Amory Lovins on winning the oil endgame

In this energizing talk, Amory Lovins lays out his simple plan for weaning the US off oil and revitalizing the economy.

Amory Lovins is cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute and the instigator of ingenious ideas to transform the energy and automobile industries.

Source: TED

Bill Gates on energy: Innovating to zero!

At TED2010, Bill Gates unveils his vision for the world’s energy future, describing the need for “miracles” to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he’s backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The necessary goal? Zero carbon emissions globally by 2050.

A passionate techie and a shrewd businessman, Bill Gates changed the world once, while leading Microsoft to dizzying success. He plans to do it again with his own style of philanthropy and passion for innovation.

Source: TED

E.O. Wilson on saving life on Earth

As E.O. Wilson accepts his 2007 TED Prize, he makes a plea on behalf of all creatures that we learn more about our biosphere — and build a networked encyclopedia of all the world’s knowledge about life.

Biologist E.O. Wilson explores the world of ants and other tiny creatures, and writes movingly about the way all creatures great and small are interdependent.

Source: TED

Al Gore on averting climate crisis

With the same humor and humanity he exuded in An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore spells out 15 ways that individuals can address climate change immediately, from buying a hybrid to inventing a new, hotter “brand name” for global warming.

Once the US Vice President, then star of An Inconvenient Truth, now Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore found a way to focus the world’s attention on climate change. In doing so, he has invented a new medium — the Keynote movie — and reinvented himself.

Source: TED

Amy Smith shares simple, lifesaving design

Fumes from indoor cooking fires kill more than 2 million children a year in the developing world. MIT engineer Amy Smith details an exciting but simple solution: a tool for turning farm waste into clean-burning charcoal.

Amy Smith designs cheap, practical fixes for tough problems in developing countries. Among her many accomplishments, the MIT engineer received a MacArthur “genius” grant in 2004 and was the first woman to win the Lemelson-MIT Prize for turning her ideas into inventions.

Source: TED

Majora Carter’s tale of urban renewal

In an emotionally charged talk, MacArthur-winning activist Majora Carter details her fight for environmental justice in the South Bronx — and shows how minority neighborhoods suffer most from flawed urban policy.

Majora Carter fights for environmental justice in her hometown of New York’s South Bronx. She’s working not just to hold back the polluters who target low-income neighborhoods like hers, but to bring back the green — and create green jobs.

Source: TED

Shai Agassi’s bold plan for electric cars

Forget about the hybrid auto — Shai Agassi says it’s electric cars or bust if we want to impact emissions. His company, Better Place, has a radical plan to take entire countries oil-free by 2020.

Shai Agassi wants to put you behind the wheel of an electric car — but he doesn’t want you to sacrifice convenience (or cash) to do it.

Source: TED

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 commerce.

Ray Anderson’s company makes Flor, the line that made modular carpet tile sexy. But behind the fresh design is a decades-deep commitment to sustainable ways of doing business — culminating in the Mission Zero plan.

Source: TED

Janine Benyus: 12 sustainable design ideas from nature

In this inspiring talk about recent developments in biomimicry, Janine Benyus provides heartening examples of ways in which nature is already influencing the products and systems we build.

A self-proclaimed nature nerd, Janine Benyus is the author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, a book that has galvanized scientists, architects, designers and engineers into exploring new ways in which nature’s successes can inspire humanity.

Source: TED

Alex Steffen: Inspired ideas for 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.

Alex Steffen is cofounder and executive editor of WorldChanging.com, an online clearinghouse of information and inspiration on the environment.

Source: TED

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