ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Sedlak - Civil and environmental engineer
David Sedlak’s research focuses the long-term goal of developing cost-effective, safe and sustainable systems to manage water resources.

Why you should listen

Author, Professor and Director of the Institute for Environmental Science and Engineering at UC Berkeley, David Sedlak has developed cost-effective, safe and sustainable systems to manage water resources. He is particularly interested in the development of local sources of water, and his research has addressed water reuse–the practice of using municipal wastewater effluent to sustain aquatic ecosystems and augment drinking water supplies as well as the treatment and use of urban runoff to contaminated groundwater from contaminated industrial sites as water supplies.

In recent years, Sedlak's research on the fate of wastewater-derived contaminants has received considerable attention. He began this research in 1996 when he developed simple methods for measuring steroid hormones in wastewater. Since that time, he and his students have studied the fate of hormones, pharmaceuticals, toxic disinfection byproducts and other chemicals. His research team has also studied approaches for remediating contaminated soil and groundwater by in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) and advanced oxidation processes.

He also is the author of Water 4.0, a book that examines the ways in which we can gain insight into current water issues by understanding the history of urban water systems.

More profile about the speaker
David Sedlak | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxMarin

David Sedlak: 4 ways we can avoid a catastrophic drought

大卫•塞德拉克: 避免大旱灾的4种方法

Filmed:
1,149,595 views

随着世界气候持续变化无常,那些曾经水资源丰富的地方,可能转眼间就会水库干涸,地下水资源枯竭。在此次演讲中,民用和环境工程师大卫•塞德拉克与我们分享了解决城市用水危机的4种实用方案。他的目标是:将我们的水源供应定位于新的、本地水源,并且创建新的供水系统,能够承受住未来气候变化给我们带来的挑战。
- Civil and environmental engineer
David Sedlak’s research focuses the long-term goal of developing cost-effective, safe and sustainable systems to manage water resources. Full bio

