Connect with us

Nonprofits & Activism

3 strategies for effectively talking about climate change | John Marshall

Take action on climate change at . Which sounds more urgent: “global warming” or “pollution blanket overheating planet”? In this actionable talk, communications strategist John Marshall explains why we need to rethink how we talk about climate change — and offers small but mighty language adjustments to get people to more intuitively understand and care…

Published

on

Take action on climate change at .

Which sounds more urgent: “global warming” or “pollution blanket overheating planet”? In this actionable talk, communications strategist John Marshall explains why we need to rethink how we talk about climate change — and offers small but mighty language adjustments to get people to more intuitively understand and care about this existential threat.

Countdown is TED’s global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal: to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, in the race to a zero-carbon world. Get involved at

Follow Countdown on Twitter:
Follow Countdown on Instagram:
Become a TED Member:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

Transcriber:

I often have this strange thought

that aliens come down to Earth
to check us out.

They beam up a hundred scientists
and they ask them,

“What’s going on on your planet?”

And the aliens quickly learn something:

that all of these scientists
have concluded

that pollution from our industrial
activity is irreversibly heating the earth

in a way that will make it very hard
for us to live here safely.

Then they do the same thing,

but this time they beam up
another 100 people,

and they’re not scientists,
they’re regular people like us.

They could count on one hand

how many of those people
would even mention climate change.

Two or three dozen of them
may never have even heard the term.

And among the Americans in the group,

only one in four would be highly
concerned about the issue.

The aliens, I think, would be shocked.

“Why don’t people know
what’s happening or how bad it is?

Someone should tell them!”

The absurdity of the situation
is so clear and so real.

What we have here
is a failure to communicate.

My job is to educate people
about climate change.

So I look at the concepts, the messages,
the images and the terms,

and I test them with millions of people.

I’d like to tell you what I’m learning.

For so many people,

climate change seems abstract,
distant, too big to imagine.

The words we often use to describe it —

emissions, CO2, methane,
net zero, anthropogenic —

are, simply put, confusing.

Not that many people wake up
in the morning and say,

“It’s a great day
for some decarbonisation.”

These words become obstacles
rather than gateways to understanding,

let alone caring.

The way to fix this failure to communicate

is to start not by talking
about the issue,

but to start with people,
to think first about individuals,

the people who have millions
of other things on their mind,

a million worries and challenges
and hopes and aspirations.

Climate change is one of the biggest
threats humanity has ever faced,

and we won’t face it,

not to the degree that’s necessary,

if people don’t care.

The people-first approach
to climate communications

demands three simple things.

The first one is plain,
obvious and universal language.

One thing for sure
people don’t readily get —

carbon emissions, net zero —

are most terms that can be found
in a science book.

And frankly, to the uninitiated,
much of it doesn’t really sound that bad.

“Two degrees warmer in 50 years,”

or it sounds so bad, you can’t even
get your head around it —

“1.2 trillion tons of ice.”

Confusion and hopelessness
are the enemies of understanding.

A good test for language is, what pops
into your head when you hear it.

If you hear a term like “climate change,”
what pops into your head?

Well, for most people,
the answer is “not much.”

The language isn’t vivid.

What we need is vivid language
that everyone gets.

It’s remarkable how many people
actually confuse climate change

with the ozone hole.

More than four in 10 Americans

think the ozone hole
actually causes global warming.

And so many of them remember
and understand

so much about ozone depletion.

Why is that?

Because it’s a hole, it’s a layer.

People can see it,
imagine it, relate to it.

It uses simple metaphor
that’s an instant get.

Here’s a little story
that gets a similar “aha”

for climate change.

Humans have been on Earth
for about 300,000 years,

but we’ve only started polluting like this
in about the last 60.

Our pollution stays in the air
for thousands of years,

creating a thickening blanket
that traps heat in the atmosphere.

That heat causes stronger hurricanes,

bigger fires, more frequent floods

and the extinction
of thousands of species.

But there’s good news.

To stop the pollution blanket,

we just have to stop polluting.

This “pollution blanket” framing
is one of the most effective we’ve tested

at getting people to understand the issue.

It’s visual, it’s vivid,

and when people hear the message,
they become significantly more engaged.

They get it.

There are so many other
regular speak words and concepts

that stick with people.

Instead of “warming,”

try “overheating.”

Instead of “climate,”
talk about “extreme weather.”

