Alex Laskey: How behavioral science can lower your energy bill

129,567 views ・ 2013-06-04

TED


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00:00
Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast
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翻译人员: Kanari Liu 校对人员: Tony Li
00:12
How many of you have checked your email today?
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你们有几个人今天查看邮箱了?
00:15
Come on, raise your hands.
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来吧,举起手来。
00:17
How many of you are checking it right now?
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又有多少人现在在查看?
00:19
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
00:20
And how about finances? Anybody check that today?
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资金账户呢?有人今天查看了没?
00:23
Credit card, investment account?
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信用卡,投资账户?
00:25
How about this week?
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这个礼拜查看了么?
00:29
Now, how about your household energy use?
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那么家庭能源使用情况呢?
00:32
Anybody check that today?
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有人今天查看那个了吗?
00:34
This week? Last week?
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这个礼拜?上个礼拜呢?
00:38
A few energy geeks spread out across the room.
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这个房间中有一些能源极客。
00:41
It's good to see you guys.
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很高兴见到你们。
00:44
But the rest of us -- this is a room filled with people
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但是剩下的我们,这是一个全是人的房间,
00:47
who are passionate about the future of this planet,
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这些人对这个星球的未来充满热情,
00:50
and even we aren't paying attention
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但是甚至我们都不关心
00:52
to the energy use that's driving climate change.
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导致气候变暖的能源消耗
00:55
The woman in the photo with me is Harriet.
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这张照片中和我在一起的女性是Harriet。
00:58
We met her on our first family vacation.
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在我们第一次家庭度假的时候,我们见到了她。
01:00
Harriet's paying attention to her energy use,
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Harriet正在关注她的能源使用情况,
01:03
and she is decidedly not an energy geek.
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毫无疑问,她并不是能源极客。
01:05
This is the story of how Harriet came to pay attention.
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这是Harriet为什么会关注能源的故事。
01:11
This is coal,
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这是煤炭,
01:13
the most common source of electricity on the planet,
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这个星球上最常见的电力能源,
01:16
and there's enough energy in this coal
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这些煤炭中有足够多的能量,
01:19
to light this bulb for more than a year.
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可以让这个灯泡亮一年还多。
01:23
But unfortunately, between here and here,
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不幸的是,在从这里到这里过程中,
01:25
most of that energy is lost to things
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这种能量大部分都因为,
01:27
like transmission leakage and heat.
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传导流失和放热而丢失了。
01:30
In fact, only 10 percent ends up as light.
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事实上,只有10%的能量最后以光能的形式释放。
01:33
So this coal will last a little bit more than a month.
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所以这块煤炭最多只能够维持一个月多一点。
01:37
If you wanted to light this bulb for a year,
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如果你想要让这个灯泡照明一年,
01:40
you'd need this much coal.
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你需要这么多煤炭。
01:45
The bad news here is that, for every unit of energy we use,
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坏消息是,我们每用一成的能量,
01:48
we waste nine.
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我们就会浪费九成。
01:50
That means there's good news,
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这也意味着有好消息,
01:52
because for every unit of energy we save,
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就是我们每节约一成的能量,
01:54
we save the other nine.
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我们就节约了剩下的九成。
01:58
So the question is, how can we get the people in this room
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问题是,我们如何让在这个房间里的人们
02:03
and across the globe to start paying attention
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以及全世界的人们开始关注
02:06
to the energy we're using,
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我们所使用的能量,
02:08
and start wasting less of it?
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并且开始减少浪费?
02:11
The answer comes from a behavioral science experiment
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答案来自于一个行为科学实验,
02:13
that was run one hot summer, 10 years ago,
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是十年前一个炎热的夏天进行的,
02:17
and only 90 miles from here,
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离这儿只有90英里地方,
02:19
in San Marcos, California.
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在California的San Marcos。
02:22
Graduate students put signs on every door in a neighborhood,
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研究生们在某个街区的每一扇门上做了留言条,
02:25
asking people to turn off their air conditioning
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告诉人们关掉空调
02:28
and turn on their fans.
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打开电扇。
02:30
One quarter of the homes received a message that said,
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四分之一的家庭收到了一条留言说,
02:32
did you know you could save 54 dollars a month this summer?
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你知道吗?这个夏天你可以每月节约54美元
02:34
Turn off your air conditioning, turn on your fans.
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只要关掉空调,使用电扇。
02:36
Another group got an environmental message.
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另一组收到的是环境方面的留言。
02:38
And still a third group got a message about
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第三组得到的留言是
02:40
being good citizens, preventing blackouts.
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做一个文明公民,防止停电。
02:43
Most people guessed that money-saving message would work best of all.
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大部分人认为节约开支的留言将会最有效应。
02:47
In fact, none of these messages worked.
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事实上,没有一条留言起到作用。
02:49
They had zero impact on energy consumption.
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他们对于能源消耗没有任何影响。
02:52
It was as if the grad students hadn't shown up at all.
