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Topher White: What can save the rainforest? Your used cell phone
Topher White: ¿Qué puede salvar al bosque tropical? Tu teléfono móvil usado
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Entre los sonidos de la selva escuchamos los gorjeos de los pájaros, el zumbido de las cigarras, el sonido de los gibones. Pero de fondo está casi siempre presente el sonido de una motosierra, de los madereros ilegales. El ingeniero Topher White comparte una forma sencilla y escalable de detener esta deforestación brutal, que parte de tu viejo teléfono móvil.
Topher White - Conservation technologist
Through his startup Rainforest Connection, Topher White transforms used cell phones into guardians of the rainforest. Full bio
Through his startup Rainforest Connection, Topher White transforms used cell phones into guardians of the rainforest. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
(Rainforest noises)
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(Sonidos del bosque tropical)
00:21
In the summer of 2011,
as a tourist,
as a tourist,
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En el verano de 2011, como turista,
00:25
I visited the rainforests of Borneo
for the very first time,
for the very first time,
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visité por primera vez
los bosques de Borneo,
los bosques de Borneo,
00:29
and as you might imagine,
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y como se pueden imaginar
00:31
it was the overwhelming sounds
of the forest that struck me the most.
of the forest that struck me the most.
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lo que más me impresionó
fueron sus sonidos sobrecogedores.
fueron sus sonidos sobrecogedores.
00:36
There's this constant cacophony of noise.
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Había una constante cacofonía de sonidos,
00:39
Some things actually do stick out.
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y algunos destacaban más que otros.
Por ejemplo, este es el sonido de
un gran pájaro, un cálao rinoceronte.
un gran pájaro, un cálao rinoceronte.
00:42
For example, this here is a big bird,
a rhinoceros hornbill.
a rhinoceros hornbill.
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00:46
This buzzing is a cicada.
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Este es el canto de una cigarra.
Y este viene de una familia de gibones.
00:51
This is a family of gibbons.
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00:54
It's actually singing to each other
over a great distance.
over a great distance.
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Se están cantando
desde una gran distancia.
desde una gran distancia.
De hecho, el lugar donde he grabado
era en una reserva de gibones
era en una reserva de gibones
00:59
The place where this was recorded
was in fact a gibbon reserve,
was in fact a gibbon reserve,
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01:02
which is why you can hear so many of them,
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por eso se oyen tantos,
01:04
but in fact the most important noise that
was coming out of the forest that time
was coming out of the forest that time
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pero en ese momento, el sonido
más importante venía del bosque
más importante venía del bosque
01:09
was one that I didn't notice,
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pero no me di cuenta,
01:10
and in fact nobody there
had actually noticed it.
had actually noticed it.
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nadie se percató de ello.
01:14
So, as I said, this was a gibbon reserve.
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Como dije, era una reserva de gibones.
01:16
They spend most of their time
rehabilitating gibbons,
rehabilitating gibbons,
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Allí, se dedicaba la mayor parte
del tiempo a rehabilitar gibones,
del tiempo a rehabilitar gibones,
01:19
but they also have
to spend a lot of their time
to spend a lot of their time
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y también se invertía mucho
01:21
protecting their area from illegal logging
that takes place on the side.
that takes place on the side.
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en la protección de
la zona de tala ilegal.
la zona de tala ilegal.
01:25
And so if we take the sound of the forest
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Así que si eliminamos
el sonido de la selva
el sonido de la selva
01:27
and we actually turn down the gibbons,
the insects, and the rest,
the insects, and the rest,
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y quitamos el de los gibones,
de los insectos y el resto,
de los insectos y el resto,
01:31
in the background, the entire time,
in recordings you heard,
in recordings you heard,
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de fondo se puede oír
todo este tiempo,
todo este tiempo,
01:34
was the sound of a chainsaw
at great distance.
at great distance.
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el sonido de una motosierra
en la distancia.
en la distancia.
