Themes A Greener Future?

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The environmental debate has traditionally been characterized as a conflict between economic progress and preservation of the planet. Most TED speakers, however, insist that we can have both -- provided we're smart about it.

Al Gore, the world's leading voice on the climate crisis, argues that the simple steps we might take to avert disaster would also fuel the economy. Architect William McDonough shows how the power of great design -- working on entire systems rather than local components -- can foster an abundant, sustainable future. And Majora Carter discusses her work to bring green spaces to the blighted South Bronx.

Edward Burtynsky's eerily pretty photographs of environmental damage and economic development document humanity's ever-expanding footprint. And biologist E.O. Wilson shares his grandest wish -- that the human community band together to save life on Earth.

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Discuss this theme: A Greener Future?

  • Bilderberg Club – May 6 2008

    All Planets are warming at this time. Our club only wishes to deceive so that we can do what we do best. That is, extort from you; the common man.
    In the meantime we need to suppress all instances or talks of cheap and free energy, in places such as:
    http://Overunity.com
    http://jnaudin.free.fr
    http://www.hydropowercar.com
    Thank You Mr. Gore - You have served us well - but soon we will have the planet - you are no longer needed.

  • Ralph Loveland – April 27 2008

    The sooner Al Gore is excluded from the debate, the sooner there can be a rationale discussion on climate change, along with what can... and cannot... be done about it. The man has lost all credibiltiy, and has besmirched genuine scientific research and understanding.

  • barry cole – April 7 2008

    Algae: The New Oil
    www.nationalalgaeassociation.com

  • Megan Dunne – April 6 2008

    hmmm, i'm not so much for veganism myself Roci. i was a vegetarian for 11 years, that was now 8 years ago. My body functions so much better with the protein from meat, in particular red. I don't over eat meat but my body needs it.
    I think smoking is much more damaging to individuals - themselves and others - and to the environment, our air, our waterways, landfill etc. I think there are other things we can do that can have a greater impact without taking away something like meat, and not even just meat, vegan's a whole other level. Didn't our earliest men and women eat meat?

  • Joshua Fang – March 31 2008

    I like Climate change stuff

  • Andrew O'Connor – October 22 2007

    When will we see a presentation discussing some of the Israeli innovations that are so monumental in their scope, enabling entire coal factories to run on 0% emissions?

  • Beverly Macy – September 29 2007

    I'm adding my contribution to the green discussion with an article I wrote that was recently printed in California Green Solutions
    http://www.californiagreensolutions.com/cgi-bin/gt/tpl.h,content=1059

  • Roci Chevali – September 13 2007

    Please have Michael Jacobson, Ph.D. (Book; Six Arguments for a Greener Diet) to give a speach. Howard F. Lyman (book; No more Bull) should be included as one of your speakers.

    If we are indeed serious in helping the Earth and humans we need to promote veganism (and family planning). By doing it you prevent soil pollution, air pollution, water pollution, greenhouse gases (methane) land degradation, excess use of resources, etc. Do you know that methane from cattle produces 19% of the greenhouse gases? Also, through veganism we are promoting compassion, a quality so needed in our world. Take a look at www.goveg.com Thanks.

  • Frederick Schuchardt – September 7 2007

    Bridgeway Research has invented a revolutionary, patent-pending, Kinetic Battery that consists of a mass magnifier or synthetic mass generator which has the effect of increasing the effective weight of a flywheel by a factor of 100 to 1000 without increasing its real mass. This advanced, innovative energy storage device is similar to a flywheel. The system can also provide energy storage for conventional machines or for smaller micro-technology or nanotechnology type devices.

    Our mission is to make a major breakthrough in electrical power management and help the U.S. make tangible, near-term achievements in reducing our nation's increasing dependence on foreign sources of petroleum and natural gas, and thereby enhancing national energy independence, while also reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are produced by our growing energy consumption.

    Our breakthrough non-chemical energy storage technology will facilitate national energy independence and a solution for environmental conservation and energy consumption.

    For more information please email me: fhs@bridgewayresearch.com

  • Willem Cronenberg – August 24 2007

    With mine invention we save a lot of oil and a lot of oldoil. join me : http://www.nomoreoilchange.eu Email me if you are interested:willy@nooitmeerolieverversen.eu

  • Robert Bruce – August 18 2007

    CO2 is probably in worryingly short supply at the moment.

    Junk science, the green industry movement and media attention have got the facts nicely screwed up in what I think is a determined effort to put the scaries into us humans so that we begin to support the new emerging 'green' industries and help line the fatcats pockets.

    Isn't it time for Al Gore to get onstage with his people and debate with the opposing camp?

  • Bruce Bell – June 23 2007

    "The twentieth century is not going to be remembered for its wars or its technological innovations, but rather as the era in which we stood by - neither actively endorsed nor passively accepted--the massive destruction of both biological and cultural diversity on the planet... You know genocide as the physical extinction of a people is universally condemned, but ethnocide- the destruction of a people's way of life - is not only not condemned, it's universally in many quarters celebrated as part of a development strategy... In the end then it comes down to a choice: do we really want to live in a monochromatic world full of monotony or do we want to embrace a polychromatic world of diversity." Briliant.

  • James Lee – June 14 2007

    Carbon Dioxide is not a Pollutant
    Global Warming. Car Emission. Fossil fuel. All link to Carbon Dioxide and is seen as a pollutant to the world. I stand to strongly disagree and because it is not a pollutant, I believe there is actually even a bigger need to conserve our fossil fuels that can easily be converted to Carbon Dioxide.

    We only see Carbon Dioxide being a pollutant is because our global cycle is on its warming stage. We are currently afraid of the polar ice caps melting, the lakes, rivers, tropical rain forests disappearing and the sea level rising. Due to this reason though, I believe we have actually made a discovery and not a pollutant.

    The known effects of carbon dioxide have brought to our attention that we need to immediately minimize our use of it. Our current reasoning to that is the stop the earth from overheating or minimize its effect, but I feel that we are forgetting something.

    As we know that Earth has its cycles, there is going to be a time when the Earth stops heating up and start cooling. Maybe when the time comes, fossil fuel or the know how to make CO2 can actually be a life saver.

    I am not well educated enough to answer this question for myself. Most likely this is not even a valid question but I would like to get some feedback, and if I am not rejected right away, I really challenge someone to go deeper into this topic.

  • Mark Whitaker – April 28 2007

    I discuss several of this TED Talk's themes here:

    http://biostate.blogspot.com/2007/04/development-unincorporated-ethnobotany.html