TED2013
Alex Laskey: How behavioral science can lower your energy bill
Alex Laskey: 行为科学是怎样减少你的能源支出的？
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减少你的能源消费，最行之有效的方法是什么？你能相信吗：看看你邻居支付了多少。Alex Laskey用更低价的能源账单来告诉我们，一个奇妙的人类行为是如何让我们这些使用者都变得更美好，更明智。
Alex Laskey - Energy software maker
Alex Laskey helps power companies to help their customers cut down -- using data analysis, marketing and a pinch of psychology. Full bio
Alex Laskey helps power companies to help their customers cut down -- using data analysis, marketing and a pinch of psychology. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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.
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谢谢。
08:01
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alex Laskey - Energy software makerAlex Laskey helps power companies to help their customers cut down -- using data analysis, marketing and a pinch of psychology.
Why you should listen
What's a powerful way to help people use less power at home? Pit them against their neighbors. As founder and president of Opower, Alex Laskey helps utlity companies show customers, right on their utility bills, where their own house sits on the spectrum of neighborhood energy wasters -- and how to beat the game. It seems silly, but the large-scale reductions in energy usage are no joke.
Opower works with more than 80 utilities on three continents, and serves over 15 million customers. Since its launch in 2008, it has cumulatively saved utility customers more than $200 million and 2 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy -- enough to power a city of more than a quarter million people. It's all through a powerful combination of behavioral science, data analytics and good marketing.
In the next twelve months, Opower is on track to save another 1 TWh, equivalent to more than one half the generation of the entire US solar power plant industry in 2011. In May 2016, Opower was bought by Oracle.
Alex Laskey | Speaker | TED.com