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

00:12
Our grandparents'祖父母' generation
created创建 an amazing惊人 system系统
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我们爷爷那一代人,
00:16
of canals运河 and reservoirs水库
that made制作 it possible可能
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修建了伟大的运河和水库系统,
00:19
for people to live生活 in places地方
where there wasn't a lot of water.
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让人们可以在缺水的地方正常生活。
00:22
For example, during the Great Depression萧条,
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比如在大萧条时代,
00:25
they created创建 the Hoover胡佛 Dam,
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他们修建了胡佛水坝,
00:26
which哪一个 in turn, created创建 Lake Mead蜂蜜酒
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拦下的水形成了米德湖,
00:29
and made制作 it possible可能 for the cities城市
of Las拉斯维加斯 Vegas拉斯维加斯 and Phoenix凤凰
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为几个位于干旱地区的城市,
比如拉斯维加斯、凤凰城
00:32
and Los洛杉矶 Angeles洛杉矶 to provide提供 water
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和洛杉矶供水,
00:34
for people who lived生活
in a really dry place地点.
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让那里的市民有水可用。
00:37
In the 20th century世纪,
we literally按照字面 spent花费 trillions万亿 of dollars美元
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在二十世纪,我们花费了数万亿美元,
00:41
building建造 infrastructure基础设施
to get water to our cities城市.
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为我们的城市修建供水系统。
00:45
In terms条款 of economic经济 development发展,
it was a great investment投资.
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对经济发展而言,这是笔不错的投资。
00:49
But in the last decade,
we've我们已经 seen看到 the combined结合 effects效果
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但在过去几十年间,我们看到
00:52
of climate气候 change更改, population人口 growth发展
and competition竞争 for water resources资源
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气候变化、人口增长
和水资源争夺带来的后果,
00:57
threaten威胁 these vital重要 lifelines生命线
and water resources资源.
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已经威胁到我们赖以生存的水资源。
01:01
This figure数字 shows节目 you the change更改
in the lake level水平 of Lake Mead蜂蜜酒
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这张图表显示的是米德湖的水位
01:05
that happened发生 in the last 15 years年份.
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在过去15年的变化情况。
01:07
You can see starting开始 around the year 2000,
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差不多从2000年开始,
01:10
the lake level水平 started开始 to drop下降.
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水位开始下降。
01:12
And it was dropping落下 at such这样 a rate
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下降的速度如此之快,
01:14
that it would have left the drinking water
intakes摄入量 for Las拉斯维加斯 Vegas拉斯维加斯 high and dry.
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很快,为拉斯维加斯
供水的管道将抽不到水。
01:18
The city became成为 so concerned关心 about this
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拉斯维加斯很担心这一点
01:21
that they recently最近 constructed
a new drinking water intake录取 structure结构体
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他们最近铺设了一条新的抽水管道,
01:25
that they referred简称 to as the "Third第三 Straw稻草"
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称之为“第三吸管”,
01:27
to pull water out
of the greater更大 depths深处 of the lake.
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从湖的更深处抽水。
01:31
The challenges挑战 associated相关
with providing提供 water to a modern现代 city
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向现代都市供水的难题
01:34
are not restricted限制
to the American美国 Southwest西南.
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不仅仅发生在美国西南部。
01:37
In the year 2007, the third第三 largest最大
city in Australia澳大利亚, Brisbane布里斯班,
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2007年,澳大利亚第三大城市,布里斯班,
01:43
came来了 within 6 months个月
of running赛跑 out of water.
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整整6个月无水可用。
01:46
A similar类似 drama戏剧 is playing播放 out today今天
in São Paulo圣保罗, Brazil巴西,
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同样的情况也在巴西圣保罗上演,
01:50
where the main主要 reservoir for the city
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圣市最主要的水库
01:52
has gone走了 from being存在
completely全然 full充分 in 2010,
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在2010年还几乎全满,
01:55
to being存在 nearly几乎 empty today今天
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如今已几乎见底,
01:57
as the city approaches方法
the 2016 Summer夏季 Olympics奥运会.
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而他们还将举办2016夏季奥运会。
02:01
For those of us who are fortunate幸运 enough足够
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我们足够幸运,
02:04
to live生活 in one
of the world's世界 great cities城市,
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能够生活在世界上最伟大的城市之一,
02:06
we've我们已经 never truly experienced有经验的
the effects效果 of a catastrophic灾难性的 drought干旱.
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我们从未真正经历过大旱灾。
02:10
We like to complain抱怨
about the navy海军 showers阵雨 we have to take.
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我们会抱怨洗澡的水不够大。
02:14
We like our neighbors邻居 to see
