When playwright David Finnigan launched a new play in 2014, controversially titled “Kill Climate Deniers,” he was not prepared for the blowback. But the conversations with climate skeptics of all stripes ultimately taught him a fascinating lesson about how many of us think about — and act upon — the climate crisis. (Recorded at TED2024 on April 17, 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
@billbucktube
September 9, 2024 at 10:31 am
There is so much to unpack in the climate change snafu. Carbon dioxide is the BIG BAD that is said to lead to greenhouse effects and raise the earth’s temperature. Looking at archeo-climatology the opposite is observed. When temperature increases CO2 goes up. Not the opposite as illustrated by Al Gore’s hockey stick graph. This is an inconvenient fact! The earth has built in processes that respond to changes. I imagine it would be a surprise that most of our CO2 to oxygen exchange comes from the oceans and algae. If CO2 goes up algae increases, etc. Oh, look glaciers are melting (and they are) and sea levels are rising, NOT! I live in Florida and drive past sea level indicators (docks, beaches) every day and there is no rise. Oh yes, I forgot Obama said elect him and sea levels won’t rise… But let’s stop eating meat and save the planet! By the way, one volcanic eruption emits more CO2, CFCs and more bad stuff than mankind has ever produced, so we need to pass laws to cap volcanos. Come on people, no matter how arrogantly we think we can take charge of the earth we can’t.
@mssultana8343
September 9, 2024 at 11:36 am
Ata kirokom bass😮😮😮
@mssultana8343
September 9, 2024 at 11:36 am
😮😮😅
@danieljackson4511
September 9, 2024 at 11:37 am
nobody denies climate. i deny climate change made by humans
@QuickRevs93
September 9, 2024 at 12:15 pm
That’s why you don’t do the science!
@dardobartoli
September 9, 2024 at 12:27 pm
What’s it feel like to be so clever that you know better than thousands of scientists and specialists who have spent their lives researching this topic and think otherwise?
@bricequinlan8788
September 9, 2024 at 12:27 pm
@@QuickRevs93 how much science have you done? And if you have, who paid for it?
@xter7856
September 9, 2024 at 12:40 pm
@@bricequinlan8788We could turn the question right back at you. Who are you to question how anyone does science?
@TheGamingAddict2000
September 9, 2024 at 1:34 pm
Thats probably because you dont know what milankovic cycles are.
@donaldhobson8873
September 9, 2024 at 12:09 pm
The future will not look like the past, for reasons mostly to do with technology, and climate change being secondary to utterly irrelevant, depending on how advanced the tech gets.
@TheGamingAddict2000
September 9, 2024 at 1:35 pm
This mindset is known as gamblers fallacy
@drewcampbell8555
September 9, 2024 at 2:37 pm
That’s quite a claim. Seems you haven’t grasped how technological and scientific advance depends on social and educational structures and a basis of civilisation, which itself depends, first and foremost, on sustainable ecology. QED your optimism is on very shaky ground – and getting shakier by the day.
@donaldhobson8873
September 9, 2024 at 3:25 pm
@@TheGamingAddict2000 ???
The gamblers fallacy is about misunderstanding dice rolls, seeing pattern in the noise. That isn’t what’s going on here.
@donaldhobson8873
September 9, 2024 at 3:35 pm
@@drewcampbell8555
> a basis of civilisation, which itself depends, first and foremost, on sustainable ecology.
No it doesn’t. The biggest dependence on ecology is food. Which is a fairly small fraction of the economy, especially for rich first world inventors.
Modern intensive farming is not that dependent on ecology. And if your trying to feed people with modern technology, there are bacteria that feed on methane, pipe some natural gas into a tank of them and get an unappetizing but edible sludge. Growing food in a tank is possible and has basically no dependence on ecology at all.
We really aren’t that dependent on the ecology any more.
Long ago, humans had to adapt to the ecology. We are flexible and so managed to survive in all sorts of climactic conditions. But that was clever adaptation. As tech progresses, more and more we are able to brute force the problem.
Also, ecological disasters are going to be pretty slow rolling. Do you expect it to kick in before 2050?
@donaldhobson8873
September 9, 2024 at 12:18 pm
The problem is that climate change exists. But much of the environmental movement is deranged.
Part of the environmental movement seems to get off on telling the most lurid tales of doom and destruction. They aren’t trying to accurately calculate the consequences, they are trying to exaggerate and scare people.
They do things like plastic straw bans and other symbolic gestures.
They dislike nuclear power.
