TED2018
Fred Krupp: Let's launch a satellite to track a threatening greenhouse gas
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When we talk about greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide gets the most attention -- but methane, which often escapes unseen from pipes and wells, has a far greater immediate impact on global warming. Environmentalist Fred Krupp has an idea to fix the problem: launch a satellite that tracks global methane emissions, and openly share the data it collects with the public. Learn more about how simple fixes to cut down on this invisible pollutant can help us put the brakes on climate change. (This ambitious idea is part of The Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)
Fred Krupp - Environmentalist, lawyer
Fred Krupp is a leading voice on climate change, energy and sustainability, and a champion for harnessing the power of the marketplace to protect our environment. Full bio
Fred Krupp is a leading voice on climate change, energy and sustainability, and a champion for harnessing the power of the marketplace to protect our environment. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
We've got a big problem on our hands
with global warming.
with global warming.
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A lot of you, a lot of people
have been watching the floods,
have been watching the floods,
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the droughts, the storms, the fires.
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When I leave this stage today,
I don't want you to have hope.
I don't want you to have hope.
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I want you to have certainty,
real certainty
real certainty
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that we can make a dent
in this problem and live to see it.
in this problem and live to see it.
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I want to give you a vision
of what that would look like.
of what that would look like.
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This is the first time
we've shared this publicly.
we've shared this publicly.
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You're the first audience to hear it.
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We are going to launch a rocket.
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And on that rocket will be a satellite.
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And that satellite will collect
data about pollution
data about pollution
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that is warming the planet.
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We will put that data
in the hands of people
in the hands of people
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who can make simple fixes
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that will change the course
of global warming in our lifetime.
of global warming in our lifetime.
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That's a lot to take in,
maybe I should back up.
maybe I should back up.
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First, let me introduce myself, I'm Fred,
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I've been an environmentalist
since I was a kid,
since I was a kid,
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when I watched the fish and the frogs
in my neighborhood pond
in my neighborhood pond
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die from a chemical spill.
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That bothered me.
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Later, a professor inspired me to think
about environmentalism differently.
about environmentalism differently.
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How the best solutions come from
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answering people's aspirations
for prosperity,
for prosperity,
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things like being safe and healthy
and thriving in this world.
and thriving in this world.
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So I joined the Environmental Defense Fund
to build those kind of solutions.
to build those kind of solutions.
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And I've worked my whole career
for a moment like this --
for a moment like this --
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the moment, when we can stop
fighting headwinds
fighting headwinds
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and start to have the wind at our backs.
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Because of the power of information,
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information from technology
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that is coming down in price
and going up in precision.
and going up in precision.
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You see, there's something
about climate change that we didn't grasp
about climate change that we didn't grasp
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just a decade ago.
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The world was so focused on carbon dioxide
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that we overlooked another important gas.
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We didn't appreciate methane.
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Methane pollution causes one quarter
of the global warming
of the global warming
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that we're experiencing right now.
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Pound for pound, its immediate impact
is far greater than carbon dioxide.
is far greater than carbon dioxide.
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Eighty four times greater
over a 20-year period.
over a 20-year period.
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One of the largest sources
of methane pollution
of methane pollution
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is the oil and gas industry.
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But that's not obvious,
because methane is invisible.
because methane is invisible.
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Let's take a look
at this natural gas storage facility
at this natural gas storage facility
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outside of Los Angeles.
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Can you see the methane?
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Neither can I.
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How about now?
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We shot this using an infrared camera,
at the same spot,
at the same spot,
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exposing one of the worst methane leaks
in the history of the United States.
in the history of the United States.
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That's a very different picture.
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It turns out that natural gas
is displacing our dependence on coal,
is displacing our dependence on coal,
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which emits far more carbon dioxide.
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But natural gas is mostly methane.
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So, as it's produced and processed
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and transported to homes
and businesses across America,
and businesses across America,
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it escapes from wells and pipes
and other equipment.
and other equipment.
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It gets up into the sky and contributes
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to the disasters
that we're now experiencing.
that we're now experiencing.
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That does not have to happen.
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But nobody had paid much attention to it
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until we launched a nationwide study
to understand the problem.
to understand the problem.
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We used drones, planes, helicopters,
even Google Street View cars.
even Google Street View cars.
