ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Edward Burtynsky - Photographer
2005 TED Prize winner Edward Burtynsky has made it his life's work to document humanity's impact on the planet. His riveting photographs, as beautiful as they are horrifying, capture views of the Earth altered by mankind.

Why you should listen

To describe Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's work in a single adjective, you have to speak French: jolie-laide. His images of scarred landscapes -- from mountains of tires to rivers of bright orange waste from a nickel mine -- are eerily pretty yet ugly at the same time. Burtynsky's large-format color photographs explore the impact of humanity's expanding footprint and the substantial ways in which we're reshaping the surface of the planet. His images powerfully alter the way we think about the world and our place in it.

With his blessing and encouragement, WorldChanging.com and others use his work to inspire ongoing global conversations about sustainable living. Burtynsky's photographs are included in the collections of over 50 museums around the world, including the Tate, London and the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim in New York City. A large-format book, 2003's Manufactured Landscapes, collected his work, and in 2007, a documentary based on his photography, also called Manufactured Landscapes, debuted at the Toronto Film Festival before going on to screen at Sundance and elsewhere. It was released on DVD in March 2007. In 2008, after giving a talk at the Long Now Foundation, Burtynsky proposed "The 10,000 Year Gallery," which could house art to be curated over thousands of years preserved through carbon transfers in an effort to reflect the attitudes and changes of the world over time. 

When Burtynsky accepted his 2005 TED Prize, he made three wishes. One of his wishes: to build a website that will help kids think about going green. Thanks to WGBH and the TED community, the show and site Meet the Greens debuted at TED2007. His second wish: to begin work on an Imax film, which morphed into the jaw-dropping film Manufactured Landscapes with Jennifer Baichwal. And his third wish, wider in scope, was simply to encourage "a massive and productive worldwide conversation about sustainable living." Thanks to his help and the input of the TED community, the site WorldChanging.com got an infusion of energy that has helped it to grow into a leading voice in the sustainability community.

In 2016, he won a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts for his work.

More profile about the speaker
Edward Burtynsky | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2009

Edward Burtynsky: Photographing the landscape of oil

Edward Burtynsky拍摄的石油风景

Filmed:
550,970 views

在令人印象深刻的大画幅照片中，Edward Burtynsky记录了石油流进现代社会的轨迹。从开采的井架到输送的输油管道再到消费的汽车引擎，一直到石油峰值后的残局。（注：石油峰值理论(Peak Oil Theory)是美国著名石油地质学家哈伯特(M.K.Hubbert)提出的。）
- Photographer
2005 TED Prize winner Edward Burtynsky has made it his life's work to document humanity's impact on the planet. His riveting photographs, as beautiful as they are horrifying, capture views of the Earth altered by mankind. Full bio

