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The 55 Gigaton Challenge | TED Countdown

This is the climate challenge we face: we need to go from putting 55 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases into the air each year to zero. And it all needs to happen by 2050 at the latest. How can we get there? This quick animated video explains. (Written by David Biello and voiced by…

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This is the climate challenge we face: we need to go from putting 55 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases into the air each year to zero. And it all needs to happen by 2050 at the latest. How can we get there? This quick animated video explains. (Written by David Biello and voiced by Elise Hu)

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60 Comments

60 Comments

  1. Home Wall

    November 18, 2021 at 9:44 pm

    How do you continue to put the graph of world population along with the CO2 chart? It’s as if you want to pretend it’s bad humans, not just so many humans, the result of the miracle of liberty, science and capitalism, which keeps “saving” lives even though we know that 100% of all lives will end, must end, and nature requires it to end for it to survive via evolution’s selection process.

  2. Andrew Sharwood

    November 18, 2021 at 9:56 pm

    Overpopulation is Earth’s biggest problem. No one is volunteering though.

  3. Larry Carter

    November 18, 2021 at 9:57 pm

    Does burning natural gas produce less toxic waste? If it does I still can’t afford it.

  4. Bill Bage

    November 18, 2021 at 9:57 pm

    Nuclear has to be on the table here. I think TED ought to get a conversation going about nuclear – how it works as an energy source, how we’ve gone wrong, how we can do it right, the costs, and how the technology is evolving (esp. nuclear fusion research). It’d also be interesting to discuss competing visions of a carbon-free future, i.e. low energy v. high energy. A lot of environmentalists seem to envision a low energy future and see nuclear as an enemy, rather than as a (relatively) cheap way to stop relying on fossil fuels.

    • Serps

      November 19, 2021 at 12:06 am

      If they were serious about it nuclear should be on the table

  5. Juan Chavez

    November 18, 2021 at 10:02 pm

    We did not evolve from monkeys. We were made by God.

  6. Juan Chavez

    November 18, 2021 at 10:05 pm

    The solution is Jesus. We must surrender so he changes our hearts and people begin to care to make a world better for others.

  7. NupeAtl

    November 18, 2021 at 10:10 pm

    Are humans aren’t worth saving?

    • tommy luck

      November 18, 2021 at 10:24 pm

      You can’t save them if You don’t educate them

    • NupeAtl

      November 18, 2021 at 10:58 pm

      @tommy luck They are the most educated they have ever been. The issue is that they don’t care and never will. It’s not in their nature to care. No amount of education is going to save a worthless pile of ants.

  8. Mayor West

    November 18, 2021 at 10:13 pm

    The Earth Abides. Species come and go. We are living in a very special time for the Earth, the last 10,000 years or so, of perfect Weather for humans to prosper not to mention the moon has never been, and never will be, in this perfect distance from us. The moon will continue to move away from us.

    Plastics are the big problem, and plastic garbage. There was much more glass and way less waste even when I was a kid. Getting rid of plastic would be a real solution and not recycling it because that puts more pollution into the air than when you make it in the first place.

    There’s new organisms never seen sprouting up. I just read an article about how scientists from a university in California found a never seen organism living in the wet lands that actually metabolizes Carbon Monoxide from the atmosphere around it. The DNA of this organism has never been seen before. Maybe humans are a part of the life cycle and new organism will come along to coexist with us to keep the balance.

    Maybe China can stop moving huge amounts of Earth and water around so that they effect the actual tilt of the planet.?. That might be something to focus on…. Yes that actually happened also India with moving around huge amounts of water…. Not kidding.
    People messing with the Earth in a way like it’s a terrarium is not a good idea.

    Either way, the Earth abides.

  9. Ty Koh

    November 18, 2021 at 10:13 pm

    Let’em come, the John and Jane Does in denial pouring their wisdom in a few characters because, well, they know better than 98% of scientists.
    “It’s climate change propagandaaaa, boohoo”
    Get a life.

  10. Stas Kalbas

    November 18, 2021 at 10:17 pm

    Are these facts? You really telling us 2030? How many predictions have we had since 1950 about climate change. Which one came true please tell me. Yes there is climate change, yes we are not helping our climate. But there is no dam crisis. And stop with the bullcrap predictions.

  11. ChowdongsFameCrew

    November 18, 2021 at 10:29 pm

    1:13 this will not happen

  12. tommy luck

    November 18, 2021 at 10:30 pm

    How come it became so important to change everything right now in the next 10 years. We had all these problems 30-40 years ago. They didn’t do anything but kept chasing economy growth. No the economy so screwed they want to make changes right now. And most of us,average people gonna pay the price eating bugs and steaks from algae. The top 0.01 % going to space travel daily to the luxury space hotels. Ridiculous. People! time to wake up and make the play field even again. It’ll hurt but if they push their plan through that will hurt as well without hope.