01:38
They had three full-time guards
who were posted around this sanctuary
who were posted around this sanctuary
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Había 3 guardias a tiempo completo
para controlar este santuario
para controlar este santuario
01:42
whose job was in fact
to guard against illegal logging,
to guard against illegal logging,
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cuyo trabajo consistía en
proteger la zona de la tala ilegal
proteger la zona de la tala ilegal
01:46
and one day, we went walking,
again as tourists, out into the forest,
again as tourists, out into the forest,
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y un día, salimos a caminar
por el bosque como turistas,
por el bosque como turistas,
01:50
and within five minutes' walk,
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y 5 minutos más tarde
01:52
we stumbled upon somebody
who was just sawing a tree down,
who was just sawing a tree down,
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nos encontramos con alguien
que acababa de cortar un árbol,
que acababa de cortar un árbol,
01:55
five minutes' walk, a few hundred meters
from the ranger station.
from the ranger station.
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5 minutos, a pocos metros
de la sede de los guardias.
de la sede de los guardias.
01:58
They hadn't been able
to hear the chainsaws,
to hear the chainsaws,
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Pero ellos no oyeron las motosierras,
02:01
because as you heard,
the forest is very, very loud.
the forest is very, very loud.
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porque, ya ven, el bosque
es muy, muy ruidoso.
es muy, muy ruidoso.
02:04
It struck me as quite unacceptable
that in this modern time,
that in this modern time,
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Hoy en día es inaceptable,
02:08
just a few hundred meters away
from a ranger station in a sanctuary,
from a ranger station in a sanctuary,
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a unos pocos cientos de metros de
la sede de las guardias, en un santuario,
la sede de las guardias, en un santuario,
que nadie oyera cuando se pone
en marcha una motosierra.
en marcha una motosierra.
02:13
that in fact nobody could hear it when
someone who has a chainsaw gets fired up.
someone who has a chainsaw gets fired up.
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02:17
It sounds impossible,
but in fact, it was quite true.
but in fact, it was quite true.
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Parece imposible,
pero es absolutamente cierto.
pero es absolutamente cierto.
Entonces, ¿cómo detenemos la tala ilegal?
02:21
So how do we stop illegal logging?
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02:23
It's really tempting, as an engineer,
always to come up with a high-tech,
always to come up with a high-tech,
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Como ingeniero, resulta muy tentador
encontrar alguna solución
encontrar alguna solución
02:26
super-crazy high-tech solution,
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absurda de alta tecnología,
02:28
but in fact, you're in the rainforest.
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pero de hecho estamos en la selva
02:30
It has to be simple,
it has to be scalable,
it has to be scalable,
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y debe ser algo simple,
debe ser factible.
debe ser factible.
02:33
and so what we also noticed
while were there was that
while were there was that
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La otra cosa de la que nos dimos cuenta
02:36
everything we needed was already there.
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fue que todo lo que
nos hacía falta ya estaba allí.
nos hacía falta ya estaba allí.
02:38
We could build a system
that would allow us to stop this
that would allow us to stop this
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Podíamos construir un sistema
que detuviera la tala
que detuviera la tala
02:41
using what's already there.
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usando lo que ya estaba allí.
¿Quién estaba allí?
¿Quién estaba ya en el bosque?
¿Quién estaba ya en el bosque?
02:43
Who was there? What was
already in the forest?
already in the forest?
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02:45
Well, we had people.
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Bueno, la gente.
02:46
We had this group there that was
dedicated, three full-time guards,
dedicated, three full-time guards,
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Había un grupo comprometido,
3 guardias a tiempo completo
3 guardias a tiempo completo
02:50
that was dedicated to go and stop it,
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comprometidos a supervisar,
02:51
but they just needed to know
what was happening out in the forest.
what was happening out in the forest.
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pero necesitan saber
qué pasaba en el bosque.
qué pasaba en el bosque.