When mentioning “clean energy,”

you might say “cheap energy” as well,
as it’s rapidly becoming cheap.

The word “irreversible”
really gets people’s attention,

as the pollution certainly is.

And if you absolutely must talk
about temperature increases

and you live in the US,

heck, use Fahrenheit for goodness sake.

It doubles the severity.

“Nine degrees during your kid’s lifetime”
sounds pretty serious.

“One point five degrees Celsius to meet
the Paris Accord” is pretty ignorable.

This is about going beyond
arcane policy language

into language that we all intuitively get.

That’s the first step: understanding.

But understanding
without relevance is rudderless.

So the second key then

is to make climate feel like something
that matters to you,

to your life, individually and personally.

Nobody has an epiphany
about policy proposals.

Awakenings are personal.

They have local relevance.

They’re about your life and your concerns.

As an example, we presented two messages
to a few thousand people in Florida.

One asked them “to demand that we get
to zero emissions to stop climate change.”

Another simply said, “Stop my flooding.”

The latter message was over four times
more effective in getting their attention.

Local flooding was so much more
relevant than global warming.

What’s needed isn’t better
policy descriptions,

but rather deeper,
more personal connections.

Here’s another example.

We work with a team of remarkable
women climate scientists

to help elevate their voice
as messengers.

They’ve dedicated their careers
to studying the issue,

developing complex computational models
to understand the Arctic processes,

and climbing into planes
to measure nitrogen in wildfire smoke.

They could tell you everything
you need to know about the science,

but what we asked them about
was why they study it.

And they told us about their
daughters and their sons,

about wanting to keep the world
safe and healthy and vibrant

for their children.

And when we shared these personal
stories with other parents,

they started to care far more deeply
about climate change

than they did from staring at charts
of global temperatures.

People see a parent
who’s dedicated their life

to creating a better world
for their child.

Every parent can relate to that.

It matters to me.

The right messages are those that connect
climate change to personal identity.

Our life — not future lives,

not the world — our community,

not necessarily
environmentalism — our values,

and not just children — our child.

Finally, the third key
to the climate communications puzzle

to show that climate change
is an issue for people like me:

Humans are social animals,

and that’s true for how
we form our beliefs, too.

You can present the exact same
message to many people,

but when it comes from someone
with a similar accent or background,

we see double-digit increases
in message effectiveness.

Here’s an unexpected messenger
who really lands the point.

A guy we call Florida man.

He’s a resident of North Florida
who got into a little trouble with the law

after taking an alligator
into a convenience store

when he was on a beer run.

Not exactly the most obvious
climate change messenger

yet when he appeared in an internet ad
describing in his own way

how he’s worried about his way of life,

it significantly increased climate concern
among young conservative men in Florida.

Most people don’t see themselves
as “environmentalists” per se,

and they see climate change
as an “environmentalist issue.”

But messages that break away
from those narrow identity markers

make the issue relatable.

They give people a reason to care.

So the core idea is that instead
of explaining the issue at people,

it’s essential to bring
people into the issue,

so that they say, “I get it.

It matters to me.

It matters to people like me.”

Then and only then
are we primed to take action.

If the intelligent aliens in my story
were also intelligent at communications,

they would say to us,
“Hey, Earthlings, pay attention,

you’re building up a massive blanket
of pollution that’s overheating your home.

And it’s going to hurt the people
and the things that you love.

You did this and you can fix it.”

We simply have to let our fellow eight
billion inhabitants of our home know

what’s happening.

We have no choice.

And when we do,

we’ll achieve the public will necessary
to take on this colossal

but winnable fight for our future.

Thank you.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
97 Comments

97 Comments

  1. Tychoxi

    May 4, 2021 at 8:31 pm

    Strategy 1: eat the rich

    Strategy 2: destroy capitalism

    Strategy 3: bully the libs

  2. Wolfie Smith

    May 4, 2021 at 8:39 pm

    Human beings pollute the atmosphere.
    The planet regulates it’s own biosphere through means we do not yet fully understand.
    Stop the pollution that kills millions through respiratory disease.
    Leave the planet to look after itself. It has for Billions of Years.

  3. kicka55

    May 4, 2021 at 8:41 pm

    The problem with climate change communication is totally different. The problem is people don’t get it told by scientists, they get it told by business people who want to sell their products. Climate change yadayada.. here buy my electric car to fix it. Climate change became a business model and that’s why nobody takes it seriously. People who used to sell snake oil now sell “sustainable” products for double the price.

