ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Garth Lenz - Photographer
Garth Lenz’ touring exhibition, “The True Cost of Oil”, has played a major part in the fight against Alberta Tar Sands Mining.

Why you should listen

Garth Lenz’s photographs capture the detailed reality of what happens when a pristine landscape is confronted by an industrial project. His work as a photojournalist has won him top awards at Pris de la Photographie Paris and the International Photography Awards. He is also a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. His solo exhibition featuring the Alberta Tar Sands, “The True Cost of Oil” premiered in 2011.

More profile about the speaker
Garth Lenz | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxVictoria

Garth Lenz: The true cost of oil

Garth Lenz: Garth Lenz: O verdadeiro custo do petróleo

Filmed:
847,645 views

A que se parece realmente a devastación ambiental? En TEDxVictoria, o fotógrafo Garth Lenz comparte impactantes fotografías do proxecto de explotación mineira de areas de alcatrán de Alberta e dos fermosos (e vitais) ecosistemas baixo ameaza. (Filmado en TEDxVictoria)
- Photographer
Garth Lenz’ touring exhibition, “The True Cost of Oil”, has played a major part in the fight against Alberta Tar Sands Mining. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
The world's largest and most devastating
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O máis grande e devastador
00:18
environmental and industrial project
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proxecto ambiental e industrial
do mundo
00:21
is situated in the heart
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está situado no corazón
00:22
of the largest and most intact forest in the world,
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do bosque máis grande
e mellor conservado do mundo:
00:25
Canada's boreal forest.
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O bosque boreal de Canadá.
00:27
It stretches right across northern Canada, in Labrador,
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Esténdese polo norte de Canadá,
en Labrador,
e é o fogar do último gran rabaño
de caribús salvaxes
00:31
it's home to the largest remaining wild caribou herd
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00:33
in the world, the George River caribou herd,
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do mundo, o rabaño do río George,
00:36
numbering approximately 400,000 animals.
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aproximadamente 400 000 animais.
00:38
Unfortunately, when I was there I couldn't find one of them,
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Por desgraza, cando estiven alí
non dei atopado ningún
00:40
but you have the antlers as proof.
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mais velaí as cornas como proba.
00:43
All across the boreal, we're blessed with this
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Ao longo de todo o bosque boreal,
temos a sorte de contar
cunha incrible abundancia
de zonas húmidas.
00:46
incredible abundance of wetlands.
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00:48
Wetlands globally are one of the most endangered ecosystems.
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As zonas húmidas son un dos ecosistemas
máis ameazados no mundo.
00:52
They're absolutely critical ecosystems,
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Son ecosistemas esenciais,
00:55
they clean air, they clean water,
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filtran o aire e a auga,
00:57
they sequester large amounts of greenhouse gases,
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absorben grandes cantidades
de gases de efecto invernadoiro,
01:01
and they're home to a huge diversity of species.
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e son o fogar dunha enorme
variedade de especies.
01:04
In the boreal, they are also the home where
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Os bosques boreais son tamén o fogar onde
case a metade das 800 especies
de paxaros de América do Norte
01:07
almost 50 percent of the 800 bird species
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01:10
found in North America migrate north to breed and raise their young.
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migran ao norte
para reproducirse e criar.
01:15
In Ontario, the boreal marches down south
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En Ontario, o bosque boreal
esténdese ao sur
01:19
to the north shore of Lake Superior.
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ata a beira norte do lago Superior.
01:21
And these incredibly beautiful boreal forests
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Estes bosques boreais de incrible beleza
01:25
were the inspiration for some of the most famous art
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inspiraron algunhas
das máis famosas obras de arte
01:28
in Canadian history, the Group of Seven were very inspired
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da historia canadense:
o Grupo dos Sete inspirouse moito
01:31
by this landscape,
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nesta paisaxe,
01:33
and so the boreal is not just a really key part of our
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por iso, o boreal non é só
un elemento clave
01:37
natural heritage,
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do noso patrimonio natural,
01:39
but also an important part of our cultural heritage.
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senón tamén unha parte importante
do noso patrimonio cultural.
01:42
In Manitoba, this is an image from the east side of Lake Winnipeg,
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En Manitoba, velaquí unha foto
da ribeira oriental do lago Winnipeg,
01:45
and this is the home of the newly designated
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este lugar acaba de ser designado
01:48
UNESCO Cultural Heritage site.
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Patrimonio Cultural da UNESCO.
