STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
A unique TED event focused on accelerating solutions to the climate crisis will be held in-person in Ketchum and online on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Attendance for the TEDxSunValley Countdown is free and is part of TED’s launch of its global Countdown initiative.
The event, hosted locally by TEDxSunValley, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday outdoors at the Christensen Global Strategies office near the Argyros and online via Zoom. And it comes as officials say that September was the hottest ever and that 2020 could become the warmest year since records began.
It will feature more than 50 prerecorded talks by such speakers as actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, United Nations climate diplomat Christiana Figueres, visionary scientist Johan Rockstrom, Apple’s head of sustainability Lisa Jackson, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freestown in Sierra Leone, Prince William and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
They will present ideas on how the world can rapidly switch to 100 percent clean energy, how it can upgrade the way we move people and things, how we can re-imagine and re-make the stuff around us, how we can spark a worldwide shift to healthier food systems and how we can better protect and re-green Earth towards the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.
The in-person option is designed to build community connections for future action inspired by speakers’ ideas.
“We will do it online-only if needed, but we would love to do it in person,” said Aimee Christensen, founder of the Sun Valley Institute and Sun Valley Forum and co-founder of TEDxSunValley. “The speakers are all prerecorded, although we might have a surprise special guest.”
Christensen said the opportunity to bring the program to the community was made possible by local sponsors and partners.
Partners include Conservation Voters for Idaho, Idaho Conservation League, the Idaho chapter of the Sierra Club, Sun Valley Institute for Resilience, Wood River Climate Action Coalition, Sawtooth Botanical Garden, Environmental Resource Center and Wood River Land Trust.
Sponsors include Sue Engelmann, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Sun Valley Properties, D.L. Evans, Sun Valley Company and Thousand Springs Mill.
TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of powerful talks that are 18 minutes or less. It began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged and today covers a myriad of topics in more than 100 languages.
To reserve a free ticket for the outdoor venue or virtual Zoom event, visit www.theargyros.org/calendar/tedx-sun-valley-%e2%80%a2-countdown.
People will also have access to the talks following Saturday on the TED YouTube channel. The local TEDx-SunValley will also film additional elements, such as a panel discussion featuring representative of local climate impact organizations and a talk by Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, who will discuss her city's climate change efforts. Those talks will be recorded and available to the public, as well, said Event Manager Franny Wood.
To learn more about the TEDxSunValley Countdown, visit www.tedxsunvalley.com/countdown.