0:00:01.658,0:00:06.100
Imagine you are a part[br]of a crew of astronauts

0:00:06.124,0:00:09.276
traveling to Mars or some distant planet.

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The travel time could take a year

0:00:12.910,0:00:14.379
or even longer.

0:00:14.836,0:00:17.773
The space on board and the resources

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would be limited.

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So you and the crew would have[br]to figure out how to produce food

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with minimal inputs.

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What if you could bring with you[br]just a few packets of seeds,

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and grow crops in a matter of hours?

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And what if those crops[br]would then make more seeds,

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enabling you to feed the entire crew

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with just those few packets of seeds[br]for the duration of the trip?

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Well, the scientists at NASA actually[br]figured out a way to do this.

0:00:51.546,0:00:54.189
What they came up with[br]was actually quite interesting.

0:00:54.213,0:00:56.109
It involved microorganisms,

0:00:56.133,0:00:58.223
which are single-celled organisms.

0:00:58.732,0:01:01.068
And they also used hydrogen from water.

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The types of microbes that they used[br]were called hydrogenotrophs,

0:01:05.623,0:01:10.913
and with these hydrogenotrophs,[br]you can create a virtuous carbon cycle

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that would sustain life[br]on board a spacecraft.

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Astronauts would breathe out[br]carbon dioxide,

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that carbon dioxide would then[br]be captured by the microbes

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and converted into a nutritious,[br]carbon-rich crop.

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The astronauts would then eat[br]that carbon-rich crop,

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and exhale the carbon out[br]in the form of carbon dioxide,

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which would then be captured[br]by the microbes,

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to create a nutritious crop,

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which then would be exhaled[br]in the form of carbon dioxide

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by the astronauts.

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So in this way, a closed-loop[br]carbon cycle is created.

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So why is this important?

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We need carbon to survive as humans,

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and we get our carbon from food.

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On a long space journey,

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you simply wouldn't be able to pick up[br]any carbon along the way,

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so you'd have to figure out[br]how to recycle it on board.

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This is a clever solution, right?

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But the thing is, that research[br]didn't really go anywhere.

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We haven't yet gone to Mars.[br]We haven't yet gone to another planet.

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And this was actually done[br]in the '60s and '70s.

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So a colleague of mine,[br]Dr. John Reed, and I,

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were interested, actually,[br]in carbon recycling here on Earth.

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We wanted to come up[br]with technical solutions

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to address climate change.

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And we discovered this research

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by reading some papers published[br]in the '60s -- 1967 and later articles --

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about this work,

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and we thought it was a really good idea.

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So we said, well, Earth[br]is actually like a spaceship.

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We have limited space[br]and limited resources,

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and on Earth, we really do[br]need to figure out

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how to recycle our carbon better.

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So we had the idea,

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can we take some of these[br]NASA-type ideas and apply them

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to our carbon problem here on Earth?

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Could we cultivate[br]these NASA-type microbes

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in order to make[br]valuable products here on Earth?

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We started a company to do it.

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And in that company, we discovered[br]that these hydrogenotrophs --

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which I'll actually call[br]nature's supercharged carbon recyclers --

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we found that they are a powerful[br]class of microbes

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that had been largely overlooked[br]and understudied,

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and that they could make[br]some really valuable products.

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So we began cultivating these products,[br]these microbes, in our lab.

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We found that we can make[br]essential amino acids from carbon dioxide

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using these microbes.

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And we even made a protein-rich meal

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that has an amino acid profile[br]similar to what you might find

0:03:48.047,0:03:49.563
in some animal proteins.

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We began cultivating them even further,

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and we found that we can make oil.

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Oils are used to manufacture[br]many products.

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We made an oil that was similar[br]to a citrus oil,

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which can be used for flavoring[br]and for fragrances,

0:04:04.204,0:04:06.831
but it also can be used[br]as a biodegradable cleaner

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or even as a jet fuel.

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And we made an oil[br]that's similar to palm oil.

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Palm oil is used to manufacture

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a wide range of consumer[br]and industrial goods.

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So we began working with manufacturers[br]to scale up this technology,

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and we're currently working with them

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to bring some of these products to market.

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We believe this type of technology[br]can indeed help us

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profitably recycle carbon dioxide[br]into valuable products --

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something that's beneficial[br]for the planet,

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but also beneficial for business.

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But that's what we're doing today.

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But tomorrow, this type of technology[br]and using these types of microbes

0:04:46.479,0:04:49.242
actually could help us[br]do something even greater

0:04:49.266,0:04:51.217
if we take it to the next level.

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We believe that this type of technology

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can actually help us address[br]an issue with agriculture,

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and allow us to create[br]a type of agriculture that's sustainable,

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that will allow us to scale[br]to meet the demands of tomorrow.

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And why might we need[br]a sustainable agriculture?

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Well, actually, it is estimated

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that the population will reach[br]about 10 billion by 2050,

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and we're projecting that we will need[br]to increase food production

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by 70 percent.

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In addition, we will need many more[br]resources and raw materials

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to make consumer goods[br]and industrial goods.

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So how will we scale to meet that demand?

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Well, modern agriculture simply cannot[br]sustainably scale to meet that demand.

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There are a number of reasons why.

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One of them is that modern agriculture[br]is one of the largest emitters

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of greenhouse gases.

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In fact, it emits more greenhouse gases

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than our cars, our trucks, our planes

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and our trains combined.

