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Stories for "environment"

Culture

Red Hook still hurting after Hurricane Sandy: A diaryRed Hook still hurting after Hurricane Sandy: A diary

Posted By Thaniya Keereepart

New York is slowly but surely coming back to life after being battered by Hurricane Sandy. Nearly all of Manhattan has electricity, and subway lines are being restored. But not every area of the city is faring so well. As The New York Times noted on Saturday, many of the city’s public housing facilities — […]

Business

Put a value on nature! Pavan Sukhdev on TED.com

Posted By Emily McManus

Every day, we use materials from the earth without thinking, for free. But what if we had to pay for their true value: would it make us more careful about what we use and what we waste? Think of Pavan Sukhdev as nature’s banker — assessing the value of the Earth’s assets. Eye-opening charts will […]

art

Flesh-eating mushrooms: Fellows Friday with Jae Rhim LeeFlesh-eating mushrooms: Fellows Friday with Jae Rhim Lee

Posted By Karen Eng

Artist Jae Rhim Lee (watch her TED Talk) is asking us to rethink our relationship with death and the planet — with the help of flesh-eating mushrooms, she’s making human decomposition clean and green. You’re an artist and designer primarily concerned with how our bodies interact with the world. I’m concerned with finding alternatives that […]

Business

Freeing energy from the grid: Justin Hall-Tipping on TED.com

Posted By Ben Lillie

What would happen if we could generate power from our windowpanes? In this moving talk, entrepreneur Justin Hall-Tipping shows the materials that could make that possible, and how questioning our notion of ‘normal’ can lead to extraordinary breakthroughs. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 12:45.) Watch Justin Hall-Tipping’s talk on TED.com, where […]

art

The art of wearable communication: Kate Hartman on TED.com

Posted By Ben Lillie

Artist Kate Hartman uses wearable electronics to explore how we communicate, with ourselves and with the world. In this quirky and thought-proviking talk she shows the “Talk To Yourself Hat”, the “Inflatable Heart”, the “Glacier Embracing Suit”, and other unexpected devices. (Recorded at TED 2011, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 9:06.) Watch Kate Hartman’s talk on TED.com, […]

environment

Happy birthday, Sylvia Earle!

Posted By Tedstaff

“As the ocean gives us life, we must give back — an enduring gift from us to the future.” — Sylvia Earle Today we celebrate 2009 TED Prize winner Sylvia Earle‘s birthday by celebrating the many successes in ocean protection that took place in 2011. Sylvia recently told us the good news: “[This year there […]

biology

Are we filtering the wrong microbes? Jessica Green on TED.com

Posted By Ben Lillie

Should we keep the outdoors out of hospitals? Ecologist and TED Fellow Jessica Green has found that mechanical ventilation does get rid of many types of microbes, but the wrong kinds: the ones left in the hospital are much more likely to be pathogens. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 5:25.) Watch […]

environment

Are mushrooms the new plastic?: Eben Bayer on TED.com

Posted By Matthew Trost

Product designer Eben Bayer reveals his recipe for a new, fungus-based packaging material that protects fragile stuff like furniture, plasma screens — and the environment. (Recorded at TEDGlobal, July 2010 in Oxford, England. Duration: 9:05) Watch Eben Bayer’s talk on TED.com where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks […]

environment

Aerial photos of the oil slick

Posted By Matthew Trost

James Duncan Davidson, TED’s conference photographer, is among a crew of five photographers and videographers reporting on the Gulf of Mexico for the TEDxOilSpill Expedition. His photos, taken aboard a plane above the Deepwater Horizon accident site, reveal the staggering extent of the oil slick. See the full photo set >> Burning oil on the […]

environment

TEDx organizers tackle the Gulf oil spill

Posted By Matthew Trost

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may already be the worst environmental disaster the United States has ever faced — and with the severed riser pipe at the ocean floor still gushing tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day, it’s undoubtedly one whose effects will carry forward for many […]

biology

Q&A with Chef Dan Barber: Can organic farming feed the world?

Posted By June Cohen

At TED2010, Chef Dan Barber drew a standing ovation with his unlikely love story about fish: sustainably farmed, outrageously delicious fish, which offers a model for the future of food production. A key figure in the farm-to-table movement, Dan occupies an unusual space as chef-scholar: His op/eds appear regularly in The New York Times and […]

environment

How I fell in love with a fish: Dan Barber on TED.com

Posted By Matthew Trost

Chef Dan Barber squares off with a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu. With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles his pursuit of a sustainable fish he could love, and the foodie’s honeymoon he’s enjoyed since discovering an outrageously delicious fish raised using a revolutionary farming method in […]

environment

The real danger lurking in the water: Romulus Whitaker on TED.com

Posted By Shanna Carpenter

The gharial and king cobra are two of India’s most iconic reptiles, and they’re endangered because of polluted waterways. Conservationist Romulus Whitaker shows rare footage of these magnificent animals and urges us to save the rivers that sustain their lives and our own. (Recorded at TEDIndia, November 2009, Mysore, India. Duration: 17:19) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/535W […]

environment

The ancient ingenuity of water-harvesting: Anupam Mishra on TED.com

Posted By Shanna Carpenter

With wisdom and wit, Anupam Mishra talks about the amazing feats of engineering built centuries ago by the people of India’s Golden Desert to harvest water. These structures are still used today — and are often superior to modern water megaprojects.(Recorded at TEDIndia, November 2009, Mysore, India. Duration: 17:14) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/216V Watch Anupam Mishra’s […]