  13. tommy luck

    November 18, 2021 at 10:35 pm

    Eliminate the whole oil industry in the next 10 years???? You are bunch of f… lunatics. And how we gonna travel? With wheel barrows? How many electric cars are we able to make a year? 200 thousands?

  14. abd salam el khamlichi

    November 18, 2021 at 10:37 pm

    The oil companies should put money they have accumulated in the last decades to restore what they have destroyed.

  15. Zulfadhli Ramadhan

    November 18, 2021 at 10:40 pm

    IM MISSING

  16. Steve Deasy

    November 18, 2021 at 11:12 pm

    So much misinformation in this short presentation.
    One example: Saying it’s too difficult to scale up agriculture coming out of vats. It’s skyrocketing – more than cryptocurrency.

  17. Troy

    November 18, 2021 at 11:31 pm

    We’re screwed regardless. We’ll go into famine and then the majority of humans will die off and then it will restart. If a comet or some other giant catastrophe doesn’t do us in first. We’re already killing our selves by eating a bunch of ultra processed foods instead of putting ruminants on unused pastures and growing crops in a responsible and regenerative manner. iPhones, TVs, and fancy “things” are WAY more important. We’re the dumbest (most intelligent) beings on the planet.

  18. crazy eddy

    November 18, 2021 at 11:38 pm

    fukushima killed the pacific (planton)?

  19. Rastaman Ralph

    November 18, 2021 at 11:49 pm

    There’s less than 7% of co2 in the atmosphere. If they reduce it no life will be able to survive. Plants and trees need co2 to breathe and we need them to produce oxygen so we can breathe. There’s very little of that also. Don’t believe what you watch and hear. Do your own research.

  20. Rastaman Ralph

    November 18, 2021 at 11:52 pm

    I would really like to see this global warming because it’s been getting cooler every year for over a decade while they have been talking about global warming.

  21. Rastaman Ralph

    November 18, 2021 at 11:56 pm

    Poison the planet with geo engineering and block out the sun to cool the planet down and make it hard for things to grow then convince idiots that it’s their fault for it getting warmer sounds about right! It’s called agenda 2030 what the elites have invented to have full control of the world while everyone has to pay for services rather than them owning what they do.

  22. DigitalXrisXross

    November 19, 2021 at 12:42 am

    this is a WALL E : 2.0 trailer actually. oh look! we’re in it. ( use pixar filter )

  23. Maribelle Lebre

    November 19, 2021 at 12:47 am

    Disappinting to se you underscoring the impact of animal agriculture. These so-called “farms” being reduced to the literal methane produced…not considering the burning of the Amazon jungle for cattle ranches, deforestation = wildlife loss, the shipping of the animal flesh to markets, the fact that it costs more to feed the animals that feed us vs just feeding us…
    I expected more from your organization

  24. Osman Bulut

    November 19, 2021 at 3:59 am

    The music in the video emits carbon into speech. Needs to be reduced by 50%!

  25. Rumford Chimpenstein

    November 19, 2021 at 4:26 am

    brought to you by Bill Gates

  26. Rumford Chimpenstein

    November 19, 2021 at 4:28 am

    New York City will be underwater by 2015! Just you wait and see! Then you’ll be sorry!

  27. CHAPTERS

    November 19, 2021 at 4:36 am

    Awesome…If each viewer of this video plants just one tree-any type, anywhere, any time within the next 365 days, that itself will be a huge first step..But will we?

  28. Lucky Mariaca

    November 19, 2021 at 5:10 am

    Kate!

  29. Jimmy

    November 19, 2021 at 5:18 am

    Stop demonizing advancement of a society. You people are keeping African and South American folks in the middle ages. That’s why the Chinese who are racing into Africa are not only saving the planet they are pulling Africa into the modern era.

    Your ideology would be happy if humans disappear. It’s insane and we all can see it.

  30. Keto Kei

    November 19, 2021 at 6:25 am

    This is utter bollocks. CO2 IS NOT POLLUTION – the gas all animals breath our is not pollution – it is plant food. Climate change is a con.

  31. roman_hppi

    November 19, 2021 at 6:54 am

    Great video fast and clean

  32. dvorapat

    November 19, 2021 at 7:19 am

    And we need to get rid of companies like DuPont and their spin-off company Chemours. And other companies like that that polluted our whole world including our blood. That caused so many people so much suffering, diseases, birth defects, changes in DNA… Watch the movie “The Devil We Know (2018)” and “Dark Waters (2019)” if you wanna know more.
    It might be more eye opening to you know what are these big corporations capable of to maximize their profit. Literal psychopaths who don’t care about a living thing on this planet are in charge of these companies so no wonder we got where we are.

  33. Sacrum Imperium Romanum

    November 19, 2021 at 7:59 am

    What about nuclear power? I think most of this stuff is just international finance making it cheaper to keep their cattle.