01:51
In Saskatchewan, as across all of the boreal,
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En Saskatchewan, como por todo
o bosque boreal,
01:54
home to some of our most famous rivers,
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onde están algúns dos
nosos ríos máis famosos,
01:57
an incredible network of rivers and lakes
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unha rede incrible de ríos e lagos
02:00
that every school-age child learns about,
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que todos os nenos aprenden na escola,
02:02
the Peace, the Athabasca, the Churchill here, the Mackenzie,
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o río da Paz, o Athabasca,
o Churchill aquí, o Mackenzie,
02:06
and these networks were the historical routes
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e estas redes eran as rutas históricas
02:10
for the voyageur and the coureur des bois,
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para os viaxantes
e comerciantes de peles,
02:12
the first non-Aboriginal explorers of northern Canada
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os primeiros exploradores non aborixes
do Norte canadense
02:16
that, taking from the First Nations people,
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que, inspirándose na xente
das Primeiras Nacións,
02:18
used canoes and paddled to explore
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usaban canoas e remaban para explorar
02:21
for a trade route, a Northwest Passage for the fur trade.
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unha ruta comercial, unha Pasaxe
do Noroeste para o comercio de pel.
02:25
In the North, the boreal is bordered by the tundra,
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No Norte, o boreal
está bordeado pola tundra,
02:28
and just below that, in Yukon,
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e xusto por baixo, no Yukón,
02:32
we have this incredible valley, the Tombstone Valley.
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temos este val incrible, o Tombstone.
02:35
And the Tombstone Valley is home to the Porcupine caribou herd.
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O val Tombstone acolle
a manda de caribús de Grant.
02:40
Now you've probably heard about the Porcupine caribou herd
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Seguro que escoitaron falar deles,
02:42
in the context of its breeding ground
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porque crían a súa prole
02:44
in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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no Refuxio Nacional Ártico
da Vida Salvaxe.
02:46
Well, the wintering ground is also critical
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Ben, o seu lugar de invernada
tamén é esencial, e non ten protección
02:48
and it also is not protected,
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02:51
and is potentially, could be potentially, exploited
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e, en teoría, podería ser explotado
02:54
for gas and mineral rights.
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para extraer os seus recursos
de gas e minerais.
02:58
The western border of the boreal in British Columbia
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O bordo oeste do boreal
na Columbia Británica
03:00
is marked by the Coast Mountains,
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está marcado polas montañas Costeiras;
03:02
and on the other side of those mountains
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e ao outro lado delas
03:04
is the greatest remaining temperate rainforest in the world,
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está o maior bosque temperado húmido
que queda no mundo,
03:06
the Great Bear Rainforest,
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o bosque pluvial do Grande Oso,
03:08
and we'll discuss that in a few minutes in a bit more detail.
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do que falaremos
con máis detalle nuns minutos.
03:11
All across the boreal, it's home for a huge
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Todo o bosque boreal acolle
unha enorme variedade
03:14
incredible range of indigenous peoples,
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de poboacións indíxenas
03:17
and a rich and varied culture.
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e unha cultura rica e variada.
03:21
And I think that one of the reasons why
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Penso que unha das razóns por que
03:23
so many of these groups have retained a link to the past,
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tantos destes grupos conservaron
unha ligazón co pasado,
03:27
know their native languages,
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coñecen as súas linguas nativas,
03:28
the songs, the dances, the traditions,
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as cancións, as danzas, as tradicións,
03:31
I think part of that reason is because of the remoteness,
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creo que en parte débese
ao illamento,
03:34
the span and the wilderness
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á extensión e ao carácter agreste
03:36
of this almost 95 percent intact ecosystem.
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deste ecosistema intacto
case ao 95 por cento.
03:40
And I think particularly now,
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E penso que especialmente agora
03:42
as we see ourselves in a time of environmental crisis,
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que atravesamos unha crise ambiental,
03:45
we can learn so much from these people
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temos moito que aprender desta xente
03:47
who have lived so sustainably in this ecosystem
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que viviu de forma tan sustentable
neste ecosistema
03:49
for over 10,000 years.
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desde hai máis de 10 000 anos.
03:52
In the heart of this ecosystem is the very antithesis
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No corazón deste ecosistema
atopamos a antítese
03:55
of all of these values that we've been talking about,
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de todos estes valores
dos que estivemos a falar
03:58
and I think these are some of the core values
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e creo que son algúns dos valores que
04:00
that make us proud to be Canadians.
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nos fan sentir orgullo de ser canadenses.
04:02
This is the Alberta tar sands,
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Isto son as areas bituminosas de Alberta,
04:03
the largest oil reserves on the planet
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as maiores reservas de petróleo do planeta
04:07
outside of Saudi Arabia.
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fóra de Arabia Saudita.
04:09
Trapped underneath the boreal forest
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Atrapadas debaixo do bosque boreal
04:11
and wetlands of northern Alberta
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e das zonas húmidas de
Alberta setentrional
04:12
are these vast reserves of this sticky, tar-like bitumen.
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están estas amplas reservas
de betume pegañento alcatranado.
04:17
And the mining and the exploitation of that
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E a súa minaría e explotación
04:19
is creating devastation on a scale that the planet has never seen before.
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están creando devastación
nunha escala que o planeta nunca viu.
04:26
I want to try to convey some sort of a sense of the size of this.
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Quero tratar de transmitir unha idea
da súa dimensión.
