Catherine Mohr builds green

翻译人员: Yi Zong 校对人员: Chaoran Yu

First of all, I'm a geek.

首先，我是一位书呆子。

I'm an organic food-eating,

我吃有机食品，

carbon footprint-minimizing, robotic surgery geek.

我是一位低碳生活者，我沉迷于机器人手术，

And I really want to build green,

而且我特别想建造绿色，

but I'm very suspicious

但我是个多疑的人

of all of these well-meaning articles,

特别是对于这些好意的文章们，

people long on moral authority

人们常常注重道德规范

and short on data,

而缺少数据的支持

telling me how to do these kinds of things.

以来告诉我如何去做这些事。

And so I have to figure this out for myself.

所以我只能自己找寻答案。

For example: Is this evil?

例如：这是邪恶的吗？

I have dropped a blob of organic yogurt

我掉了一滴有机酸奶

from happy self-actualized local cows

在我的桌面上，

on my counter top,

它来自当地的奶牛，

and I grab a paper towel and I want to wipe it up.

然后我拿来一张纸巾，我想把它擦干净。

But can I use a paper towel? (Laughter)

但是我能用这个纸巾吗？（笑声）

The answer to this can be found in embodied energy.

这个答案能从内蕴能量中找到。

This is the amount of energy that goes into

这就是任何一张手纸或者水的

any paper towel or embodied water,

内涵能源。

and every time I use a paper towel,

而每次我使用纸巾，

I am using this much

我会使用这么多

virtual energy and water.

能量和水。

Wipe it up, throw it away.

擦干净它，再把它扔掉。

Now, if I compare that to a cotton towel

现在，如果我用棉布和他进行对比

that I can use a thousand times,

我能重复用上千次，

I don't have a whole lot of embodied energy

我不需要花费那么多内蕴能量

until I wash that yogurty towel.

直到我需洗净这个酸奶抹布为止。

This is now operating energy.

现在我要说的是操作能量。

So if I throw my towel in the washing machine,

如果我把抹布放入洗衣机，

I've now put energy and water

我需要能量和水

back into that towel ...

去洗这个抹布，

unless I use a front-loading, high-efficiency washing machine, (Laughter)

除非我用的是前置型高效洗衣机，

and then it looks a little bit better.

而它只是看上去好一点儿。

But what about a recycled paper towel

但是一个可回收的纸巾会怎么样

that comes in those little half sheets?

特别是那些半张大小的？

Well, now a paper towel looks better.

恩，现在一张纸巾看起来好多了。

Screw the paper towels. Let's go to a sponge.

别想纸巾了。让我们看看海绵，

I wipe it up with a sponge, and I put it under the running water,

我用一个海绵擦，然后用水冲洗，

and I have a lot less energy and a lot more water.

然后我用很少的能量和更多的水，

Unless you're like me and you leave the handle

除非你像我这样且你把手柄放在热水的一边

in the position of hot even when you turn it on,

但即使当你打开它的时候，

and then you start to use more energy.

你还是得使用更多的能量，

Or worse, you let it run until it's warm

更糟糕的是，你或许会让水流着直到变热为止

to rinse out your towel.

以洗净你的抹布。

And now all bets are off.

现在我们不打赌了。

(Laughter)

（笑)

So what this says is that

所以在这里要指出的是

sometimes the things that you least expect --

有时候你最不在意的事，

the position in which you put the handle --

比如你放手柄的位置，

have a bigger effect than any of those other things

比起其他的事情会造成更大的影响

that you were trying to optimize.

特别是那些你试图去优化的事。

Now imagine someone as twisted as me

现在想象一下一个人像我一样疯狂

trying to build a house.

的去试图建造一个房子。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

That's what my husband and I are doing right now.

那正是我和我丈夫正在做的事。

And so, we wanted to know, how green could we be?

而我们想知道我们到底可以有多环保。

And there's a thousand and one articles out there

而且那里有数以千计的文章

telling us how to make all these green trade-offs.

来告诉我们怎么去做绿色的交换。

And they are just as suspect

而且他们就是

in telling us to optimize these little things around the edges

告诉我们去优化一些边角小物

and missing the elephant in the living room.

从而忽略了眼前庞然大物。

Now, the average house

现在，平均每家

has about 300 megawatt hours

需要消耗300千瓦时

of embodied energy in it;

的内蕴能量。

this is the energy it takes to make it --

这些能量可以制造出，

millions and millions of paper towels.

成千上万的纸巾。

We wanted to know how much better we could do.

我们想知道我怎么能做的更好。

And so, like many people,

所以，就如同很多人一样，

we start with a house on a lot,

我们从普通的房子开始，

and I'm going to show you a typical construction on the top

同时我会向你们展示一个普通房顶的建设过程

and what we're doing on the bottom.

而且我们在底下做什么。

So first, we demolish it.

第一，我们先消减一部分。

It takes some energy, but if you deconstruct it --

它会消耗一些能量，但是如果你拆除它，

you take it all apart, you use the bits --

你把它都拆了，你用一些，

you can get some of that energy back.