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Another reason is that modern Ag[br]simply takes up a whole lot of land.

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We have cleared 19.4 million square miles[br]for crops and livestock.

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What does that look like?

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Well, that's roughly the size[br]of South America and Africa combined.

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Let me give you a specific example.

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In Indonesia, an amount[br]of virgin rainforest was cleared

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totaling the size[br]of approximately Ireland,

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between 2000 and 2012.

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Just think of all[br]of the species, the diversity,

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that was removed in the process,

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whether plant life, insects,[br]or animal life.

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And a natural carbon sink[br]was also removed.

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And so let me make this real for you.

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This clearing happened primarily[br]to make room for palm plantations.

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And as I mentioned before,

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palm oil is used[br]to manufacture many products.

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In fact, it is estimated[br]that over 50 percent of consumer products

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are manufactured using palm oil.

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And that includes things[br]like ice cream, cookies ...

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It includes cooking oils.

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It also includes detergents,[br]lotions, soaps.

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You and I both[br]probably have numerous items

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in our kitchens and our bathrooms

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that were manufactured using palm oil.

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So you and I are direct beneficiaries[br]of removed rainforests.

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Modern Ag has some problems,

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and we need solutions[br]if we want to scale sustainably.

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I believe that microbes[br]can be a part of the answer --

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specifically, these supercharged[br]carbon recyclers.

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These supercharged carbon recyclers,

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like plants, serve as[br]the natural recyclers

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in their ecosystems where they thrive.

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And they thrive in exotic places on Earth,

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like hydrothermal vents and hot springs.

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In those ecosystems,[br]they take carbon and recycle it

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into the nutrients needed[br]for those ecosystems.

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And they're rich in nutrients,

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such as oils and proteins,[br]minerals and carbohydrates.

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And actually, microbes are already[br]an integral part of our everyday lives.

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If you enjoy a glass of pinot noir[br]on a Friday night,

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after a long, hard work week,

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then you are enjoying[br]a product of microbes.

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If you enjoy a beer[br]from your local microbrewery --

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a product of microbes.

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Or bread, or cheese, or yogurt.

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These are all products of microbes.

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But the beauty and power associated[br]with these supercharged carbon recyclers

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lies in the fact that they can[br]actually produce in a matter of hours

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versus months.

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That means we can make crops

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much faster than we're making them today.

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They grow in the dark,

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so they can grow in any season

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and in any geography and any location.

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They can grow in containers[br]that require minimal space.

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And we can get to a type[br]of vertical agriculture.

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Instead of our traditional[br]horizontal agriculture

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that requires so much land,

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we can scale vertically, and as a result,

0:09:19.371,0:09:23.067
produce much more product per area.

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If we implement this type of approach[br]and use these carbon recyclers,

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then we wouldn't have to remove[br]any more rainforests

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to make the food and the goods[br]that we consume.

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Because, at a large scale,

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you can actually make 10,000 times[br]more output per land area

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than you could -- for instance,[br]if you used soybeans --

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if you planted soybeans[br]on that same area of land

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over a period of a year.

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Ten thousand times[br]over a period of a year.

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So this is what I mean[br]by a new type of agriculture.

0:10:00.613,0:10:03.921
And this is what I mean[br]by developing a system

0:10:03.945,0:10:08.839
that allows us to sustainably scale[br]to meet the demands of 10 billion.

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And what would be the products[br]of this new type of agriculture?

0:10:14.323,0:10:16.506
Well, we've already made a protein meal,

0:10:16.530,0:10:19.793
so you can imagine something[br]similar to a soybean meal,

0:10:19.817,0:10:21.760
or even cornmeal, or wheat flour.

0:10:22.203,0:10:23.556
We've already made oils,

0:10:23.580,0:10:27.258
so you can imagine something[br]similar to coconut oil

0:10:27.282,0:10:29.296
or olive oil or soybean oil.

0:10:30.042,0:10:34.280
So this type of crop can[br]actually produce the nutrients

0:10:34.304,0:10:36.599
that would give us pasta and bread,

0:10:36.623,0:10:39.749
cakes, nutritional items of many sorts.

0:10:40.226,0:10:47.138
Furthermore, since oil is used[br]to manufacture multiple other goods,

0:10:47.162,0:10:49.218
industrial products and consumer products,

0:10:49.242,0:10:54.045
you can imagine being able to make[br]detergents, soaps, lotions, etc.,

0:10:54.069,0:10:55.716
using these types of crops.

0:10:57.382,0:11:00.262
Not only are we running out space,

0:11:00.286,0:11:03.454
but if we continue to operate[br]under the status quo

0:11:03.478,0:11:04.951
with modern agriculture,

0:11:04.975,0:11:09.625
we run the risk of robbing our progeny[br]of a beautiful planet.

0:11:10.216,0:11:12.180
But it doesn't have to be this way.

0:11:12.627,0:11:15.405
We can imagine a future of abundance.

0:11:16.154,0:11:22.030
Let us create systems that keep[br]planet Earth, our spaceship,

0:11:22.054,0:11:23.934
not only from not crashing,

0:11:24.410,0:11:28.540
but let us also develop systems[br]and ways of living

0:11:28.564,0:11:32.722
that will be beneficial[br]to the lives of ourselves

0:11:32.746,0:11:36.388
and the 10 billion that will[br]be on this planet by 2050.

0:11:36.817,0:11:38.032
Thank you very much.

0:11:38.056,0:11:42.039
(Applause)