our dirty cars汽车 and our brown棕色 lawns草坪.
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我们也经常不洗车,不浇草坪。
02:18
But we've我们已经 never really faced面对
the prospect展望 of turning车削 on the tap龙头
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但我们从未经历过拧开水龙头,
02:22
and having nothing come out.
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却无水可用的状况。
02:24
And that's because when things
have gotten得到 bad in the past过去,
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因为在过去,如果发生这样的事情,
02:27
it's always been possible可能
to expand扩大 a reservoir
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我们总是能把水库修得更大些,
02:30
or dig a few少数 more groundwater地下水 wells.
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或者多挖几口水井。
02:34
Well, in a time when all
of the water resources资源 are spoken for,
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但如果所有的水资源都枯竭了,
02:37
it's not going to be possible可能
to rely依靠 on this tried试着 and true真正 way
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那这种曾经屡试不爽的老办法
02:41
of providing提供 ourselves我们自己 with water.
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可能就不适用了。
02:43
Some people think that we're going
to solve解决 the urban城市的 water problem问题
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有些人觉得,要解决城市用水问题,
02:47
by taking服用 water from our rural乡村 neighbors邻居.
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从临近的农村取水就好了。
02:50
But that's an approach途径 that's fraught误人子弟
with political政治, legal法律 and social社会 dangers危险.
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但这种方法充满了
政治、法律和社会风险。
02:56
And even if we succeed成功 in grabbing
the water from our rural乡村 neighbors邻居,
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即便我们能从农村取水,
03:00
we're just transferring转移
the problem问题 to someone有人 else其他
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那也不过是将问题转嫁到了别人头上,
03:02
and there's a good chance机会
it will come back and bite us
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而且很有可能,它会反噬到我们身上
03:05
in the form形成 of higher更高 food餐饮 prices价格
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要么会抬高食品价格,
03:07
and damage损伤 to the aquatic ecosystems生态系统
that already已经 rely依靠 upon that water.
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要么会破坏水生生态系统。
03:12
I think that there's a better way
to solve解决 our urban城市的 water crisis危机
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我认为可以用更好的办法
来解决我们的城市用水危机,
03:15
and I think that's to open打开 up
four new local本地 sources来源 of water
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就是下面我将要说的4种新水源,
03:19
that I liken利肯 to faucets水龙头.
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我把它们比作4个水龙头。
03:21
If we can make smart聪明 investments投资
in these new sources来源 of water
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在未来数年里,如果我们
能对这4种新水源
03:25
in the coming未来 years年份,
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进行明智的投资,
03:27
we can solve解决 our urban城市的 water problem问题
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我们就能解决城市用水问题,
03:29
and decrease减少 the likelihood可能性
that we'll ever run across横过
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使我们遭遇大旱灾的可能性
03:32
the effects效果 of a catastrophic灾难性的 drought干旱.
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大大降低。
03:36
Now, if you told me 20 years年份 ago
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如果在20年前,你告诉我,
03:38
that a modern现代 city could exist存在
without a supply供应 of imported进口 water,
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现代城市可以在没有
外来水源的情况下得以发展,
03:42
I probably大概 would have dismissed驳回 you
as an unrealistic不切实际 and uninformed不知情 dreamer梦想家.
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我可能会觉得你是痴人说梦。
03:47
But my own拥有 experiences经验
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但在过去的几十年里,
03:48
working加工 with some of the world's世界 most
water-starved缺水 cities城市 in the last decades几十年
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我一直在世界上最缺水的城市工作,
03:53
have shown显示 me that we have
the technologies技术 and the management管理 skills技能
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这段经历告诉我,我们的技术和管理能力
03:57
to actually其实 transition过渡 away
from imported进口 water,
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已经可以不依赖于外来水源,
04:00
and that's what I want
to tell you about tonight今晚.
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这就是今晚我想跟大家分享的。
04:03
The first source资源 of local本地 water
supply供应 that we need to develop发展
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要解决城市用水问题,
04:07
to solve解决 our urban城市的 water problem问题
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我们需要发展的第一种本地新水源
04:09
will flow with the rainwater雨水
that falls下降 in our cities城市.
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就是从天而降的雨水。
04:13
One of the great tragedies悲剧
of urban城市的 development发展
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城市发展带来的最大灾难之一,
04:16
is that as our cities城市 grew成长,
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就是随着城市越变越大,
04:18
we started开始 covering覆盖 all the surfaces
with concrete具体 and asphalt沥青.