  4. Greg Bors

    May 4, 2021 at 8:56 pm

    The best thing for the health of the Earth’s ecosystem would be for the human race to quietly go extinct

  5. Just someone Else

    May 4, 2021 at 9:07 pm

    Nice talk!

  6. CHRIS INVICTUS

    May 4, 2021 at 9:29 pm

    Climate change exist since 4 ever. Why should industrie the reason 4 it. Thats ilogical.

  7. SurfByShootin

    May 4, 2021 at 9:56 pm

    Strange masonic hand gesture in thumbnail

  8. Bru Avanza

    May 4, 2021 at 10:12 pm

    Great talk!

  9. Daniel Reher

    May 4, 2021 at 10:31 pm

    While the topic interests me. But his annoying voice made me tune it out.

  10. TS

    May 4, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    See 2010 Ted Talks CO2 depopulation math with Bill Gates

  11. mac macd

    May 4, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    How about – don’t be a sheep. Have you even asked yourself today, what am I? Where am I? Everything you believe comes from the media – wake uo

    • Rooket6

      May 5, 2021 at 1:13 am

      I agree, don’t be a sheep. Repeat the experiements documented yourself.
      Post the video on YouTube and I’ll give you a like.
      Here’s a good experiment: get two airtight boxes with a thermometer in each and a vacuum and some carbon dioxide. Use the vacuum to dispell some air in one of the boxes. Replace the air with carbon. Put both boxes in the sun for a day or maybe a few. Read the temperatures and tell me which is hotter.

  12. Andy Scallion

    May 4, 2021 at 10:34 pm

    The one thing you can’t agree against is an idea that’s invisible. Ideas from real scientists on both sides of global warming issues. Who do you Believe? I mean if you look at the data the data from floods and hurricanes have been there for years many years. Even with less population.

  13. Lancefer66

    May 4, 2021 at 10:53 pm

    The failure to communicate is quite evident. CNN is on record stating that the COVID scare tactics’ are no longer working and the next big scare will be climate change (for the 30th time in the last half century).

  14. Bobby Brooks

    May 4, 2021 at 10:59 pm

    Full blown shill

  15. CK Gaming

    May 4, 2021 at 11:18 pm

    One volcano exploding is the equivalent of 10 years of USA emissions. So who is the one using actual science? I BELIEVE climate change is important but we change it by development and innovation. Everything needs energy, even electric cars. The electricity comes from somewhere. We need to focus on expanding our ideas not trying to eliminate something that is literally microscopic in the eyes of global warming.

  16. John Smith

    May 4, 2021 at 11:45 pm

    Nah I’m sticking with fossil fuels, thanks

  17. Octopus Prime

    May 4, 2021 at 11:46 pm

    Dinosaurs lived on a lot hotter planet… just saying.

    Cement / concrete production creates most of the CO2.
    China pollutes the most.
    Water vapor is the greatest contributor to holding heat in the atmosphere.

  18. みーゆーパパ

    May 5, 2021 at 12:04 am

    Thanks a lot! Not for world, but for our child. its common words in all countries.

  19. DigitalXrisXross

    May 5, 2021 at 12:09 am

    death destruction decay

    goodtimes.

  20. Pug Nacious

    May 5, 2021 at 12:09 am

    I’m old enought to remember being scared to death by my teachers with Time magazine and the coming Ice Age …. the Global warming … now climate change … Its always been cyclical. It’s all a money grab. Shameful that FEAR must be used to get funding. Just look up where all of the temperature monitoring was installed to get the data. Look up the “hockeystick.” I’m all for taking care of mother earth. But she is pretty resilient. Next thing we know Fear mongering will cause people to want experimental Mrna genetic modification shots! Data points are real, interpretation can be biased. Look up the 97% consensus … its not true.

  21. Justin Hopkins

    May 5, 2021 at 12:32 am

    It’s effectively impossible to talk about climate change when the anti-intellectual right demonizes experts in favor of scientifically illiterate quacks and conspiracy theorists.

  22. Remy Lebeau

    May 5, 2021 at 12:33 am

    You should start with the truth instead of your lies and fearmongering.