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就好像研究生们并没有贴过这些留言条一样。
02:56
But there was a fourth message,
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但是有第四条留言,
02:58
and this message simply said,
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这条留言简单地写着,
03:00
"When surveyed, 77 percent of your neighbors
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“调查发现,你们77%的邻居们说
03:04
said that they turned off their air conditioning and turned on their fans.
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他们关掉了空调,开始使用电扇。
03:06
Please join them. Turn off your air conditioning
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请加入他们。关掉空调,
03:08
and turn on your fans."
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打开电扇。”
03:10
And wouldn't you know it, they did.
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你们信不信?他们做到了!
03:12
The people who received this message
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收到这条留言的人们
03:14
showed a marked decrease in energy consumption
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显著地减少了能源消耗。
03:17
simply by being told what their neighbors were doing.
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只是因为告知了他们,邻居在做什么。
03:20
So what does this tell us?
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这告诉我们什么呢?
03:22
Well, if something is inconvenient,
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好吧,如果某些事情有些不便,
03:24
even if we believe in it,
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即使我们相信它,
03:26
moral suasion, financial incentives, don't do much to move us --
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道德劝说,经济鼓励,并不会让我们行动起来,
03:30
but social pressure, that's powerful stuff.
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但是社会压力,是强悍的。
03:34
And harnessed correctly, it can be a powerful force for good.
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正确地利用的话,它可以成为强大的正能量。
03:37
In fact, it already is.
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事实上,它已经是了。
03:39
Inspired by this insight, my friend Dan Yates and I
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受此启发,我和我的朋友Dan Yates开始
03:42
started a company called Opower.
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筹划一个公司,叫”Opower“。
03:44
We built software and partnered with utility companies
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我们开发软件并且与公共事业公司合作,
03:47
who wanted to help their customers save energy.
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这些公司也想要帮助他们的客户节约能源。
03:49
We deliver personalized home energy reports
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我们发表个性化的家庭能源报导,
03:53
that show people how their consumption
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向人们展示他们的消耗量
03:54
compares to their neighbors in similar-sized homes.
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与住房大小相似的邻居比较。
03:57
Just like those effective door hangers,
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就像那些有效的挂在门上的留言条一样,
03:59
we have people comparing themselves to their neighbors,
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我们让人们把他们自己与邻居相比,
04:02
and then we give everyone targeted recommendations
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然后给出目标性的建议。
04:04
to help them save.
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帮助他们节约。
04:06
We started with paper, we moved to a mobile application,
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我们从纸张开始,然后是手机应用,
04:08
web, and now even a controllable thermostat,
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网络,现在甚至是可控恒温器,
04:11
and for the last five years we've been running
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在过去的五年中,我们已经开始
04:13
the largest behavioral science experiment in the world.
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启动世界上最大的行为科学实验。
04:18
And it's working.
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它起效了。
04:19
Ordinary homeowners and renters have saved
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普通的房主和租房者已经在他们的能源账单上
04:21
more than 250 million dollars on their energy bills,
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节约了超过250美金
04:25
and we're just getting started.
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我们才刚刚开始。
04:26
This year alone, in partnership with more than 80 utilities
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就今年,与超过80个公共机构的合作,
04:29
in six countries, we're going to generate
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分布于六个国家,我们正在努力省下
04:32
another two terawatt hours of electricity savings.
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再两个太瓦小时(1亿度)的电量。
04:35
Now, the energy geeks in the room know two terawatt hours,
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现在,屋子里的能源极客们知道两个太瓦小时,
04:37
but for the rest of us, two terawatt hours
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但是对于剩下的我们而言,
04:39
is more than enough energy to power every home
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两个太瓦小时可以足足让
04:42
in St. Louis and Salt Lake City combined
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St. Louis和Salt Lake City的每户人家
04:45
for more than a year.
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用上一年还多。
04:47
Two terawatt hours, it's roughly half
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两个太瓦小时,大约是去年
04:49
what the U.S. solar industry produced last year.
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美国太阳能工厂年产量的一半。
04:52
And two terawatt hours? In terms of coal,
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两个太瓦小时,换成煤炭的话,
04:55
we'd need to burn 34 of these wheelbarrows
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我们需要每分钟燃烧34辆这种独轮手推车的煤炭,
04:58
every minute around the clock every day for an entire year
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每小时60分钟,每天24小时,每年365天。
05:02
to get two terawatt hours of electricity.
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才能得到两个太瓦小时的能量。
05:04
And we're not burning anything.
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然而我们并不在燃烧任何东西,
05:06
We're just motivating people to pay attention
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我们只是激发人们关注
05:07
and change their behavior.
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并且改变他们的行为。
05:10
But we're just one company, and this is just
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但我们只是一家公司,
05:13
scratching the surface.
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这些都还只是杯水车薪。
05:15
Twenty percent of the electricity in homes is wasted,
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一户人家中有20%的能量是被浪费掉的,
05:18
and when I say wasted, I don't mean that people have
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当我说浪费的时候,我并不是指人们
05:20
inefficient lightbulbs. They may.