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It turns out there's far more
of this methane pollution
of this methane pollution
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than what the government is reporting.
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It also turns out that when we find
where the gas is being vented and leaked,
where the gas is being vented and leaked,
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most of those sources can be fixed
easily and inexpensively,
easily and inexpensively,
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saving the gas that would have
otherwise been wasted.
otherwise been wasted.
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And finally, we learn that when you put
information like that into people's hands,
information like that into people's hands,
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they act.
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Leading companies replaced valves
and tightened loose-fitting pipes.
and tightened loose-fitting pipes.
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Colorado became the first state
in the nation to limit methane pollution;
in the nation to limit methane pollution;
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California followed suit,
and the public joined in.
and the public joined in.
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Tweets started flying -- #cutmethane.
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And everybody's paying more attention now.
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We're doing this because we can't wait
for Washington, especially not now.
for Washington, especially not now.
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In fact, we have to take
what we've done so far
what we've done so far
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and go higher, to the sky.
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The United Stated represents
about 10 percent of this pollution.
about 10 percent of this pollution.
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To find the rest, we have to go global.
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Remember that rocket I mentioned?
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It will launch a compact satellite,
called MethaneSAT,
called MethaneSAT,
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to do what no one
has been able to do until now:
has been able to do until now:
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measure methane pollution
from oil and gas facilities worldwide,
from oil and gas facilities worldwide,
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with exacting precision.
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Its data stream will allow us
to map that pollution,
to map that pollution,
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so that everyone can see it.
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Then it's all about
turning data into action,
turning data into action,
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just as we did in the United States.
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We've seen that when we present
companies with data,
companies with data,
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many of them will cut the pollution.
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Citizens will be empowered to take action;
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governments will tighten the regulations.
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And because all of our data
will be free and public,
will be free and public,
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there will be transparency --
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we'll all be able to see how much progress
is being made and where.
is being made and where.
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Which brings me to our goal:
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to cut this methane pollution
by 45 percent by 2025.
by 45 percent by 2025.
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(Applause)
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That will have the same near-term impact
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as shutting down
1,300 coal-fired power plants.
1,300 coal-fired power plants.
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That's one third of all
the coal-fired power plants in the world.
the coal-fired power plants in the world.
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Nothing else can have this sort of
near-term impact at such a low cost.
near-term impact at such a low cost.
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The fact that a single satellite
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can help us put the brakes
on global warming is truly remarkable.
on global warming is truly remarkable.
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This is our chance to create
change in our lifetimes,
change in our lifetimes,
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and we can do it now.
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Thanks to the generous giving
of the Audacious Project,
of the Audacious Project,
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we are on a path toward liftoff.
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But my time is running short,
and I promised you a vision
and I promised you a vision
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of what a critical piece
of the solution would look like.
of the solution would look like.
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Can you see it?
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Can you see how this satellite leverages
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the best of science
and data and technology?
and data and technology?
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Can you see we're entering
a whole new era of innovation
a whole new era of innovation
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that is supercharging progress?
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Can you see that it's in our hands?
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We've set an aggressive goal
of three years till liftoff,
of three years till liftoff,
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and when that satellite is ready,
we'll have a launch party.
we'll have a launch party.
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A literal launch party.
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So imagine a blue-sky day,
crowds of people,
crowds of people,
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television cameras,
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kids staring up toward the sky
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at a thing that
will change their future.
will change their future.
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What an amazing day that will be.
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What a big opportunity we have.
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I can't wait.
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Thank you.
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08:24
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Fred Krupp - Environmentalist, lawyerFred Krupp is a leading voice on climate change, energy and sustainability, and a champion for harnessing the power of the marketplace to protect our environment.
Why you should listen
As President of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Fred Krupp has guided the organization for three decades. Under his leadership, EDF has become one of the world's most influential environmental players. He has focused international attention on the problem of methane emissions from the oil-and-gas industry and led EDF's innovative corporate partnerships with FedEx, KKR, McDonald's, Walmart and others. He has overseen growth of the organization from a membership of 40,000 to more than two million.
Educated at Yale and the University of Michigan Law School, Krupp appears frequently in the media. He co-wrote the New York Times bestseller Earth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming with Miriam Horn. He was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report and is a recipient of the 2015 William K. Reilly Environmental Leadership Award.
Fred Krupp | Speaker | TED.com