04:30
If you look at that truck there,
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Se miran ese camión alí,
04:32
it is the largest truck of its kind of the planet.
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é o camión máis grande
do seu tipo do planeta.
04:34
It is a 400-ton-capacity dump truck
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É un camión basculante
de 400 toneladas de capacidade
04:37
and its dimensions are 45 feet long
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e as súas dimensións son 13,7 metros
04:41
by 35 feet wide and 25 feet high.
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por 10,7 metros de ancho
e 7,7 metros de alto.
04:44
If I stand beside that truck,
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Se me poño ao lado do camión,
04:46
my head comes to around the bottom
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a miña cabeza andaría pola base
04:47
of the yellow part of that hubcap.
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da parte amarela dese tapacubos.
04:50
Within the dimensions of that truck,
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Nas dimensións dese camión,
04:52
you could build a 3,000-square-foot two-story home
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poderían construír unha casa
de dous pisos de 280 m²
04:56
quite easily. I did the math.
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bastante facilmente. Fixen as contas.
04:58
So instead of thinking of that as a truck,
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Así que en lugar de pensar
niso como nun camión,
05:00
think of that as a 3,000-square-foot home.
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pensen niso como en
casas de 280 m².
05:03
That's not a bad size home.
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Non está mal para unha casa.
05:05
And line those trucks/homes back and forth
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E aliñen eses camións/casas
un tras doutro
05:08
across there from the bottom
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desde aquí abaixo
05:10
all the way to the top.
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todo ata a cima.
05:13
And then think of how large that very small section of one mine is.
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E logo pensen no grande que é
esa sección tan pequena da mina.
05:19
Now, you can apply that same kind of thinking
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Agora, poden imaxinar iso mesmo
05:21
here as well.
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aquí tamén.
05:23
Now, here you see -- of course, as you go further on,
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Aquí ven, por suposto,
mentres se van afastando,
05:25
these trucks become like a pixel.
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estes camións convértense nun píxel.
05:27
Again, imagine those all back and forth there.
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De novo, imaxinen ese cálculo
dun lado ao outro.
05:31
How large is that one portion of a mine?
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Como é de grande esa sección dunha mina?
05:35
That would be a huge, vast metropolitan area,
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Esta sería unha área metropolitana
enorme, ampla,
probablemente moito maior
que a cidade de Victoria.
05:39
probably much larger than the city of Victoria.
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05:42
And this is just one of a number of mines,
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E esta é só unha de varias minas,
05:46
10 mines so far right now.
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10 minas ata agora.
05:48
This is one section of one mining complex,
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Esta é unha sección
dun complexo de minaría,
05:50
and there are about another 40 or 50 in the approval process.
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e hai sobre 40 ou 50
en proceso de aprobación.
05:55
No tar sands mine has actually ever been denied approval,
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A ningunha mina de areas
se lle negou a aprobación,
05:57
so it is essentially a rubber stamp.
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por iso, esencialmente,
é só cuestión dun cuño.
06:00
The other method of extraction is what's called the in-situ.
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O outro método de extracción
é o chamado in situ.
06:03
And here, massive amounts of water
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E aquí, cantidades inxentes de auga
06:06
are super-heated and pumped through the ground,
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sobrequéntanse e bombéanse
a través do chan,
06:09
through these vasts networks of pipelines,
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por estas redes de canalizacións,
06:11
seismic lines, drill paths, compressor stations.
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liñas sísmicas, camiños de perforación,
estacións de compresores.
06:15
And even though this looks maybe not quite as repugnant
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E aínda que quizais isto
non pareza tan repugnante
06:17
as the mines, it's even more damaging in some ways.
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como as minas, é mesmo
máis daniño en certo sentido.
06:21
It impacts and fragments a larger part of the wilderness,
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Impacta e fragmenta unha parte
máis grande da natureza virxe,
06:26
where there is 90 percent reduction of key species,
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onde hai unha redución
do 90 por cento de especies clave,
06:29
like woodland caribou and grizzly bears,
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como o caribú do bosque e os osos grizzly,
06:31
and it consumes even more energy, more water,
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e consome aínda máis enerxía, máis auga,
06:35
and produces at least as much greenhouse gas.
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e produce polo menos
tanto gas de efecto invernadoiro.
06:37
So these in-situ developments are at least as
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Estes desenvolvementos
in situ son polo menos
06:40
ecologically damaging as the mines.
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tan daniños ecoloxicamente como as minas.
06:45
The oil produced from either method
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O petróleo producido
por calquera dos dous métodos
06:47
produces more greenhouse gas emissions than any other oil.
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produce máis emisións de gases
de efecto invernadoiro ca calquera outro.
Esa é unha das razóns de que lle chamen
06:52
This is one of the reasons why it's called
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06:54
the world's dirtiest oil.
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o petróleo máis sucio do mundo.
