TEDBlog June, 2010 Archive
30 June 2010
Highlights from TEDxOilSpill
The WWF’s Darron Collins and team went to the Gulf to document stories missing from oil spill coverage: the daily life of a luckless, out-of-work flatboat captain; baby crabs beset by chemical dispersants; unreported oil spills around the world gushing any given day. (Photo: Kris Krug)
Lisa Margonelli talks about the “political chemistry of the oil industry.” She starts with the chemistry of oil, then widens the aperture to cover global oil reserves and how the relationship consumers have to big oil companies is mediated and tempered by the gas pump. (Photo: Kris Krug)
Jackie Savitz talks up the upsides of alternative energy (the ones big oil doesn’t want to talk about), including both environmental and economic savings. What if, in the early 1900s, “Big Horse” tried to stop cars from taking off? (Photo: Kris Krug)
Andrew Sharpless busts 10 myths about the oil spill. A sharp reality check including this gem: “Why haven’t we seen ocean wind power yet? Because it’s regulated by MMS, the same folks who regulate oil.” (Photo: Pinar Ozger)
Susan Shaw looks at growing evidence that the use of chemical dispersant Corexit may lead to a longer term — and far worse — catastrophe in the Gulf. Starting with coral blight and poisoned plankton, the outlook for the food chain is grim. (Photo: Kris Krug)
John Francis talks about his 17-year, cross-country journey of silence — and our shared responsibility for oil spills. (Photo: Kris Krug)
Ecologist and marine conservationist Carl Safina makes the case that the Gulf oil spill will have hemispheric — not just regional — consequences. An incendiary talk on the spill response’s “comedy of horrors.” (Photo: Kris Krug)
Mike Mendez and team at Sapphire have genetically engineered an algae that can produce fuel. He talks about the science behind the invention and his plans to open an algal bio-reactor by 2012. (Photo: Kris Krug)
“Leroy Stick,” anonymous humorist behind @BPGlobalPR, talks about the most important part of a company’s disaster response: public relations. (Photo: Kris Krug)
29 June 2010
Retrofitting suburbia: Ellen Dunham-Jones on TED.com
Ellen Dunham-Jones fires the starting shot for the next 50 years’ big sustainable design project: retrofitting suburbia. To come: Dying malls rehabilitated, dead “big box” stores re-inhabited, parking lots transformed into thriving wetlands. (Recorded at TEDxAtlanta, January 2010 in Atlanta, GA. Duration: 19:23)
Watch Ellen Dunham-Jones’ talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 700+ TEDTalks.
27 June 2010
TEDTalks turns 4!
Four years ago today, TED flipped the switch on a grand experiment: sharing visionary talks from the TED Conference with the wider world through 18-minute videos. 725 talks, 50 million views, and 8,000+ translations later … we’re thrilled by (and grateful for) the results. Thanks for enjoying, sharing, translating, commenting on and teaching with TEDTalks for the past four years.
It’s been thrilling to watch the community grow around TEDTalks, and spread worldwide via translation and TEDx events and now the TED Open TV Project. And we’re working on even more ways to watch and share TEDTalks. Thanks again for being part of it!
Share your story: How did you discover TEDTalks? Join the conversation on TED’s Facebook page >>
26 June 2010
Update: TED conference registration back online
TED’s conference registration system is back up. If you’re registering for the TEDGlobal 2010 Associates webcast or TEDActive next spring … building your badge for TEDGlobal 2010 … or applying to become TED Fellows — you should be good to go. See any lingering issues? Please email registration@ted.com, and thanks!
25 June 2010
TED registration will be down Saturday, June 26, 2010
A heads-up for those registering for the TEDGlobal 2010 Associates webcast or TEDActive next spring … for people building badges for the upcoming TEDGlobal 2010 … and for people applying to become TED Fellows:
TED’s conference registration system will be completely offline tomorrow, Saturday, June 26, starting at 9am EST, for 24 hours.
We’ll post updates here on the TED Blog. The conference registration system is online now, so if you were planning to register for a webcast or TEDActive, build your conference badge or apply for a fellowship, you’re fine if you do it today or tonight. Otherwise, check back on Sunday.
Any questions? Please email registration@ted.com.
25 June 2010
Fellows Friday with Mohan Kandaswamy
Mohan Kandaswamy commercializes a first-of-its-kind device that cleans aquaculture systems without the use of chemicals. Based in India, Mohan is expanding this technology beyond shrimp and prawn production to conserve endangered species and cleanup wastewater from mining and other industries worldwide.
Can you tell us briefly about the work you do?
I am the founder and director of Oriental Aquamarine Biotech. This is a marine biotech startup and we are working on commercializing the Nitrifying Bioreactor.
