Be inspired to go out and rediscover the wonders of the natural world with these talks that will give you a deeper understanding of where the wild things grow.

Island and coastal nations need to protect their waters to keep the oceans healthy. But they often have lots of debt and aren't able to prioritize ocean conservation over other needs. The team at The Nature Conservancy sees a way to solve both problems at once: restructuring a nation's debt in exchange for its government's commitment to protect ...

These exciting innovations and breakthroughs demonstrate what's possible when humans draw inspiration from some of nature’s best work.

Get back to nature with these talks from the wilder side of life.

In 1998, aircraft designer Paul MacCready looks at a planet on which humans have utterly dominated nature, and talks about what we all can do to preserve nature's balance. His contribution: solar planes, superefficient gliders and the electric car.

Nature’s beauty can be fleeting -- but not through Louie Schwartzberg’s lens. His stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, serves as a meditation on being grateful for every day.

Over his decades-long career as a political activist, Ralph Nader has helped expose some of the greatest misdeeds of large corporations. You may be familiar with the real-world changes his work sparked: the Clean Air Act, automobile safety laws, regulation of the tobacco industry and more. Tracing the arc of his time advocating for change, Nader...

What moves Jill Bolte Taylor? "I love talks that contribute to the overall well-being of who we are as humanity -- about how we can explore ourselves as people in relationship with one another and with this beautiful planet."

At TED2012, filmmaker Karen Bass shares some of the astonishing nature footage she's shot for the BBC and National Geographic -- including brand-new, previously unseen footage of the tube-lipped nectar bat, who feeds in a rather unusual way ...

What is nature? Follow the camera's eye to many stunning places on the planet -- from the African veldt to the Amazon rainforest to the teeming world under the Arctic ice.

Every day, we use materials from the earth without thinking, for free. But what if we had to pay for their true value: would it make us more careful about what we use and what we waste? Think of Pavan Sukhdev as nature's banker -- assessing the value of the Earth's assets. Eye-opening charts will make you think differently about the cost of air,...

Bring plants inside, outside and to your community with these talks all about the power of gardening and nourishing the nature around us.

Designer Ross Lovegrove expounds his philosophy of "fat-free" design and offers insight into several of his extraordinary products, including the Ty Nant water bottle and the Go chair.

Inspired by Nordic folklore, artists Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen collaborate with local elders -- farmers, fishermen, cosmologists and more -- to create richly imaginative portraits that explore humanity's connection to nature. Discover their serendipitous artistic practice as they share a selection of fantastical imagery where nature and ...

Celebrate nature and Earth's biodiversity with these action-driven ideas that will inspire you to protect the climate for the generations to come.

Inspired by an abalone shell, Angela Belcher programs viruses to make elegant nanoscale structures that humans can use. Selecting for high-performing genes through directed evolution, she's produced viruses that can construct powerful new batteries, clean hydrogen fuels and record-breaking solar cells. In her talk, she shows us how it's done.

Here's how the surfboard changed our relationship to water, according to fuseproject founder Yves Béhar.

Gary Greenberg is a photographer, biomedical researcher and inventor intent on giving us all a view of the microscopic wonders all around us.

In his native South Africa, Boyd Varty builds wildlife corridors to restore the environment and literacy centers to restore the human spirit.

Anand Varma's photos tell the story behind the science on everything from primate behavior and hummingbird biomechanics to amphibian disease and forest ecology.

Dedicated to increasing awareness about Northern Indian Ocean blue whales, Asha de Vos is also committed to inspiring the next generation of marine biologists.

Steven Pinker's book The Blank Slate argues that all humans are born with some innate traits. Here, Pinker talks about his thesis, and why some people found it incredibly upsetting.

A skyscraper that channels the breeze ... a building that creates community around a hearth ... Jeanne Gang uses architecture to build relationships. In this engaging tour of her work, Gang invites us into buildings large and small, from a surprising local community center to a landmark Chicago skyscraper. "Through architecture, we can do much m...

Taking cues from soft robotics and the natural world, conceptual artist Anicka Yi builds lighter-than-air machines that roam and react like autonomous life forms. Her floating "aerobes" inspire us to think about new ways of living with machines -- and to ponder how they could evolve into living creatures. "What if our machines could be more than...

Plants, animals, or minerals found in nature bear almost every color imaginable. There are two factors that influence what hues you see in the wild: physics and evolution. So, which colors are you least likely to see in the natural world? Victoria Hwang explores one of nature's rarest spectacles. [Directed by Tamara Bogovac, Artrake Studio, narr...

From glue alternatives inspired by gecko's feet to factories that produce a net benefit to the environment, Interface's VP and chief sustainability officer Erin Meezan explains how we can look to nature to learn how to make business more sustainable. Detailing the innovative solutions this fresh approach has unlocked for her company, she invites...

We need to care for and live in harmony with the environment, says climate and gender activist Ernestine Leikeki Sevidzem. The best way to do that? Nurture a forest generation: one that learns to protect nature. Sevidzem shares how she's educating both children and adults in her native Cameroon on what it means to love and preserve the Earth -- ...

Florida-based photographer Mac Stone specializes in documenting the Everglades, an area he prizes for its wildlife and flora.

With an eye for nature’s forms and lessons learned from its materials, Jeanne Gang creates iconic environments that stand in curvy relief to blocky urban cityscapes.

From a special black-footed ferret to coral that can withstand warming waters, genetic rescue efforts that use genomics and synthetic biology are helping nature thrive. But despite the huge successes of this kind of intervention, conservation innovator Ryan Phelan points out that fear of unintended consequences often stifles innovation -- riskin...