La verdadera sorpresa,
y es una gran sorpresa,
y es una gran sorpresa,
02:54
The real surprise, this is the big one,
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02:56
was that there was connectivity
out in the forest.
out in the forest.
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es que había cobertura en el bosque.
Había servicio de telefonía móvil
allí, en medio de la nada.
allí, en medio de la nada.
02:59
There was cell phone service
way out in the middle of nowhere.
way out in the middle of nowhere.
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Hablamos de cientos de kilómetros
hasta la carretera más cercana,
hasta la carretera más cercana,
03:02
We're talking hundreds of kilometers
from the nearest road,
from the nearest road,
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03:05
there's certainly no electricity,
but they had very good cell phone service,
but they had very good cell phone service,
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y claro que no hay electricidad,
pero si que había señal de red.
pero si que había señal de red.
La gente del pueblo tenía
acceso a Facebook todo el tiempo
acceso a Facebook todo el tiempo
03:08
these people in the towns
were on Facebook all the time,
were on Facebook all the time,
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03:11
they're surfing the web on their phones,
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navegaba en Internet con el móvil
03:13
and this sort of got me thinking
that in fact it would be possible
that in fact it would be possible
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lo que me hizo pensar
ene la posibilidad real
ene la posibilidad real
03:16
to use the sounds of the forest,
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de usar los sonidos del bosque,
e identificar los sonidos de
las motosierras con un programa
las motosierras con un programa
03:18
pick up the sounds
of chainsaws programmatically,
of chainsaws programmatically,
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03:20
because people can't hear them,
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ya son inaudibles,
03:22
and send an alert.
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y enviar una alarma.
Pero necesitábamos un dispositivo
para ponerlo en los árboles.
para ponerlo en los árboles.
03:24
But you have to have a device
to go up in the trees.
to go up in the trees.
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03:26
So if we can use some device
to listen to the sounds of the forest,
to listen to the sounds of the forest,
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Con este dispositivo para
grabar los sonidos del bosque,
grabar los sonidos del bosque,
03:30
connect to the cell phone
network that's there,
network that's there,
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conectado a la red móvil,
03:32
and send an alert to people on the ground,
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y el envío de una alarma
a la gente de la zona,
a la gente de la zona,
03:34
perhaps we could have a solution
to this issue for them.
to this issue for them.
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quizá daríamos con una
solución para el problema.
solución para el problema.
03:38
But let's take a moment
to talk about saving the rainforest,
to talk about saving the rainforest,
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Hablemos un momento de la
preservación de la selva tropical,
preservación de la selva tropical,
03:41
because it's something that we've
definitely all heard about forever.
definitely all heard about forever.
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y es algo de que todos
oímos hablar todo el tiempo.
oímos hablar todo el tiempo.
03:45
People in my generation
have heard about saving the rainforest
have heard about saving the rainforest
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A mi generación se le he hablado
de salvar los bosques,
de salvar los bosques,
03:48
since we were kids,
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desde que éramos niños,
03:50
and it seems that the message
has never changed:
has never changed:
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y parece que el mensaje
nunca ha cambiado:
nunca ha cambiado:
hay que salvar la selva tropical,
es una emergencia,
es una emergencia,
03:52
We've got to save the rainforest,
it's super urgent,
it's super urgent,
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ayer se deforestó el equivalente
a tantos campos de fútbol
a tantos campos de fútbol
03:54
this many football fields
have been destroyed yesterday.
have been destroyed yesterday.
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03:57
and yet here we are today,
about half of the rainforest remains,
about half of the rainforest remains,
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y sin embargo aquí estamos hoy,
con solo la mitad del bosque,
con solo la mitad del bosque,
04:00
and we have potentially more urgent
problems like climate change.
problems like climate change.
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pero parece que el cambio climático
es un problema más urgente.
es un problema más urgente.
