ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Yann Arthus-Bertrand - Photographer
With photography, Yann Arthus-Bertrand has captured the beauty of the Earth. Through video and film, his latest projects bind together ecology and humanism. For him, it's all about living together.

Why you should listen

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is perhaps the best known aerial photographer on the planet. He has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide of his seminal photo essay Earth From Above, a decade-spanning attempt to photograph all the vistas of the planet from the sky, whether by helicopter, hot air balloon, or anything else that flies.

Arthus-Bertrand seeks to uncover the story behind the landscape, not just create a pretty picture. Indeed, his subjects are not always photogenic -- his prints show poverty and strife as well as green tranquility; and everywhere in his work is the encroaching hand of humanity and its enterprise. He keeps close track of the coordinates of his locations, so other photographers may track their progress over time.

His newest project takes a different view -- focusing more closely on the people who live on this planet. Called 6 Billion Others, the project was a centerpiece of Pangea Day 2008.

With Luc Besson, he is working on the feature-length documentary Boomerang, to be shot in 60 countries.

More profile about the speaker
Yann Arthus-Bertrand | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Yann Arthus-Bertrand: A wide-angle view of fragile Earth

Filmed:
876,263 views

In this image-filled talk, Yann Arthus-Bertrand displays his three most recent projects on humanity and our habitat -- stunning aerial photographs in his series "The Earth From Above," personal interviews from around the globe featured in his web project "6 billion Others," and his soon-to-be-released movie, "Home," which documents human impact on the environment through breathtaking video.
- Photographer
With photography, Yann Arthus-Bertrand has captured the beauty of the Earth. Through video and film, his latest projects bind together ecology and humanism. For him, it's all about living together. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
I have a big impact on the planet
0
1000
3000
00:16
to travel here by plane.
1
4000
3000
00:19
I emitted, in the atmosphere, nine tons of CO2;
2
7000
7000
00:26
that is the weight of two elephants.
3
14000
3000
00:29
I came here to speak about ecology,
4
17000
3000
00:32
and I emitted as much CO2
5
20000
3000
00:35
as a Frenchman in one year.
6
23000
3000
00:38
So what do I have to do?
7
26000
2000
00:40
I have to kill a Frenchman when I come back at home?
8
28000
2000
00:42
(Laughter)
9
30000
2000
00:44
I have to do my carbon offset in another way,
10
32000
3000
00:47
like I do every time.
11
35000
2000
00:49
(Laughter)
12
37000
3000
00:52
In fact my work is to show
13
40000
5000
00:57
our impact on our planet.
14
45000
4000
01:01
I'm going to show you some examples
15
49000
2000
01:03
of the last pictures I've done
16
51000
2000
01:05
in the last year.
17
53000
4000
01:09
Alberta sand oil, a lot of pollution.
18
57000
5000
01:14
You know the problem;
19
62000
2000
01:16
we don't want to believe what we know.
20
64000
6000
01:22
In Alberta people work nonstop,
21
70000
3000
01:25
24 hours by seven
22
73000
3000
01:28
to extract as much oil
23
76000
2000
01:30
as they can.
24
78000
2000
01:32
We know about the end of oil.
25
80000
3000
01:35
Oil sand is not a long-term solution.
26
83000
4000
01:39
But we use three times more oil
27
87000
4000
01:43
than we find every year.
28
91000
2000
01:45
We don't want to believe what we know.
29
93000
2000
01:47
Deny.
30
95000
2000
01:49
Coral reef in New Caledonia.
31
97000
4000
01:53
100 percent of the coral
32
101000
3000
01:56
may be wiped out before 2050
33
104000
3000
01:59
because of global warming.
34
107000
2000
02:01
And you know how coral are very sensitive to temperature,
35
109000
4000
02:05
and are very important for the biodiversity of the sea.
36
113000
6000
02:11
North Pole. I've done this picture last summer.
