Science & Technology

The Unexpected, Underwater Plant Fighting Climate Change | Carlos M. Duarte | TED Countdown

Once considered the ugly duckling of environmental conservation, seagrass is emerging as a powerful tool for climate action. From drawing down carbon to filtering plastic pollution, marine scientist Carlos M. Duarte details the incredible things this oceanic hero does for our planet — and shows ingenious ways he and his team are protecting and rebuilding…

Published

on

Once considered the ugly duckling of environmental conservation, seagrass is emerging as a powerful tool for climate action. From drawing down carbon to filtering plastic pollution, marine scientist Carlos M. Duarte details the incredible things this oceanic hero does for our planet — and shows ingenious ways he and his team are protecting and rebuilding marine life.

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

Learn more about #TEDCountdown:
Twitter:
Instagram:
Facebook:
Website:

Watch the full 2021 TED Countdown Global livestream here:

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

Become a TED Member:
Follow TED on Twitter:
Like TED on Facebook:
Subscribe to our channel:

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

45 Comments

  1. Amazing tune creation

    March 6, 2022 at 4:06 pm

    Hlo everybody
    How is your life going after connecting TED

    • Sir Derty ♦

      March 6, 2022 at 4:12 pm

      Safe to you, and good health. Bring unity. Stop the division. Cheers.

  2. Random Certainty

    March 6, 2022 at 4:09 pm

    Earth will find a way to replenish and rejuvenate…eventually at the expense of our species…it does not discriminate.
    We are the ungrateful renters of time.

  3. cbren

    March 6, 2022 at 4:09 pm

    This is a little gem of good news. Thanks for your work which is probably under appreciated.
    We need this video to get out there. It is a piece of the jigsaw back despite us being late.
    God bless your work.

  4. MRS WYSM INC

    March 6, 2022 at 4:10 pm

    The Planet Earth has survived on its own for millions of years. Stay Strong and take notes!!!!

    • Gamesman01

      March 6, 2022 at 5:46 pm

      The problem isn’t Earth’s survival but our survival and the ecosystem we depend on. Even if we ignore the obvious problems and go the way of the dinosaurs new life will emerge slowly and the Earth will have a different ecosystem. We are killing off our own life-support.

  5. Sir Derty ♦

    March 6, 2022 at 4:11 pm

    Ted talk, I have a lot of growing up around these areas.. please do more research and content on these plant that are leaking into our local waters!! The leaking turkey point plant in Miami (leaking radiation isotopes from the under water salt water plume underneath the cooling ponds of these power plants). Turkey Point is a major concern and leaking into this very bay (National park as well, called the Biscayne Bay) This again is a national park and a major health concern for South Florida residents. If you even have to remove this comment for youtuber censorship purpose (believe me it erases this comment often for some odd reason) yet its all true, please share this information and lets fix Turkey Point.

    • Sir Derty ♦

      March 6, 2022 at 4:17 pm

      NYTimes and the Miami Herald / MiamiNewTimes reporters have talked about this but the companies are using internet teams to cover it up and put it under the rug.
      NYTimes Turkey Point Miami Plant Leak into Water… there is many articles to dig and find but like i said companies paid to bury things online have made it hard to find the truth.

    • Sir Derty ♦

      March 6, 2022 at 8:28 pm

      i appreciate those thumbs up, thank you peeps.

  6. Jakariya Easy English

    March 6, 2022 at 4:16 pm

    Right

  7. Debra Worden Nunziato

    March 6, 2022 at 4:18 pm

    AMAZING!!! 🤩🌱💗 Life / Water holds memory. Imagine the memories in that age old LIFE? I will keep using the Mantra… Heal the Water! 💧 Heal the World 🌎 ✌️💗🙌

    • Michael McCulley

      March 6, 2022 at 5:09 pm

      The Water, Quartz and Bloodlines all contain the Akashic Record. I dig it.

  8. Florian Hansch

    March 6, 2022 at 4:26 pm

    What I find amazing is that 97% of Co2 is naturally occurring. And storms are linked for solar activity.

    • Arturo Gómez Tagle

      March 7, 2022 at 8:17 am

      What about pollution and oceanic dead zones due to toxic runoff?

    • Florian Hansch

      March 7, 2022 at 7:12 pm

      @Arturo Gómez Tagle no denying any of that my friend, I wish I could ban plastics today, but you must understand climate change is natural, if it was not most of Europe would still be covered in Ice. Destruction of the eco system is man made 100%.

  9. Brett

    March 6, 2022 at 4:34 pm

    Storms and wildfires are NOT more common today. There used to be many more fires in the first half of the 20th century. Storms are just as common and just as severe as they’ve always been. When will people realize they are being lied to?

  10. Mean Gene The Killing Machine

    March 6, 2022 at 4:44 pm

    Amazing how God plans everything out. Amazing.

  11. Carter Strasser

    March 6, 2022 at 4:53 pm

    What!? CO2 can be converted to biomaterial without billions of American tax dollars?! No no no! Unacceptable! This man is a herititc!