04:05
But in fact, this is the little-known fact
that I didn't realize at the time:
that I didn't realize at the time:
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De hecho, hay un dato poco conocido
que yo no sabía entonces:
que yo no sabía entonces:
la deforestación genera
más gases de efecto invernadero
más gases de efecto invernadero
04:09
Deforestation accounts
for more greenhouse gas
for more greenhouse gas
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04:12
than all of the world's planes,
trains, cars, trucks and ships combined.
trains, cars, trucks and ships combined.
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que todos los aviones, trenes, autos,
camiones y barcos del mundo juntos.
camiones y barcos del mundo juntos.
04:16
It's the second highest contributor
to climate change.
to climate change.
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Es la segunda causa del cambio climático.
04:18
Also, according to Interpol,
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Además, según Interpol,
04:21
as much as 90 percent of the logging
that takes place in the rainforest
that takes place in the rainforest
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el 90 % de la tala
que ocurre en el bosque
que ocurre en el bosque
04:25
is illegal logging,
like the illegal logging that we saw.
like the illegal logging that we saw.
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es ilegal, al igual que
lo que hemos visto nosotros.
lo que hemos visto nosotros.
04:29
So if we can help people in the forest
enforce the rules that are there,
enforce the rules that are there,
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Si ayudamos a la gente del bosque
aplicar las reglas existentes,
aplicar las reglas existentes,
04:33
then in fact we could eat heavily
into this 17 percent
into this 17 percent
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podríamos reducir esto en un 17 %
04:37
and potentially have a major impact
in the short term.
in the short term.
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y generar un mayor impacto a corto plazo.
04:39
It might just be the cheapest,
fastest way to fight climate change.
fastest way to fight climate change.
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Podría ser que el modo más rápido y barato
de combatir el cambio climático,
de combatir el cambio climático,
y este es el sistema
que hemos creado para esto.
que hemos creado para esto.
04:44
And so here's the system that we imagine.
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Parece algo de tecnología punta.
04:46
It looks super high tech.
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04:48
The moment a sound of a chainsaw
is heard in the forest,
is heard in the forest,
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Al momento que oye el sonido
de una motosierra en el bosque,
de una motosierra en el bosque,
04:50
the device picks up the sound
of the chainsaw,
of the chainsaw,
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el dispositivo lo capta,
04:52
it sends an alert through the standard
GSM network that's already there
GSM network that's already there
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y envía una alarma
a través de la red GSM
a través de la red GSM
04:56
to a ranger in the field
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a un guardia en el campo
04:58
who can in fact show up in real time
and stop the logging.
and stop the logging.
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que puede llegar para evitar
la tala en tiempo real.
la tala en tiempo real.
05:01
It's no more about going out
and finding a tree that's been cut.
and finding a tree that's been cut.
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Ya no se trata de salir
a buscar árboles talados,
a buscar árboles talados,
05:05
It's not about seeing
a tree from a satellite
a tree from a satellite
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ni a ver un árbol desde el satélite
05:07
in an area that's been clear cut,
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en un área talada,
05:09
it's about real-time intervention.
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sino que se trata de
intervención en tiempo real.
intervención en tiempo real.
05:11
So I said it was the cheapest
and fastest way to do it,
and fastest way to do it,
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He dicho que es la forma
más barata y rápida de hacerlo,
más barata y rápida de hacerlo,
05:14
but in fact, actually, as you saw,
they weren't able to do it,
they weren't able to do it,
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pero, como se ha visto,
no pudieron aplicarla,
no pudieron aplicarla,
así que quizás no es
tan barata y rápida.
tan barata y rápida.
05:17
so it may not be so cheap and fast.
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05:19
But if the devices in the trees
were actually cell phones,
were actually cell phones,
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Pero si los dispositivos en los árboles
fueran teléfonos móviles,
fueran teléfonos móviles,
05:22
it could be pretty cheap.
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sí sería muy barato.
05:24
Cell phones are thrown away
by the hundreds of millions every year,
by the hundreds of millions every year,
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Cada año se tiran cientos
de millones de teléfonos,
de millones de teléfonos,
cientos de millones solo en EE.UU.
