Balloonist Bertrand Piccard flew around the world in 1999. He stated today in his talk that the next time he goes he will make sure he completes the journey without consuming any fossil fuels. This determination is the reason he promotes Solar Impulse, which intends to design a one-seat, long-range solar plane. And here’s the Twitter reaction to this intrepid goal:

Bertrand Piccard – Building a plane to fly around the world on solar power. Fantastic goal to motivate people to reduce energy use. — bwdumars

Tim brown of IDEO explains that great design begins with the human not the technological. Bertand Piccard is going where no one has gone… — erwinmcmanus

Latter-day Lindbergh, Bertrand Piccard, plans to fly around the world in a solar-powered aircraft with 64 m wingspan. — DesignObserver

Bertrand Piccard – Wonder if his childhood ambition was “Professional Balloonist?” (He’s called a “solar adventurer“) — ruthannharnisch

wooooow, another great highlight: Bertrand Piccard, fan-tas-tic talk — vangeest

You can see the feedback as it roles in by searching for the #TED hashtag.

Photo: Bertrand Piccard at TEDGlobal 2009, Session 9: “Revealing energy,” July 23, 2009, in Oxford, UK. Credit: TED / James Duncan Davidson