学术英语-理工-lecture11-原文

Lecture11Fourlessonsaboutclimatecrisis

I’mreallyscared.Idon’tthinkwe’regonnamakeit.ProbablybynowmostofyouhaveseenAlGore’samazingtalk.ShortlyafterIsawthat,wehadsomefriendsoverfordinnerwiththefamily.Theconversationturnedtoglobalwarming,andeverybodyagreed,there’sarealproblem.We’vegotaclimatecrisis.So,wewentaroundthetabletotalkaboutwhatweshoulddo.Theconversationcametomy15-year-olddaughter,Mary.Shesaid,“Iagreewitheverythingthat’sbeensaid.I’mscaredandI’mangry.”Andthensheturnedtomeandsaid,“Dad,yourgenerationcreatedthisproblem,you’dbetterfixit.”Wow.Alltheconversationstopped.Alltheeyesturnedtome.(Laughter)Ididn’tknowwhattosay.Kleiner’ssecondlawis,“Thereisatimewhenpanicistheappropriateresponse.”(Laughter)Andwe’vereachedthattime.Wecannotaffordtounderestimatethisproblem.Ifwefaceirreversibleandcatastrophicconsequences,wemustact,andwemustactdecisively.I’vegottotellyou,forme,everythingchangedthatevening.

Andso,mypartnersandI,wesetoffonthismissiontolearnmore,totrytodomuchmore.So,wemobilized.Wegotonairplanes.WewenttoBrazil.WewenttoChinaandtoIndia,toBentonville,Arkansas,andtoWashington,D.C.andtoSacramento.Andso,whatI’dliketodonowistotellyouaboutwhatwe’velearnedinthosejourneys.Becausethemorewelearned,themoreconcernedwegrew.Youknow,mypartnersatKleinerandIwerecompulsivenetworkers,andsowhenweseeabigproblemoranopportunitylikeavianfluorpersonalizedmedicine,wejustgettogetherthesmartestpeopleweknow.Forthisclimatecrisis,weassembledanetwork,really,ofsuperstars,frompolicyactiviststoscientistsandentrepreneursandbusinessleaders.Fiftyorsoofthem.Andso,Iwanttotellyouaboutwhatwe’velearnedindoingthatandfourlessonsI’velearnedinthelastyear.

Thefirstlessonisthatcompaniesarereallypowerful,andthatmattersalot.ThisisastoryabouthowWal-Martwentgreen,andwhatthatmeans.Twoyearsago,theCEO,LeeScott,believedthatgreenisthenextbigthing,andsoWal-Martmadegoinggreenatoppriority.Theycommittedthatthey’regonnataketheirexistingstoresandreducetheirenergyconsumptionby20percent,andtheirnewstoresby30percent,anddoallthatinsevenyears.Thethreebiggestusesofenergyinastoreareheatingandairconditioning,thenlighting,andthenrefrigeration.So,lookwhattheydid.Theypaintedtheroofsofalltheirstoreswhite.Theyputsmartskylightsthroughtheirstoressotheycouldharvestthedaylightandreducethelightingdemands.Andthird,theyputtherefrigeratedgoodsbehindcloseddoorswithLEDlighting.Imean,whywouldyoutrytorefrigerateawholestore?Thesearereallysimple,smartsolutionsbasedonexistingtechnology.

WhydoesWal-Martmatter?Well,it’smassive.They’rethelargest

5percentareflex-fuel.Andyouknowwhat?Mostconsumerswhohavethemdon’tevenknowit.So,what’shappenedinBrazilis,they’vereplaced40percentofthegasolineconsumedbytheirautomotivefleetwithethanol.That’s59billiondollarssince1975thattheydidn’tshiptotheMiddleEast.It’screatedamillionjobsinsidethatcountry,andit’ssaved32milliontonsofCO2.It’sreallysubstantial.That’s10percentoftheCO2emissionsacrosstheirentirecountry.ButBrazil’sonly1.3percentoftheworld’sCO2emission.So,Brazil’sethanolmiracleI’mreallyafraidisnotenough.Infact,I’mafraidallofthebestpolicieswehavearenotgonnabeenough.

