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  • All
  • Talks 1034
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Talks
1 - 30 of 1034 results

Nic Marks: The Happy Planet Index

Statistician Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation's success by its productivity -- instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. He introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn't have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You might be sur...
https://www.ted.com/talks/nic_marks_the_happy_planet_index

Naoko Ishii: An economic case for protecting the planet

We all share one planet -- we breathe the same air, drink the same water and depend on the same oceans, forests and biodiversity. Economist Naoko Ishii is on a mission to protect these shared resources, known as the global commons, that are vital for our survival. In an eye-opening talk about the wellness of the planet, Ishii outlines four econo...
https://www.ted.com/talks/naoko_ishii_an_economic_case_for_protecting_the_planet

George Monbiot: Can we feed ourselves without devouring the planet?

Farming is the worst thing humanity has ever done to the planet, says journalist George Monbiot. What's more: the global food system could be heading toward collapse. Detailing the technological solutions we need to radically reshape food production -- from lab-grown, protein-rich foods to crops that don't require plowing -- Monbiot shares a fut...
https://www.ted.com/talks/george_monbiot_can_we_feed_ourselves_without_devouring_the_planet

Kathy Hannun: How to heat your home without hurting the planet

Of all the mundane yet astonishing marvels of human ingenuity, knowing what it takes to heat a room to a comfortable temperature is TED Fellow Kathy Hannun's favorite. She takes us on a journey across the planet and under the sea to emphasize the dangers of modern heating, and offers a safer, planet-friendly alternative that taps into the geothe...
https://www.ted.com/talks/kathy_hannun_how_to_heat_your_home_without_hurting_the_planet

Liam Young: Planet City -- a sci-fi vision of an astonishing regenerative future

Get transported on a stunningly rendered, sci-fi safari through Planet City: an imaginary metropolis of 10 billion people, from the brain of director and architect Liam Young. Explore the potential outcomes of an urban space designed to house the entire population of the earth -- and imagine answers to what is possible, and what is sustainable, ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/liam_young_planet_city_a_sci_fi_vision_of_an_astonishing_regenerative_future

Caitlin Doughty: A burial practice that nourishes the planet

Here's a question we all have to answer sooner or later: What do you want to happen to your body when you die? Funeral director Caitlin Doughty explores new ways to prepare us for inevitable mortality. In this thoughtful talk, learn more about ideas for burial (like "recomposting" and "conservation burial") that return our bodies back to the ear...
https://www.ted.com/talks/caitlin_doughty_a_burial_practice_that_nourishes_the_planet

Sue Natali: How ancient Arctic carbon threatens everyone on the planet

What will happen to the planet if climate change melts what's left of Arctic permafrost? Shedding light on this overlooked threat, Arctic geologist Sue Natali reveals the true danger of heating up the iciest place on the planet: the release of ancient carbon that will dramatically worsen our climate problems. In this urgent talk, she introduces ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/sue_natali_how_ancient_arctic_carbon_threatens_everyone_on_the_planet

IN-Q: A poet's plea to save our planet

Spoken word artist IN-Q poetically captures the urgency of climate change in his original spoken word poem, "Movie Stars." He urges us to take ownership of the Earth and the damage we've committed, and ends with a call to action: "One little dot is all that we've got," says IN-Q. "We just forgot that none of it's ours; we just forgot that all of...
https://www.ted.com/talks/in_q_a_poet_s_plea_to_save_our_planet

Karin Öberg: The galactic recipe for a living planet

Did you know that one of the most notorious poisons is also a key ingredient for life as we know it? Join space chemist Karin Öberg and learn how she scans the universe in search of this paradoxical chemical using ALMA, the world's largest radio telescope, to detect hotbeds of molecular activity and the formation of life-sustaining planets.
https://www.ted.com/talks/karin_oberg_the_galactic_recipe_for_a_living_planet

Dave Brain: What a planet needs to sustain life

"Venus is too hot, Mars is too cold, and Earth is just right," says planetary scientist Dave Brain. But why? In this pleasantly humorous talk, Brain explores the fascinating science behind what it takes for a planet to host life -- and why humanity may just be in the right place at the right time when it comes to the timeline of life-sustaining ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/dave_brain_what_a_planet_needs_to_sustain_life