06:56
It's also one of the reasons why it is
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É tamén unha das razóns de que sexa
06:58
the largest and fastest-growing single source
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a fonte de carbono máis grande
07:01
of carbon in Canada,
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e de maior crecemento en Canadá,
07:02
and it is also a reason why Canada is now number three
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e é tamén a razón de que Canadá
sexa agora o número tres
07:07
in terms of producing carbon per person.
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en canto á xeración
de carbono por persoa.
07:12
The tailings ponds are the largest toxic impoundments on the planet.
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Os estanques de residuos son os maiores
encoros tóxicos do planeta.
07:16
Oil sands -- or rather I should say tar sands --
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As areas petrolíferas, ou mellor,
areas de alcatrán,
07:20
"oil sands" is a P.R.-created term
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areas petrolíferas é un nome
de relacións públicas,
07:22
so that the oil companies wouldn't be trying to promote
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porque as compañías petrolíferas
nunca promoverían nada
07:25
something that sounds like a sticky tar-like substance
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que lembre unha substancia
pegañenta como o alcatrán,
07:27
that's the world's dirtiest oil.
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que é o petróleo máis sucio do mundo.
07:30
So they decided to call it oil sands.
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Así que decidiron chamarlle
areas petrolíferas.
07:32
The tar sands consume more water than any other oil process,
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As areas de alcatrán consomen máis auga
que ningún outro proceso petrolífero,
07:36
three to five barrels of water are taken, polluted
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de 3 a 5 barrís de auga
son recollidos, contaminados
07:39
and then returned into tailings ponds,
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e devoltos aos estanques de residuos,
07:42
the largest toxic impoundments on the planet.
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os encoros tóxicos
máis grandes no planeta.
07:44
SemCrude, just one of the licensees,
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SemCrude, só un dos concesionarios,
07:46
in just one of their tailings ponds,
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en só un dos seus estanques de residuos,
07:48
dumps 250,000 tons of this toxic gunk every single day.
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verte 250 000 toneladas
de lixo tóxico cada día.
07:54
That's creating the largest toxic impoundments
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Iso crea os encoros
tóxicos máis grandes
07:56
in the history of the planet.
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na historia do planeta.
07:58
So far, this is enough toxin
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Por agora, isto é toxina abondo
08:01
to cover the face of Lake Eerie a foot deep.
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para cubrir o lago Erie
con 30 cm de profundidade.
08:05
And the tailings ponds range in size up to 9,000 acres.
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E estas balsas de residuos poden ocupar
máis de 3600 hectáreas.
08:10
That's two-thirds the size of the entire island of Manhattan.
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Iso é dous terzos do tamaño
da illa enteira de Manhattan.
08:14
That's like from Wall Street at the southern edge of Manhattan
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É como a distancia desde Wall Street
ao bordo sur de Manhattan
08:17
up to maybe 120th Street.
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ata quizais a rúa 120.
08:19
So this is an absolutely --
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Este é totalmente...
08:21
this is one of the larger tailings ponds.
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Este é unha das maiores
balsas de residuos.
08:24
This might be, what? I don't know, half the size of Manhattan.
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Isto podería ser, que? Non sei,
a metade de Manhattan.
08:26
And you can see in the context,
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E poden ver no contexto,
que é só unha sección
relativamente pequena
08:28
it's just a relatively small section
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08:29
of one of 10 mining complexes and another 40 to 50
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dun de 10 complexos de minaría,
mentres outros 40 ou 50
08:34
on stream to be approved soon.
172
498542
2969
están á espera de seren aprobados axiña.
08:37
And of course, these tailings ponds --
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501511
3334
E, por suposto, estas
balsas de residuos,
08:40
well, you can't see many ponds from outer space
174
504845
2712
non se poden ver moitas balsas
desde o espazo exterior
08:43
and you can see these, so maybe we should stop calling them ponds --
175
507557
2768
e poden ver estas, así que quizais
deberiamos parar de chamarlles balsas,
08:46
these massive toxic wastelands are built
176
510325
4736
estes enormes ermos tóxicos
son construídos
08:50
unlined and on the banks of the Athabasca River.
177
515061
3346
sen regras nas beiras do río Athabasca.
08:54
And the Athabasca River drains downstream
178
518407
1944
E o río Athabasca rega augas abaixo
08:56
to a range of Aboriginal communities.
179
520351
2194
as terras de varias comunidades aborixes.
08:58
In Fort Chippewa, the 800 people there,
180
522545
2431
En Fort Chipewyan, as 800 persoas de alí
09:00
are finding toxins in the food chain,
181
524976
2333
atopan toxinas na cadea alimentaria,
09:03
this has been scientifically proven.
182
527309
2112
está cientificamente demostrado.
As toxinas das areas de alcatrán
están na cadea alimentaria,
09:05
The tar sands toxins are in the food chain,
183
529421
2057
09:07
and this is causing cancer rates
184
531478
1985
e isto causa taxas de cancro
09:09
up to 10 times what they are in the rest of Canada.
185
533463
4030
ata 10 veces superiores á media do Canadá.
