TED2006
Amy Smith: Simple designs to save a life
Simbiosis: Una historia sorprendente de cooperación entre especies - David Gonzales
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Las diferentes especies a menudo dependen unas de otras. David Gonzales describe la extraordinaria relación del cascanueces americano y el pino de corteza blanca, para ilustrar esa interdependencia conocida como simbiosis.
Amy Smith - inventor, engineer
Amy Smith designs cheap, practical fixes for tough problems in developing countries. Among her many accomplishments, the MIT engineer received a MacArthur "genius" grant in 2004 and was the first woman to win the Lemelson-MIT Prize for turning her ideas into inventions. Full bio
Amy Smith designs cheap, practical fixes for tough problems in developing countries. Among her many accomplishments, the MIT engineer received a MacArthur "genius" grant in 2004 and was the first woman to win the Lemelson-MIT Prize for turning her ideas into inventions. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
En cuanto a inventos,
00:25
In terms of invention,
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00:26
I'd like to tell you the tale
of one of my favorite projects.
of one of my favorite projects.
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quiero contarles la historia de uno de mis proyectos favoritos.
00:29
I think it's one of the most exciting
that I'm working on,
that I'm working on,
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Creo que es uno de los proyectos más emocionantes en los que estoy trabajando,
pero también es el más simple.
00:32
but I think it's also the simplest.
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Es un proyecto que tiene el potencial para hacer un gran impacto en todo el mundo.
00:34
It's a project that has the potential
to make a huge impact around the world.
to make a huge impact around the world.
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Trata sobre uno de los problemas de salud más grandes del mundo,
00:39
It addresses one of the biggest
health issues on the planet,
health issues on the planet,
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la causa número uno de muertes en niños menores de cinco años,
00:42
the number one cause of death
in children under five.
in children under five.
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¿Cuál es...? ¿Enfermedades por contaminación de agua? ¿Diarrea? ¿Desnutrición?
00:46
Which is ...?
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00:48
Water-borne diseases?
Diarrhea? Malnutrition?
Diarrhea? Malnutrition?
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No, son las enfermedades agudas causadas por
00:52
No.
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00:53
It's breathing the smoke
from indoor cooking fires --
from indoor cooking fires --
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la respiración de gases de la cocina a fuego en el interior. ¿Pueden creerlo?
00:57
acute respiratory infections
caused by this.
caused by this.
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01:00
Can you believe that?
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Encuentro esto chocante y algo atróz.
01:02
I find this shocking
and somewhat appalling.
and somewhat appalling.
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¿Podemos hacer combustibles de quemado más limpios?
01:05
Can't we make
cleaner burning cooking fuels?
cleaner burning cooking fuels?
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¿Podemos hacer mejores hornos?
01:08
Can't we make better stoves?
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¿Cómo es que esto puede causar cada año dos millones de muertes?
01:10
How is it that this can lead
to over two million deaths every year?
to over two million deaths every year?
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Se que Bill Joy les estuvo hablando
01:14
I know Bill Joy was talking to you
about the wonders of carbon nanotubes,
about the wonders of carbon nanotubes,
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acerca de las maravillas de los nanotubos de carbono.
Así que yo les voy a hablar
01:18
so I'm going to talk to you
about the wonders of carbon macro-tubes,
about the wonders of carbon macro-tubes,
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de las maravillas de los macrotubos de carbono, que es el carbón.
01:22
which is charcoal.
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01:24
(Laughter)
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Entonces, esta es una imagen rural de Haití. Haití está ahora desforestada en un 98 por ciento.
01:26
So this is a picture of rural Haiti.
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01:28
Haiti is now 98 percent deforested.
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Se pueden ver escenas como éstas por toda la isla.
01:31
You'll see scenes like this
all over the island.
all over the island.
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Esto conduce a todo tipo de problemas ambientales
01:34
It leads to all sorts
of environmental problems
of environmental problems
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y problemas que afectan a las personas en toda la nación.
01:37
and problems that affect people
throughout the nation.
throughout the nation.
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01:41
A couple years ago
there was severe flooding
there was severe flooding
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Hace unos años hubo una inundación
que dejó miles de muertes,
01:43
that led to thousands of deaths --
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esto es atribuible directamente al hecho
01:45
that's directly attributable to the fact
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de que no hay árboles en las laderas para estabilizar la tierra.
01:47
that there are no trees on the hills
to stabilize the soil.
to stabilize the soil.
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Entonces viene la lluvia, baja por los ríos y sucede la inundación.
01:50
So the rains come --
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01:51
they go down the rivers
and the flooding happens.
and the flooding happens.