Dean Ornish: The killer American diet that's sweeping the planet

Forget the latest disease in the news: Cardiovascular disease kills more people than everything else combined -- and it’s mostly preventable. Dr. Dean Ornish explains how changing our eating habits can save lives.
https://www.ted.com/talks/dean_ornish_the_killer_american_diet_that_s_sweeping_the_planet

Lorin Swint Matthews: The dust bunnies that built our planet

Consider the spot where you're sitting. Travel backwards in time and it might've been submerged at the bottom of a shallow sea, buried under miles of rock or floating through a molten landscape. But go back about 4.6 billion years, and you'd be in the middle of an enormous cloud of dust and gas orbiting a newborn star. What exactly is this cosmi...
https://www.ted.com/talks/lorin_swint_matthews_the_dust_bunnies_that_built_our_planet

Rachel Kyte: Sustainable cooling that doesn't warm the planet

"The way we cool things down is heating the planet even more," says sustainable development expert Rachel Kyte -- and the solutions go well beyond just fixing air-conditioning. She identifies four major areas with transformative solutions -- from roofs painted with bright white paint to solar control glass to more efficient cold chains for vacci...
https://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_kyte_sustainable_cooling_that_doesn_t_warm_the_planet

Chris Fisher: Let's scan the whole planet with LiDAR

We have archives of films, newspapers, even seeds -- what if we could make one for the entire surface of the earth? Drawing on his experience mapping an ancient city in the Honduran jungle, archaeologist Chris Fisher makes the case for scanning the whole planet with LiDAR -- a technology that uses lasers shot from an airplane to map the ground -...
https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_fisher_let_s_scan_the_whole_planet_with_lidar

Penny Chisholm: The tiny creature that secretly powers the planet

Oceanographer Penny Chisholm introduces us to an amazing little being: Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthetic species on the planet. A marine microbe that has existed for millions of years, Prochlorococcus wasn't discovered until the mid-1980s -- but its ancient genetic code may hold clues to how we can reduce our dependence on fossil...
https://www.ted.com/talks/penny_chisholm_the_tiny_creature_that_secretly_powers_the_planet

Markus Mutz: How supply chain transparency can help the planet

Given the option, few would choose to buy products that harm the earth -- yet it's nearly impossible to know how most consumer goods are made or where they're sourced from. That's about to change, says supply chain innovator Markus Mutz. He shares how he used blockchain technology to track Patagonian toothfish on their journey from ocean to dinn...
https://www.ted.com/talks/markus_mutz_how_supply_chain_transparency_can_help_the_planet

Mike Brown: The search for our solar system's ninth planet

Could the strange orbits of small, distant objects in our solar system lead us to a big discovery? Planetary astronomer Mike Brown proposes the existence of a new, giant planet lurking in the far reaches of our solar system -- and shows us how traces of its presence might already be staring us in the face.
https://www.ted.com/talks/mike_brown_the_search_for_our_solar_system_s_ninth_planet

Chris Fisher: Why we should archive everything on the planet

The climate crisis could destroy our entire cultural and ecological heritage in a matter of decades – how can we document everything before it disappears? Archaeologist Chris Fisher explains how we could scan the surface of the Earth, not just as a record for future generations, but as a tool to fight climate change.
https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_fisher_why_we_should_archive_everything_on_the_planet

Valérie Courtois: How Indigenous guardians protect the planet and humanity

"If we take care of the land, the land takes care of us," says Indigenous leader Valérie Courtois. As climate change continues to devastate the planet, Indigenous guardians are helping to honor our responsibility to the land, monitoring water quality, conducting research and working to restore key species. Courtois invites us all to support the ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/valerie_courtois_how_indigenous_guardians_protect_the_planet_and_humanity

James Orsulak: Why we need to move manufacturing off-planet

All our manufacturing currently takes place on Earth and, as a result, all its harmful byproducts and wasteful processes end up wreaking Earthbound havoc. In this forward-thinking talk, James Orsulak argues that the fix is to move manufacturing operations off-planet, using automated labor to mine resources and perform all those ecosystem-destabi...
https://www.ted.com/talks/james_orsulak_why_we_need_to_move_manufacturing_off_planet