37
119000
4000
02:15
It was impossible to do this picture 15 years ago.
38
123000
4000
02:19
Now there is a new way open between Atlantic and Pacific.
39
127000
6000
02:25
The thickness of the Arctic
40
133000
4000
02:29
decreased more than 40 percent
41
137000
3000
02:32
since 1960.
42
140000
5000
02:37
There is a new face of Kilimanjaro without ice.
43
145000
4000
02:41
Sad picture.
44
149000
2000
02:43
It lost 80 percent of its ice.
45
151000
3000
02:46
According to scientists,
46
154000
2000
02:48
in 100 years
47
156000
3000
02:51
all the mountain glacier will be gone.
48
159000
3000
02:54
Glaciers are very important for the life on earth.
49
162000
4000
02:58
Like Al Gore told you,
50
166000
2000
03:00
two billion people live on the water
51
168000
2000
03:02
from the glacier of Himalaya.
52
170000
3000
03:05
Return of fish men.
53
173000
2000
03:07
One fifth of human kind
54
175000
5000
03:12
depend on fish to live.
55
180000
3000
03:15
Today now 70 percent
56
183000
4000
03:19
of the fish stock are over-exploited.
57
187000
3000
03:22
According to FAO,
58
190000
4000
03:26
if we don't change our system of fishing
59
194000
3000
03:29
the main sea resources will be gone in 2050.
60
197000
4000
03:33
We don't want to believe what we know.
61
201000
4000
03:37
The beautiful picture, by [unclear] in Africa.
62
205000
5000
03:42
One human of six
63
210000
2000
03:44
have not enough to eat in the world.
64
212000
3000
03:47
One billion people have not enough to eat.
65
215000
3000
03:50
In Africa, corn is one of the main foods in many places.
66
218000
6000
03:56
Here in America,
67
224000
2000
03:58
90 percent of the corn cultivated
68
226000
4000
04:02
is used to feed animals or to do oil.
69
230000
5000
04:07
Palm tree plantation in Borneo.
70
235000
4000
04:11
Every year we lose 50 thousand square miles in deforestation.
71
239000
10000
04:21
Refugee camp in Darfur.
72
249000
3000
04:24
Today we have 20 million refugees in the world.
73
252000
4000
04:28
According to the U.N.,
74
256000
2000
04:30
we speak about 250 million refugees
75
258000
3000
04:33
in 2050.
76
261000
6000
04:39
I always show my pictures in the street.
77
267000
3000
04:42
We have done already 100 exhibitions in the cities.
78
270000
3000
04:45
But how to understand the world
79
273000
4000
04:49
without the voice of people?
80
277000
3000
04:52
Landscape was not enough.
81
280000
3000
04:55
It was obvious to me to do another work.
82
283000
3000
04:58
I launched a project named Six Billion Others.
83
286000
5000
05:03
I sent around the world six cameramen
84
291000
3000
05:06
asking the same question,
85
294000
3000
05:09
the same crucial question,
86
297000
2000
05:11
about life.
87
299000
2000
05:13
We have done five thousand interviews.
88
301000
3000
05:16
I'm going to show you this.
89
304000
2000
05:24
Man: The most beautiful thing that has happened to me in life?
90
312000
3000
05:27
It's when my dad told me, "Here, I give you this girl as your fiance."
91
315000
6000
05:34
Woman: Love? Love is nice if you can have it.
92
322000
4000
05:38
Second Man: Romeo and Juliet, Sassi and Panno, Dodi and Diana, Heer and Ranjha,
93
326000
3000
05:41
this is love! Third Man: My greatest fear is ...
94
329000
3000
05:44
Woman: You're asking me a hard question.
95
332000
2000
05:46
Fourth Man: I live happily because what else should I do?
96
334000
3000
05:49
Fifth Man: The first thing I remember ... (Sixth Man: That's how I learned, by my mother,)
97
337000
4000
05:53
Fifth Man: ... from my childhood, (Sixth Man: that you should respect humans.)
98
341000
3000
05:56
Fifth Man: we were having fun, biking. (Sixth Man: I will never forget those words.)
99
344000
3000
05:59
Seventh Man: We invented stories, we flew around the world, while remaining in our attic.
100
347000
6000
06:05
Eighth Man: I had a big laugh today.
101
353000
2000
06:07
Ninth Man: You see, family is ... it's awful.
102
355000
5000
06:12
10th Man: In the word life, you have the life.
103
360000
2000
06:14
11th Man: Who am I? Isn't that the biggest question?
104
362000
4000
06:20
