ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Edward Burtynsky - Photographer
2005 TED Prize winner Edward Burtynsky has made it his life's work to document humanity's impact on the planet. His riveting photographs, as beautiful as they are horrifying, capture views of the Earth altered by mankind.

Why you should listen

To describe Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's work in a single adjective, you have to speak French: jolie-laide. His images of scarred landscapes -- from mountains of tires to rivers of bright orange waste from a nickel mine -- are eerily pretty yet ugly at the same time. Burtynsky's large-format color photographs explore the impact of humanity's expanding footprint and the substantial ways in which we're reshaping the surface of the planet. His images powerfully alter the way we think about the world and our place in it.

With his blessing and encouragement, WorldChanging.com and others use his work to inspire ongoing global conversations about sustainable living. Burtynsky's photographs are included in the collections of over 50 museums around the world, including the Tate, London and the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim in New York City. A large-format book, 2003's Manufactured Landscapes, collected his work, and in 2007, a documentary based on his photography, also called Manufactured Landscapes, debuted at the Toronto Film Festival before going on to screen at Sundance and elsewhere. It was released on DVD in March 2007. In 2008, after giving a talk at the Long Now Foundation, Burtynsky proposed "The 10,000 Year Gallery," which could house art to be curated over thousands of years preserved through carbon transfers in an effort to reflect the attitudes and changes of the world over time. 

When Burtynsky accepted his 2005 TED Prize, he made three wishes. One of his wishes: to build a website that will help kids think about going green. Thanks to WGBH and the TED community, the show and site Meet the Greens debuted at TED2007. His second wish: to begin work on an Imax film, which morphed into the jaw-dropping film Manufactured Landscapes with Jennifer Baichwal. And his third wish, wider in scope, was simply to encourage "a massive and productive worldwide conversation about sustainable living." Thanks to his help and the input of the TED community, the site WorldChanging.com got an infusion of energy that has helped it to grow into a leading voice in the sustainability community.

In 2016, he won a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts for his work.

More profile about the speaker
Edward Burtynsky | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2009

Edward Burtynsky: Photographing the landscape of oil

Едуард Буртински снима пейзажа на петрола

Filmed:
550,970 views

В смайващи широкоформатни фотографии Едуард Буртински следва пътя на петрола през модерното общество, от кладенеца през тръбопровода до автомобилния двигател - а после отвъд проектирания край на петролния пик.
- Photographer
2005 TED Prize winner Edward Burtynsky has made it his life's work to document humanity's impact on the planet. His riveting photographs, as beautiful as they are horrifying, capture views of the Earth altered by mankind. Full bio

