TED Talks
TED: The sweet future of vertical farming | Hiroki Koga
Can strawberries grown inside a building taste sweeter than those grown in a field? Farming entrepreneur Hiroki Koga explores how his team is combining solar-powered vertical farms with AI, robotics and indoor bee colonies to grow...
TED Talks
TED: Climate action is on the cusp of exponential growth | Simon Stiell
Climate action is speeding up -- and we each have the power to push that transformation forward. As the head of the UNFCCC, the UN's entity supporting the global response to climate change, Simon Stiell points to clear social and...
TED Talks
TED: How to supercharge renewables and energize the world | Rebecca Collyer
The power sector generates the electricity that sustains modern life -- but it's also the number one contributor to climate change. We need a swift and equitable shift to renewable energy, says 2023 Audacious Project grantee and...
TED Talks
TED: How wireless energy from space could power everything | Ali Hajimiri
Modern life runs on wireless technology. What if the energy powering our devices could also be transmitted without wires? Electrical engineer Ali Hajimiri explains the principles behind wireless energy transfer and shares his far-out...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Are solar panels worth it? | Shannon Odell
Today in many countries solar is the cheapest form of energy to produce. Millions of homes are equipped with rooftop solar, with most units paying for themselves in their first seven to 12 years and then generating further savings. So,...
TED Talks
TED: A faster way to get to a clean energy future | Ramez Naam
When it comes to cost, clean energy is bound to beat out fossil fuels, says technologist Ramez Naam. But the hesitancy to build amid the prevalence of "not in my backyard" campaigns is preventing the creation of our sustainable future....
TED Talks
TED: The clean energy hub of the future | Rebekah Shirley
Why aren't more people investing in Africa's green energy? Environmental researcher Rebekah Shirley outlines the continent's immense potential for renewable power and calls for collaborative international investment -- and partnership --...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why don't we cover the desert with solar panels? | Dan Kwartler
Stretching over roughly nine million square kilometers and with sands reaching temperatures of up to 80° Celsius, the Sahara Desert receives about 22 million terawatt hours of energy from the Sun every year. That's well over 100 times...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why aren't we only using solar power? - Alexandros George Charalambides
Solar power is cheaper and more sustainable than our current coal-fueled power plants, so why haven't we made the switch? The real culprits here are the clouds, which make solar power difficult to control. Alexandros George Charalambides...
TED Talks
Amory Lovins: A 40-year plan for energy
In this intimate talk filmed at TED's offices, energy innovator Amory Lovins shows how to get the US off oil and coal by 2050, $5 trillion cheaper, with no Act of Congress, led by business for profit. The key is integrating all four...
TED-Ed
How much electricity does it take to power the world? | TED-Ed
All around the world, millions of people are flipping a switch, plugging in, and pressing an 'on' button every second. So how much electricity does humanity use? And how much will we need in the future? Discover how much energy it takes...
TED Talks
Rose M. Mutiso: How to bring affordable, sustainable electricity to Africa
Energy poverty, or the lack of access to electricity and other basic energy services, affects nearly two-thirds of Sub-Saharan Africa. As the region's population continues to increase, so will the need to build a new energy system to...
TED Talks
TED: The tiny creature that secretly powers the planet | Penny Chisholm
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...
TED Talks
Bilal Bomani: Plant fuels that could power a jet
Algae plus salt water equals ... fuel? At TEDxNASA@SiliconValley, Bilal Bomani reveals a self-sustaining ecosystem that produces biofuels -- without wasting arable land or fresh water.
TED Talks
TED: Forget Wi-Fi. Meet the new Li-Fi Internet | Harald Haas
What if we could use existing technologies to provide Internet access to the more than 4 billion people living in places where the infrastructure can't support it? using off-the-shelf LeDs and solar cells, Harald Haas and his team have...
TED Talks
TED: How we can make energy more affordable for low-income families | DeAndrea Salvador
Every month, millions of Americans face an impossible choice: pay for energy to power their homes, or pay for basic needs like food and medicine. TED Fellow DeAndrea Salvador is working to reduce energy costs so that no one has to make...
TED Talks
Paul MacCready: Nature vs. humans
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...
TED Talks
TED: The inside story of the Paris climate agreement | Christiana Figueres
What would you do if your job was to save the planet? When Christiana Figueres was tapped by the uN to lead the Paris climate conference (COP 21) in December 2015, she reacted the way many people would: she thought it would be impossible...
TED Talks
Paul Gilding: The Earth is full
Have we used up all our resources? Have we filled up all the livable space on Earth? Paul Gilding suggests we have, and the possibility of devastating consequences, in a talk that's equal parts terrifying and, oddly, hopeful.
TED Talks
TED: Would you live in a floating city in the sky? | Toma_s Saraceno
In a mind-bending talk that blurs the line between science and art, Tomas Saraceno exhibits a series of air-inspired sculptures and installations designed to usher in a new era of sustainability, the "Aerocene." From giant, cloud-like...
TED Talks
Jonathan Trent: Energy from floating algae pods
Call it "fuel without fossils": Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. Hear his team's bold vision for Project OMEGA (Offshore Membrane...
TED Talks
Paul MacCready: A flight on solar wings
Paul MacCready -- aircraft designer, environmentalist, and lifelong lover of flight -- talks about his long career.
TED Talks
Majd Mashharawi: How I'm making bricks out of ashes and rubble in Gaza
Majd Mashharawi was walking through her war-torn neighborhood in Gaza when an idea flashed in her mind: What if she could take the rubble and transform it into building materials? See how she designed a brick made out of ashes that's...
TED-Ed
How much land does it take to power the world? | TED-Ed
No matter how we make electricity, it takes up space. Coal requires mines, and plants to convert it into electricity. Nuclear power takes uranium mines, facilities to refine it, a reactor, and a place to store the spent fuel safely....