【TED演讲】帮助减缓气候变化的卫星——即刻行动

中英文字幕

Lots of people are really enthusiastic about space.

很多人对太空着迷。 

My husband, my daughters and a lot of my colleagues love rockets and pretty much anything that has to do with space.

我的丈夫、女儿和我很多同事， 他们喜欢火箭和几乎 任何跟太空有关的东西。

It's never really been my thing.

 但我不是这样的。

However, I recently went to a rocket launch, and I can honestly say that I got emotional.

 但是，最近我去看一场火箭发射， 说实话，我挺激动的。

And the emotion that I felt wasn't just thrill or awe.

这种情绪不仅仅是激动或者敬畏。

It was hope.

 而是希望。

Because my colleagues and I helped put something on that rocket that will address the single most important thing we can do to affect climate change in our lifetimes.

 因为在那枚火箭上， 我和我同事们装载了一些东西， 它针对的是我们 在有生之年能影响气候变化的， 最重要的一件事。

We often hear about things we can do to help our grandchildren and the Earth that they'll inherit.

我们经常听说可以为子孙后代 和留给他们的地球所做的事情。我们今天为减少碳排放所做的一切，

And everything we're doing to reduce carbon dioxide will certainly help in the long run.

 从长远来看一定是有效的。

But what if we could do something that would help people's lives now?

 但假如我们能做一些 可以帮助当代人的事呢？

I believe we can, because we're taking on methane.

 我相信是可以的， 因为我们正在使用甲烷。

Methane is a highly potent short-term greenhouse gas.

甲烷是一种强大的短期温室气体。

Let's compare this year's carbon dioxide pollution from burning fossil fuels with this year's methane pollution.

 我们来比较一下今年燃烧化石燃料 造成的碳排污染和甲烷的污染。

There is a lot more CO2.

 二氧化碳要多得多。

However, because methane is over 80 times as powerful at trapping heat in the short term, methane will cause as much warming as all that CO2.

 但是， 由于甲烷在短期内捕获热量的能力 是甲烷的 80 多倍， 甲烷将造成与这些二氧化碳 相当的升温效应。

And methane is easier to control if we know where it's coming from.

 如果我们搞清楚甲烷的来源， 它会更容易控制，

So what was on that rocket that makes me so hopeful?

所以那枚火箭上 装了什么东西让我充满希望呢？ 

This is MethaneSAT.

 就是“甲烷卫星”（MethaneSAT）。

It's one of thousands of active satellites orbiting the Earth.

 它是围绕地球运行的 数千枚活跃卫星之一。

But it's my favorite.

 但它是我的最爱。

Not just because we helped put it there, but because we designed it for a purpose to have a profound impact on methane.

 并不仅仅因为 我们帮忙把它升了上去， 还因为设计它的目的 是要对甲烷产生重大影响。

And soon.

 而且要快速。

For the past 20 years, my job has been to understand climate from a variety of angles, to be a bridge between scientists, policymakers and companies,

过去 20 年里， 我的工作是多角度理解气候变化， 充当科学家、政策制定者 和公司间的桥梁，

ensuring that we're all working towards the same big vision.

 确保我们为相同的宏大愿景共同努力。

And the vision for MethaneSAT is to deliver actionable data quickly, putting it in the hands of people in the trenches pushing for change.

 甲烷卫星的愿景是快速提供可行数据， 将它们交到在一线推动变革的人手中。

Now methane comes from several sources.

甲烷的来源有几种。 

It comes from cows, it comes from landfills, it comes from coal mines.

 比如牛群， 比如填埋的垃圾， 比如煤矿。

And a lot of it comes from leaks from the oil and gas infrastructure.

 有很大一部分来源于 石油和天然气基础设施的泄露。

For a while, we've known what the overall concentration of methane is in the atmosphere,

 一段时间以来，我们知道 大气层中甲烷的整体含量，

but we haven't been able to pinpoint sources and tell how much was coming from where.

 但我们无法确定来源， 也不知道各来源分别占多少。

In fact, companies and governments often underreport their emissions because they simply haven't had good data.

 实际上，公司和政府经常 少报它们的排放 仅仅因为他们没有准确的数据。

But now they will.

 但现在它们会有了。 

When we looked at the data we were collecting using airplanes, we realized that we would never get a comprehensive enough view.

 当我们看到过去用飞机收集的数据， 我们意识到永远无法 得到一个足够全面的观点。

We simply cannot fly an airplane over every oil and gas field in the world every day.

 因为我们无法靠飞机每天飞到 每一块油田和气田。

We realized that we needed to be collecting our data using a satellite.

 于是我们意识到，需要用卫星 来收集数据。

And that satellite would need spectrometers that did not yet exist.

 这颗卫星需要安装 尚不存在的分光计。

So we went to the world's most innovative instrument experts,

于是我们去找了 世界上最具创新力的设备专家，

and they helped us build two spectrometers that would allow us to see methane emissions from 590 kilometers away, from space.

 他们帮我们制造了 2 台分光计， 可以让我们从 590 公里外的太空 看到甲烷排放。

They had to develop a new manufacturing technique to create a prism that would allow us to see how even the smallest concentrations of methane interact with light.