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

00:15
I started开始 my journey旅程 30 years年份 ago前.
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我是30年前开始旅程的。
00:18
And I worked工作 in mines矿山. And I realized实现 that
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那时我在矿上工作。我意识到
00:20
this was a world世界 unseen看不见.
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这是一个鲜为人知的角落。
00:22
And I wanted, through通过 color颜色 and large大 format格式 cameras相机
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我想要通过彩色大幅面照相机
00:24
and very large大 prints版画,
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冲印出非常大的照片，
00:26
to make a body身体 of work that somehow不知何故
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使作品从某种程度上，成为表现人类如何利用土地的象征。
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became成为 symbols符号 of our
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成为表现人类如何利用土地的象征。
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use of the landscape景观,
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成为表现人类如何利用土地的象征。
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how we use the land土地.
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成为表现人类如何利用土地的象征。
00:35
And to me this was
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对我来说
00:37
a key键 component零件 that somehow不知何故, through通过 this medium中 of photography摄影,
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关键的一点，就是通过摄影的方法
00:40
which哪一个 allows允许 us to contemplate沉思 these landscapes景观,
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使我们思考这些风景的深层含义，
00:43
that I thought photography摄影 was perfectly完美 suited合适的
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我认为摄影非常适合这项工作。
00:46
to doing this type类型 of work.
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我认为摄影非常适合这项工作。
00:48
And after 17 years年份 of photographing拍摄 large大 industrial产业 landscapes景观,
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拍摄了17年大型工业风景后，
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it occurred发生 to me that
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我发现
00:54
oil油 is underpinning托底 the scale规模 and speed速度.
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石油是工业的规模和速度的基础，
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Because that is what has changed变,
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因为改变的是我们攫取资源的速度。
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is the speed速度 at which哪一个 we're taking服用 all our resources资源.
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因为改变的是我们攫取资源的速度。
01:01
And so then I went去 out to develop发展 a whole整个 series系列
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所以我拍摄了整整一系列的石油风景照片。
01:03
on the landscape景观 of oil油.
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所以我拍摄了整整一系列的石油风景照片。
01:05
And what I want to do is to kind类 of map地图 an arc弧
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我要绘制出这样一系列主题。
01:10
that there is extraction萃取, where we're taking服用 it from the ground地面,
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第一个主题，石油开采和提炼。
01:13
refinement精致. And that's one chapter章节.
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第一个主题，石油开采和提炼。
01:15
The other chapter章节 that I wanted to look at was
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第二个主题是我们如何使用：
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how we use it -- our cities城市,
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在城市里
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our cars汽车, our motorculturesmotorcultures,
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汽车里，我们的“汽车文化“
01:21
where people gather收集 around the vehicle车辆
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人们开车聚到一起欢庆的活动。
01:25
as a celebration庆典.
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人们开车聚到一起欢庆的活动。
01:27
And then the third第三 one is this idea理念 of the end结束 of oil油,
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第三个主题就是石油的终点。
01:29
this entropic熵 end结束,
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混乱的终点。
01:31
where all of our parts部分 of cars汽车, our tires轮胎,
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所有的汽车零件，轮胎
01:34
oil油 filters过滤器,
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滤油气
01:36
helicopters直升机, planes飞机 --
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直升机，飞机
01:38
where are the landscapes景观 where all of that stuff东东 ends结束 up?
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所有这一切的坟场的风景？
01:41
And to me, again, photography摄影 was
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对于我来说，摄影就是我探索这个世界找到这些地方的途径。
01:43
a way in which哪一个 I could explore探索 and research研究 the world世界,
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对于我来说，摄影就是我探索这个世界找到这些地方的途径。
01:46
and find those places地方.
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对于我来说，摄影就是我探索这个世界找到这些地方的途径。
01:48
And another另一个 idea理念 that I had as well,
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我还有一个想法，
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that was brought带 forward前锋 by an ecologist生态学家 --
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是由一位生态学者提出的。
01:54
he basically基本上 did a calculation计算 where
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他计算了一升汽油需要耗费多少碳、多少有机物质。
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he took拿 one liter升 of gas加油站 and said,
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他计算了一升汽油需要耗费多少碳、多少有机物质。
01:59
well, how much carbon碳 it would take, and how much organic有机 material材料?
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他计算了一升汽油需要耗费多少碳、多少有机物质。
02:03
It was 23 metric公 tons吨 for one liter升.
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需要每升23吨。
02:06
So whenever每当 I fill填 up my gas加油站,
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所以每当我加满油后，
02:08
I think of that liter升, and how much carbon碳.
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我就想到要耗费多少碳。
02:10
And I know that oil油 comes来 from the ocean海洋 and phytoplankton浮游植物,
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我知道石油来源于海洋浮游植物。
02:13
but he did the calculations计算 for our Earth地球
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他还计算了地球需要多长时间产生这些能量。
02:16
and what it had to do to produce生产 that amount量 of energy能源.
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他还计算了地球需要多长时间产生这些能量。
02:18
From the photosynthetic光合 growth发展,
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依靠光合作用，得需要500年才能生成每年300亿桶石油所含的能量。
02:20
it would take 500 years年份 of that growth发展
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依靠光合作用，得需要500年才能生成每年300亿桶石油所含的能量。
02:23
to produce生产 what we use, the 30 billion十亿 barrels桶 we use per每 year年.
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依靠光合作用，得需要500年才能长出每年300亿桶石油所含的能量。
02:28
And that also也 brought带 me to the fact事实 that
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这也昭示了我们社会面临的危机。
02:30
this poses姿势 such这样 a risk风险 to our society社会.
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这也昭示了我们社会面临的危机。
02:33
Looking at 30 billion十亿 per每 year年,
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300亿桶每年，
02:38
we look at our two largest最大 suppliers供应商,
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看看两大石油出口国，
02:40
Saudi沙特 Arabia阿拉伯 and now Canada加拿大, with its dirty脏 oil油.
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沙特和加拿大。
02:42
And together一起 they only form形成 about 15 years年份 of supply供应.
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他们加在一起只能供应15年。
02:46
The whole整个 world世界, at 1.2 trillion兆 estimated预计 reserves储量,
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全世界估计有1.2万亿桶的储量，
02:49
only gives给 us about 45 years年份.
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只够我们用45年的。
02:51
So, it's not a question题 of if, but a question题 of when
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问题已经不是石油峰值是否会来，而是何时来临。
02:54
peak峰 oil油 will come upon上 us.
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问题已经不是石油峰值是否会来，而是何时来临。
02:56
So, to me, using运用 photography摄影 --
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所以对于我来说，利用摄影
02:58
and I feel that all of us need to now begin开始 to really
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我认为应该开始利用我们的才干处理我们这个时代面临的最大挑战。
03:01
take the task任务 of using运用 our talents人才,
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我认为应该开始利用我们的才干处理我们这个时代面临的最大挑战。
03:03
our ways方法 of thinking思维,
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我认为应该开始利用我们的才干处理我们这个时代面临的最大挑战。
03:06
to begin开始 to deal合同 with what I think is probably大概
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我认为应该开始利用我们的才干处理我们这个时代面临的最大挑战。
03:08
one of the most最 challenging具有挑战性的 issues问题 of our time,
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我认为应该开始利用我们的才干处理我们这个时代面临的最大挑战。
03:11
how to deal合同 with our energy能源 crisis危机.
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处理我们的能源危机。
03:13
And I would like to say that, on the other side侧 of it,
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从另一方面来说，
03:15
30, 40 years年份 from now, the children孩子 that I have,
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30，40年后我可以对我的孩子说：“
03:17
I can look at them and say, "We did everything
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30，40年后我可以对我的孩子说：“
03:19
we possibly或者, humanly从人的角度 could do,
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我们尽我们所能缓解危机。“
03:22
to begin开始 to mitigate减轻 this,
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我们尽我们所能缓解危机。“
03:25
what I feel is one of the most最 important重要 and critical危急
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现在就是我们这个时代最重要最关键的时刻。
03:27
moments瞬间 in our time. Thank you.
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现在就是我们这个时代最重要最关键的时刻。谢谢。
03:30
(Applause掌声)
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（掌声）
Translated by dahong zhang
Reviewed by Ting Gao

