ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kevin Surace - Engineer, executive
Kevin Surace is looking at the climate crisis from an engineer's perspective -- and creating products that prove there's no piece of our daily lives we can't redesign to be cleaner and greener.

Why you should listen

Kevin Surace wants to reduce the use of fossil fuels and their effect on the environment by greening manufacturing processes that create the basic components of our everyday life. As CEO of Serious Materials, he's helping to reduce the energy usage (and CO2 emissions) generated by the world's largest contributor -- buildings.

Before Serious Materials, Surace worked with Perfect Commerce, General Magic, Air Communications, National Semiconductor and Seiko-Epson.

More profile about the speaker
Kevin Surace | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Kevin Surace: Eco-friendly drywall

Kevin Surace vind omgewingsvriendelike pleisterbord uit

Filmed:
389,615 views

Kevin Surace stel voor dat ons basiese konstruksiemateriale -- soos die bekende pleisterbord -- heroorweeg, sodat ons die reuse koolstof-voetspoor wat deur die vervaardiging en konstruksie van ons geboue gegenereer word, kan verklein. Hy stel EcoRock bekend: ’n skoon, herwinbare en energie-doeltreffende pleisterbord, geskep deur sy span by Serious Materials.
- Engineer, executive
Kevin Surace is looking at the climate crisis from an engineer's perspective -- and creating products that prove there's no piece of our daily lives we can't redesign to be cleaner and greener. Full bio

