Tim Kruger: Can we stop climate change by removing CO2 from the air?
Tim Kruger: ¿Podemos detener el cambio climático eliminando CO2 del aire?
Tim Kruger researches geoengineering: techniques to counteract climate change by deliberate, large-scale intervention in the earth system -- either by reflecting sunlight back into space or by reducing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Full bio
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to cut emissions rapidly.
las emisiones rápidamente.
uncontentious statement,
indiscutible,
that's slightly more contentious:
our remaining carbon budget
del presupuesto de carbono
extremely rapidly,
con extrema rapidez,
out of the atmosphere.
de la atmósfera.
of these proposed techniques
de propuestas técnicas
or in the oceans.
o en los océanos.
so-called artificial trees,
llamadas árboles artificiales,
whether they can be applied
si pueden ser aplicadas
economic and socially acceptable.
económica y socialmente aceptable.
will solve it on its own.
lo resuelva todo.
they may form the silver buckshot
pueden acercarse a la solución
climate change in its tracks.
el cambio climático y sus consecuencias.
on one particular idea
en una idea
to generate electricity
en la generación de electricidad
carbon dioxide out of the air.
dióxido de carbono del aire.
feeds natural gas into a fuel cell.
una celda de combustible con gas natural.
is converted into electricity,
se convierte en electricidad
thinking that I'm nuts.
estén pensando que estoy loco.
all of the carbon dioxide generated,
el dióxido de carbono generado,
and from the lime kiln, is pure,
como desde el horno de cal, es puro,
either use that carbon dioxide
ese dióxido de carbono
deep underground at low cost.
bajo tierra a bajo costo.
can be used in industrial processes,
puede usarse en procesos industriales,
it scrubs CO2 out of the air.
electricity from natural gas,
a partir del gas natural,
of CO2 into the air
that figure is minus 600.
generation is responsible
es la fuente
of all carbon dioxide emissions.
de dióxido de carbono.
all power generation with this process,
la generación de energía por este proceso,
of the emissions from power generation
las emisiones de la generación de energía,
from other sectors as well,
emisiones de otros sectores también,
of overall carbon emissions.
de las emisiones de carbono.
to counteract ocean acidification,
y contrarrestar su acidificación,
by CO2 in the atmosphere.
el CO2 en la atmósfera.
carbon dioxide when you add it to seawater
de CO2 cuando se vierte al mar
really complicated.
acidification is a good thing,
la acidificación del mar es algo positivo,
what the environmental consequences are,
las consecuencias ambientales,
whether this treatment
si el tratamiento
that it is seeking to cure.
que está tratando de curar.
step-by-step governance
un control estricto de los experimentos
to remove trillions --
from the atmosphere in the decades ahead.
de la atmósfera en las próximas décadas.
think defense-sized expenditure,
Pienso en el cuantioso gasto de defensa,
of the scale of the problem
these thorny issues.
estos asuntos espinosos.
and our efforts to counter climate change.
y por nuestros esfuerzos para evitarlo.
to close our eyes, block our ears,
cerrar los ojos, taparnos los oídos,
the consequences of our actions.
las consecuencias de nuestras acciones.
undermine the will to cut emissions?
socava la voluntad de reducir emisiones?
importance of reducing emissions
en la importancia de reducir las emisiones
we still need to examine them.
tenemos que examinarlas.
can't if we don't try.
no podemos si no lo intentamos.
to restore the atmosphere,
para restaurar la atmósfera,
with a stable climate and healthy oceans.
con un clima estable y océanos saludables.
as a cathedral project.
como el proyecto de una catedral.
and dig the foundations,
y preparar los cimientos,
to its full height.
hasta su altura total.
but we must start in the hope
pero debemos comenzar con la esperanza
will be able to finish the job.
podrán terminar el trabajo.
to ask you a couple of other questions.
hacerle un par de preguntas.
of putting lime in the ocean.
de verter cal al mar.
it's pretty compelling --
we need to do an experiment on this.
que hacer experimentos para ello.
experiment look like?
un experimento responsable?
a series of experiments,
una serie de experimentos,
just very small stage-by-stage.
when you're trialing a new drug,
cuando se prueba un medicamento,
into human trials straight off.
directamente en humanos.
are experiments entirely on land,
son experimentos en tierra,
away from the environment.
sin contacto con el medio ambiente.
that that can be done safely,
pueden hacerse de forma segura,
the whole planet at some level.
en todo el planeta de alguna forma.
experiments in national waters,
en aguas nacionales
of national funders to do that.
financiamiento nacional para hacerlos.
to counter ocean acidification in this way
detener así la acidificación del mar
in international waters,
en aguas internacionales,
an international community working on it.
internacional trabajando en ello.
you know, the ocean's all connected.
porque están conectadas.
about doing experiments on the planet,
de experimentar en el planeta,
which is really important.
realmente importante.
that it is impossible to do,
in a transparent way.
de manera transparente.
that the answer will come back,
Es realmente fascinante.
That was really fascinating.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tim Kruger - Geoengineering researcherTim Kruger researches geoengineering: techniques to counteract climate change by deliberate, large-scale intervention in the earth system -- either by reflecting sunlight back into space or by reducing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Why you should listen
While it is essential that we reduce global carbon emissions, that isn't going to be enough to avoid dangerous climate change. Research into proposed geoengineering techniques could prove vital in the fight to protect our planet. At the Oxford Geoengineering Programme, Tim Kruger aims to assess the range of proposed geoengineering techniques to determine which, if any, could be both technically feasible and benign environmentally, socially and ethically.
Kruger, a James Martin Fellow at the University of Oxford, is a co-author of "The Oxford Principles," a draft code of conduct for geoengineering research. It calls for geoengineering to be regulated as a public good, for public participation in decision-making and for disclosure of research and open publication of results.
In addition to his work at Oxford, Kruger is also CEO of Origen Power, which is developing a process that uses natural gas to generate electricity in a way that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Tim Kruger | Speaker | TED.com