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我们将所有地面都用
水泥和沥青覆盖起来了。
04:22
And when we did that,
we had to build建立 storm风暴 sewers下水道
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这样一来,我们必须修建巨大的排水管道,
04:24
to get the water
that fell下跌 on the cities城市 out
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将落在城市里的雨水排出去,
04:26
before it could cause原因 flooding洪水,
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以免引发洪灾,
04:28
and that's a waste浪费
of a vital重要 water resource资源.
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这对水资源是极大的浪费。
04:32
Let me give you an example.
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让我来举个例子。
04:33
This figure数字 here shows节目 you
the volume of water
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这张图表显示的是
04:37
that could be collected
in the city of San Jose何塞
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圣何塞市能够收集到的雨水百分比,
04:39
if they could harvest收成 the stormwater雨水
that fell下跌 within the city limits范围.
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与收集到的雨水总量间的关系。
04:43
You can see from the intersection路口
of the blue蓝色 line线 and the black黑色 dotted line线
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注意看蓝线和黑虚线相交的地方,
04:48
that if San Jose何塞 could just capture捕获 half
of the water that fell下跌 within the city,
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如果圣何塞市能收集它降雨量的一半,
04:52
they'd他们会 have enough足够 water
to get them through通过 an entire整个 year.
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就足够全市用上一年。
04:56
Now, I know what some of you
are probably大概 thinking思维.
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我知道,有人可能会想,
04:58
"The answer回答 to our problem问题
is to start开始 building建造 great big tanks坦克
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“那要解决用水问题,
只要做一些巨大的储水罐
05:02
and attaching附上 them
to the downspouts落水管 of our roof屋顶 gutters排水沟,
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跟屋顶排水沟的落水管连在一起,
05:05
rainwater雨水 harvesting收获."
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收集雨水就行了。”
05:07
Now, that's an idea理念
that might威力 work in some places地方.
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这方法在某些地方可能有用。
05:09
But if you live生活 in a place地点
where it mainly主要 rains降雨 in the winter冬季 time
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但如果你居住的城市冬天经常下雨,
05:12
and most of the water demand需求
is in the summertime夏令,
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而夏天用水量大,
05:15
it's not a very cost-effective经济有效 way
to solve解决 a water problem问题.
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这个方法就不是那么有效了。
05:19
And if you experience经验 the effects效果
of a multiyear多年 drought干旱,
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而且,如果你所处的地方常年干旱,
05:22
like California's加州 currently目前 experiencing经历,
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就像今天的加利福尼亚州一样,
05:24
you just can't build建立 a rainwater雨水 tank坦克
that's big enough足够 to solve解决 your problem问题.
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你做多大的储水罐也解决不了问题。
05:28
I think there's a lot more practical实际的 way
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我认为有更加现实的方法
05:30
to harvest收成 the stormwater雨水 and
the rainwater雨水 that falls下降 in our cities城市,
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来收集城市里的雨水,
05:34
and that's to capture捕获 it
and let it percolate过滤 into the ground地面.
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那就是收集之后,让它渗入地下。
05:37
After all, many许多 of our cities城市 are sitting坐在
on top最佳 of a natural自然 water storage存储 system系统
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这样一来,我们城市的地底下
就有了一个天然的储水系统,
可以储存大量的水。
05:43
that can accommodate容纳
huge巨大 volumes of water.
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05:46
For example, historically历史,
Los洛杉矶 Angeles洛杉矶 has obtained获得
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比如说,在过去的洛杉矶,
05:49
about a third第三 of its water supply供应
from a massive大规模的 aquifer含水层
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它的用水量的三分之一都来自
05:52
that underliesunderlies the San Fernando费尔南多 Valley.
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圣费尔南多谷的地下蓄水层。
05:56
Now, when you look at the water
that comes off of your roof屋顶
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当你看到雨水从房顶滴落,
漫过草坪,流进沟渠,
05:59
and runs运行 off of your lawn草坪
and flows流动 down the gutter排水沟,
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你可能会犹豫,“我真的要喝这样的水吗?”
06:01
you might威力 say to yourself你自己,
"Do I really want to drink that stuff东东?"
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06:05
Well, the answer回答 is
you don't want to drink it
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毫无疑问,要想喝这水,
06:07
until直到 it's been treated治疗 a little bit.
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得先经过处理。
因此,在城市里收集(雨)水有三大挑战,
06:09
And so the challenge挑战 that we face面对
in urban城市的 water harvesting收获
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06:12
is to capture捕获 the water, clean清洁 the water
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收集雨水,清洁雨水,
06:15
and get it underground地下.