05:28
hundreds of millions in the U.S. alone,
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05:30
not counting the rest of the world,
which of course we should do,
which of course we should do,
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sin contar al resto del mundo,
aunque deberíamos.
aunque deberíamos.
05:33
but in fact, cell phones are great.
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De hecho son geniales.
05:36
They're full of sensors.
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Están llenos de sensores.
05:37
They can listen
to the sounds of the forest.
to the sounds of the forest.
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Escuchan los sonidos del bosque
05:39
We do have to protect them.
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y hay que protegerlos.
05:41
We have to put them in this box
that you see here,
that you see here,
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Hay que ponerlos en una caja
como esta que ven ahí,
como esta que ven ahí,
05:43
and we do have to power them.
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y hay que cargarlos.
05:45
Powering them is one of the greater
engineering challenges
engineering challenges
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Cargarlos es uno de los
mayores retos de ingeniería
mayores retos de ingeniería
05:47
that we had to deal with,
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al que nos enfrentamos,
porque cargar un móvil
bajo la copa de un árbol
bajo la copa de un árbol
05:49
because powering a cell phone
under a tree canopy,
under a tree canopy,
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05:51
any sort of solar power
under a tree canopy,
under a tree canopy,
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con energía solar,
05:54
was an as-yet-unsolved problem,
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era un problema aún sin resolver,
05:56
and that's this unique
solar panel design that you see here,
solar panel design that you see here,
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y este es el panel solar,
único en su tipo,
único en su tipo,
05:58
which in fact is built also from recycled
byproducts of an industrial process.
byproducts of an industrial process.
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construido con derivados reciclados
de procesos industriales.
de procesos industriales.
06:03
These are strips that are cut down.
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Estas tiras se cortan.
06:05
So this is me putting it all together
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Este soy yo armándolo todo
en el garaje de mis padres.
06:09
in my parents' garage, actually.
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06:11
Thanks very much to them
for allowing me to do that.
for allowing me to do that.
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Muchas gracias por dejarme hacerlo.
06:13
As you can see,
this is a device up in a tree.
this is a device up in a tree.
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Como se ve este es
un dispositivo en un árbol.
un dispositivo en un árbol.
06:18
What you can see from here, perhaps,
is that they are pretty well obscured
is that they are pretty well obscured
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Lo que se puede observar desde aquí
es que quizás queda bien camuflado
es que quizás queda bien camuflado
06:21
up in the tree canopy at a distance.
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en lo alto de la copa del árbol.
06:23
That's important, because although
they are able to hear chainsaw noises
they are able to hear chainsaw noises
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Esto es importante porque, aunque
pueden captar los sonidos de sierra
pueden captar los sonidos de sierra
06:27
up to a kilometer in the distance,
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hasta a un kilómetro de distancia,
06:28
allowing them to cover
about three square kilometers,
about three square kilometers,
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y cubrir unos 3 kilómetros cuadrados,
06:31
if someone were to take them,
it would make the area unprotected.
it would make the area unprotected.
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porque si alguien los quitara
dejaría el área desprotegida.
dejaría el área desprotegida.
06:35
So does it actually work?
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¿Pero funciona realmente?
06:38
Well, to test it,
we took it back to Indonesia,
we took it back to Indonesia,
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Para probarlos
volvimos a Indonesia,
volvimos a Indonesia,
06:41
not the same place, but another place,
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no en el mismo lugar, a otro sitio,
06:43
to another gibbon reserve
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en otra reserva de gibones
06:44
that was threatened daily
by illegal logging.
by illegal logging.
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amenazada día tras día
por la tala ilegal.
por la tala ilegal.
Al segundo día de instalado, captó
sonidos de tala ilegal con motosierras.
sonidos de tala ilegal con motosierras.
06:48
On the very second day, it picked up
illegal chainsaw noises.
illegal chainsaw noises.
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06:52
We were able to get a real-time alert.
