0:00:14.989,0:00:20.288
Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is the main greenhouse gas in climate change.

0:00:20.288,0:00:23.656
So how does CO2 get into our atmosphere?

0:00:23.656,0:00:28.256
Well, carbon is part of a cycle. It starts with the sun,

0:00:28.256,0:00:31.788
which heats the Earth's surface with more energy

0:00:31.788,0:00:34.421
in one hour than the whole world uses in a year.

0:00:34.421,0:00:37.771
Plants, which are kind of like biological chefs,

0:00:37.771,0:00:40.838
take that sunlight, and then suck in some CO2 from the air,

0:00:40.838,0:00:42.605
mix them together, and BAM!

0:00:42.605,0:00:46.188
They create a stored form of energy, in the form of carbohydrates

0:00:46.188,0:00:49.121
such as glucose and sucrose.

0:00:49.121,0:00:52.072
The process is called photosynthesis.

0:00:52.072,0:00:54.239
When animals like us eat those plants

0:00:54.239,0:00:58.388
our stomachs convert that food back into energy for our own growth.

0:00:58.388,0:01:00.771
Greenhouse gases are a byproduct of this process,

0:01:00.771,0:01:03.138
and are released through waste.

0:01:03.138,0:01:08.205
If those plants die, they decompose, and tiny microorganisms break down those carbohydrates

0:01:08.205,0:01:12.656
and again, release greenhouse gases as a byproduct.

0:01:12.656,0:01:18.055
As you see, energy originates from the sun. It is then transferred as it moves through the food chain.

0:01:18.055,0:01:24.287
But sometimes, carbon based organisms like plants or animals get stuck in the earth.

0:01:24.287,0:01:28.138
When this happens, they're compressed under tons of pressure,

0:01:28.138,0:01:30.240
and turned into carbon-based fossil fuels

0:01:30.240,0:01:33.604
like oil, coal or natural gas.

0:01:33.604,0:01:37.955
Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have been pulling those fossil fuels out of the ground

0:01:37.955,0:01:41.572
and burning them, activating the stored energy

0:01:41.572,0:01:44.305
to make electricity and power engines.

0:01:44.305,0:01:52.671
But the thing is it also releases millions of years worth of stored CO2 back into the air.

0:01:52.671,0:01:57.021
In addition, humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out CO2.

0:01:57.021,0:02:00.188
But plants do the opposite.

0:02:00.188,0:02:04.620
Trees suck up huge amounts of CO2, which balances the cycle.

0:02:04.620,0:02:09.304
Thus, deforestation reduces the plants that store CO2.

0:02:09.304,0:02:11.939
We're attacking the cycle from both sides.

0:02:11.939,0:02:16.256
Think of it like a computer. A computer can operate a few programs at a time, right?

0:02:16.256,0:02:20.421
Normally, when you've finished with a document, you save, and you close it,

0:02:20.421,0:02:22.921
so as not to overwork the computer.

0:02:22.921,0:02:26.071
Then, imagine you stopped closing your documents.

0:02:26.071,0:02:28.505
So they were all open at once.

0:02:28.505,0:02:30.355
Your computer wouldn't be able to process it all.

0:02:30.355,0:02:33.971
It would start to slow down, and then to freeze, and eventually it would crash.

0:02:33.971,0:02:38.471
Which might be where our environment is heading if we keep overloading the carbon cycle.

0:02:38.471,0:02:41.688
So is there any way to rebalance the ecosystem?

0:02:41.688,0:02:46.771
What about technology? Technology is defined as a technique to solve a problem.

0:02:46.771,0:02:52.005
And so, sustainable technologies are those whose output is equal to their input.

0:02:52.005,0:02:54.855
They do not create negative externalities,

0:02:54.855,0:02:57.788
such as CO2, in the present or the future.

0:02:57.788,0:03:01.288
They sort of cancel themselves out to solve the problem.

0:03:01.288,0:03:04.788
To achieve this, we need to invent sustainable technologies.

0:03:04.788,0:03:09.005
If we put all the ideas and technologies ever created into one circle,

0:03:09.005,0:03:12.438
then invention is the pushing of the boundaries of that circle.

0:03:12.438,0:03:15.672
And the area outside of the circle is infinite,

0:03:15.672,0:03:18.989
meaning the potential for invention is limitless.

0:03:18.989,0:03:22.556
Think about some of the incredible clean technologies we have today. [Wind; Electric & Solar Cars; Biogas]

0:03:22.556,0:03:25.439
[Biofuels; Photosynthetic Algae; Compost] All those ideas have one thing in common.

0:03:25.471,0:03:29.288
They all came from people. People innovate.

0:03:29.288,0:03:34.921
People create. It's the limitless potential of creative people

0:03:34.921,0:03:39.371
to build unimagined technologies that is going to stop climate change

0:03:39.371,0:03:45.455
and rebalance the ecosystem. And that is something to be hopeful about.