If you aren’t familiar with TED, it’s a worldwide organization that shares ideas with communities in the form of short, inspiring talks. TED began in 1984, as a conference of technology, entertainment, and design, which evolved into today’s TED.com, which covers an enormous range of topics. I’ve compiled some of my personal favorite talks, that I have found incredibly interesting and inspiring.
The first TED talk I ever saw was by John Francis, the founder of an organization called Planetwalk. In 1971, John witnessed the oil spill in the San Francisco Bay, and felt the need to make a personal commitment for change. He began walking everywhere and refused to use motor vehicles. If that wasn’t enough, he took a vow of silence soon after. He didn’t speak for 17 years. During that time, he became known as the Planetwalker, and accomplished so many incredible feats. He founded the Planetwalk foundation, and also received a B.S. degree from Southern Oregon State College, a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana-Missoula, and a PhD in Land Resources from the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After his 17 years of silence, John assisted in writing oil spill regulations for the United States Coast Guard Oil Pollution Act Staff of 1990. Since then, John has continued to raise awareness for environmental issues, as well as continue his walking pilgrimage across the US. See his inspiring TED talk here.
“Part of the mystery of walking is that the destination is inside us and we really don't know when we arrive until we arrive.” — John Francis
I came across this next talk just a few days ago. Zaria Forman is an artist who uses her amazing talent to create beautiful, extremely lifelike images of arctic scenes – glaciers, icebergs, waves, and waters. She uses her art to connect people to the reality of climate change in an incredibly beautiful way. Zaria’s work is inspired by her trips to remote landscapes with her mother, a fine art photographer. Zaria is from South Natick, Massachusetts, and currently lives in Brooklyn. Her work has been published in National Geographic Magazine and the Smithsonian Magazine. As one of her more noteworthy journeys, Zaria led an expedition in 2012 to document the effects of climate change off the northwest coast of Greenland. It was called Chasing the Light, and followed the American painter, William Bradford’s trip in 1869. Zaria has continued to connect visual arts to the effects of a warming world and raise awareness for these lands that are being greatly affected by climate change. You can check out her website here, and watch her TED talk here.
"My drawings celebrate the beauty of what we all stand to lose. I hope they can serve as records of sublime landscapes in flux." – Zaria Forman
The next TED talk is by one of my personal heroes: Sylvia Earle. For decades, she has been a leading advocate for the ocean conservation and exploration movement, and is also a National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence. She has earned herself several impressive names: Her Deepness by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine. Now, at 80 years old, Sylvia is still an extremely active advocate for our oceans, as much as she ever was. In 2009, she won the TED prize, and is the founder of an organization called Mission Blue. The organization works to raise awareness for the dangers our oceans face, including overfishing, pollution, climate change, and ocean acidification. Mission Blue also works to initiate Hope Spots, which are protected areas of ocean that sustain vibrant marine ecosystems. Currently, less than four percent of the ocean is completely protected, so this network of Hope Spots is working to create a healthier ocean. She is also a former Chief Scientist of NOAA, founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Inc. (DOER), Chair of the Advisory Council of the Harte Research Institute, provided inspiration for the ocean in Google Earth, and is the leader of the NGS Sustainable Seas Expeditions. Not to mention, she has 27 honorary degrees, written over 200 scientific publications, lectures in over 90 countries, and led over 100 underwater expeditions (and has logged over 7,000 hours underwater). In 1970, she led the Tektite Project, which was an expedition of the first team of women aquanauts. In 2012, she set a record for solo diving at 1,000 meters deep. Needless to say, Sylvia Earle is indeed a “Living Legend.” If you are interested in learning more about Sylvia Earle’s life and work, check out the Netflix documentary, Mission Blue, check out the organization’s website here, and watch her amazing TED talk about the urgency to protect our oceans.
“We need to respect the oceans and take care of them as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.” – Sylvia Earle
This next talk by Leyla Acaroglu, a sustainability strategist, inspired me to think about some ‘environmental folklore’ that I hadn’t really considered before. For example, she talks about paper versus plastic. She argues that plastic might be better for the environment because it uses less precious natural resources, and takes up less space in landfills. Surely, the paper must be better for the environment! It’s brown, it biodegrades, and is made of natural materials! Actually, the conditions are so confined and closed off in landfills that paper bags can’t even decompose. I’m definitely not suggesting that plastic is in any way good for the environment - I hate plastic – just that Leyla brings up some interesting points. Another subject she brings up is refrigerators. I had no idea how destructive refrigerators actually are. They have evolved and gotten so much bigger, which encourages more food waste. They use insane amounts of energy, and are a huge culprit for environmental destruction. She also touches on technology waste, which I had no idea was such a problem! Check out her TED talk to hear about more ‘green-myths’ and creating a more sustainable system of consumer products.
This last TED talk is an incredibly powerful talk, especially since it is less than four and a half minutes. Teacher and poet, Clint Smith talks about ‘the danger of silence’ and why we all need to speak up and ‘speak our truths.’ He said something I really liked: “Silence is the residue of fear.” That is so true and powerful because we all have a responsibility to speak up against injustice and take a stand for what we believe in. Watch Clint Smith's talk here.
If you enjoyed any of these talks, I would highly encourage you to visit TED.com and find more talks that are about things that you have an interest in and are passionate about.
