TED Talks
Renzo Vitale: What should electric cars sound like?
Electric cars are extremely quiet, offering some welcome silence in our cities. But they also bring new dangers, since they can easily sneak up on unsuspecting pedestrians. What kind of sounds should they make to keep people safe? Get a...
TED Talks
Ray Anderson: The business logic of sustainability
At his carpet company, Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional "take / make / waste" industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable...
TED Talks
TED: A smog vacuum cleaner and other magical city designs | Daan Roosegaarde
Daan Roosegaarde uses technology and creative thinking to produce imaginative, earth-friendly designs. He presents his latest projects -- from a bike path in eindhoven, where he reinterpreted "The Starry Night" to get people thinking...
TED Talks
Andras Forgacs: Leather and meat without killing animals
By 2050, it will take 100 billion land animals to provide the world's population with meat, dairy, eggs and leather goods. Maintaining this herd will take a huge, potentially unsustainable toll on the planet. What if there were a...
TED Talks
Leyla Acaroglu: Paper beats plastic? How to rethink environmental folklore
Most of us want to do the right thing when it comes to the environment. But things aren’t as simple as opting for the paper bag, says sustainability strategist Leyla Acaroglu. A bold call for us to let go of tightly-held green myths and...
TED Talks
TED: The warmth and wisdom of mud buildings | Anna Heringer
There are a lot of resources given by nature for free -- all we need is our sensitivity to see them and our creativity to use them, says architect Anna Heringer. Heringer uses low-tech materials like mud and bamboo to create structures...
TED Talks
Rob Hopkins: Transition to a world without oil
Rob Hopkins reminds us that the oil our world depends on is steadily running out. He proposes a unique solution to this problem -- the Transition response, where we prepare ourselves for life without oil and sacrifice our luxuries to...
TED Talks
TED: The case for engineering our food | Pamela Ronald
* Viewer discretion advised. This video includes discussion of mature topics and may be inappropriate for some audiences. Pamela Ronald studies the genes that make plants more resistant to disease and stress. In an eye-opening talk, she...
TED Talks
Humanity's planet-shaping powers -- and what they mean for the future | Achim Steiner
Humanity now has incredible power to shape nature and the Earth: the power to destroy and the power to repair, says sustainability champion and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. In this action-oriented talk, Steiner shows how this power...
TED Talks
Lucy King: How bees can keep the peace between elephants and humans
Imagine waking in the middle of the night to an elephant ripping the roof from your house in search of food. This is a reality in some communities in Africa where, as wild spaces shrink, people and elephants are competing for space and...
TED Talks
Magnus Larsson: Turning dunes into architecture
Architecture student Magnus Larsson details his bold plan to transform the harsh Sahara desert using bacteria and a surprising construction material: the sand itself.
TED Talks
Morgan Vague: These bacteria eat plastic
Humans produce 300 million tons of new plastic each year -- yet, despite our best efforts, less than 10 percent of it ends up being recycled. Is there a better way to deal with all this waste? Morgan Vague describes her research with...
TED Talks
TED: When I die, recompose me | Katrina Spade
What if our bodies could help grow new life after we die, instead of being embalmed and buried or turned to ash? Join Katrina Spade as she discusses "recomposition" -- a system that uses the natural decomposition process to turn our...
TED Talks
Alex Steffen: The route to a sustainable future
Worldchanging.com founder Alex Steffen argues that reducing humanity’s ecological footprint is incredibly vital now, as the western consumer lifestyle spreads to developing countries.
TED Talks
Lisa Margonelli: The political chemistry of oil
Speaking one month after the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Lisa Margonelli shows how drilling moratoriums and executive ousters make for good theater, but distract us from the issue at heart: our unrestrained oil consumption. She...
TED Talks
TED: The energy Africa needs to develop -- and fight climate change | Rose M. Mutiso
In this perspective-shifting talk, energy researcher Rose M. Mutiso makes the case for prioritizing Africa's needs with what's left of the world's carbon budget, to foster growth and equitably achieve a smaller global carbon footprint.
TED Talks
TED: How to transform apocalypse fatigue into action on global warming | Per espen Stoknes
The biggest obstacle to dealing with climate disruptions lies between your ears, says psychologist and economist Per espen Stokes. He's spent years studying the defenses we use to avoid thinking about the demise of our planet -- and...
TED Talks
TED: The fastest way to slow climate change now | Ilissa Ocko
Cutting methane is the single fastest, most effective opportunity to reduce climate change risks in the near term, says atmospheric scientist Ilissa Ocko. That's because, unlike carbon dioxide, methane's warming power doesn't come from a...
TED Talks
Kelly Wanser: Emergency medicine for our climate fever
As we recklessly warm the planet by pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, some industrial emissions also produce particles that reflect sunshine back into space, putting a check on global warming that we're only starting to...
TED Talks
Rob Harmon: How to keep rivers and streams flowing
With streams and rivers drying up because of over-usage, Rob Harmon talks about a clever market mechanism to bring back the water. Farmers and beer companies find their fates intertwined in the century-old tale of Prickly Pear Creek.
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
Enrique Peñalosa: Why buses represent democracy in action
"An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but rather one where even the rich use public transport," argues Enrique Peñalosa. In this spirited talk, the mayor of Bogotá shares some of the tactics he used to change the...
TED Talks
TED: How I turned a deadly plant into a thriving business | Achenyo Idachaba
The water hyacinth may look like a harmless, even beautiful flowering plant -- but it's actually an invasive aquatic weed that clogs waterways, stopping trade, interrupting schooling and disrupting everyday life. In this scourge, green...
TED Talks
Diébédo Francis Kéré: How to build with clay ... and community
Diébédo Francis Kéré knew exactly what he wanted to do when he got his degree in architecture... He wanted to go home to Gando in Burkina Faso, to help his neighbors reap the benefit of his education. In this charming talk, Kéré shows...