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

00:15
I startedзапочна my journeyпътуване 30 yearsгодини agoпреди.
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Започнах пътуването си преди 30 години.
00:18
And I workedработил in minesмини. And I realizedосъзнах that
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Работех в мини. И осъзнах,
00:20
this was a worldсвят unseenНевидимият.
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че това е един невиждан свят.
00:22
And I wanted, throughпрез colorцвят and largeголям formatформат camerasфотоапарати
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Исках чрез цветни широкоформатни камери
00:24
and very largeголям printsщампи,
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и много големи отпечатъци
00:26
to make a bodyтяло of work that somehowнякак си
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да създам група творби,
00:28
becameстана symbolsсимволи of our
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които някак да станат символи
00:31
use of the landscapeпейзаж,
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на нашата употреба на територията,
00:33
how we use the landземя.
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как използваме земята.
00:35
And to me this was
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Това за мен беше
00:37
a keyключ componentкомпонент that somehowнякак си, throughпрез this mediumсреда of photographyфотография,
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ключов компонент - че някак, чрез това фотографско средство,
00:40
whichкойто allowsпозволява us to contemplateсъзерцавам these landscapesпейзажи,
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което ни позволява да съзерцаваме тези пейзажи,
00:43
that I thought photographyфотография was perfectlyсъвършено suitedподходящ
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смятах, че фотографията е идеално подходяща
00:46
to doing this typeТип of work.
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за извършване на този тип работа.
00:48
And after 17 yearsгодини of photographingфотографиране largeголям industrialиндустриален landscapesпейзажи,
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След 17 години фотографиране на големи индустриални пейзажи
00:52
it occurredнастъпили to me that
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ми хрумна, че
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oilмасло is underpinningподкрепа the scaleмащаб and speedскорост.
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петролът е основа на мащаба и скоростта,
00:56
Because that is what has changedпроменен,
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защото това се е променило -
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is the speedскорост at whichкойто we're takingприемате all our resourcesресурси.
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скоростта, с която изразходваме всичките си ресурси.
01:01
And so then I wentотидох out to developразвият a wholeцяло seriesсерия
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И така, продължих с развитието на цяла серия
01:03
on the landscapeпейзаж of oilмасло.
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за пейзажа на петрола.
01:05
And what I want to do is to kindмил of mapкарта an arcдъга
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Онова, което искам да направя, е един вид карта,
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that there is extractionекстракция, where we're takingприемате it from the groundприземен,
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че има извличане, откъде го вземаме от земята,
01:13
refinementфинес. And that's one chapterглава.
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рафиниране. Това е едната част.
01:15
The other chapterглава that I wanted to look at was
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Другата част, която исках да разгледам, беше
01:17
how we use it -- our citiesградове,
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как го употребяваме, нашите градове,
01:19
our carsавтомобили, our motorculturesмоторизирани култури,
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нашите коли, нашите моторизирани култури,
01:21
where people gatherсъбирам around the vehicleпревозно средство
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където хората се събират около превозното средство
01:25
as a celebrationпразник.
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като честване.
01:27
And then the thirdтрета one is this ideaидея of the endкрай of oilмасло,
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А третата е идеята за края на петрола,
01:29
this entropicентропичен endкрай,
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този ентропичен край,
01:31
where all of our partsчасти of carsавтомобили, our tiresгуми,
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когато всичките ни коли, гуми,
01:34
oilмасло filtersфилтри,
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нашите филтри,
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helicoptersхеликоптери, planesсамолети --
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хеликоптери, самолети...
01:38
where are the landscapesпейзажи where all of that stuffматерия endsкраища up?
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къде са пейзажите, където всичко това приключва?
01:41
And to me, again, photographyфотография was
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И отново, за мен фотографията беше
01:43
a way in whichкойто I could exploreизследвам and researchизследване the worldсвят,
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начин, по който бих могъл да изследвам и проучвам света
01:46
and find those placesместа.
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и да откривам онези места.
01:48
And anotherоще ideaидея that I had as well,
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Имах и друга идея,
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that was broughtдонесе forwardнапред by an ecologistеколог --
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изтъкната от един еколог...
01:54
he basicallyв основата си did a calculationизчисление where
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Той по същество е направил изчисление,
01:57
he tookвзеха one literлитър of gasгаз and said,
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при което е взел един литър газ и е казал:
01:59
well, how much carbonвъглероден it would take, and how much organicорганичен materialматериал?
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е, колко въглерод би бил необходим за него, и колко органичен материал?
02:03
It was 23 metricметричен tonsт for one literлитър.
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Резултатът бил 23 метрични тона за един литър.
02:06
So wheneverкогато и да е I fillзапълни up my gasгаз,
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Затова, когато зареждам с газ,
02:08
I think of that literлитър, and how much carbonвъглероден.
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мисля за този литър и количеството въглерод.
02:10
And I know that oilмасло comesидва from the oceanокеан and phytoplanktonфитопланктон,
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И знам, че този петрол идва от океана и фитопланктона.
02:13
but he did the calculationsизчисления for our EarthЗемята
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Но той е направил изчисленията за нашата Земя
02:16
and what it had to do to produceпродукция that amountколичество of energyенергия.
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и какво е трябвала да направи тя, за да произведе това количество енергия.
02:18
From the photosyntheticфотосинтетичен growthрастеж,
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От фотосинтетичния растеж,
02:20
it would take 500 yearsгодини of that growthрастеж
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биха били необходими 500 години такъв растеж,
02:23
to produceпродукция what we use, the 30 billionмилиард barrelsбъчви we use perна yearгодина.
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за да се произведе онова, което използваме, 30-те милиарда барела, които използваме на година.
02:28
And that alsoсъщо broughtдонесе me to the factфакт that
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Това ме доведе също и до факта,
02:30
this posesпози suchтакъв a riskриск to our societyобщество.
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че така възниква голям риск за нашето общество.
02:33
Looking at 30 billionмилиард perна yearгодина,
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При 30 милиарда годишно
02:38
we look at our two largestнай-големият suppliersдоставчици,
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двата ни най-големи доставчици
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SaudiСаудитска Арабия ArabiaАрабия and now CanadaКанада, with its dirtyмръсен oilмасло.
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са Саудитска арабия, а сега и Канада, с нейния мръсен петрол.
02:42
And togetherзаедно they only formформа about 15 yearsгодини of supplyзахранване.
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Заедно те формират само около 15 години доставки.
02:46
The wholeцяло worldсвят, at 1.2 trillionтрилион estimatedпрогнозна reservesрезерви,
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Целият свят при 1,2 трилиона резерви приблизително
02:49
only givesдава us about 45 yearsгодини.
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ни дава само около 45 години.
02:51
So, it's not a questionвъпрос of if, but a questionвъпрос of when
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Значи въпросът не е дали - въпросът е кога
02:54
peakвръх oilмасло will come uponвърху us.
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ще ни постигне недостиг на петрол.
02:56
So, to me, usingизползвайки photographyфотография --
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За мен употребата на фотографията...
02:58
and I feel that all of us need to now beginзапочвам to really
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а усещам, че е нужно всички ние да започнем наистина
03:01
take the taskзадача of usingизползвайки our talentsталанти,
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да се заемаме със задачата да използваме талантите си,
03:03
our waysначини of thinkingмислене,
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нашите начини на мислене,
03:06
to beginзапочвам to dealсделка with what I think is probablyвероятно
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за да започнем да се справяме с онова, което според мен вероятно
03:08
one of the mostнай-много challengingпредизвикателен issuesвъпроси of our time,
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е един от най-предизвикателните проблеми на нашето време,
03:11
how to dealсделка with our energyенергия crisisкриза.
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как да се справим с енергийната си криза.
03:13
And I would like to say that, on the other sideстрана of it,
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Бих искал да изтъкна и другата страна на това -
03:15
30, 40 yearsгодини from now, the childrenдеца that I have,
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че след 30-40 години мога да погледна децата си
03:17
I can look at them and say, "We did everything
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и да кажа: "Направихме всичко,
03:19
we possiblyвъзможно, humanlyпо човешки could do,
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което беше в човешките възможности,
03:22
to beginзапочвам to mitigateсмекчаване this,
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за да започнем да облекчаваме онова,
03:25
what I feel is one of the mostнай-много importantважно and criticalкритичен
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което усещам, че е един от най-важните и критични
03:27
momentsмоменти in our time. Thank you.
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моменти в нашето време." Благодаря.
03:30
(ApplauseАплодисменти)
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(Аплодисменти)
Translated by MaYoMo com
Reviewed by Anton Hikov