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灌入地下。
06:17
And that's exactly究竟
what the city of Los洛杉矶 Angeles洛杉矶 is doing
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洛杉矶已经开始这么做了,
06:20
with a new project项目 that they're building建造
in Burbank伯班克, California加州.
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他们在加利福尼亚州
伯班克市新建了一个项目。
06:24
This figure数字 here shows节目
the stormwater雨水 park公园 that they're building建造
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这是一个雨水收集园区
06:28
by hooking挂钩 a series系列 of stormwater雨水
collection采集 systems系统, or storm风暴 sewers下水道,
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他们将众多雨水收集系统
或者排水沟连接起来,
06:33
and routing路由 that water
into an abandoned gravel碎石 quarry采石场.
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将雨水引入一个废弃的采石场。
06:37
The water that's captured捕获 in the quarry采石场
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采石场里的水
06:39
is slowly慢慢地 passed通过
through通过 a man-made人造 wetland湿地,
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慢慢通过一个人造湿地
06:42
and then it goes
into that ball field领域 there
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进入旁边的一个球型区域
06:44
and percolates渗滤液 into the ground地面,
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然后渗入地下,
06:46
recharging充电 the drinking water
aquifer含水层 of the city.
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补充洛杉矶的地下蓄水层。
06:49
And in the process处理
of passing通过 through通过 the wetland湿地
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这些水在穿过湿地
06:52
and percolating渗透 through通过 the ground地面,
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渗入地下的过程中,
06:54
the water encounters遭遇 microbes微生物
that live生活 on the surfaces of the plants植物
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会接触到生活在植物和土壤表面
06:58
and the surfaces of the soil,
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的微生物,
06:59
and that purifies净化 the water.
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它们能净化水。
07:02
And if the water's水的
still not clean清洁 enough足够 to drink
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如果水在经过自然净化处理后,
07:04
after it's been through通过
this natural自然 treatment治疗 process处理,
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还是不能直接饮用,
07:07
the city can treat对待 it again
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管理人员会把
07:08
when they pump if back out
of the groundwater地下水 aquifers含水层
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从地下蓄水层抽出来的水
进行二次处理
07:11
before they deliver交付 it to people to drink.
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然后再供市民饮用。
07:14
The second第二 tap龙头 that we need to open打开 up
to solve解决 our urban城市的 water problem问题
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解决城市用水问题的第二个水龙头
07:18
will flow with the wastewater废水
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是来自污水处理厂
07:20
that comes out
of our sewage污水 treatment治疗 plants植物.
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处理过的废水。
07:23
Now, many许多 of you are probably大概 familiar
with the concept概念 of recycled回收 water.
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大家对于循环水应该已经不陌生了。
07:26
You've probably大概 seen看到 signs迹象 like this
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你们也许都见过这样的牌子
07:28
that tell you that the shrubbery灌木
and the highway高速公路 median中位数
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上面写着灌木丛、高速公路隔离绿化带
07:31
and the local本地 golf高尔夫球 course课程
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本地高尔夫球场
07:33
is being存在 watered浇水 with water
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的灌溉用水
07:35
that used to be
in a sewage污水 treatment治疗 plant.
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都来自污水处理系统。
07:38
We've我们已经 been doing this
for a couple一对 of decades几十年 now.
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几十年来我们都是这么做的。
07:41
But what we're learning学习
from our experience经验
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但几十年的经验告诉我们,
07:43
is that this approach途径 is much more
expensive昂贵 that we expected预期 it to be.
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这样做的成本比我们预期的要高。
07:47
Because once一旦 we build建立
the first few少数 water recycling回收 systems系统
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因为一旦我们在污水处理厂附近
07:50
close to the sewage污水 treatment治疗 plant,
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建起水循环系统,
07:52
we have to build建立 longer
and longer pipe networks网络
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我们就不得不建造越来越长的管网
07:54
to get that water to where it needs需求 to go.
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把水送到需要的地方去。
07:57
And that becomes prohibitive望而却步
in terms条款 of cost成本.
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这笔开销真心不小。
08:00
What we're finding发现 is
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我们发现,
08:02
that a much more cost-effective经济有效
and practical实际的 way of recycling回收 wastewater废水
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更加经济实惠和可行的办法
08:06
is to turn treated治疗 wastewater废水
into drinking water
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是将处理过的废水变成饮用水,
08:08
through通过 a two-step两步 process处理.
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只需要两步。
08:11
In the first step in this process处理
we pressurize加压 the water
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第一步是给水加压,
08:14
and pass通过 it through通过
a reverse相反 osmosis渗透 membrane:
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让它通过反向渗透膜
08:16
a thin, permeable透水 plastic塑料 membrane
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——一种很薄的、可渗透的塑料膜——
08:19
that allows允许 water molecules分子
to pass通过 through通过
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水分子可以通过,
08:21
but traps陷阱 and retains保留 the salts,
the viruses病毒 and the organic有机 chemicals化学制品
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但废水中可能含有的盐、病毒和有机化学物
08:26
that might威力 be present当下 in the wastewater废水.
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会被拦截下来。
08:29
In the second第二 step in the process处理,
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第二步,
08:31
we add a small amount of hydrogen peroxide过氧化物
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我们往水里加入少量的过氧化氢
08:33
and shine闪耀 ultraviolet紫外线 light on the water.
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然后用紫外线进行照射。
08:36
The ultraviolet紫外线 light
cleaves切割 the hydrogen peroxide过氧化物
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紫外线能将过氧化氢
08:39
into two parts部分 that are called
hydroxyl radicals自由基,
166
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分裂成两部分,称为氢氧基,
08:42
and these hydroxyl radicals自由基
are very potent有力的 forms形式 of oxygen
167
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氢氧基是一种非常强的氧气形式
08:46
that break打破 down most organic有机 chemicals化学制品.
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能够消灭大部分有机化学物。
08:50
After the water's水的 been
through通过 this two-stage两阶段 process处理,
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水经过这两步处理之后,
08:53
it's safe安全 to drink.
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就可以安全饮用了。
08:54
I know,
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过去15年里,
08:56
I've been studying研究 recycled回收 water
172
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我一直在运用
08:58
using运用 every一切 measurement测量 technique技术
known已知 to modern现代 science科学
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现代科学的各种测量方法
09:02
for the past过去 15 years年份.
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来研究循环水。
09:04
We've我们已经 detected检测 some chemicals化学制品
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我们发现某些化学物质
09:05
that can make it through通过
the first step in the process处理,
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无法在步骤一被过滤掉,
09:08
but by the time we get to the second第二 step,
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但经过第二步:
09:10
the advanced高级 oxidation氧化 process处理,
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高级氧化过程之后,
09:12
we rarely很少 see any chemicals化学制品 present当下.
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几乎没有化学物质能残留下来。
09:14
And that's in stark与之形成鲜明 contrast对比
to the taken-for-granted理所当然 water supplies耗材
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这比我们一直喝的“毫无问题”的水
09:18
that we regularly经常 drink all the time.
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可安全多了。
09:21
There's another另一个 way we can recycle回收 water.
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还有另外一种方法来循环水。
09:24
This is an engineered工程 treatment治疗 wetland湿地
that we recently最近 built内置
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这是我们最近修建的人工湿地
09:27
on the Santa圣诞老人 Ana安娜 River
in Southern南部的 California加州.
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位于加利福尼亚州南部的圣安娜河上。
09:30
The treatment治疗 wetland湿地 receives收到 water
from a part部分 of the Santa圣诞老人 Ana安娜 River
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圣安娜河的部分河水流入人工湿地,
09:34
that in the summertime夏令 consists
almost几乎 entirely完全 of wastewater废水 effluent流出的
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每到夏天,圣安娜河里就全是污水,
09:38
from cities城市 like Riverside河边
and San Bernardino圣贝纳迪诺.
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都来自里弗赛德市和圣贝纳迪诺市。
09:41
The water comes
into our treatment治疗 wetland湿地,
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河水流入我们的人工湿地,
09:43
it's exposed裸露 to sunlight阳光 and algae藻类
189
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在阳光暴晒和水藻的作用下,
09:45
and those break打破 down
the organic有机 chemicals化学制品,
190
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有机化学物被分解,
09:48
remove去掉 the nutrients营养成分
and inactivate灭活 the waterborne水性 pathogens病原体.
191
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营养物被消耗,水生病原体被杀死。
09:51
The water gets得到 put back
in the Santa圣诞老人 Ana安娜 River,
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之后河水流回圣安娜河,
09:54
it flows流动 down to Anaheim阿纳海姆,
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流向安纳海姆市,
09:56
gets得到 taken采取 out at Anaheim阿纳海姆
and percolated渗出 into the ground地面,
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河水在那里被抽出,
渗入地下,
09:59
and becomes the drinking water
of the city of Anaheim阿纳海姆,
