3,000 miles away

每年夏天我和我的家人 都會橫跨世界

to the culturally diverse country of India.

到 4800 公里之外、

Now, India is a country infamous for its scorching heat and humidity.

文化多樣的印度旅行。

For me, the only relief from this heat is to drink plenty of water.

印度是一個因炎熱 和潮濕而出名的國家。

Now, while in India,

對我來說，唯一能讓我從 這灼熱中解脫的，就是喝水。

my parents always remind me to only drink boiled or bottled water,

在印度的時候，

because unlike here in America,

我父母總是提醒我 只能喝燒過的水或瓶裝水，

where I can just turn on a tap and easily get clean, potable water,

因為與美國這裡不同，

in India, the water is often contaminated.

這裡水龍頭流的都是 乾淨的自來水，

So my parents have to make sure

但是在印度，水常常是被汙染的。

that the water we drink is safe.

所以我父母必須確保

However, I soon realized

我們喝的水是安全的。

that not everyone is fortunate enough

然而我很快就意識到

to enjoy the clean water we did.

不是每個人都像我們一樣幸運，

Outside my grandparents' house in the busy streets of India,

能喝到乾淨的水。

I saw people standing in long lines

我看到在我祖父母的房子外，

under the hot sun

在印度的大街小巷裡，

filling buckets with water from a tap.

人們在大太陽下排著長隊，

I even saw children,

從水龍頭往桶裡接水。

who looked the same age as me,

我甚至看到

filling up these clear plastic bottles

一些看起來和我一樣大的孩子，

with dirty water from streams on the roadside.

裝滿整塑膠瓶

Watching these kids

路邊小河裡的髒水。

forced to drink water

我看到這些孩子

that I felt was too dirty to touch

不得不喝

changed my perspective on the world.

我連碰都覺得髒的水，

This unacceptable social injustice

我的世界觀因此改變了。

compelled me to want to find a solution

這種令人不能接受的社會不公義

to our world's clean water problem.

促使我想要找到

I wanted to know why these kids lacked water,

解決世界淨水問題的方法。

a substance that is essential for life.

我想要知道為什麼這些 孩子如此缺水，

And I learned that we are facing

它可是生命的必需品。

a global water crisis.

我發現我們正面臨著

Now, this may seem surprising,

全球水源危機。

as 75 percent of our planet is covered in water,

這可能令你驚訝，

but only 2.5 percent of that is freshwater,

因為地球表面的 75% 都是水，

and less than one percent of Earth's freshwater supply

但是只有 2.5% 是淡水，

is available for human consumption.

而淡水中只有不到 1%，

With rising populations,

可以供人類使用。

industrial development and economic growth,

隨著人口的增長，

our demand for clean water is increasing,

工業和經濟的發展，

yet our freshwater resources are rapidly depleting.

我們對乾淨水的需求越來越大，

According to the World Health Organization,

但我們的淡水資源正被迅速地消耗。

660 million people in our world

根據世界衛生組織的數據，

lack access to a clean water source.

世界上有 6 億 6 千萬人

Lack of access to clean water is a leading cause of death

缺少淨水資源。

in children under the age of five in developing countries,

缺少淨水資源是發展中國家

and UNICEF estimates that 3,000 children

五歲以下兒童死亡的主要原因。

die every day from a water-related disease.

聯合國兒童基金會估計

So after returning home one summer in eighth grade,

每天有 3000 名兒童死於 與水有關的疾病。

I decided that I wanted to combine my passion

所以國中二年級的夏天 我回家的時候，

for solving the global water crisis

我決定要把

with my interest in science.

我對解決全球水源危機的熱情，

So I decided that the best thing to do

與我對科學的興趣結合起來。

would be to convert my garage into a laboratory.

於是我決定

(Laughter)

把我的車庫改裝成實驗室。

Actually, at first I converted my kitchen into a laboratory,

（笑聲）

but my parents didn't really approve and kicked me out.

其實最開始我把家裡 廚房改成了實驗室，

I also read a lot of journal papers on water-related research,

但我父母並不贊成，把我趕出去了。

and I learned that currently in developing countries,

我還讀了許多 關於水研究的學術論文，

something called solar disinfection,

我了解到現在在發展中國家，

or SODIS, is used to purify water.

一種叫太陽能消毒，

In SODIS, clear plastic bottles are filled with contaminated water

又叫陽光殺菌法的方法 被用來淨化水。

and then exposed to sunlight for six to eight hours.

陽光殺菌法就是把裝著汙水的塑料瓶

The UV radiation from the sun

放在陽光下曬 6 到 8 小時。

destroys the DNA of these harmful pathogens

太陽的紫外線

and decontaminates the water.

能夠破壞有害病原體的 DNA，

Now, while SODIS is really easy to use and energy-efficient,

從而淨水。

as it only uses solar energy,

儘管陽光殺菌法很好用，

it's really slow,

又因僅僅利用太陽能而節省能源，

as it can take up to two days when it's cloudy.

這方法實在太慢了，

So in order to make the SODIS process faster,

因為陰天的時候就要花兩天，

this new method called photocatalysis

所以為了加快陽光消毒法的進程，

has recently been used.