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Ahora, una de las razones por la que hay pocos árboles es que
01:55
Now one of the reasons
why there are so few trees is this:
why there are so few trees is this:
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la gente necesita cocinar, así que talan los bosques
01:58
people need to cook,
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02:00
and they harvest wood
and they make charcoal in order to do it.
and they make charcoal in order to do it.
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y hacen carbón para poder hacerlo.
No es que la gente sea ignorante sobre el daño al medio ambiente.
02:04
It's not that people are ignorant
to the environmental damage.
to the environmental damage.
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Lo saben perfectamente bien, pero no tienen otra alternativa.
02:07
They know perfectly well,
but they have no other choice.
but they have no other choice.
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Los combustibles fósiles no están disponibles,
02:09
Fossil fuels are not available,
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y la energía solar no cocina como a ellos les gusta su comida.
02:11
and solar energy doesn't cook the way
that they like their food prepared.
that they like their food prepared.
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02:16
And so this is what they do.
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Entonces esa es la forma en que lo hacen.
Encontrarán familias como esta yendo al bosque a buscar un árbol,
02:18
You'll find families like this who go out
into the forest to find a tree,
into the forest to find a tree,
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lo cortan y hacen carbón con él.
02:23
cut it down and make charcoal out of it.
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Entonces no es una sorpresa que haya mucho esfuerzo
02:27
So not surprisingly,
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02:28
there's a lot of effort that's been done
to look at alternative cooking fuels.
to look at alternative cooking fuels.
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puesto en buscar combustibles alternativos para cocinar.
Hace unos 4 años llevé un grupo de estudiantes a Haití,
02:34
About four years ago, I took
a team of students down to Haiti
a team of students down to Haiti
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y trabajamos con Voluntarios del Cuerpo de Paz allí.
02:37
and we worked with
Peace Corps volunteers there.
Peace Corps volunteers there.
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02:39
This is one such volunteer
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Este es uno de esos voluntarios,
02:41
and this is a device that he had built
in the village where he worked.
in the village where he worked.
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y este es un dispositivo que hizo en la villa donde trabajaba.
02:44
And the idea was
that you could take waste paper;
that you could take waste paper;
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Y la idea era que podías poner papel de desperdicio,
comprimirlo, y hacer bloques que podían usarse como combustible.
02:47
you could compress it
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02:48
and make briquettes
that could be used for fuel.
that could be used for fuel.
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Pero este dispositivo era muy lento.
02:51
But this device was very slow.
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Así que nuestros estudiantes de ingeniería se pusieron a trabajar en el,
02:53
So our engineering students
went to work on it
went to work on it
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y con unos simples cambios,
02:56
and with some very simple changes,
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02:58
they were able to triple
the throughput of this device.
the throughput of this device.
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pudieron triplicar el rendimiento de este dispositivo.
03:01
So you could imagine
they were very excited about it.
they were very excited about it.
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Así que podrán imaginarse que estaban muy emocionados por ello.
Y llevaron los bloques al MIT para poder probarlos.
03:04
And they took the briquettes back to MIT
so that they could test them.
so that they could test them.
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Y una de las cosas que descubrieron es que no ardían.
03:08
And one of the things
that they found was they didn't burn.
that they found was they didn't burn.
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Así que fue un poco desalentador para los estudiantes.
03:13
So it was a little
discouraging to the students.
discouraging to the students.
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03:15
(Laughter)
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De hecho, si miran de cerca, justo aquí,
03:17
And in fact, if you look closely,
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03:19
right here you can see
it says, "US Peace Corps."
it says, "US Peace Corps."
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pueden leer que dice "Cuerpo de Paz Estadounidense".
Resulta que realmente no había desperdicio de papel en esta aldea.
03:23
As it turns out, there actually wasn't
any waste paper in this village.
any waste paper in this village.
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Y mientras era un buen uso del papeleo gubernamental
03:27
And while it was a good use
of government paperwork
of government paperwork
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03:30
for this volunteer to bring it
back with him to his village,
back with him to his village,
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para este voluntario, llevarlo a la aldea,
estaba a 800 kilometros de distancia.
03:33
it was 800 kilometers away.
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Entonces pensamos que debería haber una mejor manera
03:35
And so we thought perhaps
there might be a better way
there might be a better way
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03:38
to come up with
an alternative cooking fuel.
an alternative cooking fuel.
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de idear un combustible de cocina alternativo.
Lo que queríamos era hacer un combustible
03:41
What we wanted to do
is we wanted to make a fuel
is we wanted to make a fuel
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03:43
that used something that was
readily available on the local level.
readily available on the local level.
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que usara algo que ya estuviera disponible a nivel local.
También verán esto en todo Haití. Son pequeños molinos de azúcar.
03:47
You see these all over Haiti as well.
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03:48
They're small-scale sugar mills.