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Edward Burtynsky - Photographer
2005 TED Prize winner Edward Burtynsky has made it his life's work to document humanity's impact on the planet. His riveting photographs, as beautiful as they are horrifying, capture views of the Earth altered by mankind.

Why you should listen

To describe Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's work in a single adjective, you have to speak French: jolie-laide. His images of scarred landscapes -- from mountains of tires to rivers of bright orange waste from a nickel mine -- are eerily pretty yet ugly at the same time. Burtynsky's large-format color photographs explore the impact of humanity's expanding footprint and the substantial ways in which we're reshaping the surface of the planet. His images powerfully alter the way we think about the world and our place in it.

With his blessing and encouragement, WorldChanging.com and others use his work to inspire ongoing global conversations about sustainable living. Burtynsky's photographs are included in the collections of over 50 museums around the world, including the Tate, London and the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim in New York City. A large-format book, 2003's Manufactured Landscapes, collected his work, and in 2007, a documentary based on his photography, also called Manufactured Landscapes, debuted at the Toronto Film Festival before going on to screen at Sundance and elsewhere. It was released on DVD in March 2007. In 2008, after giving a talk at the Long Now Foundation, Burtynsky proposed "The 10,000 Year Gallery," which could house art to be curated over thousands of years preserved through carbon transfers in an effort to reflect the attitudes and changes of the world over time. 

When Burtynsky accepted his 2005 TED Prize, he made three wishes. One of his wishes: to build a website that will help kids think about going green. Thanks to WGBH and the TED community, the show and site Meet the Greens debuted at TED2007. His second wish: to begin work on an Imax film, which morphed into the jaw-dropping film Manufactured Landscapes with Jennifer Baichwal. And his third wish, wider in scope, was simply to encourage "a massive and productive worldwide conversation about sustainable living." Thanks to his help and the input of the TED community, the site WorldChanging.com got an infusion of energy that has helped it to grow into a leading voice in the sustainability community.

In 2016, he won a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts for his work.

More profile about the speaker
Edward Burtynsky | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM

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