They utterly hate any suggestion of geoengineering.
Half of them talk about “climate justice” and have nutty plans to overthrow capitalism and implement an Eco-communist revolution.
A bunch of them are degrowthers and want to drag humanity back to the dark ages.
Most of their reasoning is vibes based, not data based. Rural living has greener vibes than urban living. But has a higher carbon footprint because people need to drive to get anywhere. Living in skyscrapers is actually more ecofriendly.
@andrewlongo6
September 9, 2024 at 12:27 pm
I’m not sure what to do with this?
@djayjp
September 9, 2024 at 3:17 pm
Go vegan.
@Oscar-xj1xk
September 9, 2024 at 1:31 pm
Audi alteram partem!
Always.
@Belidonne
September 9, 2024 at 2:16 pm
I’m slowly switching over all of my habits to more eco friendly ones. I also plan to build my business in the most eco way possible, even when extremely difficult. Everyone needs to continue their lives and make a living, that is why I vote with my dollar; the most powerful tool that I own in this society.
@djayjp
September 9, 2024 at 3:16 pm
Hopefully that includes going vegan, the single most important effect an individual, ordinary citizen can have.
@jgprice9990
September 12, 2024 at 2:08 pm
@@djayjpIt is impossible to be vegan these days and tbh a lot of the vegan alternatives are not much better for the planet. Like belts, a pure leather belt will last you your life it wont fray or rip… yet a vegan friendly leather free belt is made of laminated plastic fibres which lasts a few months at best… now that belt is sitting in a landfill never biodegrading.
Also look at food, have you seen the amount of artificial crap listed in vegan produced foods? Modified starches, sugars, oils, and its all bad for you.
@hwoonDeurim
September 9, 2024 at 2:26 pm
Very interesting!
@W-H-O
September 9, 2024 at 2:34 pm
My cousin believes that climate change is described in the Bible as the end of the world and sees it as God’s plan, something we cannot prevent. She also homeschools her children to avoid them learning science, preferring to teach them her interpretation of Christianity instead.
@exstncdotcom8692
September 9, 2024 at 2:43 pm
Someone PLEASE provide a succinct summary of the HARD scientific evidence that unequivocally supports human caused disastrous global warming. I have yet to find such a summary. (And so-called “consensus” is NOT hard evidence).
@djayjp
September 9, 2024 at 3:15 pm
Go Vegan if you give a damn… 🌍
@tvuser9529
September 9, 2024 at 3:23 pm
Stop flying if you give a damn. Repair your clothes if you give a damn. Start bicycling if you give a damn. Etc, etc. Each of us must take the actions that we’re able to and we think are warranted. There is no one single solution. We need all the solutions, and especially this: Voting green, and take part in green politics.
@robertmarmaduke186
September 9, 2024 at 3:56 pm
*Livestock is the only Net-Zero Tilth-Restoring agriculture there is.* Veganism is _totally dependent_ on use of fossil fuels, on pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, GMOs, tilth-destruction _and massive ‘carbon volcano’ refrigerated warehousing,_ where over 3/4ths of that vegan fossil energy is either plowed back under or ends up in the tip bin behind the grocery.
@Bythirteen
September 10, 2024 at 12:58 pm
@@robertmarmaduke186 tell me you don’t know anything about vegan living without telling me you don’t know anything about vegan living
@djayjp
September 10, 2024 at 1:49 pm
@@tvuser9529 Lol not true. Animal agriculture accounts for more emissions than all of the cars, planes, trains, trucks, buses, and ships in the world. It’s, far and away, the most impactful decision an individual can make. We would already be on track to meet our emissions targets if everyone were vegan today.
Then there’s the biodiversity aspect. Animal agriculture uses 45% of the non-desert land area of the entire Earth….
But yes I do buy carbon offsets if I fly.
@djayjp
September 10, 2024 at 6:37 pm
@@tvuser9529 There are several key facts you’re overlooking. However when I tried to write a comment providing only such facts, my comment was censored… 🤷
@cheersmodreams691
September 9, 2024 at 3:25 pm
Unfortunately, their rightness about the changes does not cancel out their wrongness that climate change is real, and their wrongness is the part that gets the most attention and prevents us from dealing with their rightness.
@robertmarmaduke186
September 9, 2024 at 3:32 pm
Every dollar you send to Washington DC is 15c to help some shivering non-indigenous Climate Refugee gain ‘equity reparations’. Who knows where the other 85c goes? Pentagon looted $30,000,000,000 from Harris’ ‘Renewable Energy,’ for Middle East wars. Shalom!
