Of zoos and ships and healing plants: Talks from brilliant people
If you’ve never visited TED, you’re missing out on some of the world’s most extraordinary thinkers speaking about some of the globe’s most vexing, perplexing and daunting problems.
TED’s not a who, but a what: a non-profit dedicated to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Launched in 1984, TED (which stands, by the way, for “Technology, Entertainment, Design”) sponsors annual conferences featuring talks by a dizzying array of brilliant thinkers, and presents videos of those talks online at its TEDTalks site.
We could spend days expounding upon our favourite TED speakers, but decided instead to highlight five with a green or cleantech bent:
Michael Pritchard turns filthy water drinkable
An incredible demonstration by engineer Michael Pritchard, who designed the portable Lifesaver water filter after watching in horror the human suffering that followed the deadly Asian tsunami and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Pritchard mixes up a filth- and bacteria-fouled water brew, scoops up a pitcherful, runs it through his filter and drinks the result: clear, pure and sterile water.
Saul Griffith’s kites tap wind energy
Hate the monstrous, bird- and bat-killing wind turbines sprouting up across the landscape in our quest for a renewable alternative to fossil fuels? Perhaps a quiet, drifting kite would be better? Griffith, founder of Makani Power, demonstrates how a high-flying kite can drive a turbine to generate enough energy for numerous households.
Kamal Meattle on how to grow fresh air
New Delhi resident Kamal Meattle suffered from terrible respiratory problems before hitting on an elegant and simple solution: a combination of three common houseplants, arranged in specific numbers and places in the home, that essentially “grow” fresh air. Meattle’s solution helped not only him breathe easier: he puts the same plants to use in his sustainable-design office park.
E.O. Wilson on saving life on Earth
Always brilliant and engaging, biologist E. O. Wilson describes the near-infinite variety of life on Earth — much of it as-yet undiscovered or unnamed — along with the looming, human-caused threat of the next great wave of global extinctions. Given upon accepting his TED Prize in 2007, Wilson’s talk also touches on his efforts to develop an online encyclopedia that covers all the world’s knowledge about life of all kinds.
Capt. Charles Moore on the seas of plastic
If you’ve never heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Charles Moore — founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation — will enlighten you in this talk. Whilst sailing through the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, Moore discovered mile upon mile of garbage and plastic debris, most of it carried there by ocean currents after being thrown away on land.