  23. Russ B

    May 5, 2021 at 1:01 am

    Humans emit roughly 6 Gts of CO2 whereas forests sequester around 100 Gts. Man has reduced forests by 50% over the last 100 years so by my calculation we have added roughly 50Gts extra CO2 per year to the atmosphere. Besides that, the reality is the biggest cause of CO2 is having children. The “science” says that having a child results in much more CO2 than driving cars, burning fossil fuels, etc. The fact is that no matter what we do with regards to cutting our emissions, this will be offset by population growth.

  24. jmuld1

    May 5, 2021 at 3:06 am

    No evidence just more opinion.

    • Gareth Michell

      May 5, 2021 at 9:22 am

      His point is not provide evidence. The evidence is already there. His point is to provide better ways to convince people to bother taking an interest in the evidence.

  25. Kloko Loko

    May 5, 2021 at 3:28 am

    The reason why we have so much misinformation about climate is because fossil fuel campaign to spread doubt into climate science.

    There is no doubt in is it this warming man made.
    This thing is a undeniable solid fact like is it earth round or is it gravity real.

    Those that want to undermine climate science saw doubt on this thing and we all know why, because fossil fuel money.

  26. Gypsy Nipsy

    May 5, 2021 at 3:32 am

    The US has gone above and beyond the efforts to have the cleanest air.

    • Pete Marvin

      May 5, 2021 at 8:01 am

      This is a joke, right?

  27. Raul C.

    May 5, 2021 at 3:37 am

    One world… Okay, two words:

    Bull S…

    • RL Playz

      May 5, 2021 at 5:23 am

      @Raul C. no i believe in climate change

    • RL Playz

      May 5, 2021 at 5:23 am

      @Raul C.OK = umk

    • Raul C.

      May 5, 2021 at 5:26 am

      @RL Playz I’m glad you agree… 🙂

    • Kloko Loko

      May 5, 2021 at 8:31 pm

      @RL Playz ” i believe in climate change”
      me too, but I *know* that is man made and very fast

    • RL Playz

      May 5, 2021 at 11:59 pm

      @Kloko Loko yes I agree, the reason I posted the original comment is because I thought Raul C didn’t believe in climate change, the comment for me was confusing to understand and I thought he was disagreeing with climate change

  28. Hiker SanDiego

    May 5, 2021 at 4:40 am

    This guy drank the cool aid.

  29. Gee

    May 5, 2021 at 4:48 am

    I’m a communication student and this video really helped me with understanding basic com concepts and learnt alot about climate change.

  30. Steven Farm

    May 5, 2021 at 5:48 am

    What a beta thumbnail

  31. عبدالرحمٰن Abdul Rehman

    May 5, 2021 at 5:50 am

    I talk to people about the weather changes, less rain, crops ripening earlier each year.
    And the last 200 years of industrialization.

    • Pete Marvin

      May 5, 2021 at 8:33 am

      Yeah, make sure you mention the danger to tea and coffee crops, lol. That always gets ears perked up.

    • عبدالرحمٰن Abdul Rehman

      May 5, 2021 at 11:16 am

      @Pete Marvin wheat is more important here

  32. Harsh Karagathara

    May 5, 2021 at 6:27 am

    Brother only talking about the climate change is not enough, also you have to work practical for the environment. Because even a fool can talk about climate change if he has reading skills.

  33. Julia Julsen

    May 5, 2021 at 6:44 am

    So, what was the male climate scientists reason to dedicate their live to science? Did they even bother to ask?

  34. Ashley Gross

    May 5, 2021 at 6:49 am

    I wanna be this guy when I graduate college.

  35. D

    May 5, 2021 at 8:52 am

    I’m too poor to care about climate change

    • Gareth Michell

      May 5, 2021 at 9:17 am

      Caring costs nothing. Understanding and adding your voice costs nothing. You’ll only be poorer when food chains start to fail and prices go up.

    • D

      May 5, 2021 at 10:46 am

      @Gareth Michell bilionares have all the resources to change the world, yet they rather make rockets and go to Mars. I rather see the world fall apart than save it FOR them

    • Gareth Michell

      May 5, 2021 at 10:52 am

      How about saving it for the other 8 billion people, plus all the future people to come? You’d rather destroy the world over bitterness against wealthy people? Come on, even you don’t believe that.

    • D

      May 5, 2021 at 12:06 pm

      @Gareth Michell we can’t keep living like slaves, it’s not a life.

  36. Aaron D

    May 5, 2021 at 10:00 am

    Dude is ignorant.