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03:50
And the waste product from them
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Y el producto de desperdicio de los mismos
después de extraído el jugo de la caña de azúcar se llama bagazo.
03:52
after you extract the juice
from the sugarcane
from the sugarcane
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03:54
is called "bagasse."
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No tiene otro uso. No tiene valor nutricional,
03:56
It has no other use.
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03:57
It has no nutritional value,
so they don't feed it to the animals.
so they don't feed it to the animals.
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así que no lo usan para alimentar animales.
04:00
It just sits in a pile near the sugar mill
until eventually they burn it.
until eventually they burn it.
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Solo está en una pila cerca del molino de azúcar, hasta que eventualmente lo queman.
Lo que queríamos hacer era encontrar una manera
04:05
What we wanted to do was
we wanted to find a way
we wanted to find a way
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de aprovechar esta fuente de desperdicio y convertirla en combustible
04:08
to harness this waste resource
and turn it into a fuel
and turn it into a fuel
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que sería algo con lo que la gente podría cocinar fácilmente,
04:11
that would be something
that people could easily cook with,
that people could easily cook with,
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algo como el carbón.
04:14
something like charcoal.
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Así que durante el siguiente par de años, los estudiantes y yo trabajamos para desarrollar un proceso.
04:16
So over the next couple of years,
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04:18
students and I worked
to develop a process.
to develop a process.
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Asi que empiezan con el bagazo, después toman un simple hornillo
04:21
So you start with the bagasse,
and then you take a very simple kiln
and then you take a very simple kiln
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que pueden hacer de un tanque de 210 litros de combustible.
04:25
that you can make out of
a waste fifty five-gallon oil drum.
a waste fifty five-gallon oil drum.
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Después de un tiempo, después de prenderle fuego, lo sellan
04:28
After some time, after setting it on fire,
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04:31
you seal it to restrict the oxygen
that goes into the kiln,
that goes into the kiln,
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para restringir el oxígeno que entra en el hornillo,
y después les queda este material carbonizado aquí.
04:35
and then you end up
with this carbonized material here.
with this carbonized material here.
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Sin embargo, no pueden encender esto. Es muy fino
04:38
However, you can't burn this.
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04:40
It's too fine and it burns too quickly
to be useful for cooking.
to be useful for cooking.
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y se quema demasiado rápido como para usarse para cocinar.
Así que tuvimos que probar y encontrar alguna manera de hacerlos bloques útiles.
04:45
So we had to try to find a way
to form it into useful briquettes.
to form it into useful briquettes.
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Y convenientemente, uno de mis estudiantes era de Ghana,
04:49
And conveniently,
one of my students was from Ghana,
one of my students was from Ghana,
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y recordó un plato que su madre solía hacerle, llamado "kokonte".
04:52
and he remembered a dish his mom
used to make for him called "kokonte,"
used to make for him called "kokonte,"
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04:56
which is a very sticky porridge
made out of the cassava root.
made out of the cassava root.
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que es un empaste pegajoso hecho a base de raíces de casava.
04:59
And so what we did was we looked,
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Así que lo que hicimos fue mirar, y encontramos
05:01
and we found that cassava
is indeed grown in Haiti,
is indeed grown in Haiti,
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que la casava efectivamente crecía en Haití, bajo el nombre de mandioca.
05:04
under the name of "manioc."
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Y de hecho, crece en todo el mundo --
05:06
In fact, it's grown all over the world --
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yuca, tapioca, mandioca, casava, son todas la misma cosa --
05:08
yucca, tapioca, manioc, cassava,
it's all the same thing --
it's all the same thing --
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05:11
a very starchy root vegetable.
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una raíz vegetal muy almidonada.
Y pueden hacer con el un bloque muy grueso y sólido,
05:13
And you can make a very thick,
sticky porridge out of it,
sticky porridge out of it,
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que puede usarse para unir los bloques de carbón.
05:17
which you can use to bind together
the charcoal briquettes.
the charcoal briquettes.
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Así que hicimos esto. Fuimos a Haití.
05:21
So we did this. We went down to Haiti.
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Estos son los graduados de la primer "Escuela del Carbón",
05:24
These are the graduates
of the first Ecole de Charbon,
of the first Ecole de Charbon,
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o Instituto del Carbón. Y estos --
05:27
or Charcoal Institute.
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(Risas)
05:28
And these --
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05:30
(Laughter)
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-- es correcto. Soy una instructora del MIT así como del CIT.
05:31
That's right. So I'm actually
an instructor at MIT as well as CIT.
an instructor at MIT as well as CIT.
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Y estos son los bloques que hicimos.
05:37
And these are the briquettes that we made.
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Ahora, los voy a llevar a otro continente. Esto es India,
05:40
Now I'm going to take you
to a different continent.
to a different continent.
