TED Talks on Sustainability

Geography 12 in-class assignment

As we explore topics related to resource ethics, sustainable development, and human interaction with the environment it is useful to turn to what others have to say. To do that, TED is a great start.

Check out the TED Talks on the topic of Sustainability: https://www.ted.com/topics/sustainability

As of this posting, there are four playlists with 10-14 videos in each one.  Take a look at all of the titles within each playlist before you commit to watching any of them.

Select two video talks to watch and think about. If you start watching one and you don't get it or it repulses you, choose another right away.

After each of the two talks, answer the following questions/prompts. Use a word file to record your response.  You can submit this word file to your teacher, or you can paste your responses into a comment to this post -- either option is fine.  Please complete this assignment within the allotted time.

Questions:

1. TED talk title, speaker, and date.
2. Very brief summary of what was presented (e.g. 2-3 sentences).
3. What is significant or important about the topic/content of the talk?
4. What evidence does the speaker use to make their argument or bring their points across? Do you think the talk would be seen as accurate by other people in this field of study?
5. What do you understand about the "problem" after watching the talk (e.g. cause and effect, historical or geographic patterns, solutions, consequences, etc.)
6. What do you think about the speaker's perspective? Do they represent a broad base of opinions, a particular set of biases, or a narrow perspective based on their experience or education or privilege? On what evidence are you basing your evaluation? Do you think the 
7. What actions are suggested by the talk -- are their ethical obligations to pay attention to, or judgements that should be made about how people have treated this problem in the past?
8. Do you have any other opinions or reactions to the video talk?