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Tuvimos una alerta en tiempo real.
Recibí un correo en mi teléfono.
06:54
I got an email on my phone.
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06:55
Actually, we had just climbed the tree.
Everyone had just gotten back down.
Everyone had just gotten back down.
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En realidad, acabábamos
de subir al árbol y bajar.
de subir al árbol y bajar.
Algunos estaban fumando un cigarrillo
06:59
All these guys are smoking cigarettes,
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cuando recibí el e-mail,
y todos se callaron,
y todos se callaron,
07:01
and then I get an email,
and they all quiet down,
and they all quiet down,
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07:04
and in fact you can hear the chainsaw
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todos oímos la motosierra
como un sonido muy débil de fondo,
07:06
really, really faint in the background,
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del que nadie se había
dado cuenta hasta entonces.
dado cuenta hasta entonces.
07:08
but no one had noticed it
until that moment.
until that moment.
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07:11
And so then we took off
to actually stop these loggers.
to actually stop these loggers.
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Así que nos encaminamos
a detener a los madereros.
a detener a los madereros.
07:14
I was pretty nervous.
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Yo estaba muy nervioso.
07:15
This is the moment where we've actually
arrived close to where the loggers are.
arrived close to where the loggers are.
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Este es el momento en que
llegamos hasta los madereros.
llegamos hasta los madereros.
07:20
This is the moment where you can see
where I'm actually regretting
where I'm actually regretting
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Y me pueden ver casi arrepentido
07:23
perhaps the entire endeavor.
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de todo el esfuerzo.
07:25
I'm not really sure what's on
the other side of this hill.
the other side of this hill.
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No estoy seguro de lo que hay
más allá de esta colina.
más allá de esta colina.
07:27
That guy's much braver than I am.
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Ese tipo era más valiente que yo.
07:29
But he went, so I had to go, walking up,
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Como continuó, yo le seguí,
llegó a lo más alto,
llegó a lo más alto,
07:34
and in fact, he made it over the hill,
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paso al otro lado
07:36
and interrupted the loggers in the act.
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y pilló a los madereros en acción.
07:39
For them, it was such a surprise --
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Quedaron impresionados,
07:41
they had never, ever
been interrupted before --
been interrupted before --
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ya que nunca antes nadie
los había interrumpido...
los había interrumpido...
07:43
that it was such an impressive
event for them,
event for them,
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Quedaron muy impactados
07:45
that we've heard from our partners
they have not been back since.
they have not been back since.
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y supimos por nuestros colegas
que no han vuelto desde entonces.
que no han vuelto desde entonces.
07:48
They were, in fact, great guys.
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En realidad eran buena gente.
07:50
They showed us how
the entire operation works,
the entire operation works,
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Nos explicaron cuál era su trabajo,
07:52
and what they really convinced us
on the spot was that
on the spot was that
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y nos convencieron
de que si podíamos llegar
en tiempo real para detenerlos
en tiempo real para detenerlos
07:55
if you can show up
in real time and stop people,
in real time and stop people,
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07:57
it's enough of a deterrent
they won't come back.
they won't come back.
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era suficiente para disuadirlos.
08:01
So --
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Así que...
08:03
Thank you. (Applause)
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Gracias. (Aplausos)
La noticia se difundió quizá
porque le dijimos a mucha gente,
porque le dijimos a mucha gente,
08:09
Word of this spread, possibly
because we told a lot of people,
because we told a lot of people,
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08:13
and in fact, then some really
amazing stuff started to happen.
amazing stuff started to happen.
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y empezaron a suceder cosas sorprendentes.
La gente de todo el mundo empezó
a escribirnos y a llamarnos.
a escribirnos y a llamarnos.
08:16
People from around the world
started to send us emails, phone calls.
started to send us emails, phone calls.