@alien9279
September 9, 2024 at 5:54 pm
Something about these videos ALWAYS brings out the anti sciemce crowd and what always seems like bot comments in mass :/
@WaterWizard1
September 9, 2024 at 6:39 pm
Really? He believes in climate science… The one he preaches from and makes money off… The kind that is being bought and manipulated and wrong for decades… What a clown 🤡
@TomasNacho-y9z
September 9, 2024 at 8:54 pm
!!I recently sold some of my long-term position and currently sitting on about 250k, do you think Nvidia is a good buy right now or I have I missed out on a crucial buy period, any good stock recommendation on great performing stocks or Crypto will be appreciated
@RobertBergere
September 9, 2024 at 8:54 pm
As a beginner investor, it’s essential for you to have a mentor to keep you accountable.
Kristine Lynn Weber is my trade analyst, she has guided me to identify key market trends, pinpointed strategic entry points, and provided risk assessments, ensuring my trades decisions align with market dynamics for optimal returns.
@BensonTati
September 9, 2024 at 8:55 pm
I managed to grow a nest egg of around 120k to over a Million. I’m especially grateful to Adviser Kristine Lynn Weber, for her expertise and exposure to different areas of the market.
@RobertBergere
September 9, 2024 at 8:55 pm
My colleagues had a good laugh at me when I told them I started my journey with $50k capital and how I accumulated over 6 figures within a span of 7 months. They never believed me until I pulled out my P&L.
I know that learning the ins and outs of the market isn’t for everyone, that’s why personally, Kristine oversees my investments.
@BensonTati
September 9, 2024 at 8:55 pm
Without a doubt! Kristine Lynn Weber is a trader who goes above and beyond. she has an exceptional skill for analyzing market movements and spotting profitable opportunities. Her strategies are meticulously crafted based on thorough research and years of practical experience..
@ashcoops6962
September 10, 2024 at 7:21 am
When the wealthy stop buying beachside homes, then the ‘denialists’ might listen. Until then, the masses are unlikely to be convinced by the hysteria
@brokenrecord3523
September 10, 2024 at 10:16 am
Climate deniers do not live what they believe.
They believe what they need in order to live the way they want.
@daodusamuel3575
September 10, 2024 at 10:31 am
This world remains and if you believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again for your sins, you shall remain also. for our Savior Jesus Christ rose again.
@AK-jd7td
September 10, 2024 at 11:57 am
for people in the comments: This is about science not your religion. Your religion is not evidence for denying climate change.
@LumpiePrincess
September 10, 2024 at 7:44 pm
🙏 absolutely!
@attempted_realist
September 12, 2024 at 1:44 pm
I’d argue their intentional ignorance is also no excuse.
@whanethewhip
September 10, 2024 at 2:48 pm
When you get into a pointless debate online and somehow end up on TED telling your side of it.
@ErikLeppen
September 10, 2024 at 6:01 pm
The talk contains a logic error.
It says around 7:00 that climate deniers (should be climate CHANGE deniers by the way – noone denies that climate exists) want “us” to “throw the doors open to massive global migration” and then says “they’re right” but the climate scientists want to PREVENT “massive global migration” by fixing the climate problem, beucase this massive global migration will be a consequence of climate change if we don’t stop it, not of climate science.
So, not sure how this inversion made its way into the final talk.
@roboluigi
September 10, 2024 at 10:27 pm
I find these things you picked out to be minor details in the context of the entire talk. It’s a shame that politics have woven so closely with concepts that 10 years ago were supposed to be distinct issues that any person from any party could discuss with open minds
@technoverse101
September 10, 2024 at 8:31 pm
A few decades back the biggest climate bugaboo was the incipient New Ice Age, and then it became Global Warming overnight, now we have Climate Change, by the same scientific minds that promised the Covid vax is effective and safe.
The climate and sea levels have been fluctuating for billions of years..
@jacklurcher5813
September 11, 2024 at 12:59 am
The current rate of change is unprecedented when compared with those found in the ice cores. No serious scientist doubts the current direction of change.
Covid vaccines are as safe as any other vaccine.
@AlvinLee007
September 11, 2024 at 12:45 am
I keep my carbon movement as low as possible. But I no longer preach climate science. Let the storms come. Let the tides rise. Humanity is too busy climbing the economic ladders for Mother Nature.
