As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating and transmission system for the 21th century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.

在过去的几个世纪里，随着美国西部铁路和高速公路的发展，21世纪一种新的电力发电运输系统应运而生，无论好坏，都将在西方留下持久的印记。铁路和公路的真正意义不在于它们对风景的直接物理影响，而在于它们对周围社区的影响。大型太阳能发电厂和将铺设的输电线路也是如此。

The 19th century saw land grants offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died.

19世纪政府拨地给铁路公司建造横贯大陆的铁路，将公共土地置于私有土地之间。在西部大部分地区，一些铁路路段已经开发，而另一些尚未开发，在这两种情况下，土地所有权对土地管理提出了独特的挑战。随着州际公路系统的建成，许多作为铁路车站而兴起并发展良好的小城镇已经失去了生命力，继而消逝。

Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now.

大型太阳能发电厂及其输电线的影响也将远远超出它们在西部的直接影响。这不是反对建造它们的理由。我们迫切需要替代能源，要真正利用它，我们需要比现在更容易地输送电力。

So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects.

因此，必须做出权衡。一些景点将被牺牲，一些物种将被迫搬家，或被小心地转移到特殊地点。将达成协议以减少直接影响。

The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21th century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.

这些权衡的持久影响是另一回事。21世纪，作为替代能源的理想之地美国西部开发将给本地区带来大量的电力和资金。这种权力和金钱有可能带来很多好处，但也有可能被浪费掉，并留下新的问题，就像铁路和公路一样。

The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape the West far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines. So let's remember the effects of the railroads and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the West.

通过谈判达成的交易和控制交易的机构所预留的资金，将远远超出发电厂和输电线路的直接影响范围，开发西部。所以，让我们记住在西部建设这些新发电厂时对于铁路和公路的影响。