TED Talks
TED: The surprising solution to ocean plastic | David Katz
Can we solve the problem of ocean plastic pollution and end extreme poverty at the same time? That's the ambitious goal of The Plastic Bank: a worldwide chain of stores where everything from school tuition to cooking fuel and more is...
SciShow
How Can We Clean Up the Oceans?
Plastic is a huge problem in the oceans, but engineers and research groups are working on how to deal with it. Hank describes some of the leading proposed solutions.
SciShow
The Greenest Grocery Bag
It seems like a simple question with a straightforward answer, but when you look at the total environmental impact of each type of bag, things start to get a little complicated.
MinuteEarth
Are Plastics Too Strong?
The same chemistry that makes plastic tough, light and flexible also makes it nearly impossible to get rid of, because it’s hard to break those resilient chemical bonds.
SciShow Kids
Happy Earth Day!
Join Jessi and Squeaks as they talk about some things you can do to make the earth a better place!
TED Talks
Mani Vajipey: How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution
India has one of the world's highest rates of plastic recycling, thanks largely to an extensive network of informal recyclers known as "kabadiwalas." Entrepreneur Mani Vajipey discusses his work to organize their massive efforts into a...
Be Smart
How Much Plastic is in the Ocean?
Ocean plastic pollution is a massive environmental problem. Millions of tons of plastic waste enter the ocean every year, even plastic that goes in the trash can often ends up in the sea! This week we learn about the Great Pacific...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Which bag should you use? | Luka Seamus Wright and Imogen Ellen Napper
You've filled up your cart and made it to the front of the grocery line when you're confronted with yet another choice: what kind of bag should you use? It might seem obvious that plastic is bad for the environment, and that a paper bag...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What really happens to the plastic you throw away - Emma Bryce
We've all been told that we should recycle plastic bottles and containers. But what actually happens to the plastic if we just throw it away? Emma Bryce traces the life cycles of three different plastic bottles, shedding light on the...
SciShow
5 Problems With Plastic and How We Can Fix Them | Compilation
Though not everyone is excited about it, plastics are pretty much everywhere. But what problems are they causing and is there anything we can do to solve those problems?
SciShow
I Cant Believe Its Not Wood
We have some good reasons for wanting to make fake wood, but wood is complex and intricate. Can we create a good wood substitute?
SciShow
Why We're So Bad at Recycling Plastic
Plastic is quickly becoming a problem and we're eager to point fingers, but honestly, the reason there's so much plastic everywhere isn't just because of human negligence.
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A brief history of plastic | TED-Ed
For centuries, billiard balls were made of ivory from elephant tusks. But when excessive hunting caused elephant populations to decline, they began to look for alternatives. John Wesley Hyatt took up the challenge. In five years, he...
SciShow
Top 5 Deadliest Substances on Earth
There are natural poisons that lurk in bacteria, plants, and fungi pretty much everywhere, and they're there for good reasons (according to the organisms that produce them) - but what is it about their chemical make up that makes them so...
SciShow
The Truth About Biodegradable Plastic
This week, the truth about “biodegradable plastic,” and new insights into how global warming might eventually make winters colder.
SciShow Kids
Slipping, Sliding Science!
What's better than slipping and sliding in your backyard on a hot summer day? It's so much fun! But, how does this fun happen? It has a little something to do with friction!
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: From DNA to Silly Putty, the diverse world of polymers - Jan Mattingly
You are made of polymers, and so are trees and telephones and toys. A polymer is a long chain of identical molecules (or monomers) with a range of useful properties, like toughness or stretchiness -- and it turns out, we just can't live...
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....
Bozeman Science
Thermal Conductivity
In this video Paul Andersen explains how thermal conductivity measures the ability of material to transfer heat from a hot to a cold object. The thermal conductivity of conductors is high because the heat travels through the delocalized...
SciShow
Your Brain is Plastic
ank explains the gift that your brain gives you every day: the gift of neural plasticity -- the ways in which your brain actually changes at the cellular level as you learn.
Crash Course Kids
Material Magic
Did you know we can actually make diamonds in a lab? It's true! We can! And this is both really good and really cool. In this episode of Crash Course Kids, Sabrina shows us how materials scientists have done just that and why it's so...
Bozeman Science
Electrostatic Induction
In this video Paul Andersen explains how the charge distribution can be affected my electric forces produced by a charged object. In an insulator charges are fixed but in conductors the charges can move. Induction occurs when the charges...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Meet the microbes that could eat your trash | Tierney Thys and Christian Sardet
Each year humanity produces roughly 400 million tons of plastic, 80% of which is discarded as trash. Of that plastic waste, only one-tenth is recycled. 60% gets incinerated or goes into the landfills, and 30% leaks out into the...
TED Talks
TED: The problem with plastics -- and how they're changing the environment | Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez
Plastics are everywhere -- they're in our favorite electronic devices, they package our food and insulate our homes. Today, the total mass of plastic is twice the total mass of all living organisms on the planet, and it's starting to...