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成为安纳海姆市的饮用水,
10:01
completing完成 the trip
from the sewers下水道 of Riverside河边 County
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通过这一过程,里弗赛德郡的废水
10:05
to the drinking water supply供应
of Orange橙子 County.
197
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就变成了橙郡的饮用水。
10:09
Now, you might威力 think
that this idea理念 of drinking wastewater废水
198
598000
3416
也许你们会觉得,将废水变成饮用水,
10:13
is some sort分类 of futuristic未来 fantasy幻想
or not commonly常用 doneDONE.
199
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只是天方夜谭,或者还没有得到推广。
10:16
Well, in California加州, we already已经 recycle回收
about 40 billion十亿 gallons加仑 a year
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实际上,运用我刚刚介绍的两步处理法,
10:21
of wastewater废水 through通过 the two-stage两阶段
advanced高级 treatment治疗 process处理
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我们每年在加利福尼亚州循环利用的水
10:24
I was telling告诉 you about.
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达到了1.5亿立方米。
10:25
That's enough足够 water to be
the supply供应 of about a million百万 people
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这些水足够供应100万人,
10:29
if it were their sole唯一 water supply供应.
204
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作为他们的主要水源。
10:32
The third第三 tap龙头 that we need to open打开 up
will not be a tap龙头 at all,
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我们的第三个水龙头并不是实体,
10:36
it will be a kind of virtual虚拟 tap龙头,
206
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而是虚拟的,
10:38
it will be the water conservation保护
that we manage管理 to do.
207
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指的是节约用水。
10:41
And the place地点 where we need to think
about water conservation保护 is outdoors在户外
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而且主要指的是户外用水,
10:44
because in California加州
and other modern现代 American美国 cities城市,
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因为在加利福尼亚以及其他的美国都市,
10:48
about half of our water use
happens发生 outdoors在户外.
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差不多一半的用水发生在户外。
10:51
In the current当前 drought干旱,
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即使在现在的干旱状态下,
10:53
we've我们已经 seen看到 that it's possible可能
212
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我们的用水量下降了一半,
10:54
to have our lawns草坪 survive生存
and our plants植物 survive生存
213
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2976
但我们的草坪,我们的植物
10:57
with about half as much water.
214
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还是活下来了。
10:59
So there's no need
to start开始 painting绘画 concrete具体 green绿色
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因此我们还没到把水泥地喷成绿色,
11:02
and putting in Astroturf人工草皮
and buying购买 cactuses仙人掌.
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或者改铺人工草皮,改种仙人掌的地步。
11:05
We can have California-friendly加州友好
landscaping美化 with soil moisture湿气 detectors探测器
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在土壤湿度探测器和智能浇灌系统的帮助下,
11:10
and smart聪明 irrigation灌溉 controllers控制器
218
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加州式园林不是梦,
11:12
and have beautiful美丽
green绿色 landscapes景观 in our cities城市.
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我们的城市依旧可以绿意盎然。
11:15
The fourth第四 and final最后 water tap龙头
that we need to open打开 up
220
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我们需要打开的第四个,
也是最后一个水龙头,
11:18
to solve解决 our urban城市的 water problem问题
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来解决城市用水问题,
11:20
will flow with desalinated淡化 seawater海水.
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是海水淡化。
11:23
Now, I know what you probably大概 heard听说
people say about seawater海水 desalination海水淡化.
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也许你们听人们谈论过海水淡化,
11:27
"It's a great thing to do if you have
lots of oil, not a lot of water
224
675360
4176
“海水淡化是很好,
前提是你石油多、淡水少,
11:31
and you don't care关心 about climate气候 change更改."
225
679560
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而且也不在乎气候变化。”
11:33
Seawater海水 desalination海水淡化 is energy-intensive能源密集型
no matter how you slice it.
226
681960
4336
没错,海水淡化
是一项能源密集型产业。
11:38
But that characterization描述
of seawater海水 desalination海水淡化
227
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但如果仅仅因为这样,就将海水淡化
11:40
as being存在 a nonstarter不可取
is hopelessly绝望地 out of date日期.
228
688960
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视为没有前途,那就太落伍了。
11:43
We've我们已经 made制作 tremendous巨大 progress进展
in seawater海水 desalination海水淡化
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在过去20年间,我们在海水淡化上
11:46
in the past过去 two decades几十年.
230
694800
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已经取得了巨大进展。
11:48
This picture图片 shows节目 you
231
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这张照片上
11:50
the largest最大 seawater海水 desalination海水淡化 plant
in the Western西 hemisphere半球
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是在建的西半球最大的海水淡化厂,
11:54
that's currently目前 being存在 built内置
north of San Diego迭戈.
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位于圣地亚哥市以北。
11:57
Compared相比 to the seawater海水
desalination海水淡化 plant