    The SUN accounts for 95% of ‘climate change’. And he’s misquoting this 100 scientist bs.
    A lie repeated often doesn’t make it a fact.
    Man accentuated climate change is not the issue.
    Oh, and what qualifications does this guy have?

    • Kloko Loko

      May 5, 2021 at 8:20 pm

      Sun is down last 43 years, not much but enough.

  37. Nerby

    May 5, 2021 at 10:21 am

    I dont know if its a lack of info? People know that sugar and smoking is bad but they do it anyway.

  38. kougar7

    May 5, 2021 at 11:23 am

    First time I’ve genuinely heard anyone else make the Fahrenheit conversion… people hear 5C and simply gloss over it, yet 9F sure does get people to stop and blink.

  39. Big Dee

    May 5, 2021 at 12:48 pm

    Self loathing taking place … please step to the side

  40. Pepe Stock is Soaring

    May 5, 2021 at 2:35 pm

    Name ONE person who has died from climate change. Now name the year we all die.

    • rufus pope

      May 5, 2021 at 4:07 pm

      How about all the people who died in texas from the incredibly unseasonal snowstorm that devastated the state for starters?

    • Pepe Stock is Soaring

      May 5, 2021 at 10:57 pm

      @rufus pope that’s weather, not climate change

    • rufus pope

      May 6, 2021 at 1:07 pm

      @Pepe Stock is Soaring you realise climate change influences weather patterns right? This is incredibly basic stuff

    • Pepe Stock is Soaring

      May 6, 2021 at 10:46 pm

      @rufus pope so how on earth do you know that was caused by climate change?

    • rufus pope

      May 7, 2021 at 5:13 pm

      @Pepe Stock is Soaring by this logic you can’t ascribe anything to climate change at all. The rapid changes to the climate as a result of human activity in recent decades have led to more frequent extreme weather patterns

    • richard french

      May 7, 2021 at 6:45 pm

      @rufus pope
      funny, the population has grown by leaps and bounds over recent decades.
      We have recored crop production
      We have record green earth
      and as a matter of PERCENTAGES, less people die now of weather.

      Go back to your hakie sac and gender studies, rufus,

    • rufus pope

      May 9, 2021 at 11:25 am

      @richard french don’t know what any of that has to do with rapid climate change that will only get worse. You need to learn to stay focused on the topic at hand, especially if you want to talk academia

    • richard french

      May 9, 2021 at 1:32 pm

      @rufus pope
      it seems the warmer the earth the more green it is, the more food, the more people.
      so much for your climate change dystopia.

    • rufus pope

      May 10, 2021 at 10:17 am

      @richard french uhhh no that’s not how that works at all. Population change is due to human capacity and capability. A warmer earth will cause rising sea levels, tropical storms and draughts. All of which will cause significant damage to humanity

    • richard french

      May 10, 2021 at 10:23 am

      @rufus pope
      ah, so climate change and a warming earth is :
      Plenty of food.
      A green planet.
      A growing population.

      Sounds horrible

  41. DarkSaruman

    May 5, 2021 at 3:13 pm

    The most important video I’ve seen in a long time!

    • SATISH KUMAR

      May 10, 2021 at 9:09 am

      The Copenhagen summit-2009 on Climate Change and the views expressed by the Microsoft Head Bill Gates in the year 2015 about a Virus and now Covid-19 creates many doubts.

  42. Evelyn Kayla Perriotti

    May 5, 2021 at 4:41 pm

    Forex and crypto currency trading is the must lucrative and profitable investment option anyone can think about. It generated an annual revenue of over $3trillion 2019. With the use of crypto currency in trading, it makes trading lot easier and signals more assessable. INVEST IN BITCOIN NOW, START EARNING TREMENDOUSLY AND WITHDRAW YOUR PROFITS EVERY 24HRS

  43. Wanda Zúñiga

    May 5, 2021 at 5:12 pm

    This was simply precise and concise

  44. wojciech strzelecki

    May 5, 2021 at 5:47 pm

    Nice propaganda bro…

  45. Maped M

    May 5, 2021 at 9:04 pm

    Too fast. This is impossible to translate the ideas at this speed to people that need to hear them.

  46. Laura

    May 5, 2021 at 9:34 pm

    We were taught this in primary school back in my day, i can’t believe some people in America haven’t even HEARD of it????