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05:44
This is India
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y este es el combustible de cocina más usado en la India: el estiércol de vaca.
05:45
and this is the most commonly used
cooking fuel in India.
cooking fuel in India.
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05:48
It's cow dung.
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Y más que en Haití, esto produce fuegos realmente humeantes,
05:50
And more than in Haiti,
this produces really smoky fires,
this produces really smoky fires,
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y aquí es donde realmente se ven los impactos en la salud
05:54
and this is where you see
the health impacts
the health impacts
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05:56
of cooking with cow dung
and biomass as a fuel.
and biomass as a fuel.
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de cocinar con estiércol de vaca y biomasa como combustible.
Los niños y mujeres son los más afectados,
06:01
Kids and women
are especially affected by it,
are especially affected by it,
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06:03
because they're the ones
who are around the cooking fires.
who are around the cooking fires.
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porque son los que están cerca de los fuegos de cocina.
Así que quisimos ver si podíamos introducir
06:06
So we wanted to see
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06:08
if we could introduce
this charcoal-making technology there.
this charcoal-making technology there.
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esta tecnología para hacer carbón allí.
Desafortunadamente, no tenían caña de azúcar
06:11
Well, unfortunately,
they didn't have sugarcane
they didn't have sugarcane
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y no tenían casava, pero eso no nos detuvo.
06:14
and they didn't have cassava,
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06:15
but that didn't stop us.
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Lo que hicimos fue, descubrimos cuales eran las fuentes de biomasa disponibles localmente.
06:17
What we did was we found what were
the locally available sources of biomass.
the locally available sources of biomass.
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Y encontramos paja de trigo y de arroz en esa área.
06:21
And there was wheat straw
and there was rice straw in this area.
and there was rice straw in this area.
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Y lo que podíamos usar como comparación
06:24
And what we could use as a binder
was actually small amounts of cow manure,
was actually small amounts of cow manure,
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eran pocas cantidades de estiércol de vaca,
que usaban comúnmente para su combustible.
06:28
which they used ordinarily for their fuel.
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E hicimos pruebas lado a lado, y aquí pueden ver
06:31
And we did side-by-side tests,
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06:33
and here you can see
the charcoal briquettes
the charcoal briquettes
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los bloques de carbón, y aquí el estiércol de vaca.
06:36
and here the cow dung.
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06:37
And you can see that it's a lot cleaner
burning of a cooking fuel.
burning of a cooking fuel.
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Y pueden ver que es una combustión mucho más limpia del combustible para cocinar.
Y de hecho, calienta el agua mucho más rápido.
06:41
And in fact, it heats the water
a lot more quickly.
a lot more quickly.
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06:43
And so we were very happy, thus far.
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Y entonces eramos muy felices, hasta ahí.
Pero una de las cosas que encontramos
06:46
But one of the things that we found
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06:47
was when we did side-by-side
comparisons with wood charcoal,
comparisons with wood charcoal,
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fue que cuando hicimos comparaciones lado a lado con carbón de madera,
06:50
it didn't burn as long.
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no ardían tanto tiempo. Y los bloques se desmoronaban un poco,
06:52
And the briquettes crumbled a little bit
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y perdíamos energía cuando se deshacían mientras cocinábamos.
06:54
and we lost energy as they fell apart
as they were cooking.
as they were cooking.
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Entonces, queríamos encontrar la forma de hacer un bloque más fuerte
06:57
So we wanted to try to find a way
to make a stronger briquette
to make a stronger briquette
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07:00
so that we could compete with
wood charcoal in the markets in Haiti.
wood charcoal in the markets in Haiti.
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para poder competir con el carbón vegetal en los mercados de Haití.
Así que volvimos al MIT, sacamos la máquina Instron (máquina de pruebas de fuerza),
07:05
So we went back to MIT,
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07:07
we took out the Instron machine
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y averiguamos qué tipos de fuerzas necesitábamos
07:09
and we figured out
what sort of forces you needed
what sort of forces you needed
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para comprimir el bloque a un nivel
07:12
in order to compress
a briquette to the level
a briquette to the level
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que pudiéramos obtener un mejor rendimiento.
07:14
that you actually are getting
improved performance out of it?
improved performance out of it?
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Y al mismo tiempo que teníamos estudiantes en el laboratorio observando esto,
07:17
And at the same time that we had
students in the lab looking at this,
students in the lab looking at this,
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también teníamos unos colegas en Haití trabajando para desarrollar el proceso,
07:21
we also had community partners in Haiti
working to develop the process,
working to develop the process,
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para mejorarlo y hacerlo más accesible a los aldeanos de allí.
07:28
to improve it and make it more accessible
to people in the villages there.
to people in the villages there.
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Y después de un tiempo,
07:33
And after some time,
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desarrollamos una prensa de bajo costo que permite producir carbón,
07:35
we developed a low-cost press
that allows you to produce charcoal,
that allows you to produce charcoal,
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que, de hecho, arde por más tiempo y de forma más limpia que el carbón de madera.
07:40
which actually now burns not only --
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07:43
actually, it burns longer,
cleaner than wood charcoal.
cleaner than wood charcoal.
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Entonces ahora estamos en una situación en la que tenemos el producto, que es incluso mejor
07:47
So now we're in a situation
where we have a product,
where we have a product,
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07:49
which is actually better than what
you can buy in Haiti in the marketplace,
you can buy in Haiti in the marketplace,
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que lo que se puede comprar en los mercados de Haití,
que es un maravilloso lugar para estar.
07:54
which is a very wonderful place to be.
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Solo en Haití, alrededor de 30 millones de árboles se talan cada año.
07:58
In Haiti alone, about 30 million trees
are cut down every year.
are cut down every year.
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08:03
There's a possibility
of this being implemented
of this being implemented
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Hay una posibilidad de que esto sea implementado
y así salvar una buena porción de aquellos árboles.
08:06
and saving a good portion of those.
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Además, los ingresos generados por ese carbón son de 260 millones de dólares.
08:08
In addition, the revenue generated
from that charcoal is 260 million dollars.
from that charcoal is 260 million dollars.
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Eso es una enorme cantidad para el país de Haití --
08:14
That's an awful lot
for a country like Haiti --
for a country like Haiti --
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con una población de ocho millones
08:17
with a population of eight million
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y un ingreso promedio menor a 400 dólares.
08:19
and an average income
of less than 400 dollars.
of less than 400 dollars.
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Así que es también hacia allí que nos movemos con el proyecto del carbón.
08:23
So this is where we're also moving ahead
with our charcoal project.
with our charcoal project.
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08:27
And one of the things
that I think is also interesting,
that I think is also interesting,
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Y una de las cosas que creo que es también interesante,
es que tengo un amigo en la Universidad de California, Berkeley, que está haciendo un análisis del riesgo.
08:30
is I have a friend up at UC Berkeley
who's been doing risk analysis.
who's been doing risk analysis.
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08:34
And he's looked at the problem
of the health impacts
of the health impacts
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Y él ha considerado los problemas del impacto en la salud
08:37
of burning wood versus charcoal.
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de prender leña versus prender carbón.
08:39
And he's found that worldwide,
you could prevent a million deaths
you could prevent a million deaths
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Y él ha decubierto que a nivel mundial,
uno puede prevenir millones de muertes con solo cambiar de madera a carbón
08:43
switching from wood
to charcoal as a cooking fuel.
to charcoal as a cooking fuel.
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como combustible para la cocina. Eso es notable.
08:46
That's remarkable,
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Pero hasta el momento, no había manera de hacerlo sin talar árboles.
08:47
but up until now, there weren't ways
to do it without cutting down trees.
to do it without cutting down trees.
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Pero ahora tenemos un método
08:51
But now we have a way
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08:52
that's using an agricultural
waste material to create a cooking fuel.
waste material to create a cooking fuel.
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que utiliza material de desecho de agricultura para crear combustible de cocina.
08:56
One of the really exciting things, though,
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Una de las cosas realmente emocionante es, sin embargo
08:58
is something that came out of the trip
that I took to Ghana just last month.
that I took to Ghana just last month.
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algo que surgió de un viaje que hice a Ghana el mes pasado.
Y esto es, creo, lo más cool,
09:02
And I think it's the coolest thing,
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y es incluso menos tecnológico que lo que acaban de ver,
09:05
and it's even lower tech
than what you just saw,
than what you just saw,
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si pudieran imaginar tal cosa. Aquí está.
09:08
if you can imagine such a thing.
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09:10
Here it is.
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Entonces, ¿qué es esto? Estas son mazorcas de maíz convertidas a carbón.
09:11
So what is this?
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09:13
This is corncobs turned into charcoal.
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Y la belleza de esto, radica en que no se necesita hacer bloques.
09:15
And the beauty of this is
that you don't need to form briquettes --
that you don't need to form briquettes --
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Ya viene hecho. Esta es mi notebook de 100 dólares, justo aquí.
09:19
it comes ready made.
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09:20
This is my $100 laptop, right here.
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Y, como Nick, traje muestras.
09:23
And actually, like Nick,
I brought samples.
I brought samples.
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(Risas)
09:26
(Laughter)
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09:28
So we can pass these around.
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Entonces podemos ir pasando estas.
Son totalmente funcionales, ya fueron probadas y están listas para el mercado.
09:32
They're fully functional,
field-tested, ready to roll out.
field-tested, ready to roll out.