@jgprice9990
September 12, 2024 at 2:10 pm
A lot of the world is also too poor to care. In african countries where poverty is high they burn gasoline in generators so they have light and electricity. Eco friendly solar arrays or wind turbines (not to mention the infrastructure) are simply too expensive.
@constantobjects
September 11, 2024 at 11:22 am
It is crazy to see how openly psychopathic and murderous the lapdogs of the ruling class have become.
@comotucovfefe4349
September 11, 2024 at 3:58 pm
Mother Nature does not negotiate. Bon voyage!
@deepashtray5605
September 11, 2024 at 5:04 pm
Explain it as “we need to…”, people will listen, agree that “we need to…” and maybe they’ll have an understanding and concern regarding a very serious issue. But say to them, “you need to…” and they shut it out.
@Ausf
September 12, 2024 at 1:20 am
I know he barely touched on it, and made it about his play, but the main reason people took issue with climate change alarmists was their ridiculous predictions that didn’t happen. They were also financially incentivized for governments to fund their unprofitable new industries. Even if you want to be carbon neutral, who pays for it? Who wins? Who loses? That’s the real debate. There are grifters on all sides.
@jgprice9990
September 12, 2024 at 2:14 pm
I have nothing against living an organic life. Get back to growing good food…. Eating whole food… none of this modified garbage… lets ride a bike or walk instead of drive and make electricity using the sun…. But for the sole aid of living a better healthier life.
However, eco friendly alternatives will NEVER be norm until they become cheaper, faster and more accessible than their polluting counterparts.
@iloveyouamberappel
September 13, 2024 at 1:53 am
He is right. I read stats all the time about vast majority of the western world believe climate change in the number 1 issue, especially young people. Instead of doing something about it they live in a FOMO reality and need their cheap plastic items from China and refuse to repair vs. just buy a new one.
@user-fm5yg6de8n
September 13, 2024 at 10:02 pm
As long as Western (and global now) economies based on “resource” extraction exist then the course will remain the same. We have been duped into buying into the technological “advancement” lie. We will not get out of our problems using the “tools” that were invented to basically do what they are doing= turn the earth INTO a human domain at the expense of all other species. This, of course, is utter ignorance, as ecosystem collapse is the inevitable end and that WILL mean human culling or extinction. The ONLY real solution is a RETURN to OURSELVES. A DEEP understanding (that can ONLY really come when we disconnect from screens and such) that WE ARE NATURE. A profound connection with the ELEMENTS in our body that will then lead to the REAWAKENING of the REALITY that ALL is made of earth, air, water, fire and ether (spirit). We are living in a spiritually vacuous society, that has placed material existence /”reality” above all else. We have turned the divine into something apart from us. Into something to look for outside, instead of in. To search for, instead of recognize..
@susanadelgado1023
September 14, 2024 at 10:03 am
There are people who think that there is no climate???? 🤣🫡 TED talk trash…
@franckr6159
September 14, 2024 at 2:22 pm
There are good reasons for people or organisations to deny the reality of man-made climate change in spite of blatant evidence and scientific consensus (see them listed below, ranked from 1- worst, to 5- acceptable human behaviour):
1- Corruption : fossil fuel industries would lose big if we were collectively strongly reducing our CO2 emissions, hence the use of fossil fuels, and as these industries make huge profits (on average1000 Billion USD profits per annum in total) they can easily corrupt a few crooked scientists to disparage climate science and create « doubt » (as did the tobacco industry half a century ago).
2- Ideology : This is in fact the main driver for denialists, mainly scientists and politicians. Ecology in general and climate change in particular adds a new and unwelcome constraint, libertarians hate this, for them this is plain communism !
3- Hatred and ego: conspiracy theorists, contrarians and frustrated people only like one thing, to send everyone to f…. off. Some have an oversized ego and seek above all to shine by systematically opposing the “system”, to enjoy the moral satisfaction of being against the “doxa”, these people will persist in using their rationality to fiercely oppose the obvious.
4- Refusal of consequences: some people, understanding that doing without fossil fuels will force us to reduce our lifestyle, reject this idea as if climate change were optional, a choice that they should validate themselves. Well no, we don’t chose reality, it imposes itself on us even if we strongly dislike it.
5- Psychological comfort : any of us would feel better, particularly towards our children, if man-made climate change was not real, was just the wrong result of « bad science ». However smart people know that choosing to be a « happy fool » is the wrong answer to a situation that is going to destroy our and and our children’s quality of life in the coming decades.
@StopWhining491
September 14, 2024 at 3:40 pm
Organizing our own extinction. Clever.