Josh Giegel: Super speed, magnetic levitation and the vision behind the hyperloop | TED

What if your hour-long commute was reduced to just minutes? That's the promise of the hyperloop: a transit system designed around a pod that zooms through a vacuum-sealed space (roughly the size of a subway tunnel) at hyper-speed, powered by next-generation batteries and state-of-the-art magnetic levitation. In the visionary talk, Josh Giegel, the hyperloop's...

1h

Chibeze Ezekiel: A vision for sustainable energy in Africa | TED Countdown

Africa needs new energy sources to fuel its development, but the continent should invest in renewable energy instead of cheap, polluting alternatives like coal, says climate inclusion activist Chibeze Ezekiel. He tells the story of how he worked with local communities in Ghana to halt the construction of the country's first coal power plant -- and encouraged...

1d

Naima Penniman: "Being Human" | TED Countdown

In this stunning spoken-word performance, poet and "freedom-forging futurist" Naima Penniman celebrates the wonders of the natural world and humanity's connection to it. "I wonder if the sun debates dawn some mornings," she says. Countdown is TED's global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal: to build a better future...

2d

Children of Palau: Leave only footprints that will wash away | TED Countdown

The people of Palau -- a pristine ocean state made up of more than 300 islands in the western Pacific -- warmly welcome travelers to their home every year. But the guests don't always know how to protect the country's beautiful beaches and coral atolls. Enter the Palau Pledge: an environmental pledge that's now part of visitors' visas, where they promise...

3d

Gavin McCormick: Tracking the whole world's carbon emissions -- with satellites & AI | TED Countdown

What we know today about global greenhouse gas emissions is mostly self-reported by countries, and those numbers (sometimes tallied manually on paper!) are often inaccurate and prone to manipulation. If we really want to get serious about fighting climate change, we need a way to track carbon pollution in real-time and identify the worst culprits, says...

5d

Coya Paz Brownrigg: The haunting truth of ghost stories | TED

Ghost stories reveal much more than the ghouls and spirits that haunt them. Settle in for a spooky delight as theater educator Coya Paz Brownrigg lays out three types of bone-chilling tales and exhumes the grave truths they hold about longing, meaning and the cultural value of eerie encounters. Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED...

6d

Karoli Hindriks: Why the passport needs an upgrade | TED

It's time to give paper passports a digital upgrade, says entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks. Looking to Estonia's technology-driven government for inspiration, she envisions a world where immigration is no longer hindered by bureaucracy and needless repetition. Travel with her to a future beyond borders where universal digital passports replace paper ones...

1w

Rebecca Galemba: How employers steal from workers -- and get away with it | TED

When you work, you expect to be paid for it. Except, for millions of Americans employed across a range of industries like restaurants and construction, that's not always the case. Anthropologist Rebecca Galemba explores the multibillion-dollar problem of wage theft and how employers get away with it, highlighting the changes needed for them to pay up...

2w

Hongqiao Liu: Can China achieve its ambitious climate pledges? | TED

In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping pledged that China would both peak its emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 -- a change that will require action at an unheard-of scale and speed. Can the country actually achieve this ambitious vision? In this forward-looking talk, environmental journalist and analyst Hongqiao Liu explores what...

2w

Tzeporah Berman: The bad math of the fossil fuel industry | TED Countdown

We currently have enough fossil fuels to progressively transition off of them, says climate campaigner Tzeporah Berman, but the industry continues to expand oil, gas and coal production and exploration. With searing passion and unflinching nerve, Berman reveals the delusions keeping true progress from being made -- and offers a realistic path forward:...

2w