Jane Goodall: Every day you live, you impact the planet

Legendary primatologist Jane Goodall says that humanity's survival depends on conservation of the natural world. In conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, she tells the story of her formative days working with chimpanzees, how she transformed from a revered naturalist into a dedicated activist and how she's empowering communities around t...
https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_goodall_every_day_you_live_you_impact_the_planet

Lucianne Walkowicz: Let's not use Mars as a backup planet

Stellar astronomer and TED Senior Fellow Lucianne Walkowicz works on NASA's Kepler mission, searching for places in the universe that could support life. So it's worth a listen when she asks us to think carefully about Mars. In this short talk, she suggests that we stop dreaming of Mars as a place that we'll eventually move to when we've messed ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/lucianne_walkowicz_let_s_not_use_mars_as_a_backup_planet

Lucianne Walkowicz: Finding planets around other stars

How do we find planets -- even habitable planets -- around other stars? By looking for tiny dimming as a planet passes in front of its sun, TED Fellow Lucianne Walkowicz and the Kepler mission have found some 1,200 potential new planetary systems. With new techniques, they may even find ones with the right conditions for life.
https://www.ted.com/talks/lucianne_walkowicz_finding_planets_around_other_stars

Johan Rockström: 10 years to transform the future of humanity -- or destabilize the planet

"For the first time, we are forced to consider the real risk of destabilizing the entire planet," says climate impact scholar Johan Rockström. In a talk backed by vivid animations of the climate crisis, he shows how nine out of the 15 big biophysical systems that regulate the climate -- from the permafrost of Siberia to the great forests of the ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/johan_rockstrom_10_years_to_transform_the_future_of_humanity_or_destabilize_the_planet

Jamie C. Beard: The untapped energy source that could power the planet

Deep beneath your feet is a molten ball of energy the same temperature as the surface of the sun -- an immense clean energy source that could power the world thousands of times over, says technologist and climate activist Jamie C. Beard. How do we tap it? She lays out a surprising solution, and an unlikely alliance, to harvest geothermal energy ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_c_beard_the_untapped_energy_source_that_could_power_the_planet

Prince William: This decade calls for Earthshots to repair our planet

"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 ever: the "Earthshot." A set of ambitious objectives for the planet, the Earthshot goals seek to protect and r...
https://www.ted.com/talks/prince_william_this_decade_calls_for_earthshots_to_repair_our_planet

Emma Schachner: The secret weapon that let dinosaurs take over the planet

We've all heard the theories on why the dinosaurs died -- but how did they come to dominate the earth for so long in the first place? (Hint: it has nothing to do with their size, speed, spikes or fantastic feathers.) Travel back in time to 200 million years before their extinction with paleontologist Emma Schachner for a breath of fresh air on d...
https://www.ted.com/talks/emma_schachner_the_secret_weapon_that_let_dinosaurs_take_over_the_planet

James Green: 3 moons and a planet that could have alien life

Is there life beyond Earth? Join NASA's director of planetary science James Green for a survey of the places in our solar system that are most likely to harbor alien life.
https://www.ted.com/talks/james_green_3_moons_and_a_planet_that_could_have_alien_life

Betül Kaçar: We could kick-start life on another planet. Should we?

"Life makes our planet an incredibly exotic place compared to the rest of the known universe," says astrobiologist Betül Kaçar, whose research uses statistics and mathematical models to simulate ancient environments and gather insights into the origins of existence. In this fascinating talk, she explores how a deeper understanding of chemistry c...
https://www.ted.com/talks/betul_kacar_we_could_kick_start_life_on_another_planet_should_we

Carlos M. Duarte: The unexpected, underwater plant fighting climate change

Once considered the ugly duckling of environmental conservation, seagrass is emerging as a powerful tool for climate action. From drawing down carbon to filtering plastic pollution, marine scientist Carlos M. Duarte details the incredible things this oceanic hero does for our planet -- and shows ingenious ways he and his team are protecting and ...
https://www.ted.com/talks/carlos_m_duarte_the_unexpected_underwater_plant_fighting_climate_change
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