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09:36
(Laughter)
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Y pienso que otra cosa que es realmente notable de esta tecnología
09:40
And I think one of the things
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09:41
which is also remarkable
about this technology,
about this technology,
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es que la transferencia de la tecnología es tan fácil.
09:46
is that the technology
transfer is so easy.
transfer is so easy.
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Comparada con el carbón de caña de azúcar,
09:48
Compared to the sugarcane charcoal,
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donde en realidad tenemos que enseñarle a la gente cómo formarlo en bloques
09:51
where we have to teach people
how to form it into briquettes
how to form it into briquettes
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y tienen el paso extra de cocinar el tambor,
09:53
and you have the extra step
of cooking the binder,
of cooking the binder,
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esto viene pre-fabricado.
09:56
this comes pre-briquetted.
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Y esto es casi lo más emocionante en mi vida en este momento,
09:57
And this is about the most exciting
thing in my life right now,
thing in my life right now,
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lo que probablemente sea un comentario muy triste acerca de mi vida.
10:00
which is perhaps
a sad commentary on my life.
a sad commentary on my life.
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(Risas)
10:04
(Laughter)
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Pero una vez que lo vean, como ustedes, la gente en la primera fila, de acuerdo,
10:06
But once you see it,
like you guys in the front row --
like you guys in the front row --
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si, OK. Entonces, de todas maneras --
10:08
All right, yeah, OK.
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10:10
So anyway --
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(Risas)
10:11
(Laughter)
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--- aquí está. Y esto, creo, es un ejemplo perfecto
10:13
Here it is.
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10:14
And this is, I think, a perfect example
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de lo que hablaba Robert White en esas cosas de suma no-cero.
10:17
of what Robert Wright was talking about
in those non-zero-sum things.
in those non-zero-sum things.
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Así que no solo tienen beneficios para la salud,
10:22
So not only do you have health benefits,
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sino que también tienen beneficios para el medio ambiente.
10:24
you have environmental benefits.
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Pero esta es una de esas situaciones increíblemente raras
10:27
But this is one
of the incredibly rare situations
of the incredibly rare situations
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donde también tienen beneficios económicos.
10:30
where you also have economic benefits.
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Las personas pueden hacer su propio combustible de cocina con productos de deshecho.
10:33
People can make their own cooking fuel
from waste products.
from waste products.
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10:36
They can generate income from this.
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Pueden generar ingresos con esto.
10:38
They can save the money
that they were going to spend on charcoal
that they were going to spend on charcoal
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Pueden ahorrar el dinero que iban a gastar en carbón,
10:41
and they can produce excess
and sell it in the market
and sell it in the market
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y pueden producir exceso y venderlo en el mercado
a las personas que no están fabricando el suyo.
10:44
to people who aren't making their own.
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1955
Es realmente raro que no tengan un intercambio
10:46
It's really rare
that you don't have trade-offs
that you don't have trade-offs
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entre salud y economía, o medio ambiente y economía.
10:48
between health and economics,
or environment and economics.
or environment and economics.
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10:51
So this is a project
that I just find extremely exciting
that I just find extremely exciting
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Así que este es un proyecto que encuentro extremadamente emocionante,
y estoy ansiosa por ver hasta donde nos puede llevar.
10:55
and I'm really looking forward
to see where it takes us.
to see where it takes us.
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O sea, cuando hablamos ahora, del futuro que vamos a crear
11:02
So when we talk about, now,
the future we will create,
the future we will create,
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una de las cosas que yo creo es necesaria
11:06
one of the things
that I think is necessary
that I think is necessary
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11:08
is to have a very clear vision
of the world that we live in.
of the world that we live in.
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es tener una visión muy clara del mundo en que vivimos.
Y ahora en realidad no me refiero al mundo en el que nosotros vivimos.
11:12
And now, I don't actually mean
the world that we live in.
the world that we live in.
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2786
11:16
I mean the world where women
spend two to three hours everyday
spend two to three hours everyday
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Me refiero al mundo donde las mujeres pasan de dos a tres horas cada día
moliendo granos para que su familia pueda comer.
11:20
grinding grain for their families to eat.
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Me refiero al mundo donde los materiales de construcción avanzados
11:24
I mean the world
where advanced building materials
where advanced building materials
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son las tejas de cemento hechas a mano,
11:27
means cement roofing tiles
that are made by hand,
that are made by hand,
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y donde, cuando trabajan diez horas al día,
11:30
and where, when you work 10 hours a day,
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11:32
you're still only earning
60 dollars in a month.
60 dollars in a month.
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siguen ganando solo 60 dólares al mes.
Me refiero al mundo donde niños y mujeres pasan 40 billones de horas cada año yendo a buscar agua.