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

00:18
What's happeninggebeur to the climateklimaat?
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Wat gaan aan met die klimaat?
00:20
It is unbelievablyongelooflik badslegte.
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Dis ongelooflik sleg.
00:22
This is, obviouslynatuurlik, that famousberoemde viewbeskou now of the ArcticArktiese,
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Hierdie is, natuurlik, daardie bekende beeld van die Noordpool,
00:25
whichwatter is likelywaarskynlik to be goneweg at this pointpunt
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wat waarskynlik tot niet sal wees by hierdie punt
00:27
in the nextvolgende threedrie or fourvier or fivevyf yearsjaar. Very, very, very scaryskrikwekkend.
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in die volgende drie of vier of vyf jaar. Baie, baie, baie angswekkend.
00:30
So we all look at what we can do.
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Ons kyk dus almal wat ons kan doen.
00:32
And when you look at the worldwidewêreldwyd sourcesbronne of COCO2,
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En wanneer ’n mens kyk na die wêreldwye bronne van CO2,
00:34
52 percentpersent are tiedvasgebind to buildingsgeboue.
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is 52 persent toe te skryf aan geboue.
00:36
Only ninenege percentpersent is passengerpassasier carsmotors, interestinglyInteressant enoughgenoeg.
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Slegs 9 persent aan passasiersmotors, interessant genoeg.
00:39
So we ranhardloop off to a sushisushi barbar.
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So ons is na ’n sushi bar toe.
00:41
And at that sushisushi barbar we camekom up with a great ideaidee.
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En by daai sushi bar het ons met ’n blink idee vorendag gekom.
00:43
And it was something calledgenoem EcoRockEcoRock.
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En dit was iets genaamd EcoRock.
00:45
And we said we could redesignherontwerp the 115-year-old-jaar oud
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En ons't gesê ons kan die 115 jaar oue gips-
00:48
gypsumgips drywallgips processproses that generatesgenereer
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pleisterbord proses, wat 20 miljard pond
00:50
20 billionmiljard poundspond of COCO2 a yearjaar.
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CO2 per jaar produseer, herontwerp.
00:52
So it was a biggroot ideaidee. We wanted to reduceverminder that by 80 percentpersent,
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So dis ’n groot idee. Ons wou dit verminder met 80 persent.
00:55
whichwatter is exactlypresies what we'veons het donegedaan.
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En dis presies wat ons gedoen het.
00:57
We startedbegin R&D in 2006.
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Ons't met N&O begin in 2006.
00:59
DecidedBesluit to use recycledherwin contentinhoud from cementsement
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Besluit om herwinde komponente van sement en
01:01
and steelstaal manufacturingvervaardiging.
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staalvervaardiging te gebruik.
01:03
There is the insidebinne of our lablaboratorium. We haven'thet nie showngetoon this before.
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Hierdie is ons laboratorium. Ons't nog nooit hierdie gewys nie.
01:05
But our people had to do some 5,000
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Maar ons mense moes sowat 5,000
01:08
differentverskillende mixesmeng to get this right, to hitgetref our targetsteikens.
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verskillende mengels doen om ons teikens te tref.
01:13
And they workedgewerk absolutelyabsoluut very, very, very hardhard.
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En hulle het baie, baie, baie hard gewerk.
01:15
So then we wenthet forwardvorentoe and builtgebou our productionproduksie linelyn in ChinaChina.
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So toe het ons voortgegaan en ons produksielyn in Sjina gebou.
01:18
We don't buildbou this productionproduksie equipmenttoerusting any longermeer in the U.S., unfortunatelyOngelukkig.
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Ons bou ongelukkig nie meer hierdie vervaardigingstoerusting in die V.S.A. nie.
01:21
We did the linelyn installinstalleer over the summersomer.
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Ons het die lynaanleg oor die somer gedoen.
01:23
We startedbegin right there, with absolutelyabsoluut nothing.
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Ons het net daar begin, met absoluut niks.
01:25
You're seeingsien for the first time, a brandmerk newnuwe drywallgips productionproduksie linelyn,
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Julle sien nou vir die eerste keer, ’n splinternuwe pleisterbord produksielyn,
01:29
not madegemaak usinggebruik van gypsumgips at all.
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gemaak sonder enige gips.
01:31
That's the finishedklaar productionproduksie linelyn there.
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Dis die voltooide produksielyn daar.
01:33
We got our first panelpaneel out on DecemberDesember thirdderde.
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Ons het ons eerste paneel op 3 Desember uitgekry.
01:35
That is the slurryslyk beingwese poureduitgestort ontoop paperpapier, basicallybasies. That's the linelyn runninghardloop.
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Dit is die slyk wat op die papier gegiet word, basies. Dis die produksielyn wat hardloop.
01:39
The excitingopwindend thing is, look at the facesgesigte of the people.
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Die opwindende ding is, kyk na die mense se gesigte.
01:42
These are people who workedgewerk this projectprojek for two to threedrie yearsjaar.
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Dis mense wat vir twee tot drie jaar op hierdie projek gewerk het .
01:44
And they are so excitedopgewonde. That's the first boardraad off the linelyn.
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En hulle is so opgewonde. Dis die eerste bord van die lyn af.
01:47
Our ViceVise PresidentPresident of OperationBewerking kissingsoen the boardraad. ObviouslyNatuurlik very, very excitedopgewonde.
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Ons Visie-President van Bestuur wat die bord soen. Natuurlik baie, baie opgewonde.
01:51
But this has a hugegroot, hugegroot impactimpak on the environmentomgewing.