Thefourthandfinallessonwe’velearnedisaboutthepotentialofradicalinnovation.So,Iwanttotellyouaboutatragicproblemandabreakthroughtechnology.Everyyearamillionandahalfpeopledieofacompletelypreventabledisease.That’smalaria.Sixthousandpeopleaday.Allforwantoftwodollarsworthofmedicationsthatwecanbuyatthecornerdrugstore.Well,twodollars,twodollarsistoomuchforAfrica.So,ateamofBerkeleyresearcherswith15milliondollarsfromtheGatesFoundationisengineering,designingaradicalnewwaytomakethekeyingredient,calledartemisinin,andthey’regonnamakethatdrug10timescheaper.Andindoingso,they’llsaveamillionlives—atleastamillionlives,ayear.Amillionlives.Theirbreakthroughtechnologyissyntheticbiology.Thisleveragesmillionsofyearsofevolutionbyredesigningbugstomakereallyusefulproducts.Now,whatyoudois,yougetinsidethemicrobe,youchangeitsmetabolicpathways,andyouendupwithalivingchemicalfactory.

Now,youmayask,John,whathasthisgottogowithgreenandwithclimatecrisis?Well,I’lltellyoualot.They’venowformedacompanycalledAmyris,andthistechnologythatthey’reusingcanbeusedtomakebetterbiofuels.Don’tletmeskipoverthat.Betterbiofuelsareareallybigdeal.Thatmeanswecanpreciselyengineerthemoleculesinthefuelchainandoptimizethemalongtheway.So,ifallgoeswell,they’regonnahavedesignerbugsinwarmvatsthatareeatinganddigestingsugarstoexcretebetterbiofuels.Iguessthat’sbetterlivingthroughbugs.AlanKayisfamousforsayingthebestwaytopredictthefutureistoinventit.And,ofcourse,atKleinerwe,kindof,apologizeandsaythesecondbestwayistofinanceit.Andthat’swhywe’reinvesting200milliondollarsinawiderangeofreallydisruptivenewtechnologiesforinnovationingreentechnologies.Andwe’reencouragingotherstodoitaswell.We’retalkingalotaboutthis.

In2005,therewere600milliondollarsinvestedinnewtechnologiesofthesortyouseehere.Itdoubledin2006to1.2billiondollars.ButI’mreallyafraidweneedmuch,muchmore.Forreference,factone:Exxon’srevenuesin2005wereabilliondollarsaday.Doyouknow,theyonlyinvested0.2percentofrevenuesinR&D?Secondfact:thePresident’snewbudgetforrenewableenergyisbarelyabilliondollarsintotal,lessthanonedayofExxon’srevenues.Thirdfact:Ibetyoudidn’tknowthatthere’senoughenergyinhotrocksunderthecountrytosupplyAmerica’senergyneedsforthenextthousandyears.AndtheFederalbudgetcallsforameasly20milliondollarsofR&Dingeothermalenergy.Itisalmostcriminalthatwearenotinvestingmoreinenergyresearchinthiscountry.AndIamreallyafraidthatit’sabsolutelynotenough.

So,inayear’sworthoflearningwefoundabunchofsurprises.Whowouldhavethoughtthatamassretailercouldmakemoneybygoinggreen?WhowouldhavethoughtthatadatabaseentrepreneurcouldtransformCaliforniawithlegislation?WhowouldhavethoughtthattheethanolbiofuelmiraclewouldcomefromadevelopingcountryinSouthAmerica?Andwhowouldhavethoughtthatscientiststryingtocuremalariacouldcomeupwithbreakthroughsinbiofuels?Andwhowouldhavethoughtthatallthatisnotenough?Notenoughtostabilizetheclimate.NotenoughtokeeptheiceinGreenlandfromcrashingintotheocean.Thescientiststellus—andthey’reonlyguessing—thatwe’vegottoreducegreenhousegasemissionsbyonehalf,anddoitasfastaspossible.Now,wemayhavethepoliticalwilltodothisintheU.S.,butI’vegottotellyou,we’vegotonlyoneatmosphere,andsosomehowwe’regonnahavetofindthepoliticalwilltodothisallaroundtheworld.

Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Well,I’lltellyouwhat.Greentechnologies—goinggreen—isbiggerthantheInternet.Itcouldbethebiggesteconomicopportunityofthe21stcentury.Moreover,ifwesucceedit’sgonnabethemostimportanttransformationforlifeontheplanetsince,asBillJoysays,wewentfrommethanetooxygenintheatmosphere.Now,here’sthehardquestion,ifthetrajectoryofalltheworld’scompaniesandindividualsandpoliciesandinnovationisnotgonnatobeenough,whatarewegonnado?Idon’tknow.Everyoneherecaresaboutchangingtheworldandhasmadeadifferenceinthatonewayoranother.

So,ourcalltoaction—mycalltoyou—isforyoutomakegoinggreenyournextbigthing,yourgig.Whatcanyoudo?Youcanpersonallygetcar