学术英语理工lecture11原文.docx
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学术英语理工lecture11原文.docx
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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’rethelargestprivateemployerinAmerica.They’rethelargestprivateuserofelectricity.Theyhavethesecond-largestvehiclefleetontheroad.Andtheyhaveoneoftheworld’smostamazingsupplychains,60,000suppliers.IfWal-Martwereacountry,itwouldbethesixth-largesttradingpartnerwithChina.Andmaybemostimportant,theyhaveabigeffectonothercompanies.
WhenWal-Martdeclaresit’sgonnagogreenandbeprofitable,ithasapowerfulimpactonothergreatinstitutions.So,Itellyouthis:
WhenWal-Martachieves20percentenergyreductions,that’sgonnabeaverybigdeal.ButI’mafraidit’snotenough.WeneedWal-Martandeveryothercompanytodothesame.
Thesecondthingthatwelearnedisthatindividualsmatter,andtheymatterenormously.I’vegotanotherWal-Martstoryforyou,OK?
Wal-Marthasover125millionU.S.customers.That’sathirdoftheU.S.population.Sixty-fivemillioncompactfluorescentlightbulbsweresoldlastyear.
AndWal-Marthascommittedthey’regonnasellanother100millionlightbulbsinthecomingyear.Butit’snoteasy.Consumersdon’treallyliketheselightbulbs.Thelight’skindoffunny,theywon’tdim,takesawhileforthemtostartup.Butthepay-offisreallyenormous.Ahundredmillioncompactfluorescentlightbulbmeansthatwe’llsave600milliondollarsinenergybills,and20milliontonsofCO2everyyear,yearinandyearout.Itdoesseemreallyhardtogetconsumerstodotherightthing.Itisstupidthatweusetwotonsofsteel,glass,andplastictohauloursorryselvestotheshoppingmall.It’sstupidthatweputwaterinplasticbottlesinFijiandshipithere.(Laughter)
It’shardtochangeconsumerbehavior,becauseconsumersdon’tknowhowmuchthisstuffcosts.Doyouknow?
DoyouknowhowmuchCO2yougeneratedtodrivehereorflyhere?
Idon’tknow,andIshould.Thoseofuswhocareaboutallthiswouldactbetterifweknewwhattherealcostswere.ButaslongaswepretendthatCO2isfree,aslongastheseusesarenearlyinvisible,howcanweexpectchange?
I’mreallyafraid,becauseIthinkthekindsofchangeswecanreasonablyexpectfromindividualsaregonnabeclearlynotenough.
Thethirdlessonwelearnedisthatpolicymatters.Itreallymatters.Infact,policyisparamount.I’vegotabehind-the-scenesstoryforyouaboutthatgreentechnetworkIdescribed.Attheendofourfirstmeeting,wegottogethertotalkaboutwhattheactionitemswouldbe,howwe’dfollowup.AndBobEpsteinraisedahand.Hestoodup.Youknow,Bob’sthatBerkeleytechietypewhostartedSybase.Well,BobsaidthemostimportantthingwecoulddorightnowistomakeitclearinSacramento,Californiathatweneedamarket-basedsystemofmandatesthat’sgonnacapandreducegreenhousegasesinCalifornia.It’snecessaryand,justasimportant;it’sgoodfortheCaliforniaeconomy.
So,eightofuswenttoSacramentoinAugustandwemetwiththesevenundecidedlegislatorsandwelobbiedforAB32.Youknowwhat?
Sixofthosesevenvotedyesinfavorofthebill,soitpassed,anditpassedbyavoteof47to32.(Applause)Pleasedon’t.Thankyou.Ithinkit’sthemostimportantlegislationof2006.Why?
BecauseCaliforniawasthefirststateinthiscountrytomandate25percentreductionofgreenhousegasesby2020.Andtheresultofthatis,we’regonnagenerate83,000newjobs,4billiondollarsayearinannualincome,andreducetheCO2emissionsby174milliontonsayear.California’sonly7percentofU.S.CO2emissions.It’sonlyapercentandahalfofthecountry’sCO2emissions.It’sagreatstart,butI’vegottotellyou—whereIstarted—I’mreallyafraid.Infact,I’mcertainCalifornia’snotenough.
Here’sastoryaboutnationalpolicythatwecouldalllearnfrom.YouknowTomFriedmansays,“Ifyoudon’tgo,youdon’tknow?
”Well,wewenttoBraziltomeetDr.HussainGoldemberg.He’sthefatheroftheethanolrevolution.HetoldusthatBrazil’sgovernmentmandatedthateverygasolinestationinthecountrywouldcarryethanol.Andtheymandatedthattheirnewvehicleswouldbeflex-fuelcompatible,right?
They’drunethanolorordinarygasoline.Andso,here’swhat’shappenedinBrazil.Theynowhave29,000ethanolpumps—thisversus700intheU.S.,andapaltrytwoinCalifornia—andinthreeyearstheirnewcarfleethasgonefrom4percentto85percentflex-fuel.ComparethattotheU.S.,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.And
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