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Maar dit het ’n groot impak op die omgewing.
01:54
We signedonderteken the first panelpaneel just a fewpaar weeksweke after that, had a great signingondertekening ceremonyseremonie,
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Ons het die eerste paneel geteken net ’n paar weke daarna, ’n lieflike seremonie gehad.
01:58
leadingvoorste to people hopefullyhopelik usinggebruik van these productsprodukte acrossoor the worldwêreld.
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Wat hopelik lei daartoe daartoe dat mense wêreldwyd hierdie produkte gebruik.
02:02
And we'veons het got Cradle-to-CradleCradle te wieg GoldGoud on this thing.
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En ons't Cradle to Cradle goudsertifikasie op dit.
02:04
We happenedgebeur to winwen, just recentlyonlangs, the GreenGroen ProductProduk of the YearJaar
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Ons het toevallig, onlangs, die Groen Produk van die Jaar gewen,
02:06
for "The Re-InventionRe uitvinding of DrywallGips," from PopularGewilde ScienceWetenskap.
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vir "die Heruitvind van Pleisterbord," van Popular Science.
02:09
Thank you. Thank you.
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Dankie. Dankie.
02:11
So here is what we learnedgeleer: 8,000 gallonsliter of gasgas
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So hier's wat ons geleer het. 8,000 gelling brandstof
02:14
equivalentekwivalent to buildbou one househuis.
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ekwivalent aan een huis se bou.
02:16
You probablywaarskynlik had no ideaidee. It's like drivingry around the worldwêreld sixses timeskeer.
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Julle't seker geen idee gehad nie. Dis soos om ses keer om die wêreld te ry.
02:18
We mustmoet changeverandering everything.
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Ons moet alles verander,
02:20
Look around the roomkamer: chairsstoele, woodhout,
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Kyk in hierdie kamer, stoele, hout.
02:23
everything around us has to changeverandering or we're not going to licklek this problemprobleem.
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Alles om ons moet verander as ons hierdie probleem gaan baasraak.
02:26
Don't listen to the people who say you can't do this, because anyoneenigiemand can.
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Moenie luister na mense wat sê julle kannie, want enigiemand kan.
02:29
And these jobwerk lossesverliese, we can fixlos them with green-collargroen-kraag jobswerk.
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En hierdie mense wat hulle werk verloor, ons kan dit regmaak met omgewingsvriendelike poste.
02:32
We'veOns het got fourvier plantsplante. We're buildinggebou this stuffdinge around the countryland.
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Ons het vier fabrieke. Ons bou hierdie goed regoor die land.
02:34
We're going as fastvinnig as we can.
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En ons gaan so vinnig soos ons kan.
02:36
Two and a halfhelfde millionmiljoen carsmotors worthdie moeite werd of gypsumgips,
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Twee en ’n half miljoen karre se gips,
02:39
you know, COCO2 generatedgegenereer. Right?
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julle weet, deur CO2 gegenereer, né?
02:41
So what will you do? I'll tell you what I did and why I did it. And I know my time'styd se up.
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So wat gaan julle doen? Ek sal julle sê wat ek gedoen het, en hoekom. En ek weet my tyd is op.
02:44
Those are my kidskinders, NatalieNatalie and DavidDavid.
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Dis my kinders, Natalie en David.
02:46
When they have theirhulle kidskinders, 2050,
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Wanneer hulle kinders het, 2050,
02:48
they'dhulle wil better look back at GrandpaOupa and say,
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beter hulle terugkyk na Oupa en sê:
02:50
"Hey, you gavegegee it a good shotskoot. You did the bestbeste you could
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"Ja, jy't probeer^^^. Jy't jou bes gedoen
02:52
with the teamspan that you had."
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met die span wat jy gehad het."
02:54
So my hopehoop is that when you leaveverlaat TEDTED,
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So my hoop is dat wanneer julle TED verlaat,
02:57
you will look at reducingvermindering your carbonkoolstof footprintvoetspoor
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julle sal kyk om julle koolstof-voetspoor te verminder,
02:59
in howeveregter you can do it.
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op enige manier moontlik.
03:01
And if you don't know how, please find me -- I will help you.
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En as julle nie weet hoe nie, vind my asseblief. Ek sal help.
03:04
Last but not leastminste, BillWetsontwerp GatesHekke, I know you inventeduitgevind WindowsWindows.
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Laaste maar nie die minste nie, Bill Gates, ek weet jy't Windows uitgedink.
03:07
Wait tilltotdat you see, maybe nextvolgende yearjaar, what kindsoort of windowsvensters we'veons het inventeduitgevind.
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Wag tot jy sien, dalk volgende jaar, watse vensters ons uitgedink het.
03:10
Thank you so much.
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Baie dankie.
03:12
(ApplauseApplous)
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(Applous)
Translated by Ingrid Lezar
Reviewed by Erich Lutz

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kevin Surace - Engineer, executive
Kevin Surace is looking at the climate crisis from an engineer's perspective -- and creating products that prove there's no piece of our daily lives we can't redesign to be cleaner and greener.

Why you should listen

Kevin Surace wants to reduce the use of fossil fuels and their effect on the environment by greening manufacturing processes that create the basic components of our everyday life. As CEO of Serious Materials, he's helping to reduce the energy usage (and CO2 emissions) generated by the world's largest contributor -- buildings.

Before Serious Materials, Surace worked with Perfect Commerce, General Magic, Air Communications, National Semiconductor and Seiko-Epson.

More profile about the speaker
Kevin Surace | Speaker | TED.com