11:37
I mean the world
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11:38
where women and children spend
40 billion hours a year fetching water.
40 billion hours a year fetching water.
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Eso es como si la fuerza de trabajo completa del estado de California
11:45
That's as if the entire workforce
of the state of California
of the state of California
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trabajara jornada completa durante un año, no haciendo otra cosa que ir a buscar agua.
11:49
worked full time for a year
doing nothing but fetching water.
doing nothing but fetching water.
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Es un lugar, donde, por ejemplo, si esto fuera la India,
11:53
It's a place where,
for example, if this were India,
for example, if this were India,
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en esta habitación, solo tres de nosotros tendrían un auto.
11:57
in this room, only three of us
would have a car.
would have a car.
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Si esto fuese Afganistán,
12:01
If this were Afghanistan,
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solo una persona en esta habitación sabría usar Internet.
12:02
only one person in this room
would know how the use the Internet.
would know how the use the Internet.
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Si esto fuese Zambia, 300 de ustedes serían granjeros,
12:06
If this were Zambia --
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12:08
300 of you would be farmers,
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100 de ustedes tendrían SIDA o VIH.
12:11
100 of you would have AIDS or HIV.
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Y más de la mitad de ustedes estarían viviendo con menos de un dólar por día.
12:14
And more than half of you would be living
on less than a dollar a day.
on less than a dollar a day.
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Estas son las cuestiones para las que tenemos que hallar soluciones.
12:19
These are the issues that we
need to come up with solutions for.
need to come up with solutions for.
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Estas son las cuestiones para las que necesitamos entrenar a nuestros ingenieros,
12:23
These are the issues that
we need to be training our engineers,
we need to be training our engineers,
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12:27
our designers, our business people,
our entrepreneurs to be facing.
our entrepreneurs to be facing.
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nuestros diseñadores, nuestra gente de negocios, nuestros empresarios, para que las enfrenten.
Estas son las soluciones que necesitamos hallar.
12:32
These are the solutions
that we need to find.
that we need to find.
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12:34
I have a few areas that I believe
are especially important that we address.
are especially important that we address.
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Tengo algunas áreas donde creo que es especialmente importante que nos enfoquemos.
Una de ellas es crear tecnologías para promover micro-financiamientos y micro-empresas,
12:41
One of them is creating technologies
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12:43
to promote micro-finance
and micro-enterprise,
and micro-enterprise,
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para que la gente que vive debajo de la línea de pobreza, encuentre una salida --
12:46
so that people who are living
below the poverty line
below the poverty line
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12:49
can find a way to move out --
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que no lo están pudiendo hacer
12:50
and that they're not doing it
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usando el mismo sistema tradicional de realizar canastas, criar aves, etcétera.
12:51
using the same traditional
basket making, poultry rearing, etc.
basket making, poultry rearing, etc.
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12:55
But there are new technologies
and new products
and new products
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Pero hay nuevas tecnologías y nuevos productos
12:57
that they can make on a small scale.
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que ellos pueden realizar a baja escala.
13:00
The next thing I believe
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Lo otro que creo es que necesitamos crear teconogías para granjeros pobres
13:01
is that we need to create
technologies for poor farmers
technologies for poor farmers
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para agregarle valor a sus propias cosechas.
13:06
to add value to their own crops.
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Y necesitamos repensar nuestras estrategias de desarrollo,
13:09
And we need to rethink
our development strategies,
our development strategies,
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para que no estemos promocionando campañas educativas
13:12
so that we're not promoting
educational campaigns
educational campaigns
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13:15
to get them to stop being farmers,
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para que dejen de ser granjeros,
13:17
but rather to stop being poor farmers.
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sino que en cambio dejen de ser granjeros pobres.
13:20
And we need to think
about how we can do that effectively.
about how we can do that effectively.
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Y necesitamos pensar cómo podemos hacer eso eficientemente.
Tenemos que trabajar con las personas en estas comunidades,
13:24
We need to work with the people
in these communities
in these communities
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y darles los recursos y herramientas que necesitan
13:27
and give them the resources
and the tools that they need
and the tools that they need
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para resolver sus propios problemas. Esa es la mejor manera de hacerlo.
13:29
to solve their own problems.
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13:31
That's the best way to do it.
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No deberíamos hacerlo desde afuera.
13:33
We shouldn't be doing it from outside.
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Entonces, necesitamos crear este futuro, y tenemos que empezar ahora.
13:35
So we need to create this future,
and we need to start doing it now.
and we need to start doing it now.
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Gracias.
13:40
Thank you.
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13:41
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
13:46
Chris Anderson: Thank you, incredible.
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13:49
Stay here.