一項名為光催化法的技術

So what exactly is this photocatalysis?

最近開始興起。

Let's break it down:

光催化法到底是什麼呢？

"photo" means from the sun,

我來解釋一下：

and a catalyst is something that speeds up a reaction.

「光」指從太陽來，

So what photocatalysis is doing

催化劑是一種能使反應加速的物質。

is it's just speeding up this solar disinfection process.

所以光催化法

When sunlight comes in and strikes a photocatalyst,

就是加速太陽能消毒的過程。

like TiO2, or titanium dioxide,

當陽光照射到光催化劑，

it creates these really reactive oxygen species,

例如氧化鈦，或二氧化鈦，

like superoxides, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals.

會產生活性很強的氧化物，

These reactive oxygen species

比如超氧化物、過氧化氫和羥基。

are able to remove bacteria and organics

這些活性氧類

and a whole lot of contaminants from drinking water.

可以消滅細菌和有機物

But unfortunately, there are several disadvantages

以及很多飲用水中的汙染物。

to the way photocatalytic SODIS is currently deployed.

但不幸的是， 目前光催化太陽能消毒法

See, what they do is they take the clear plastic bottles

比方說，現在大家的做法是，

and they coat the inside with this photocatalytic coating.

把乾淨塑膠瓶的內壁塗上光催化劑。

But photocatalysts like titanium dioxide

但是像二氧化鈦一類的光催化劑，

are actually commonly used in sunscreens

其實常被用於防曬霜上

to block UV radiation.

以抵擋紫外線。

So when they're coated on the inside of these bottles,

所以當瓶子的內壁被塗滿二氧化鈦，

they're actually blocking some of the UV radiation

它們實際上就阻擋了一些紫外線，

and diminishing the efficiency of the process.

而淨水的效率也就變低了。

Also, these photocatalytic coatings

並且這些光催化劑塗層

are not tightly bound to the plastic bottle,

不是與塑膠瓶密不可分，

which means they wash off, and people end up drinking the catalyst.

這就意味著它們會被洗掉， 而人們會喝掉一些催化劑。

While TiO2 is safe and inert,

儘管二氧化鈦對人體無害，

it's really inefficient if you keep drinking the catalyst,

這還是會導致淨水效率低下，

because then you have to continue to replenish it,

因為催化劑被喝掉後， 總是需要補充。

even after a few uses.

因此我的目標就是克服

So my goal was to overcome the disadvantages

目前淨水方法的缺陷，

of these current treatment methods

發明一種安全、永續、

and create a safe, sustainable,

成本效益高、環保的淨水方法。

cost-effective and eco-friendly method of purifying water.

本來只是我國中二年級科展計畫，

What started off as an eighth grade science fair project

現在變成我水源淨化的 光催化複合配方。

is now my photocatalytic composite for water purification.

這個複合物包含二氧化鈦和水泥。

The composite combines titanium dioxide with cement.

水泥使化合物可以塑形，

The cement-like composite can be formed into several different shapes,

這就使運用方法很靈活。

which results in an extremely versatile range of deployment methods.

例如，可以做成桿狀，

For example, you could create a rod

很容易放在瓶子裡供個人使用，

that can easily be placed inside water bottles for individual use

或者用多孔過濾網為家庭濾水。

or you could create a porous filter that can filter water for families.

你甚至可以把水箱內壁塗上催化劑，

You can even coat the inside of an existing water tank

在較長的時間內

to purify larger amounts of water

為整個社區淨化大量水。

for communities over a longer period of time.

在整個過程中，

Now, over the course of this,

我的工作並不簡單。

my journey hasn't really been easy.

我沒有精密的實驗室，

You know, I didn't have access to a sophisticated laboratory.

我當時只有 14 歲，

I was 14 years old when I started,

但我沒有讓年齡成為

but I didn't let my age deter me

我的興趣和科研追求的阻力。

in my interest in pursuing scientific research

我希望解決全球水資源危機。

and wanting to solve the global water crisis.

水不只是通用的溶劑，

See, water isn't just the universal solvent.

水是通用的人權。

Water is a universal human right.

正因如此，

And for that reason,

我繼續著 2012 年科展項目，

I'm continuing to work on this science fair project from 2012

把它們從實驗室帶入現實世界。

to bring it from the laboratory into the real world.

這個夏天，我成立了 「世界水的催化劑」，

And this summer, I founded Catalyst for World Water,

一個致力於催化全球水源危機 解決方案的社會企業。

a social enterprise aimed at catalyzing solutions to the global water crisis.

（掌聲）

(Applause)

一滴水不能做什麼，

Alone, a single drop of water can't do much,

但當許多滴水匯於一處，

but when many drops come together,

就可以供養地球上的生命。

they can sustain life on our planet.

就像水滴匯成大海，

Just as water drops come together to form oceans,

我相信我們必須合力

I believe that we all must come together

來解決這個全球問題。

when tackling this global problem.

謝謝。

Thank you.

（掌聲）

(Applause)

謝謝。

Thank you.

（掌聲）

(Applause)