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Edward Burtynsky - Photographer
2005 TED Prize winner Edward Burtynsky has made it his life's work to document humanity's impact on the planet. His riveting photographs, as beautiful as they are horrifying, capture views of the Earth altered by mankind.

Why you should listen

To describe Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's work in a single adjective, you have to speak French: jolie-laide. His images of scarred landscapes -- from mountains of tires to rivers of bright orange waste from a nickel mine -- are eerily pretty yet ugly at the same time. Burtynsky's large-format color photographs explore the impact of humanity's expanding footprint and the substantial ways in which we're reshaping the surface of the planet. His images powerfully alter the way we think about the world and our place in it.

With his blessing and encouragement, WorldChanging.com and others use his work to inspire ongoing global conversations about sustainable living. Burtynsky's photographs are included in the collections of over 50 museums around the world, including the Tate, London and the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim in New York City. A large-format book, 2003's Manufactured Landscapes, collected his work, and in 2007, a documentary based on his photography, also called Manufactured Landscapes, debuted at the Toronto Film Festival before going on to screen at Sundance and elsewhere. It was released on DVD in March 2007. In 2008, after giving a talk at the Long Now Foundation, Burtynsky proposed "The 10,000 Year Gallery," which could house art to be curated over thousands of years preserved through carbon transfers in an effort to reflect the attitudes and changes of the world over time. 

When Burtynsky accepted his 2005 TED Prize, he made three wishes. One of his wishes: to build a website that will help kids think about going green. Thanks to WGBH and the TED community, the show and site Meet the Greens debuted at TED2007. His second wish: to begin work on an Imax film, which morphed into the jaw-dropping film Manufactured Landscapes with Jennifer Baichwal. And his third wish, wider in scope, was simply to encourage "a massive and productive worldwide conversation about sustainable living." Thanks to his help and the input of the TED community, the site WorldChanging.com got an infusion of energy that has helped it to grow into a leading voice in the sustainability community.

In 2016, he won a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts for his work.

More profile about the speaker
Edward Burtynsky | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM