Taking Action: TEDxOilSpill

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill currently unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico is already the worst environmental disaster in American history.

On June 28th, the TEDxMidAtlantic organizing team is holding a day-long event to consider the current crisis along three axes:

  • Mitigation: Understanding and alleviating the effects of the spill
  • Alternatives: What might an oil-free future look like and how we can get there
  • Policy: How global energy policy can help lead to a cleaner and more stable future

We are partnering with a broad array of organizations and agencies, including the World Wildlife Fund, National Geographic, National Public Radio, the United States Departments of State and Energy, Mission Blue, TED, and many others to assemble a program that we hope will lead to a better understanding of the present situation and illuminate a path towards a more workable future.

Admission fees to TEDxOilSpill will also help to fund an expedition to the Gulf of Mexico. Renowned photographers James Duncan Davidson and Kris Krug are heading to New Orleans next week to record the sights and sounds of real people, real landscapes, and the real issues facing the Gulf Coast at this critical time. And they will share their stories at TEDxOilSpill.

For those of us who are entrepreneurially-minded, it is hard to sit by and watch this horror unfold. We hope that by creating this forum, we are making a valuable contribution — one that will amplify the efforts of the many volunteers and professionals who have dropped everything to respond to this urgent and ongoing catastrophe.

I was seventeen years old in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez disaster appeared to be the defining energy crisis of our age. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make much of a contribution then. With this disaster, which is already many times worse, I am grateful to be in a position to advance the global energy dialog — even just a little bit.

Please join us and please spread the word about this event. We are on a short timeline and are organizing speakers, presenters, and partners urgently. You can also participate in the event, wherever you are, by organizing a TEDxOilSpill Meetup in your area.

Please email tedxoilspill@tedxmidatlantic.com, and visit tedxoilspill.com for more information.

Event Details

TEDxOilSpill
June 28th, 2010
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC

Register to Attend