12th Man: If I was to go back to Iraq
105
368000
2000
06:22
and speak to the people,
106
370000
2000
06:24
I'd have to bow down and kiss their feet.
107
372000
2000
06:26
Just as that woman tried to kiss my feet
108
374000
3000
06:29
when we were taking her sons.
109
377000
4000
06:33
I feel ashamed.
110
381000
3000
06:36
And I feel humbled
111
384000
2000
06:38
by their strength.
112
386000
2000
06:40
And I will forever feel a need
113
388000
3000
06:43
to make reparations to Iraq.
114
391000
5000
06:50
Second Woman: Dad, Mom, I grew up.
115
398000
4000
06:54
You shouldn't worry about me. Dad doesn't need to go to work.
116
402000
5000
06:59
My family ... What can I say?
117
407000
4000
07:03
At the moment, my family is very poor,
118
411000
3000
07:06
my life here in Shenzhen is just about showing myself that I can earn more
119
414000
8000
07:14
and to let my parents stay and have something to live on.
120
422000
4000
07:18
I don't want them to spend their whole lives in poverty.
121
426000
6000
07:24
If someday I can achieve something, I would like to say thank you daddy and mommy.
122
432000
10000
07:34
Thank you.
123
442000
3000
07:37
Thank you for having fed me and raised me,
124
445000
3000
07:40
and for making my life of today. Thank you.
125
448000
5000
07:46
13th Man: After seven years now of being in a wheelchair,
126
454000
3000
07:49
I've done more in life being in a chair
127
457000
3000
07:52
than out of a chair.
128
460000
2000
07:54
I still surf. I sail the world. I freedive.
129
462000
4000
07:58
After many people said I couldn't do that.
130
466000
5000
08:03
And I think that comes from connecting with nature,
131
471000
3000
08:06
connecting with the energy of life,
132
474000
3000
08:09
because we're all disabled in some way on the planet --
133
477000
2000
08:11
spiritually, mentally or physically.
134
479000
4000
08:15
I got the easy part.
135
483000
2000
08:20
14th Man: Let's say that you and me like each other.
136
488000
4000
08:24
You come from elsewhere.
137
492000
2000
08:26
You don't know me. I don't know you.
138
494000
5000
08:31
We talk without lying.
139
499000
2000
08:33
If I do like you, I give you one cow and many other things
140
501000
5000
08:38
and we become friends.
141
506000
3000
08:41
How can we make it all by ourselves?
142
509000
6000
09:02
(Applause)
143
530000
8000
09:10
YAB: You can also go to the website,
144
538000
2000
09:12
answer -- respond to the questions also.
145
540000
3000
09:15
Forty crucial questions.
146
543000
2000
09:17
Now I am going to speak to you about my movie.
147
545000
3000
09:20
For the last three years,
148
548000
2000
09:22
I was shooting the earth for the movie.
149
550000
4000
09:26
The name of the movie is "Home" --
150
554000
3000
09:29
"Maison."
151
557000
3000
09:32
It is about the state of the planet.
152
560000
3000
09:35
It's a fantastic story of life on the earth.
153
563000
4000
09:39
I'm very proud to show you the teaser.
154
567000
3000
09:42
Video: This Earth is four and a half billion years old.
155
570000
10000
09:55
These plants, several hundred million years old.
156
583000
4000
10:00
And we humans have been walking upright
157
588000
3000
10:03
for only 200 thousand years.
158
591000
3000
10:08
We've managed to adapt,
159
596000
1000
10:09
and have conquered the whole planet.
160
597000
3000
10:15
For generations, we've been raising our children,
161
603000
3000
10:18
not unlike millions of other species living beside us.
162
606000
3000
10:24
For the past 30 years
163
612000
2000
10:26
I've been closely watching the earth and its dwellers
164
614000
3000
10:29
from high up in the sky.
165
617000
2000
10:31
Our life is tied to the well-being of our planet.
166
619000
5000
10:36
We depend on water,
167
624000
3000
10:39
forests,
168
627000
2000
10:41
deserts,
169
629000
3000
10:44
oceans.
170
632000
3000
10:47
Fishing,
171
635000
2000
10:49
breeding,
172
637000
2000
10:51
farming
173
639000
2000
10:53
are still the world's foremost human occupations.
174
641000
3000
10:58
And what binds us together
175
646000
2000
11:00
is far greater than what divides us.
176
648000