    • They're Distorting Your Rhythm 130

      May 6, 2021 at 6:38 am

      USA Weather Channel Founder John Coleman Exposed the climate change govt money grab tax over 10 yrs ago

      0 disappeared beach shorelines in every capital city in every country on planet Earth

    • richard french

      May 7, 2021 at 6:29 pm

      I was taught about the coming Ice age, how Nebraska and Iowa would be in permafrost, and NYC would be uninhabitable by 2010

  47. Ratatataa

    May 5, 2021 at 11:38 pm

    GUYS UNRELATED BUT BEFORE I AM CNSRED Please search up ‘China’s Master Plan for World Domination Mini Docu’ on utoobe for the sake of yourself and future generations – Cn is up to no good whatsoever, you cannot fathom how ruthless they will be and the regime will be worse than N@xzsiii’s we all in the west will be oppressed and it won’t be the place we know today! It’s not a simple matter of stopping to buy Chnse products/servicesSpitfySnpcht as well… They are getting creative with company mergings etc. and are buying up or putting countries like Africa etc. in debt and basically owning them!! PLEASE PAY HEEED! AND LET’S OPEN OUR EYES BEFORE THE BEAST BECOMES INDESTRUCTIBLE AND OPPPPRESSES US SNOWPIERCER STYLE IN A DECADE OR LESSS!!!!! SPREAD THE WORD AND SHARE ON TWTER ETC EVERYWHERE

  48. MegaSnail1

    May 5, 2021 at 11:40 pm

    Thank you… Your ideas are essential. Be well

  49. 0 0

    May 6, 2021 at 3:59 am

    Less talk, more DO!

  50. 0 0

    May 6, 2021 at 4:00 am

    Not if but When aliens 👽 come they will either want our resources and exterminate us or see how destructive we are with the planet, other living beings, and each other and exterminate us.

  51. Nini Beats

    May 6, 2021 at 6:56 am

    I loved the ending so much, “colossal BUT winnable fight”. Thank you for the information. Let’s inspire some change!

    • richard french

      May 7, 2021 at 6:33 pm

      He doesn’t care about climate or CO2 emissions and I can prove it one paragraph.

  52. mizzukashi

    May 6, 2021 at 9:24 am

    Pretty universally usable. Well done.

  53. TRIBE OF MENTORS

    May 6, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    The most memorable people in your life will be the people who love you when you were not loving yourself ….

    Never give up! More cheers more love ♥

  54. Ron Tailwind

    May 6, 2021 at 4:52 pm

    the problem is that you put a spastic 14 year old to deliver your message. You cannot make people understand if they dont have the mentality to do it. What you need to do, is raise the education level of the society, prioritize science in school rather than sports or the Kardashians. Hammering climate change to the current population will not work

    also if you want to get real. Using aliens as an example means you are dumbing down you message. Everyone know that in the vastness of the the universe, a space traveling alien will not care

  55. Pierre Marais

    May 6, 2021 at 6:29 pm

    Earth has been gradually warming up since the ice age, it’s normal.

  56. Concerned Citizen

    May 6, 2021 at 6:42 pm

    Nice Illuminati hand posture in the thumbnail.

  57. Catherine Dixon

    May 6, 2021 at 10:14 pm

    I go by the science not propaganda like this still.

  58. Andrew Skipsey

    May 7, 2021 at 1:46 am

    Ah yes, because I’m sure the vast majority of humanity which produces next-to-nothing in terms of global emissions will be happy to hear that they too are part of the problem. There’s a very clear group which produces the most emissions, we don’t need to be tailoring messages to the people who aren’t part of the problem.

  59. 姝彤 朱

    May 7, 2021 at 1:30 pm

    Nice video

  60. richard french

    May 7, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    1. Scientists have not concluded pollution is irreversible heating the earth.
    Stopped listening after that, this is made for low IQ humanities majors that just take up space.

    From 1940 to 1980 the earth cooled. Why? because pollution was blocking the sun rays.

    LOL

  61. Sebastian Williams

    May 8, 2021 at 11:00 am

    Well done! It’s really essential to communicate it more and more people.

  62. wavion2

    May 9, 2021 at 12:02 am

    The problems I’ve encountered aren’t with an inability to understand, it’s a refusal to believe. So many people think of it as “liberal propaganda.” Or they might believe it’s happening but refuse to believe we had anything to do with it. “This has happened many times on our planet before.” Which is unfortunately true (just not in such a short period of time).