234
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与25年前建在圣巴巴拉市
11:59
that was built内置 in
Santa圣诞老人 Barbara芭芭拉 25 years年份 ago,
235
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的海水淡化厂相比,
12:02
this treatment治疗 plant
will use about half the energy能源
236
711040
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这家海水淡化厂每生产一加仑淡水
12:05
to produce生产 a gallon加仑 of water.
237
713720
1520
的能耗下降了一半。
12:07
But just because seawater海水 desalination海水淡化
has become成为 less energy-intensive能源密集型,
238
715840
3736
当然,海水淡化的能耗降低了,
12:11
doesn't mean we should start开始 building建造
desalination海水淡化 plants植物 everywhere到处.
239
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3239
并不意味着我们就该到处建海水淡化厂。
12:14
Among其中 the different不同 choices选择 we have,
240
722863
1736
在我们的众多选择中,
12:16
it's probably大概 the most energy-intensive能源密集型
241
724623
2113
在4种新水源中,
12:18
and potentially可能 environmentally环保 damaging有害
242
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1936
海水淡化依然是能耗最大,
12:20
of the options选项 to create创建
a local本地 water supply供应.
243
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2920
最有可能对环境造成危害的。
12:24
So there it is.
244
732560
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综上所述,
12:25
With these four sources来源 of water,
245
733800
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有了这4种新水源,
12:27
we can move移动 away
from our reliance依赖 on imported进口 water.
246
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3320
我们不用再依赖进口水。
12:31
Through通过 reform改革 in the way we landscape景观
our surfaces and our properties性能,
247
739680
4496
通过改进我们绿化城市和居民区的方法,
12:36
we can reduce减少 outdoor户外 water use
by about 50 percent百分,
248
744200
3096
我们可以将户外用水量下降50%,
12:39
thereby从而 increasing增加
the water supply供应 by 25 percent百分.
249
747320
3456
因此提高25%的供水量。
12:42
We can recycle回收 the water
that makes品牌 it into the sewer下水道,
250
750800
2524
我们可以循环利用废水,
12:45
thereby从而 increasing增加
our water supply供应 by 40 percent百分.
251
753348
3080
以此提高40%供水量。
12:48
And we can make up the difference区别
through通过 a combination组合
252
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2616
我们可以综合利用
12:51
of stormwater雨水 harvesting收获
and seawater海水 desalination海水淡化.
253
759520
2480
雨水收集和海水淡化。
12:55
So, let's create创建 a water supply供应
254
763280
3816
让我们来创造稳定的水源供应,
12:59
that will be able能够
to withstand经受 any of the challenges挑战
255
767120
3656
足以在未来几年承受气候变化
13:02
that climate气候 change更改 throws at us
in the coming未来 years年份.
256
770800
2576
给我们带来的挑战。
13:05
Let's create创建 a water supply供应
that uses使用 local本地 sources来源
257
773400
3336
让我们充分利用本地水源,
13:08
and leaves树叶 more water
in the environment环境 for fish and for food餐饮.
258
776760
4040
将更多的水留给环境,
留给动物,留给食物。
13:13
Let's create创建 a water system系统 that's
consistent一贯 with out environmental环境的 values.
259
781640
5016
让我们创造环境友好型的供水系统。
13:18
And let's do it for our children孩子
and our grandchildren孙子
260
786680
3456
让我们为子孙后代而努力,
13:22
and let's tell them this is the system系统
261
790160
2616
告诉他们,在未来的岁月里,
13:24
that they have to
take care关心 of in the future未来
262
792800
2336
他们也应该珍视这个系统
13:27
because it's our last chance机会
to create创建 a new kind of water system系统.
263
795160
3936
因为这是我们创建
新型供水系统最后的机会。
13:31
Thank you very much for your attention注意.
264
799120
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非常感谢大家。
13:32
(Applause掌声)
265
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(掌声)
Translated by Alvin Lee
Reviewed by Gu Yu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Sedlak - Civil and environmental engineer
David Sedlak’s research focuses the long-term goal of developing cost-effective, safe and sustainable systems to manage water resources.

Why you should listen

Author, Professor and Director of the Institute for Environmental Science and Engineering at UC Berkeley, David Sedlak has developed cost-effective, safe and sustainable systems to manage water resources. He is particularly interested in the development of local sources of water, and his research has addressed water reuse–the practice of using municipal wastewater effluent to sustain aquatic ecosystems and augment drinking water supplies as well as the treatment and use of urban runoff to contaminated groundwater from contaminated industrial sites as water supplies.

In recent years, Sedlak's research on the fate of wastewater-derived contaminants has received considerable attention. He began this research in 1996 when he developed simple methods for measuring steroid hormones in wastewater. Since that time, he and his students have studied the fate of hormones, pharmaceuticals, toxic disinfection byproducts and other chemicals. His research team has also studied approaches for remediating contaminated soil and groundwater by in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) and advanced oxidation processes.

He also is the author of Water 4.0, a book that examines the ways in which we can gain insight into current water issues by understanding the history of urban water systems.

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David Sedlak | Speaker | TED.com