英语翻译As the railroad and the highways shaped the American wes

英语翻译
As the railroad and the highways shaped the American west in the past centuries,a new electrical generating (发电) and transmission (输送) system for the 21st 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.
The 19th century saw land grant (政府拨地) 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 underdeveloped,and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management.With the competition 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.
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.
So trade-offs will have to be made.Some scenic spots will be sacrificed.Some species (物种) will be forced to move,or will be carefully moved to special accommodations.Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects.
The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter.The 21st 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 likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind,just like the railroads and the highways.
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.

数百年来,铁路和公路塑造了美国西部.无论结果如何,二十一世纪的新型发电输送系统将把西部这一标志继续传承下去.铁路和公路的真正意义不在于给西部面貌带来的物理变化,而是对周围社区产生的诸多影响.这也正是太阳能电站和即将铺设的能将电力输往各处的电力线的真正意义.