09:13
In spite of that, people have to live,
186
537493
2305
A pesar diso, a xente ten que vivir,
09:15
have to eat this food in order to survive.
187
539798
3154
ten que comer esta comida para sobrevivir.
09:18
The incredibly high price
188
542952
1909
O prezo incriblemente alto
09:20
of flying food into these remote Northern Aboriginal communities
189
544861
3544
do transporte aéreo de comida para
as remotas comunidades aborixes do Norte
09:24
and the high rate of unemployment
190
548405
2001
e a altas taxas de desemprego
09:26
makes this an absolute necessity for survival.
191
550406
3115
fan disto unha necesidade absoluta
para a supervivencia.
09:29
And not that many years ago, I was lent a boat by a First Nations man.
192
553521
3597
Hai poucos anos, un home das
Primeiras Nacións prestoume un barco.
09:33
And he said, "When you go out on the river,
193
557118
2663
E díxome: "Cando vaias ao río,
09:35
do not under any circumstances eat the fish.
194
559781
3418
baixo ningún motivo comas peixe.
09:39
It's carcinogenic."
195
563199
1867
É canceríxeno."
09:40
And yet, on the front porch of that man's cabin,
196
565066
4397
E aínda así, no soportal
da casa dese home,
09:45
I saw four fish. He had to feed his family to survive.
197
569463
4024
vin catro peixes. El tiña que alimentar
a súa familia para sobrevivir.
09:49
And as a parent, I just can't imagine what that does to your soul.
198
573487
6911
E como pai, non podo imaxinar
como iso che afecta a alma.
09:56
And that's what we're doing.
199
580398
2617
E iso é o que estamos a facer.
09:58
The boreal forest is also
200
583015
3488
O bosque boreal é tamén
10:02
perhaps our best defense against global warming and climate change.
201
586503
4383
quizais a nosa mellor defensa contra
o quecemento global e o cambio climático.
10:06
The boreal forest sequesters more carbon
202
590886
2808
O bosque boreal absorbe máis carbono
10:09
than any other terrestrial ecosystem.
203
593694
3472
que ningún outro ecosistema terrestre.
10:13
And this is absolutely key.
204
597166
2768
E isto é absolutamente crucial.
10:15
So what we're doing is,
205
599934
1672
Así que o que estamos a facer é,
10:17
we're taking the most concentrated greenhouse gas sink,
206
601606
5015
collemos o sumidoiro máis eficaz
para absorber gases invernadoiro,
10:22
twice as much greenhouse gases are sequestered in
207
606621
3453
absórbense dúas veces máis
gases de efecto invernadoiro
10:25
the boreal per acre than the tropical rainforests.
208
610074
3839
por hectárea no bosque boreal
que nas selvas húmidas.
10:29
And what we're doing is we're destroying
209
613913
2243
E o que estamos a facer é destruír
10:32
this carbon sink, turning it into a carbon bomb.
210
616156
3155
este sumidoiro de carbono,
converténdoo nunha bomba de carbono.
10:35
And we're replacing that with the largest
211
619311
2433
Estamos a substituír iso
polo máis grande
10:37
industrial project in the history of the world,
212
621744
2112
proxecto industrial na historia do mundo,
10:39
which is producing the most high-carbon
213
623856
2702
que está a extraer o petróleo
en cuxa produción se emiten
10:42
greenhouse gas emitting oil in the world.
214
626558
4469
os gases de efecto invernadoiro
con máis contido en carbono do mundo.
10:46
And we're doing this on the second largest
215
631027
2369
E estamos a facer iso na segunda maior
10:49
oil reserves on the planet.
216
633396
2787
reserva de petróleo no planeta.
10:52
This is one of the reasons why Canada,
217
636183
2072
Esta é unha das razóns por que Canadá,
10:54
originally a climate change hero --
218
638255
1475
antes un heroe do cambio climático,
10:55
we were one of the first signatories of the Kyoto Accord.
219
639730
3510
fomos un dos primeiros signatarios
do Protocolo de Quioto.
10:59
Now we're the country that has full-time lobbyists
220
643240
2174
Agora somos o país
con máis grupos de presión
11:01
in the European Union and Washington, D.C.
221
645414
3332
na Unión Europea e en Washington, D.C.,
11:04
threatening trade wars when these countries
222
648746
3153
a ameazar con guerras comerciais
cando estes países
11:07
talk about wanting to bring in positive legislation
223
651899
3649
falan de introducir lexislación positiva
11:11
to limit the import of high-carbon fuels,
224
655548
2423
para limitar a importación de combustibles
de alto contido en carbono,
11:13
of greenhouse gas emissions, anything like this,
225
657971
3752
de emisións de gases de
efecto invernadoiro, ou semellante,
11:17
at international conferences,
226
661723
1760
en conferencias internacionais,
11:19
whether they're in Copenhagen or Cancun,
227
663483
2677
sexa en Copenhague ou en Cancún,
11:22
international conferences on climate change,
228
666160
2487
conferencias internacionais
sobre cambio climático,
11:24
we're the country that gets the dinosaur award
229
668647
2040
somos o país que recibe
o "Premio Dinosauro"
11:26
every single day as being the biggest obstacle
230
670687
2544
todos os días por ser o maior obstáculo
11:29
to progress on this issue.
