19 April 2009

The week in comments

We're on to our second week of picking our favorite comments from the pile, and it already seems to be getting harder. Your voices are many, and your quips are witty.

Here are the long deliberated choices:

On Shai Agassi's TEDTalk: A bold plan for mass adoption of electric cars:
Brilliant. Persuasive. Visionary. I'm not hoping it will work. I'm actually convinced that it will work. -- Joshua

I am humbled by Shai Agassi and his TEDtalk about his org, Better Place. I share his dream for a network supporting electric car ownership. -- rusharound via Twitter

On the TEDBlog's interview with Shai Agassi:
All electric Nano would be a killer appliance for transportation in India -- Jack via facebook

On JoAnn Kuchera-Morin's TEDTalk: Tour the AlloSphere, a stunning new way to see scientific data:
I have been to the AlloSphere at UCSB and knew the last guy that ran it. He had developed a MIDI Violin using LightWave as his Doctoral Project. One half the AlloSphere is run by Macs and the other half is run by PC's. Left Brain, Right Brain?? -- Jim via facebook

On Matthew Childs' TEDTalk: Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing:
Sounds great! Now we need a TED about 9 ways to thwart a pirate attack! -- Elizabeth via facebook

On our new intro music:
I'm watching Shai Agassi's excellent TED talk, my ears are appreciating the more toned down TED intro theme. -- aramc via Twitter

Thanks for another week of dialog. We'll see you tomorrow with a new TEDTalk and another reason for you to talk.

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13 April 2009

From software exec to electric car revolutionary: Exclusive interview with Shai Agassi

Shai Agassi has a record of accomplishing huge tasks in record time -- from completing his college degree by 18 to founding several successful software companies before 30. In recent years, he has shifted his intense focus to the global problem of climate change.

He discusses his blow-by-blow plan to propagate the electric car in today's TEDTalk. It's a remarkable move for a highly successful young businessman, and in this interview with the TEDBlog he explains how his country and his children, with a little help from TED, pushed him to try to change the world.

Here's an excerpt:

"The first week my wife and I went to Costa Rica, and the second week to my first TED. I was awed and inspired by what I saw on stage. I sat back and watched 50-odd people, and 1,000 others in the crowd, applying themselves to serve humanity. When I came out of that TED, I knew for sure what I had to do. I wanted to be one of those people."

Read the full interview, after the jump >>

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13 April 2009

A bold plan for mass adoption of electric cars: Shai Agassi on TED.com

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. (Recorded at TED2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 18:06.)

Watch Shai Agassi's talk from TED2009 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks -- including more talks about cars.

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06 February 2009

KPCC's Patt Morrison broadcasts from TED

Legendary interviewer Patt Morrison ran a two-hour broadcast from TED today, pulling in a raft of TED speakers and TEDsters, including two of the 2009 TED Prize winners. In four segments, she asked some amazing questions and started up some cross-pollinating discussions: Shai Agassi and Ray Anderson discussing the green revolution; Alex Tabarrok and Robin Williams on economics (Alex's specialty) and jokes (Robin's); Nicholas Negroponte and Yves Behar (shown above during their interview) on design with a mission and the next $100 laptop; and the TED Prize, with Jill Tarter of the SETI Institute and Sylvia Earle, oceanographer.

The broadcast is available as a podcast right here -- look for the February 6 show.

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05 February 2009

Twitter Snapshot: Shai Agassi says electric cars or bust

Shai Agassi gave one of the most powerfully convincing talks at TED2009 on the necessity of the fully electric car. Here are choice attendees' highlights via Twitter:

Shai Agassi "Hybrids are like mermaids. When you want a woman, you get a fish; when you want a fish, you get a woman" -- ashdonaldson

Brilliant - Agassi is talking about separating battery of electric car from the car to lower cost. -- hamids

Agassi: Battery swap stations instead of plugging in. What a great idea for electric cars. -- ghbrett

Shai Agassi has a more convenient, more affordable electric car he wants you to drive. --
ragouri

Forget 20% by 2020. Think in two numbers: 0 and infinity: 0 footprint and scale to infinity - Shai Agassi -- AmyLeaman

Agassi gets a standing O. "If we don't change this, we'll lose our economy right after we lose our morality." -- pjk

Well Shai, you've won TED's support. Next step -- the world.

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