 他们需要发展新的制造技术 创造一种棱镜，可以让我们看到 哪怕是最微量的甲烷 与光发生的反应。

It's pretty amazing.

 这非常神奇。

To give you a sense of the power of MethaneSAT, I'd like to show you some images that will show how we'll see methane from oil and gas.

为了让你们感受到甲烷卫星的能力， 我想给大家看一些图像， 它显示了我们是如何观察到 石油和天然气产生的甲烷的。

We'll be able to zoom in and out and circle back weekly to see how emissions have changed.

 我们可以放大和缩小， 以周为单位来看排放情况的变化。

MethaneSAT will show the total picture, not just point sources or large leaks, but also the smaller,

 甲烷卫星显示的是全景， 不仅仅是单点的来源 或者大规模泄露， 同时也有那些更小的、 

more spread-out sources that actually make up the majority of emissions most of the time.

 更分散的排放源， 但这些在大部分时间里 恰恰是主要的排放源。

MethaneSAT will show how much methane is coming from where over time.

 甲烷卫星会显示一段时间 有多少甲烷来自哪里。

Now you're the first to see this data.

目前你们是第一批 看到这些数据的人。

It's raw data that came from the satellite.

 是来自卫星的原始数据。

It's spectral imagery.

 这是光谱图像。

But after we do our analysis on it, we still have to solve a people challenge and change human behavior.

 但在我们对其进行分析之后， 我们仍需要解决人的挑战， 改变人类的习惯。

So we'll put our analysis directly in the hands of those who can take action to reduce methane from oil and gas.

 所以我们会把我们的分析直接交给 那些可以采取行动 减少从油气资源来的甲烷的人。

That would be government regulators, the companies themselves and nonprofits who will be receiving our data at no cost.

 也就是政府监管部门， 公司， 和那些可以免费获得 我们数据的非营利组织。

Fixing leaks is actually not a technical challenge.

解决泄露其实在技术上不难。

Often it's as easy as fixing a crack in a pipe.

 经常就是补一个管道上的洞。

Companies know how to do this.

公司知道怎么做。 

It's just a matter of priority.

 只是优先级的问题。

And that's what I mean by a people challenge.

 这就是我说的人的挑战。

Environmental Defense Fund is taking this on.

 “环境保卫基金”肩负起了这个挑战。

As the first environmental nonprofit to own and operate a satellite, we are supporting both the technology and the advocacy.

 作为第一个拥有并运营 一颗卫星的环境型非盈利机构， 我们从技术和倡议两方面提供支持。

MethaneSAT would not exist without generous donors, some of whom are a part of this TED community.

 如果没有那些慷慨的捐赠者， 他们中有些也是 TED 社群的一员， 甲烷卫星不会存在。

We'd like to thank you for your belief in our mission.

 感谢你们信任我们的使命。 

We'd also like to thank government entities like the New Zealand Space Agency, who have invested in MethaneSAT to build their space capacity,

 我们还想感谢像新西兰航天局 这样的政府部门， 他们投资了甲烷卫星， 不仅为了增强它们的太空能力， 

but also to better understand methane emissions from agriculture.

 也为了能从农业角度 更好了解甲烷排放。

With powerful data and boots on the ground, our goal is to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas facilities by 75 percent in the next six years.

有了强大的数据和地面支持， 我们的目标是在未来 6 年内， 将油气设施产生的甲烷排放 降低 75%。

That's 75 percent.

 是 75%。

(Applause)

（掌声）

It's a lot, and we have momentum.

这目标很大，我们也很有动力。

Fifty companies representing 40 percent of global oil and gas production have already pledged to cut their methane emissions by 90 percent by 2030.

 占据了全球油气产量 40% 的 50 家公司 已经承诺到 2030 年， 将它们的甲烷排放 减少 90%。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Over 150 countries have signed the Global Methane Pledge to be a part of the solution.

超过 150 个国家 已经签署了“全球甲烷承诺”， 成为了解决方案的一部分。

Purchasers can also influence sellers.

 购买者同样能影响出售者。 

The largest importer of natural gas in the world, the European Union,

 世界上最大的天然气进口者， 欧盟，

is already taking steps to extend its rules to apply to imports and setting in place rules that will allow them to buy from suppliers that have the least methane emissions.

 已经开始采取行动，将规则 扩展到进口领域， 并制定规则，只能从 甲烷排放最少的供应商那里 采购天然气。

And MethaneSAT will help track all of that.

 而甲烷卫星将帮助追踪这一切。

It's powerful when countries and companies have this knowledge, but it's even more powerful when we all have the knowledge,

当国家和公司有了认识后， 甲烷卫星会很强大， 但当我们都有了认识之后， 它会更强大，

because it provides the information and the incentive for people to fulfill their commitments.

 因为它提供了信息和动力， 让人们实现承诺。 

This kind of radical transparency changes the dynamic.

 这种彻底的透明化带来了改变。

It's what makes me hopeful, and I hope you share that feeling as well.

 这让我感觉充满希望， 我也希望你们有同样的感受。

With MethaneSAT in space and the power of people on Earth,

有了空中的甲烷卫星 和地上的人们的力量，

let's do everything we can as quickly as we can to slow the rate of global warming in our lifetimes.

 让我们尽快采取所有措施， 在有生之年降低全球变暖的速度。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）