4000
11:04
We all share the same need for the earth's gifts --
177
652000
5000
11:09
the same wish to rise above ourselves,
178
657000
2000
11:11
and become better.
179
659000
2000
11:16
And yet we carry on raising walls
180
664000
2000
11:18
to keep us apart.
181
666000
3000
11:21
Today our greatest battle
182
669000
2000
11:23
is to protect the natural offerings of our planet.
183
671000
3000
11:26
In less than 50 years
184
674000
2000
11:28
we've altered it more thoroughly
185
676000
2000
11:30
than in the entire history of mankind.
186
678000
3000
11:33
Half of the world's forests have vanished.
187
681000
3000
11:36
Water resources are running low.
188
684000
2000
11:38
Intensive farming is depleting soils.
189
686000
3000
11:43
Our energy sources are not sustainable.
190
691000
3000
11:46
The climate is changing.
191
694000
2000
11:48
We are endangering ourselves.
192
696000
3000
11:51
We're only trying to improve our lives.
193
699000
3000
11:54
But the wealth gaps are growing wider.
194
702000
3000
11:57
We haven't yet understood
195
705000
2000
11:59
that we're going at a much faster pace
196
707000
3000
12:02
than the planet can sustain.
197
710000
2000
12:24
We know that solutions are available today.
198
732000
4000
12:30
We all have the power to change this trend
199
738000
3000
12:33
for the better.
200
741000
2000
12:40
So what are we waiting for?
201
748000
2000
13:05
(Applause)
202
773000
8000
13:13
YAB: Luc Besson is the producer of the movie.
203
781000
4000
13:17
But it is not a normal movie.
204
785000
4000
13:21
The film is going to be distributed free.
205
789000
5000
13:26
This film has no copyright.
206
794000
4000
13:30
On the five of June,
207
798000
3000
13:33
the environment day,
208
801000
3000
13:36
everybody can download the movie on Internet.
209
804000
4000
13:40
The film is given for free
210
808000
4000
13:44
to the distributor for TV and theater
211
812000
4000
13:48
to show it the fifth of June.
212
816000
3000
13:51
There is no business on this movie.
213
819000
3000
13:54
It is also available for school,
214
822000
2000
13:56
cities, NGOs and you.
215
824000
5000
14:01
We have to believe what we know.
216
829000
4000
14:05
Let me tell you something.
217
833000
4000
14:09
It's too late to be pessimistic --
218
837000
3000
14:12
really too late.
219
840000
4000
14:16
We have all a part of the solutions.
220
844000
7000
14:23
To finish,
221
851000
2000
14:25
I would like to welcome
222
853000
4000
14:29
the 4,700th baby
223
857000
3000
14:32
born since the beginning of this talk.
224
860000
6000
14:38
Merci beaucoup. I love you.
225
866000
2000
14:40
(Applause)
226
868000
8000

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Yann Arthus-Bertrand - Photographer
With photography, Yann Arthus-Bertrand has captured the beauty of the Earth. Through video and film, his latest projects bind together ecology and humanism. For him, it's all about living together.

Why you should listen

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is perhaps the best known aerial photographer on the planet. He has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide of his seminal photo essay Earth From Above, a decade-spanning attempt to photograph all the vistas of the planet from the sky, whether by helicopter, hot air balloon, or anything else that flies.

Arthus-Bertrand seeks to uncover the story behind the landscape, not just create a pretty picture. Indeed, his subjects are not always photogenic -- his prints show poverty and strife as well as green tranquility; and everywhere in his work is the encroaching hand of humanity and its enterprise. He keeps close track of the coordinates of his locations, so other photographers may track their progress over time.

His newest project takes a different view -- focusing more closely on the people who live on this planet. Called 6 Billion Others, the project was a centerpiece of Pangea Day 2008.

With Luc Besson, he is working on the feature-length documentary Boomerang, to be shot in 60 countries.

More profile about the speaker
Yann Arthus-Bertrand | Speaker | TED.com