231
673231
4015
na solución deste problema.
11:33
Just 70 miles downstream
232
677246
2032
Só 113 km río abaixo
11:35
is the world's largest freshwater delta,
233
679278
2297
está o delta de auga doce
máis grande do mundo,
11:37
the Peace-Athabasca Delta,
234
681575
1815
o Delta Paz-Athabasca,
11:39
the only one at the juncture of all four migratory flyways.
235
683390
3784
o único no punto de unión
das catro rutas migratorias.
11:43
This is a globally significant wetland,
236
687174
2088
É unha zona húmida
de importancia mundial,
11:45
perhaps the greatest on the planet.
237
689262
1847
quizais a máis grande do planeta.
11:47
Incredible habitat for half the bird species
238
691109
3643
Un hábitat incrible para
a metade das especies de paxaros
11:50
you find in North America, migrating here.
239
694752
3708
que se atopan en América do Norte,
que emigran aquí.
11:54
And also the last refuge for the largest herd of wild bison,
240
698460
3872
E tamén o último refuxio para a manda
máis grande de bisonte salvaxe,
11:58
and also, of course, critical habitat for another whole range of other species.
241
702332
5134
e tamén, por suposto, hábitat esencial
para moitas outras especies.
12:03
But it too is being threatened by the massive amount
242
707466
3945
Pero tamén está a ser
ameazado pola cantidade masiva
12:07
of water being drawn from the Athabasca,
243
711411
2226
de auga que se retira do Athabasca,
12:09
which feeds these wetlands,
244
713637
2006
que alimenta estas zonas húmidas,
12:11
and also the incredible toxic burden
245
715643
1823
e tamén pola incrible carga tóxica
12:13
of the largest toxic unlined impoundments on the planet,
246
717466
2758
dos encoros tóxicos
máis grandes no planeta,
12:16
which are leaching in to the food chain
247
720224
2137
que está a entrar na cadea alimentaria
12:18
for all the species downstream.
248
722361
2976
de todas as especies augas abaixo.
12:21
So as bad as all that is, things are going to get
249
725337
2144
Por moi malo que pareza,
as cousas van ir
12:23
much worse, much, much worse.
250
727481
2171
a peor, moito moito peor.
12:25
This is the infrastructure as we see it about now.
251
729652
2735
Esta é a infraestrutura
como a vemos agora.
12:28
This is what's planned for 2015.
252
732387
3429
Isto é o que está planeado para 2015.
12:31
And you can see here the Keystone Pipeline,
253
735816
3403
E poden ver aquí o Oleoduto Keystone,
12:35
which would take tar sands raw down to the Gulf Coast,
254
739219
4519
que levaría areas de alcatrán
en bruto ata a Costa do Golfo,
12:39
punching a pipeline through the heart,
255
743738
3370
perforando unha canalización
polo corazón agrícola de América do Norte,
dos Estados Unidos,
12:43
the agricultural heart of North America, of the United States,
256
747108
3605
12:46
and securing the contract with the dirtiest fuel in the world
257
750713
5144
e asegurando o contrato
co combustible máis sucio do mundo
12:51
by consumption of the United States,
258
755857
3193
para consumo dos Estados Unidos,
12:54
and promoting a huge disincentive
259
759050
2855
e poñendo un freo enorme
12:57
to a sustainable clean energy future for America.
260
761905
3965
para o futuro da enerxías limpas
e sustentables en América.
13:01
Here you see the route down the Mackenzie Valley.
261
765870
5442
Aquí ven a ruta cara a abaixo
do val Mackenzie.
13:07
This would put a pipeline to take natural gas
262
771312
2433
Isto poñería un gasoduto
para levar gas natural
13:09
from the Beaufort Sea through the heart
263
773745
2061
do Mar de Beaufort polo corazón
13:11
of the third largest watershed basin in the world,
264
775806
4128
da terceira maior conca
hidrográfica do mundo,
13:15
and the only one which is 95 percent intact.
265
779934
3072
e a única aínda intacta
nun 95 por cento.
13:18
And building a pipeline with an industrial highway
266
783006
3572
E construír un gasoduto
cunha autoestrada industrial
13:22
would change forever this incredible wilderness,
267
786578
3148
cambiaría para sempre
esta natureza incrible,
13:25
which is a true rarity on the planet today.
268
789726
5368
que hoxe é unha verdadeira
rareza no planeta.