Nitrifying Bioreactors are self-sustaining systems that remove ammonia and nitrites created in aquaculture tanks and help maintain reef-quality oligotrophic conditions in the tanks. This leads to the production of higher numbers of higher-quality, larger, organic seeds and fish. The Bioreactors can be used for various aquatic species and for salt-water, fresh-water and brackish water fish species. It can work in any kind of aquaculture system, provided it is closed and doesn’t have other kinds of plant and other matter which can clog the filters.
ABOVE: Exhibiting the Bioreactors at the India International Aqua Show
This technology was developed after 16 years of research, and has applications in both the aquaculture and environmental sector.
Do you have any new developments at Oriental Aquamarine Biotech?
Yes, we have installed three reactors in fully-functional hatcheries. The work carried out so far has been on prawns and shrimps, but we would like to extend the scope of work to include scampi, cobia, seabass, freshwater ornamental fish, marine ornamental fish, and other aquatic species. The use of our technology can help in breeding species that have not been commercially bred in aquaculture systems to date.
We’ve also initiated a new project on conservation of turtles and started a joint project for breeding of seahorse, which is now an endangered species in the country [India].
One of your passions is swimming. Is this connected to your work?
No, I just swim 1,250 meters every day — about 25 lengths of an Olympic-sized pool. And a little bit of SCUBA diving. In some ways SCUBA diving is connected to the work, in terms of collecting species and things like that.
Read more of this interview with Mohan Kandaswamy after the jump >>
25 June 2010
Legos for grownups: Hillel Cooperman on TED.com
Lego blocks: playtime mainstay for industrious kids, obsession for many (ahem!) mature adults. Hillel Cooperman takes us on a trip through the beloved bricks’ colorful, sometimes oddball grownup subculture, featuring CAD, open-source robotics and a little adult behavior. (Recorded at TED University 2010, February 2010 in Long Beach, CA. Duration: 5:50)
Watch Hillel Cooperman’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 700+ TEDTalks.
24 June 2010
TED@Cannes: The report
TED@Cannes speakers Gary Wolf (far left), Hans Rosling, Nicholas Christakis and Stefan Sagmeister. Photo: TED / Robert Leslie
On Monday at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, TED curated a brisk and fascinating look at the future of media and community — TED@Cannes.
The speaker lineup mixed TEDTalks stars and new voices: Hans Rosling, Nicholas Christakis, Stefana Broadbent, Clay Shirky, and Stefan Sagmeister join Wired contributing editor Gary Wolf, Foursquare cofounder Naveen Selvadurai, and musician Bora Yoon. In the audience were 100 Cannes Lions attendees, many new to TED, who joined us on a deep dive into the new world of interconnected media. The event was co-presented by Microsoft and Starcom MediaVest Group, and held in the Microsoft Advertising Experience Center on the lawn of Le Grand Hotel, just across from the beach. Here’s what happened onstage:
Hans Rosling debuted a new talk that combines his amazing stat software, Gapminder, with a groundbreaking analog tool for data display: stacking boxes from Ikea. He used them to show how the word has become divided into four economic categories: those who walk, those who bike, those who drive and those who fly.
Nicholas Christakis talked about his newest research on human networks — asking, how can we use our social networks to make the world a better place?
Musician Bora Yoon created an elegant looping soundscape from spoons, static and her own beautiful voice.
Anthropologist Stefana Broadbent talked about the growing connection between work and home, enabled by digital tools that let us text and talk to our families anytime.
Designer Stefan Sagmeister talked about his quest for happiness — and how our unconscious makes us do things we don’t quite understand.
Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadurai talked about using social data to improve our lives (as in the “gym rat” badge onscreen, which Foursquare users get for going to the gym 10 times).
Wired contributing editor Gary Wolf talked about the rise of personal biometrics and the Quantified Self — the idea that we can gain self-awareness by collecting data about ourselves.
Sociologist Clay Shirky talked about “cognitive surplus,” the subject of his new book. It’s the idea that our spare brain cycles can be used to build something that makes the world a better place, like Wikipedia or Ushahidi. Or something silly like LOLcats.
Meanwhile, backstage, Mel Carson and his team from Microsoft Advertising shot this great video, interviewing speakers and a few other surprises:
24 June 2010
A second opinion on learning disorders: Aditi Shankardass on TED.com
Developmental disorders in children are typically diagnosed by observing behavior, but Aditi Shankardass knew that we should be looking directly at their brains. She explains how a remarkable EEG device has revealed mistaken diagnoses and transformed children’s lives. (Recorded at TEDIndia, November 2009 in Mysore, India. Duration: 7:17)
Watch Aditi Shankardass’ talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 700+ TEDTalks.
23 June 2010
Get tickets for TEDxOilSpill
TEDxOilSpill is open to the public and tickets are available for $50.
The event will take place at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, DC on June 28, 9am-7pm. (Get details here.)
About TEDxOilSpill
TEDxOilSpill will tackle the tough questions raised by the recent and ongoing environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Topics will include mitigation of the spill and the impending cleanup efforts; energy alternatives; policy and economics; as well as new technology that can help us build a self-reliant culture. See who’s speaking.
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