  12. sunita bhosle

    March 6, 2022 at 5:05 pm

    Very informative and interesting knowledge…

  13. Ligia Sommers

    March 6, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    🙏🏻🍀💚

  14. Dequentin Webber

    March 6, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    That’s amazing

  15. Brina Ladell

    March 6, 2022 at 6:06 pm

    Jesus loves you he died on the cross for your sins. All you have to do is believe in him and you will be saved. ❤

  16. CloakedCedric

    March 6, 2022 at 6:46 pm

    Great hopeful talk!

  17. taleton

    March 6, 2022 at 7:02 pm

    Thanks Dr. Carlos M. Duarte…. Thank you

  18. Veritas Experience

    March 6, 2022 at 7:30 pm

    Wonderful presentation. Those 12 minutes ate me up and i have nothing to do with marine biology. Thoroughly informative and interesting from beginning to end. More sea grass please! Restore, protect, rebuild our marine ecosystems.

  19. TwoMeterTroll

    March 6, 2022 at 7:33 pm

    40 bloody years ago we identified that sea grass was important to all fisheries and all ocean health, the crabbers and other fishermen went to our governments to try and protect the meadows and we got shut down over and over again. now because an egghead its suddenly become freeking critical. maybe the scientific community should actually bloody listen to the folks that have been out there for freeking centuries. we freeking warned about the kelp forests and got shut down mangroves and got shut down, warned about bottom trawling and got shut down tried to set up brood areas and got shut down tried to protect spawning rivers and got shut down tried to set aside oceanic preservation areas and got shut down. time after time our warnings went unheeded and now every bloody punk with a degree is screaming that the ocean is on the edge. where where you people when it bloody counted? oh thats right you where telling us it was our freeking imaginations that our fisheries where in decline because our log books where not accurate freeking data.

  20. Jennifer Ning

    March 6, 2022 at 7:35 pm

    Putin is taking advantage of climate change and make the liberal and leftists really really stupid And cost Ukraine people losing their lives !!!

  21. Gold Barry

    March 6, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    I’m really happy for today 😉😉. I finally got my profit of $330,000 on my crypto investment after feeling so escatic and heavy minded that nothing good can come out of it…a big thanks to Blaine Phillips jr. I learned a lot about buying when there is fear in the market . I use to get shaken out and panic sell but now I buy more when I see the low prices

    • Sandra Barbs

      March 6, 2022 at 8:05 pm

      I have traded up to a million dollars worth of financial assets with his help, he showed me the ropes and I let him handle my account afterwards because I made certain rookie mistakes. I never doubted trading with Blaine after seeing his POT(proof of trades) I made good profits this year I hope to make more in future

    • Jane Foster

      March 6, 2022 at 8:06 pm

      My spouse recommended Blaine Phillips jr to me after investing $55,000 and he has really helped us financially

    • Ismail Hamza

      March 6, 2022 at 8:06 pm

      Please do you mind sharing any means of reaching out to him easily? I’m really interested

    • Gold Barry

      March 6, 2022 at 8:07 pm

      @Ismail Hamza Look him up on the web, you can reach him through his personal site

    • Ismail Hamza

      March 6, 2022 at 8:07 pm

      @Gold Barry Ok, just found his website, impressive, I will message him now, Thank you.

  22. Home Wall

    March 7, 2022 at 1:27 am

    The ocean is huge and a key part of growing seagrass but also seaweed that we can eat. It doesn’t need fresh water and it consumes carbon and it even provides a home for many other sea creatures.

    • HunterHQ

      March 8, 2022 at 10:24 am

      Algae in freshwater if they can grow it to help control climate too and substitute some plastics

  23. Rezin 8

    March 7, 2022 at 4:04 am

    With directed evolution this genome needs to be extended to other species

    • Rezin 8

      March 7, 2022 at 4:05 am

      If only biodome project knew this

    • Rezin 8

      March 7, 2022 at 4:07 am

      Could concrete be made with this seagrass? ⚖⚠️

  24. CaptMants

    March 7, 2022 at 4:15 am

    I felt like I was back in college lol, professor

  25. Kevin Wells

    March 7, 2022 at 4:26 am

    Fantastic. This is much needed. Now let’s get the word out to everyone. I love Oceanography as it, haven taken some courses in college… even then I realized how little we knew. Now I see we still know barely anything, but you just opened something great. We never really talked about sea grass (40 years ago)… I really loved being instructed by you on this. Good luck.

  26. Arturo Gómez Tagle

    March 7, 2022 at 8:16 am

    How cool! Another reason to justify our nonstop consumption and pollution!!

  27. Yvonne R

    March 7, 2022 at 9:40 pm

    Do the sea grasses that live along lakes have the same effect?

  28. support Truckers Now !!!

    March 8, 2022 at 1:39 am

    Green energy nut rolls… You f****** are unbelievable where is the science… . Inmates are running asylum

  29. Regan Parenton

    March 8, 2022 at 1:49 am

    Every single person will be dead from climate change & biodiversity loss by 2040.

  30. Charlie Z

    March 8, 2022 at 2:04 am

    Sounds like the more we get to know this ‘ugly duckling’ the more it begins to looks like the ‘swan’ for helping to restore marine ecosystems. Bravo Carlos and thanks for sharing this knowledge!

Leave a Reply

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

Trending

Exit mobile version