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08:20
What we saw was that people
throughout Asia,
throughout Asia,
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Nos dimos cuenta de que la gente de Asia,
08:22
people throughout Africa,
people throughout South America,
people throughout South America,
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África, América del Sur,
08:25
they told us that they could use it too,
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nos decía que podrían usarlo también,
08:27
and what's most important,
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y lo más importante,
08:28
what we'd found that
we thought might be exceptional,
we thought might be exceptional,
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lo que pensábamos
que era una excepción,
que era una excepción,
08:31
in the forest there was
pretty good cell phone service.
pretty good cell phone service.
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que en el bosque había
muy buena señal,
muy buena señal,
no lo era, y nos dijeron
que muchas áreas tenían señal,
que muchas áreas tenían señal,
08:33
That was not exceptional, we were told,
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08:35
and that particularly is on the periphery
of the forests that are most under threat.
of the forests that are most under threat.
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especialmente en la periferia
de los bosques más amenazados.
de los bosques más amenazados.
08:39
And then something
really amazing happened,
really amazing happened,
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Luego sucedió algo increíble,
08:41
which was that people started sending us
their own old cell phones.
their own old cell phones.
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la gente empezó a mandarnos
sus viejos teléfonos.
sus viejos teléfonos.
08:45
So in fact what we have now is a system
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De modo que ahora tenemos un sistema
08:47
where we can use people on the ground,
people who are already there,
people who are already there,
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con personas de allí, listas
08:50
who can both improve
and use the existing connectivity,
and use the existing connectivity,
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para mejorar y usar
la conexión existente.
la conexión existente.
08:53
and we're using old cell phones
that are being sent to us
that are being sent to us
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Nosotros usamos teléfonos
viejos que nos envía
viejos que nos envía
08:56
by people from around the world
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gente de todo el mundo
08:57
that want their phones to be doing
something else in their afterlife,
something else in their afterlife,
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que desea que sus teléfonos
tengan un segundo uso,
tengan un segundo uso,
por así decirlo.
09:01
so to speak.
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09:01
And if the rest of the device
can be completely recycled,
can be completely recycled,
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Y si el resto del dispositivo
puede reciclarse por completo,
puede reciclarse por completo,
se convierte en todo
un dispositivo reaprovechable.
un dispositivo reaprovechable.
09:04
then we believe it's
an entirely upcycled device.
an entirely upcycled device.
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09:07
So again, this didn't come
because of any sort of high-tech solution.
because of any sort of high-tech solution.
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Así que, repito, no hemos inventado
una solución de alta tecnología.
una solución de alta tecnología.
09:11
It just came from using
what's already there,
what's already there,
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Usamos lo que estaba disponible,
09:13
and I'm thoroughly convinced
that if it's not phones,
that if it's not phones,
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y creo firmemente que,
aún sin los teléfonos,
aún sin los teléfonos,
09:16
that there's always
going to be enough there
going to be enough there
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siempre habrá algo ahí
con lo que desarrollar
soluciones similares,
soluciones similares,
09:18
that you can build similar solutions
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09:20
that can be very effective
in new contexts.
in new contexts.
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que sean efectivas en otras situaciones.
09:22
Thank you very much.
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Muchas gracias.
(Aplausos)
09:24
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Topher White - Conservation technologistThrough his startup Rainforest Connection, Topher White transforms used cell phones into guardians of the rainforest.
Why you should listen
In 2012, Topher White founded Rainforest Connection, a startup which converts recycled cell-phones into solar-powered listening devices to monitor and protect remote areas of the rainforest. Now an established NGO, Rainforest Connection has helped stop illegal logging and poaching operations in Sumatra, and the system is being expanded to three more rainforest reserves in Indonesia, the Amazon and Africa.
With a background in physics and engineering, White worked as web chief of ITER and co-founded Enthuse, a sports engagement and mobile rewards platform. For Rainforest Connection, he’s fashioned a simple device made of discarded cell phones and solar panels that detects and sends alerts when it picks up the sound of chainsaws in protected rainforests, allowing for intervention in real time.
Topher White | Speaker | TED.com