13:30
So the Great Bear Rainforest is just over
269
795094
2152
O bosque do Grande Oso
está xusto por riba
13:33
the hill there, within a few miles we go from these
270
797246
3693
do outeiro, nuns cantos km, pasamos
13:36
dry boreal forests of 100-year-old trees,
271
800939
3131
destes bosques boreais
de árbores centenarias,
13:39
maybe 10 inches across,
272
804070
1749
de quizais 25 cm de diámetro,
13:41
and soon we're in the coastal temperate rainforest,
273
805819
2457
ao bosque pluvial temperado costeiro,
13:44
rain-drenched, 1,000-year-old trees,
274
808276
3650
empapado de chuvia, árbores milenarias,
13:47
20 feet across, a completely different ecosystem.
275
811926
3352
con 6 m de diámetro, un ecosistema
completamente diferente.
13:51
And the Great Bear Rainforest is generally considered
276
815278
2007
O bosque do Grande Oso é considerado
13:53
to be the largest coastal temperate rainforest
277
817285
2563
o maior ecosistema de bosque pluvial
13:55
ecosystem in the world.
278
819848
1806
temperado costeiro do mundo.
13:57
Some of the greatest densities of,
279
821654
1744
Un dos de maiores densidades,
13:59
some of the most iconic and threatened species on the planet,
280
823398
4220
algunhas das especies máis icónicas
e ameazadas do planeta,
14:03
and yet there's a proposal, of course, to build a pipeline
281
827618
4536
e aínda hai unha proposta, por suposto,
para construír un oleoduto
14:08
to take huge tankers, 10 times the size of the Exxon Valdez,
282
832154
4011
para poñer enormes petroleiros,
10 veces o tamaño do Exxon Valdez,
14:12
through some of the most difficult to navigate waters in the world,
283
836165
3465
a atravesar algunhas das augas
máis difíciles de navegar do mundo,
14:15
where only just a few years ago,
284
839630
1759
onde hai só uns poucos anos,
14:17
a B.C. ferry ran aground.
285
841389
2545
encallou un transbordador da BC.
14:19
When one of these tar sands tankers,
286
843934
2040
Cando un destes petroleiros
de area de alcatrán
14:21
carrying the dirtiest oil, 10 times as much as the Exxon Valdez,
287
845974
3991
levando o petróleo máis sucio,
10 veces maior que o Exxon Valdez,
14:25
eventually hits a rock and goes down,
288
849965
2065
bata nunha rocha e afunda,
14:27
we're going to have one of the worst ecological disasters
289
852030
2297
imos ter un dos peores
desastres ecolóxicos
14:30
this planet has ever seen.
290
854327
3391
que este planeta nunca viu.
14:33
And here we have the plan out to 2030.
291
857718
3039
Aquí temos o plan para o 2030.
14:36
What they're proposing is an almost four-times increase in production,
292
860757
4387
O que están a propoñer é
case cuadriplicar a produción,
14:41
and that would industrialize an area the size of Florida.
293
865144
4880
e iso industrializaría unha área
do tamaño de Florida.
14:45
In doing so, we'll be removing
294
870024
2277
Se se fai así, estaremos a eliminar
14:48
a large part of our greatest carbon sink
295
872301
2741
unha parte grande
do noso maior sumidoiro de carbono,
14:50
and replacing it with the most high greenhouse gas
296
875042
3616
substituíndoo polo petróleo que xera
a maior emisión de gases
14:54
emission oil in the future.
297
878658
2822
de efecto invernadoiro no futuro.
14:57
The world does not need any more tar mines.
298
881480
3656
O mundo non necesita máis
minas de alcatrán.
15:01
The world does not need any more pipelines
299
885136
3026
O mundo non necesita máis oleodutos
15:04
to wed our addiction to fossil fuels.
300
888162
3679
para alimentar a nosa adicción
aos combustibles fósiles.
15:07
And the world certainly does not need
301
891841
1871
E o mundo de seguro que non necesita
15:09
the largest toxic impoundments to grow and multiply
302
893712
2874
que os maiores endoros tóxicos
crezan e se multipliquen
15:12
and further threaten the downstream communities.
303
896586
2340
e menos para ameazar
as comunidades río abaixo.
15:14
And let's face it, we all live downstream
304
898926
1970
E afrontémolo, todos vivimos río abaixo
15:16
in an era of global warming and climate change.
305
900896
3825
nunha era de quecemento global
e cambio climatico.
15:20
What we need, is we all need to act
306
904721
3104
O que precisamos é actuar todos
15:23
to ensure that Canada respects
307
907825
1920
para facer que Canadá respecte
15:25
the massive amounts of freshwater
308
909745
2720
as cantidades enormes de auga doce
15:28
that we hold in this country.
309
912465
2384
que posuímos neste país.
15:30
We need to ensure that these wetlands and forests
310
914849
2456
Precisamos facer
que estas zonas húmidas e bosques
15:33
that are our best and greatest and most critical
311
917305
2616
que son a nosa mellor
e máis grande e crucial defensa
15:35
defense against global warming are protected,
312
919921
3023
contra o quecemento global
sexan protexidos,
15:38
and we are not releasing that carbon bomb into the atmosphere.