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装了一些没用的灯泡。他们可以有。
05:24
I mean we leave the lights on in empty rooms,
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我是指我们让没人的屋子里亮着灯,
05:27
and we leave the air conditioning on when nobody's home.
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我们仍然在家里没人的时候开着空调。
05:30
That's 40 billion dollars a year wasted
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那每年浪费的400亿美金
05:33
on electricity that does not contribute to our well-being
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并没有为全面建设小康社会作出贡献,
05:36
but does contribute to climate change.
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但是会导致气候改变。
05:39
That's 40 billion -- with a B --
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那是400亿美金,yì~~~亿
05:41
every year in the U.S. alone.
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单单在美国。
05:43
That's half our coal usage right there.
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我们一半的煤炭被用在那儿了。
05:47
Now thankfully, some of the world's best material scientists
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现在,十分的庆幸,一些世界上最好的材料科学家们
05:50
are looking to replace coal with sustainable resources
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正在寻找代替煤炭的可持续能源。
05:53
like these,
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像这些,
05:54
and this is both fantastic and essential.
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这是令人惊奇的也是必须的。
05:58
But the most overlooked resource to get us
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但是大部分的被忽视的资源带领我们
06:00
to a sustainable energy future, it isn't on this slide.
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来到可持续能源的未来,并不在这个银幕上。
06:03
It's in this room. It's you, and it's me.
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在这个房间里,是你们,也是我。
06:08
And we can harness this resource
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我们可以利用这种资源
06:11
with no new material science
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不必使用最新的材料科学技术。
06:12
simply by applying behavioral science.
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只需要简单地使用行为科学。
06:16
We can do it today, we know it works,
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我们今天就可以做到,我们知道它是如何运转的,
06:18
and it will save us money right away.
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它可以立即节约我们的金钱。
06:21
So what are we waiting for?
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那我们还在等什么?
06:24
Well, in most places, utility regulation
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好吧,在大多数地方,调节利用
06:27
hasn't changed much since Thomas Edison.
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自从爱迪生时代并没有改变太多,。
06:31
Utilities are still rewarded when their customers
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公共事业机构一直因为客户浪费能源
06:34
waste energy.
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而受到奖励。
06:36
They ought to be rewarded for helping their customers save it.
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而他们应该因帮助客户们节约能源而被奖励。
06:40
But this story is much more than about household energy use.
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但这个故事远不止是关于家庭的能源使用。
06:43
Take a look at the Prius.
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看看这辆丰田普锐斯。
06:45
It's efficient not only because Toyota invested in material science
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它十分地高效不单单是因为丰田投资了材料科学,
06:48
but because they invested in behavioral science.
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而是因为他们投资了行为科学。
06:50
The dashboard that shows drivers how much energy
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仪表盘告诉驾驶员们
06:53
they're saving in real time
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他们实时节约了多少能量。
06:55
makes former speed demons
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使之前的速度魔鬼
06:56
drive more like cautious grandmothers.
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变得更像谨慎的祖母。
06:59
Which brings us back to Harriet.
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这把我们带回到Harriet的故事中。
07:01
We met her on our first family vacation.
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我们在第一次家庭度假的时候遇见了她。
07:04
She came over to meet my young daughter,
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她走过来看看我的小女儿,
07:06
and she was tickled to learn that my daughter's name
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她很高兴地了解到我女儿的名字
07:08
is also Harriet.
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也是Harriet。
07:10
She asked me what I did for a living,
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她问我是什么工作的,
07:11
and I told her, I work with utilities
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我告诉她,我与公共事业单位一起工作
07:13
to help people save energy.
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来帮助人们节约能源。
07:15
It was then that her eyes lit up.
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就在那时她的眼睛发亮了。
07:17
She looked at me, and she said,
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她看着我说,
07:19
"You're exactly the person I need to talk to.
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“你正是我想要与之交流的人,
07:21
You see, two weeks ago, my husband and I got a letter
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你看,两个礼拜前,我丈夫和我收到了一封信,
07:23
in the mail from our utility.
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从我们的公共事业机构那儿。
07:26
It told us we were using twice as much energy as our neighbors."
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告诉我们使用的能源是我们邻居的2倍多。”
07:29
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
07:32
"And for the last two weeks, all we can think about,
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“在过去的两个礼拜中,所有我们思考的,
07:35
talk about, and even argue about,
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讨论的,甚至争论的,
07:37
is what we should be doing to save energy.
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都是我们应该做什么来节约能源。
07:39
We did everything that letter told us to do,
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我们做了信件告诉我们的每一件事,
07:42
and still I know there must be more.
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我知道一定还有更多。
07:45
Now I'm here with a genuine expert.
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现在我和一个真正的专家站在这儿。
07:47
Tell me. What should I do to save energy?"
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告诉我。我该做什么才能节约能源?”
07:51
There are many experts who can help answer Harriet's question.
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有很多专家可以回答Harriet的问题。
07:55
My goal is to make sure
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我的目标是确保
07:57
we are all asking it.
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人人都在这么问。
08:00
Thank you.
176
480213
1358
谢谢。
08:01
(Applause)
177
481571
4603
(掌声)
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