5 TED Talks to watch if you care about climate change

As an increasing number of people become acutely aware of the devastating effects of climate change, the need for action is more vital now than ever.  Citizens Coal Council works with activists and organizations across the United States to draw attention to the problems caused by the entire coal cycle-- from mining, to burning, to disposal of coal combustion waste.

As an organization that cares about the effects of the coal cycle on our environment, we're trying to get the word out about a particularly destructive form of underground coal mining called longwall mining.  Not many people have heard of this mining method, but it's important to understand that longwall mining releases tremendous amounts of methane into the atmosphere.  In the U.S. alone, the methane emissions per year from longwall coal mining equate to the pollution from over 5 million vehicles on the road.  After you watch the videos below, please consider visiting our Longwall Mining Reform Campaign website, where you can find out more about this insidious threat to our environment. 

1. "Why I must speak out about climate change" by James Hansen

DESCRIPTION: Top climate scientist James Hansen tells the story of his involvement in the science of and debate over global climate change.  In doing so he outlines the overwhelming evidence that change is happening and why that makes him deeply worried about the future.

Click photo to go to this TED Talk.

2. "Time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss" by James Balog

DESCRIPTION: Photographer James Balog shares new image sequences from the Extreme Ice Survey, a network of time-lapse cameras recording glaciers receding at an alarming rate, some of the most vivid evidence yet of climate change.

Click photo to go to this TED Talk.

3. "New thinking on the climate crisis" by Al Gore

DESCRIPTION: Al Gore presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists recently predicted.  He challenges us to act.

Click photo to go to this TED Talk.

4. "Why we should trust scientists" by Naomi Oreskes 

DESCRIPTION: Many of the world's biggest problems require asking questions of scientists -- but why should we believe what they say?  Historian of science Naomi Oreskes thinks deeply about our relationship to belief and draws out three problems with common attitudes toward scientific inquiry -- and gives her own reasoning for why we ought to trust science

Click photo to go to this TED Talk.

5. "The emergent patterns of climate change" by Gavin Schmidt

DESCRIPTION: You can't understand climate change in pieces, says climate scientist Gavin Schmidt.  It's the whole, or it's nothing.  In this illuminating talk, he explains how he studies the big picture of climate change with mesmerizing models that illustrate the endlessly complex interactions of small-scale environmental events.

Click photo to go to this TED Talk.

visit longwallminingreform.org 
to find out how longwall coal mining impacts our environment