  34. Dawid Wolnik

    November 19, 2021 at 8:43 am

    then reduce number of people

  35. HINDSIGHT 2020

    November 19, 2021 at 8:57 am

    You are all fools if you believe a word of this .

  36. Niranjan Hanasoge

    November 19, 2021 at 10:10 am

    The correct term for _’gigaton’_ is *_’petagram’ (Pg)_* Mindlessly repeating _’billion metric tonnes’_ (another wrong way of saying ‘petagram’) doesn’t make it sound impressive. Sounds like a school kid trying to fill time when reading a report.

  37. Curious বাঙালি

    November 19, 2021 at 10:53 am

    At first western countries should give up Intellectual Property Right of key technologies that is essential to fight climate change. No lecture from culprits.

  38. Coogs Hunt

    November 19, 2021 at 12:19 pm

    I’m still wondering why anti Constitutionalists hav’nt ever been charged for treason and hung till death.

  39. Coogs Hunt

    November 19, 2021 at 12:21 pm

    Then there’s people like government and Bill Gates flying around in their private jets who have bigger carbon footprints than most countries combined.

  40. Coogs Hunt

    November 19, 2021 at 12:24 pm

    Then mother nature blasts a super volcano and your whole Ted talk about being the controller of climate change is totally bunk.

  41. louisxiiii

    November 19, 2021 at 1:56 pm

    The biggest problem is overpopulation in industrialized societies. China’s now abandoned child limits were the most environmentally sound thing any society has ever done.

  42. ImaginaryStranger

    November 19, 2021 at 2:13 pm

    In other words, you propose nothing, you present nothing, you only want destruction of everything we’ve built so far.

  43. D How

    November 19, 2021 at 2:38 pm

    I hope we pull out off, probably won’t, but hoping for sure

  44. Stevie B

    November 19, 2021 at 3:21 pm

    TED: Thumbs down and no share on the Molly Wright video. Why would you turn off the comments? She deserved all the positive feed back she would have earned with them. You have moderators to remove the jerks. Don’t be involved in cancel culture and the crushing of free speech. Boo to you for that and other videos you used to manipulate in very arena of ideas you profess to celebrate.

  45. bear paw

    November 19, 2021 at 3:25 pm

    Haha, we’re fucked.

  46. Ada Garcia

    November 19, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    I was able to understand the importance of making a change! I enjoyed watching the video too!

  47. Lisa Love Ministry

    November 20, 2021 at 3:00 am

    The countdown to the rapture, glory!
    1 John 1:9

  48. Dr Manifestation

    November 20, 2021 at 6:11 am

    so climate change is a serious issue, I never understood this well

  49. Phuk Rnd

    November 20, 2021 at 11:32 am

    This video is not really honest. Even if we hit that mark.. we still need to go negative emissions.. alot… face it.. this is not possible.. everything.. EVERYTHING in our society is from or possible because of burning Fossil fuels.. everything.. how we gonna feed everyone without fertilizers? No more plastic anything? Everything is plastic.. we have10 to 15 years of warming already on the way from carbon we emitted previously.. quit lying.. we are going extinct.. and were taking most of the life if not all of the life on the planet with us on our way out the door..

  50. Lucas Santoro

    November 20, 2021 at 12:49 pm

    This is not even a public conversation in Argentina. I’m quite aware of the importance of climate change, and ‘I do my part’ in the sense of recicling, not wasting energy at home, etc. But sincerely I don’t feel like that makes a difference. They still burn oil to make most of the energy.

  51. Jameson Boone

    November 20, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    I think we need to talk about scalability. A lot of green ideas sound good until you scale them to the whole globe. Solar heats up the environment around it and is land intensive, wind can change the wind currents causing unknown issues. Nuclear is the only scalable solution to clean energy but public perception keeps it from being deployed

  52. der fu

    November 21, 2021 at 12:00 am

    fantastic motion!

  53. Husanpreet Singh

    November 21, 2021 at 4:12 pm

    This effect can be dangerous for everyone

  54. Vorn Ame

    November 21, 2021 at 7:52 pm

    sounds like the final phase of procrastination

  55. yar tesla

    November 21, 2021 at 9:08 pm

    👏👏Just renewable energy 👌and science

  56. Audio Library.

    November 23, 2021 at 7:41 am

    We can contribute to the solution as individuals by buying portable solar charged lamp and fan from amazon and using it from now on. I started it 8 months ago and so far i managed to save up more then $300 in electricity bill.

    (I use them mainly for my study table and work table at night. Everyday 9 hours of solar light can save up a huge amount of money at the end of the year.) 🙂

  57. Salt Sister

    November 23, 2021 at 1:46 pm

    I think we need to talk about scalability. A lot of green ideas sound good until you scale them to the whole globe. Solar heats up the environment around it and is land intensive, wind can change the wind currents causing unknown issues. Nuclear is the only scalable solution to clean energy but public perception keeps it from being deployed

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