你可以回收一些能量。

We then dug a big hole

我们之后挖了一个大洞

to put in a rainwater catchment tank

把雨水收集到水箱里

to take our yard water independent.

以用来独立灌溉我们的花园。

And then we poured a big foundation

然后我们建造一个大型

for passive solar.

的太阳能收集板。

Now, you can reduce the embodied energy

现在，通过使用尘土飞扬的水泥

by about 25 percent

你可以减免

by using high fly ash concrete.

25%的能耗。

We then put in framing.

我们之后做了一个框架。

And so this is framing -- lumber,

这个框架是用木头

composite materials --

和合成材料作成的，

and it's kind of hard to get the embodied energy out of that,

所以很难收回这些能量，

but it can be a sustainable resource

如果你用F.S.C. 验证的木材

if you use FSC-certified lumber.

它们是可成为可持续性的能源。

We then go on to

我们之后发现

the first thing that was very surprising.

一件惊奇的事。

If we put aluminum windows in this house,

如果用铝制窗装饰我们的房屋，

we would double the energy use right there.

我们能双倍利用这能量。

Now, PVC is a little bit better,

PVC比这好一点，

but still not as good as the wood that we chose.

但是还是没办法媲美我们选的木头。

We then put in plumbing,

我们之后安装了电器、采暖通风与空调系统

electrical and HVAC,

抽水马桶

and insulate.

以及隔热设备。

Now, spray foam is an excellent insulator -- it fills in all the cracks --

当下，喷射式泡沫是非常好的隔热材料，它可以填入所有的地方，

but it is pretty high embodied energy,

但是它非常耗费能量。

and, sprayed-in cellulose or blue jeans

喷洒式纤维素或者牛仔裤布料

is a much lower energy alternative to that.

是可选用的低耗能替代品。

We also used straw bale

我们同时也用秸秆包

infill for our library,

填充在我们的书房，

which has zero embodied energy.

而这些是零耗能的东西。

When it comes time to sheetrock,

当我们使用石膏灰胶纸夹板，

if you use EcoRock it's about a quarter

如果你用EcoRock，它只耗费的

of the embodied energy of standard sheetrock.

普通石膏灰胶纸夹板¼的能量。

And then you get to the finishes,

然后你完成的时候，

the subject of all of those "go green" articles,

回顾下那些所有关于“绿色”的文章。

and on the scale of a house

它们对于整间房子的调控，

they almost make no difference at all.

我们和他们几乎是一样。

And yet, all the press is focused on that.

但所有的媒体都在关注它们。

Except for flooring.

除了地面。

If you put carpeting in your house,

如果你在家里放入地毯，

it's about a tenth of the embodied energy of the entire house,

它大概占用整间屋子消耗能量的1/10，

unless you use concrete or wood

除非你选择水泥或者木头

for a much lower embodied energy.

这可使内蕴能量总量更低。

So now we add in the final construction energy, we add it all up,

现在我们把能量总量加起来，

and we've built a house for less than half

我们已经建造了一座同样类型

of the typical embodied energy for building a house like this.

但是只消耗了一般房子的一半内蕴能量。

But before we pat ourselves

但是在我们过多拍我们自己的

too much on the back,

后背以表彰我们自己之前，

we have poured 151 megawatt hours

我们已经消耗了151千瓦时

of energy into constructing this house

去建造这个房子，

when there was a house there before.

当那儿之前有一座房子。

And so the question is:

所以问题是：

How could we make that back?

我们如何把那些找回来？

And so if I run my new energy-efficient house forward,

而且如果继续使用我的新节能房，

compared with the old, non-energy-efficient house,

对比老式的，非节能房，

we make it back in about six years.

我们回到了大概6年前。

Now, I probably would have upgraded the old house

现在，我大概会去升级改造那座旧房子

to be more energy-efficient,

使它变的更加节能。

and in that case,

如果是那个情况，

it would take me more about 20 years to break even.

它会耗费我大概20年去平衡。

Now, if I hadn't paid attention to embodied energy,

现在，如果我不去关注能量总量，

it would have taken us

它会耗费我们

over 50 years to break even

超过50年的时间去平衡

compared to the upgraded house.

对比已经升级过的房子。

So what does this mean?

这意味着什么？

On the scale of my portion of the house,

按我建造房子的比例，

this is equivalent to about

这相当于

as much as I drive in a year,

我开车一年，

it's about five times as much

大概是五倍于

as if I went entirely vegetarian.

我成为完全素食主义者。

But my elephant in the living room flies.

但是在我眼前最终显而易见的事中。

Clearly, I need to walk home from TED.

显然，我需要从TED走路回家。

But all the calculations

但是在Blog中有对于所有

for embodied energy are on the blog.

能量总量的计算。

And, remember, it's sometimes the things that you are not expecting

同时，记住，有时候你从没有期待的事情

to be the biggest changes that are.

正是最大的变化所在。

Thank you. (Applause)

谢谢。（掌声）