MinuteEarth
The Fastest-Growing Plant In The World
Bamboo is the world’s fastest growing plant thanks to the cell elongation process it shares with all grasses and its unique cell wall layering adaptation, allowing it to shoot up to 100 ft (30m) in just 8 weeks.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Climate change: Earth's giant game of Tetris - Joss Fong
There's a game of Tetris happening on a global scale: The playing space is planet Earth, and all those pesky, stacking blocks represent carbon dioxide -- a greenhouse gas that is piling up ever more rapidly as we burn the fossil fuels...
Bozeman Science
Stratospheric Ozone
In this video Paul Andersen explains how stratospheric ozone protects humans from ultraviolet light. He explains how stratospheric ozone is formed when diatomic oxygen absorbs an ultraviolet photon and is split into two free oxygen...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why wildfires are necessary - Jim Schulz
Our early ancestors relied on lightning to cause forest fires, from which they could collect coals and burning sticks to help them cook food and clear land. Yet, it wasn't just humans who benefited from these natural phenomena. Even as...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: When is water safe to drink? - Mia Nacamulli
Water is refreshing, hydrating, and invaluable to your survival. But clean water remains a precious and often scarce commodity - there are nearly 800 million people who still don't have regular access to it. Why is that? And how can you...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Fresh water scarcity: An introduction to the problem - Christiana Z. Peppard
Fresh water is essential for life -- and there's not nearly enough of it for the world right now. Why is that, and what could we do? Christiana Z. Peppard lays out the big questions of our global water problem. And no, shorter showers...
MinuteEarth
The Best Worst Energy Source
Although coal is such an amazing energy source that we've kept using it despite the harm it causes, today we may be better poised to stop using it than at any previous time in history.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: From the top of the food chain down: Rewilding our world - George Monbiot
Our planet was once populated by megafauna, big top-of-the-food-chain predators that played their part in balancing our ecosystems. When those megafauna disappear, the result is a "trophic cascade," where every part of the ecosystem...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Where did Earth's water come from? - Zachary Metz
Water covers over 70% of the Earth, cycling from the oceans and rivers to the clouds and back again. It even makes up about 60% of our bodies. But in the rest of the solar system, liquid water is almost impossible to find. So how did our...
Bozeman Science
Nuclear Energy
In this video Paul Andersen explains how nuclear energy is released during fission of radioactive uranium. Light water reactors, nuclear waste, and nuclear accidents are also discussed along with the future of nuclear energy.
MinuteEarth
Why Biodiversity Is Good For The Economy
Research suggests that more diverse ecosystems are better for the bottom line.
TED-Ed
TED-ED: Can 100% renewable energy power the world? - Federico Rosei and Renzo Rosei
Every year, the world uses 35 billion barrels of oil. This massive scale of fossil fuel dependence pollutes the earth, and it won't last forever. On the other hand, we have abundant sun, water and wind, which are all renewable energy...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Are we running out of clean water? - Balsher Singh Sidhu
Despite water covering 71% of the planet’s surface, more than half the world’s population endures extreme water scarcity for at least one month a year. Current estimates predict that by 2040, up to 20 more countries could be experiencing...
MinuteEarth
Why Doesn't All Thunder Sound The Same?
We've all experienced thunder, but what ARE all those claps, booms, and rumbles?
TED-Ed
TED-ED: The amazing ways plants defend themselves - Valentin Hammoudi
Plants are constantly under attack. They face threats ranging from microscopic fungi to small herbivores like caterpillars, up to large herbivores like elephants. But plants are ready, with a whole series of internal and external...
Bozeman Science
Solid Waste
In this video Paul Andersen explains the basics of solid waste including trends over time, basic composition, and disposal. A brief description of the three R's (reuse, reduce, and recycle) is included as ways to minimize waste....
MinuteEarth
Why Water Dissolves (Almost) Everything
Water can dissolve more substances than anything else on earth...so why doesn't it dissolve everything away?
Bozeman Science
Loss of Biodiversity
In this video Paul Andersen explains how biodiversity measures the variety of genes, species, and ecosystems on the planet. Biodiversity provides resources and ecosystem services for humans on the planet. He also explains how...
Bozeman Science
Mining
In this video Paul Andersen explains how mining is used to extract valuable minerals from the Earth's crust. Surface and subsurface mining are used to extract ore which is then processed. A discussion of ecosystem impacts and legislation...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The secret language of trees - Camille Defrenne and Suzanne Simard
Learn how trees are able to communicate with each other through a vast root system and symbiotic fungi, called mycorrhizae. -- Most of the forest lives in the shadow of the giants that make up the highest canopy. These are the oldest...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The science of smog - Kim Preshoff
On July 26, 1943, Los Angeles was blanketed by a thick gas that stung people’s eyes and blocked out the Sun. Panicked residents believed their city had been attacked using chemical warfare. But the cloud wasn’t an act of war. It was...
MinuteEarth
MinuteEarth Explains: Cats vs Dogs
In this collection of classic MinuteEarth videos, we learn more about the planet’s two favorite pets.
MinuteEarth
Which Is Worse?
A broken bone might seem worse than a sprain, but you'll get over it much more quickly.
MinuteEarth
The Cruel Irony Of Air Conditioning
The technology we use to keep cool is heating the world in a vicious feedback cycle, so we need to improve it and use it less.