的最新一例，此前它还放宽或取消了汽车和家用电器的碳排放限制；2022年，由共和党主导的最高法院以6比3的党派划线裁决，认定环保署根本不具备监管碳排放的独立权力。