    • richard french

      May 9, 2021 at 9:00 pm

      I can prove in one paragraph it is liberal propaganda

    • irthiza

      May 11, 2021 at 9:14 am

      @richard french it’s because you’re a snowflake. Travel to costal counties like ours where the climate changes have caused destruction of properties and left us with millions of climate refugees who are moving away from the south to north and causing capacity problems in cities. It’s easier to sit in safety and speculate without experiencing it. Calling climate change a propaganda is same as calling the earth flat, both are the lazy conclusion of a narrow mind which hasn’t experienced much or have the capability of critical thinking.

  63. Bruce Wayne

    May 9, 2021 at 1:49 am

    This needs more viewssssss

  64. Melroy van den Berg

    May 11, 2021 at 12:48 am

    thanks! I will try your tips

  65. irthiza

    May 11, 2021 at 9:24 am

    Actually from an objective viewpoint I’d say there isn’t much danger. If climate change goes out of hand, most of the humanity to go extinct which will severely bring down the Carbon emission and all kind of pollutions. I know by that time global temperature will cross the irreversible threshold but give it a thousand years and the point of equilibrium will shift to even things out. Nature is tougher than we think it is. In the end it is we humans who will get fucked. But judging by how we choose to be a bunch ignorant apes despite knowing and understanding everything, I’d say we deserve it.

  66. Randall Hill

    May 11, 2021 at 6:45 pm

    .Evidence (Antarctic ice core analysis) demonstrates that climate change is due to recurring 100 thousand year cycles. We are nearing the peak of a warming cycle that has not yet reached previous maximum levels … still 2 degrees C colder than previous (when humans were not around) .  That Earth may be warming, therefore, is not surprising. But global temperature has increased less than 1 degree C over the past 50 years.   No evidence exists that human impact on the warming is significant. Resources, instead, should be spent on fixing concentrated pockets of real pollution. Free market enterprise will take care of all else (electric cars, solar panels, etc.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Nonprofits & Activism

From Prison to Purpose Through Wildland Firefighting | Royal Ramey | TED

When wildfires rage in California, incarcerated people are often on the front lines fighting the flames. TED Fellow Royal Ramey was one of them. He shares the story of how doing public service in prison inspired him to cofound the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, a nonprofit helping formerly incarcerated people become wildland firefighters —…

Published

on

When wildfires rage in California, incarcerated people are often on the front lines fighting the flames. TED Fellow Royal Ramey was one of them. He shares the story of how doing public service in prison inspired him to cofound the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, a nonprofit helping formerly incarcerated people become wildland firefighters — and find purpose along the way. (Recorded at TED Fellows Films 2024 on April 16, 2024)

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #wildfire

Continue Reading

Nonprofits & Activism

The Recipe for a Healthy Climate Starts at the Dinner Table | Anthony Myint | TED

Why aren’t restaurants part of the climate solution? This question inspired chef Anthony Myint to go from opening buzzy pop-ups to pushing for a shift to regenerative farming practices in the food system. He explains how it didn’t go the way he expected at first — and how restaurants are now teaming up with farmers…

Published

on

Why aren’t restaurants part of the climate solution? This question inspired chef Anthony Myint to go from opening buzzy pop-ups to pushing for a shift to regenerative farming practices in the food system. He explains how it didn’t go the way he expected at first — and how restaurants are now teaming up with farmers and eaters alike to restore the climate while serving up delicious food. (Recorded at TED Countdown 2024 Dilemma Series on June 6, 2024 )

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #food

Continue Reading

Nonprofits & Activism

To End Extreme Poverty, Give Cash — Not Advice | Rory Stewart | TED

Are traditional philanthropy efforts actually taking money from the poor? Former UK Member of Parliament Rory Stewart breaks down why many global development projects waste money on programs that don’t work. He advocates for a radical reversal rooted in evidence: giving unconditional cash transfers directly to those in need, a method that could unlock the…

Published

on

Are traditional philanthropy efforts actually taking money from the poor? Former UK Member of Parliament Rory Stewart breaks down why many global development projects waste money on programs that don’t work. He advocates for a radical reversal rooted in evidence: giving unconditional cash transfers directly to those in need, a method that could unlock the secret of addressing extreme poverty worldwide. (Recorded at TED2024 on April 19, 2024)

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #development

Continue Reading

Trending