313
922944
4370
e que non se solte
esta bomba de carbono na atmosfera.
15:43
And we need to all gather together
314
927314
2303
E precisamos xuntarnos todos
15:45
and say no to the tar sands.
315
929617
3095
e dicirlles non ás areas de alcatrán.
15:48
And we can do that. There is a huge network
316
932712
2360
E podemos facelo. Hai unha rede enorme
15:50
all over the world fighting to stop this project.
317
935072
3777
por todo o mundo que pelexa
para deter este proxecto.
15:54
And I quite simply think that this is not
318
938849
3000
E creo sinxelamente que isto non é
15:57
something that should be decided just in Canada.
319
941849
2624
unha decisión que se
deba tomar só no Canadá.
16:00
Everyone in this room, everyone across Canada,
320
944473
2476
Todo o mundo neste salón,
todo o mundo no Canadá,
16:02
everyone listening to this presentation has a role to play
321
946949
2979
todos os que oíron esta presentación
teñen un papel que xogar
16:05
and, I think, a responsibility.
322
949928
1849
e, penso, unha responsabilidade.
16:07
Because what we do here
323
951777
1906
Porque o que facemos aquí
16:09
is going to change our history,
324
953683
3767
vai cambiar a nosa historia,
16:13
it's going to color our possibility to survive,
325
957450
2566
vai colorear a nosa posibilidade
de sobrevivir,
16:15
and for our children to survive
326
960016
1688
e de que os nosos nenos sobrevivan
16:17
and have a rich future.
327
961704
3534
e teñan un futuro rico.
16:21
We have an incredible gift in the boreal,
328
965238
2218
Temos un regalo incrible no boreal,
16:23
an incredible opportunity to preserve
329
967456
1941
unha oportunidade incrible de preservar
16:25
our best defense against global warming,
330
969397
3339
a nosa mellor defensa
contra o quecemento global,
16:28
but we could let that slip away.
331
972736
2409
pero poderiamos deixala escapar.
16:31
The tar sands could threaten
332
975145
2149
As areas de alcatrán poderían ameazar
16:33
not just a large section of the boreal.
333
977294
2184
non só unha sección grande do boreal.
16:35
It compromises the life and the health
334
979478
2951
Poden comprometer a vida e a saúde
16:38
of some of our most underprivileged and vulnerable people,
335
982429
4553
dalgunha da nosa xente
máis desfavorecida e vulnerable,
16:42
the Aboriginal communities that have so much to teach us.
336
986982
3888
as comunidades aborixes
que tanto nos teñen que ensinar.
16:46
It could destroy the Athabasca Delta,
337
990870
2489
Poderían destruír o delta Athabasca,
16:49
the largest and possibly greatest freshwater delta in the planet.
338
993359
4929
o maior e posiblemente máis grandioso
delta de auga doce do planeta.
16:54
It could destroy the Great Bear Rainforest,
339
998288
3566
Poderían destruír o bosque do Grande Oso,
16:57
the largest temperate rainforest in the world.
340
1001854
2689
o maior bosque pluvial temperado do mundo.
17:00
And it could have huge impacts
341
1004543
1863
E poderían ter un impacto enorme
17:02
on the future of the agricultural heartland of North America.
342
1006406
4761
no futuro do corazón
agrícola de América do Norte
17:07
I hope that you will all, if you've been moved by this presentation,
343
1011167
2616
Espero que todos,
se os conmoveu esta presentación,
17:09
join with the growing international community
344
1013783
2671
se xunten á comunidade
internacional que medra
17:12
to get Canada to step up to its responsibilities,
345
1016454
4104
para conseguir que o Canadá
cumpra coas súas responsabilidades,
17:16
to convince Canada to go back to being a climate change champion
346
1020558
4408
para convencer ao Canadá de volver
a ser un campión do cambio climático
17:20
instead of a climate change villain,
347
1024966
1809
en vez do malo do cambio climático,
17:22
and to say no to the tar sands,
348
1026775
1767
e para dicirlle non ás areas de alcatrán,
17:24
and yes to a clean energy future for all.
349
1028542
2653
e si a un futuro de enerxía
limpa para todos.
17:27
Thank you so much.
350
1031195
1147
Moitas grazas.
17:28
(Applause)
351
1032342
5296
(Aplauso)
Translated by David Campos
Reviewed by Carme Paz

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Garth Lenz - Photographer
Garth Lenz’ touring exhibition, “The True Cost of Oil”, has played a major part in the fight against Alberta Tar Sands Mining.

Why you should listen

Garth Lenz’s photographs capture the detailed reality of what happens when a pristine landscape is confronted by an industrial project. His work as a photojournalist has won him top awards at Pris de la Photographie Paris and the International Photography Awards. He is also a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. His solo exhibition featuring the Alberta Tar Sands, “The True Cost of Oil” premiered in 2011.

More profile about the speaker
Garth Lenz | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

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