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Chris Anderson: Decinos -- mientras vemos si alguien tiene una pregunta --
13:51
Tell us -- just while we see
if someone has a question --
if someone has a question --
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contanos sobre otra de las cosas en las que has trabajado.
13:54
just tell us about one of the other things
that you've worked on.
that you've worked on.
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Amy Smith: Un par de cosas en las que estamos trabajando
13:57
Amy Smith: Some of the other
things we're working on
things we're working on
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son, buscar formas económicas de hacer pruebas de calidad al agua,
14:00
are ways to do low-cost
water quality testing,
water quality testing,
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para que las comunidades puedan mantener sus propios sistemas de agua,
14:02
so that communities can maintain
their own water systems,
their own water systems,
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saber cuando están trabajando, saber cuando tratarla, etc.
14:05
know when they're working,
know when they treat them, etc.
know when they treat them, etc.
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14:07
We're also looking at low-cost
water-treatment systems.
water-treatment systems.
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2637
También estamos viendo sistemas de tratamiento de agua de bajo costo.
Una de las cosas realmente emocionante es la desinfección solar del agua,
14:10
One of the really exciting things
is looking at solar water disinfection
is looking at solar water disinfection
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y mejorar la habilidad para hacerlo.
14:13
and improving the ability
to be able to do that.
to be able to do that.
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CA: ¿Cuál es el cuello de botella para prevenir que esto se vaya de escala?
14:17
CA: What's the bottleneck
preventing this stuff getting from scale?
preventing this stuff getting from scale?
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¿Necesitan encontrar empresarios o inversionistas de capitales de riesgo,
14:21
Do you need to find entrepreneurs,
or venture capitalists,
or venture capitalists,
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o qué necesitan para tomar lo que tienen y escalarlo?
14:24
or what do you need to take
what you've got and get it to scale?
what you've got and get it to scale?
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AS: Si, yo creo que muchas personas moviéndolo hacía adelante.
14:29
AS: I think it's large numbers
of people moving it forward.
of people moving it forward.
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Es algo dificil: es un mercado muy fragmentado
14:32
It's a difficult thing --
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14:33
it's a marketplace
which is very fragmented
which is very fragmented
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2007
y la población que consume sin ingresos.
14:35
and a consumer population with no income.
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Así que no pueden usarse los mismos modelos que en Estados Unidos
14:37
So you can't use the same models
that you use in the United States
that you use in the United States
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3256
14:40
for making things move forward.
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para que esto avance.
14:42
And we're a pretty small staff,
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Y somos un grupo pequeño, o sea yo.
14:44
which is me.
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14:45
(Laughter)
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1976
(Risas)
Así que, ya saben, hacemos lo que podemos con mis estudiantes.
14:47
So, you know,
I do what I can with the students.
I do what I can with the students.
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Tenemos 30 estudiantes por año yendo al campo
14:49
We have 30 students a year
go out into the field
go out into the field
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2239
y tratando de implementarlo y hacerlo avanzar.
14:52
and try to implement this
and move it forward.
and move it forward.
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Lo otro, es que esto hay que hacerlo con una escala de tiempo amplia,
14:54
The other thing is you have to do things
with a long time frame,
with a long time frame,
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como -- ya saben, no pueden esperar obtener algo en uno o dos años.
14:58
as, you know, you can't expect to get
something done in a year or two years;
something done in a year or two years;
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Tienen que mirar cinco o diez años para adelante.
15:02
you have to be looking
five or 10 years ahead.
five or 10 years ahead.
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Pero creo que con la visión de hacerlo, podemos avanzar.
15:04
But I think with the vision to do that,
we can move forward.
we can move forward.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Amy Smith - inventor, engineerAmy Smith designs cheap, practical fixes for tough problems in developing countries. Among her many accomplishments, the MIT engineer received a MacArthur "genius" grant in 2004 and was the first woman to win the Lemelson-MIT Prize for turning her ideas into inventions.
Why you should listen
Mechanical engineer Amy Smith's approach to problem-solving in developing nations is refreshingly common-sense: Invent cheap, low-tech devices that use local resources, so communities can reproduce her efforts and ultimately help themselves. Smith, working with her students at MIT's D-Lab, has come up with several useful tools, including an incubator that stays warm without electricity, a simple grain mill, and a tool that converts farm waste into cleaner-burning charcoal.
The inventions have earned Smith three prestigious prizes: the B.F. Goodrich Collegiate Inventors Award, the MIT-Lemelson Prize, and a MacArthur "genius" grant. Her course, "Design for Developing Countries," is a pioneer in bringing humanitarian design into the curriculum of major institutions. Going forward, the former Peace Corps volunteer strives to do much more, bringing her inventiveness and boundless energy to bear on some of the world's most persistent problems.
Amy Smith | Speaker | TED.com