TED Talks
How synthetic biology can improve our health, food and materials | Emily Leproust
What if we could use biology to restore our balance with nature without giving up modern creature comforts? Advocating for a new kind of environmentalism, scientist and entrepreneur Emily Leproust rethinks modern sustainability at the...
TED-Ed
Why good ideas get trapped in the valley of death -- and how to rescue them | TED-Ed
All new products must pass through the "valley of death" before they reach the market. Many never make it out, and sometimes that's OK -- if they don't work, don't fill a need or for any number of reasons. One of the fields where this...
TED Talks
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson: A love story for the coral reef crisis
Over the course of hundreds of scuba dives, marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson fell in love -- with a fish. In this ode to parrotfish, she shares five reasons why these creatures are simply amazing (from their ability to poop white...
TED Talks
TED: The ancient, earth-friendly wisdom of Mongolian nomads | Khulan Batkhuyag
There's a lot we can learn from Mongolian nomads about how to survive in the years to come, says environmental activist Khulan Batkhuyag. Taking us on a journey through the country's stunning rural landscape, she shows how Mongolian...
TED Talks
TED: How small countries can make a big impact on climate change | Nicola Sturgeon
When it comes to tackling climate change, the size of a country doesn't matter -- it's their ambition that counts, says First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon. In a rousing talk, she shares examples of small nations -- from Bhutan...
TED Talks
TED: The joy of taking out the trash | Aparna Nancherla
Comedian Aparna Nancherla loves to take out the trash. In this funny and sharp meditation on garbage -- "the stuff that our modern, consumerist, carbon-powered culture makes us buy endlessly, and often for no reason" -- she shares...
TED Talks
TED: A new way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere | Jennifer Wilcox
Our planet has a carbon problem -- if we don't start removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, we'll grow hotter, faster. Chemical engineer Jennifer Wilcox previews some amazing technology to scrub carbon from the air, using chemical...
TED Talks
TED: This decade calls for Earthshots to repair our planet | Prince William
We start this new decade knowing that it is the most consequential period in history, says Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's "Moonshot," he calls on us all to rise to our greatest challenge...
TED Talks
Alice Bows-Larkin: Climate change is happening. Here's how we adapt
Imagine the hottest day you've ever experienced. Now imagine it's six, 10 or 12 degrees hotter. According to climate researcher Alice Bows-Larkin, that's the type of future in store for us if we don't significantly cut our greenhouse gas...
TED Talks
TED: 4 ways we can avoid a catastrophic drought | David Sedlak
As the world's climate patterns continue to shift unpredictably, places where drinking water was once abundant may soon find reservoirs dry and groundwater aquifers depleted. In this talk, civil and environmental engineer David Sedlak...
TED Talks
Doris Kim Sung: Metal that breathes
Modern buildings with floor-to-ceiling windows give spectacular views, but they require a lot of energy to cool. Doris Kim Sung works with thermo-bimetals, smart materials that act more like human skin, dynamically and responsively, and...
Crash Course
Sustainable Cities: Crash Course Geography
From towering skyscrapers covered in trees to zero carbon smart cities, there are so many ways to imagine what a sustainable city of the future might look like. But what does it really mean to be sustainable anyway? Today, we’re going to...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The ingredient in almost everything you eat | Francesca Bot
Soybeans have been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years, and have since spread across the globe. Today, soy is in so many foods that most people consume it every day without even knowing it. So, what makes soybeans so versatile? And...
TED Talks
Aziza Chaouni: How I brought a river, and my city, back to life
The Fez River winds through the medina of Fez, Morocco—a mazelike medieval city that's a World Heritage site. Once considered the "soul" of this celebrated city, the river succumbed to sewage and pollution, and in the 1950s was covered...
TED-Ed
Meet the bluefin tuna, the toughest fish in the sea | Grantly Galland and Raiana McKinney
What's as big as a polar bear, swallows its prey whole, and swims at forty miles an hour? It's not a shark or a killer whale... it's the Atlantic bluefin tuna— the largest and longest-lived of the 15 tuna species. Its unique set of...
TED Talks
TED: A flavorful field guide to foraging | Alexis Nikole Nelson
Whether it's dandelions blooming in your backyard or purslane sprouting from the sidewalk, vegan forager Alexis Nikole Nelson is on a mission to show how freely growing flora could make its way to your plate. With contagious enthusiasm...
TED Talks
Al Gore: What comes after An Inconvenient Truth?
At TED2009, Al Gore presents updated slides from around the globe to make the case that worrying climate trends are even worse than scientists predicted, and to make clear his stance on "clean coal."
TED Talks
TED: How we could make carbon-negative concrete | Tom Schuler
Concrete is all around us: we use it to build our roads, buildings, bridges and much more. Yet over the last 2,000 years, the art of mixing cement and using it to bind concrete hasn't changed very much -- and it remains one of the...
TED Talks
TED: The business benefits of doing good | Wendy Woods
The only way we're going to make substantial progress on the challenging problems of our time is for business to drive the solutions, says social impact strategist Wendy Woods. In a data-packed talk, Woods shares a fresh way to assess...
TED Talks
TED: An interactive map to track (and end) pollution in China | Ma Jun
China has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2060 -- and its citizens are helping industries across the country reach that goal. Environmentalist Ma Jun introduces the Blue Map, an app that empowers people to report pollution violations in...
TED Talks
TED: 3 creative ways to fix fashion's waste problem | Amit Kalra
What happens to the clothes we don't buy? You might think that last season's coats, trousers and turtlenecks end up being put to use, but most of it (nearly 13 million tons each year in the united States alone) ends up in landfills....
TED Talks
TED: The future of the food ecosystem -- and the power of your plate | Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli
Many people across the world don't have access to healthy food -- while in other places tons of food go to waste. Social entrepreneur Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli thinks we can take bold steps to fix this problem. She lays out what it would...
TED Talks
TED: How India could pull off the world's most ambitious energy transition | Varun Sivaram
India has a historic opportunity to power its industrialization with clean energy -- and its energy choices will make or break the world's fight against climate change, says clean energy executive, physicist and author Varun Sivaram....
TED Talks
TED: The case for fish farming | Mike Velings
We're headed towards a global food crisis: Nearly 3 billion people depend on the ocean for food, and at our current rate we already take more fish from the ocean than it can naturally replace. In this fact-packed, eye-opening talk,...