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

Edvard Bartinski fotografiše naftne pejzaže

Filmed:
550,970 views

Serijom zapanjujućih panoramskih fotografija, Edvard Bartinski prati put nafte kroz moderno društvo: od bušotine, preko naftovoda, do motora automobila - a zatim i dalje, do projektovane maksimalne tačke eksploatacije nafte.
- 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 startedпочела my journeyпутовање 30 yearsгодине agoпре.
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Započeo sam ovo putovanje pre 30 godina.
00:18
And I workedрадио је in minesмине. And I realizedреализован that
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Slikao sam rudnike i shvatio da je to
00:20
this was a worldсвет unseennevidljiva.
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još uvek neviđeni svet.
00:22
And I wanted, throughкроз colorбоја and largeвелики formatформату camerasкамере
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Želeo sam da putem boje i panoramskih fotoaparata
00:24
and very largeвелики printsотисци,
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i panoramskih reprodukcija,
00:26
to make a bodyтело of work that somehowнекако
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stvorim opus koji bi na neki način
00:28
becameпостао symbolsсимболи of our
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postao simbol načina na koji
00:31
use of the landscapeпејзаж,
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koristimo zemljine predele,
00:33
how we use the landземљиште.
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i zemlju uopšte.
00:35
And to me this was
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Za mene je to bila
00:37
a keyкључ componentсаставни део that somehowнекако, throughкроз this mediumсредња of photographyфотографије,
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ključna komponenta - medijum fotografije,
00:40
whichкоја allowsомогућава us to contemplateразмишљати these landscapesпејзажи,
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koja nas podstiče da razmatramo te predele,
00:43
that I thought photographyфотографије was perfectlyсавршено suitedодговара
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i koju sam smatrao savršeno odgovarajućom
00:46
to doing this typeтип of work.
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za ovakvu vrstu posla.
00:48
And after 17 yearsгодине of photographingфотографисање largeвелики industrialиндустријски landscapesпејзажи,
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Posle 17 godina fotografisanja velikih industrijskih predela,
00:52
it occurredдошло to me that
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palo mi je na pamet da je
00:54
oilуље is underpinningunderpinning the scaleСкала and speedбрзина.
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nafta to što prikazuje razmere i brzinu,
00:56
Because that is what has changedпромењено,
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jer upravo se to promenilo -
00:58
is the speedбрзина at whichкоја we're takingузимајући all our resourcesресурса.
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brzina kojom crpimo sve resurse.
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And so then I wentотишао out to developразвити a wholeцела seriesсерије
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Tada sam započeo čitavu seriju
01:03
on the landscapeпејзаж of oilуље.
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fotografija naftnih predela.
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And what I want to do is to kindкинд of mapМапа an arcARC
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Želim na neki način zaokružiti tu celinu,
01:10
that there is extractionvađenje, where we're takingузимајући it from the groundземља,
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vađenje, tamo gde je uzimamo iz zemlje,
01:13
refinementprefinjenost. And that's one chapterпоглавље.
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i prerada. To je prvo poglavlje.
01:15
The other chapterпоглавље that I wanted to look at was
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Naredno poglavlje koje sam hteo posmatrati je
01:17
how we use it -- our citiesградова,
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način na koji je koristimo, naši gradovi,
01:19
our carsаутомобили, our motorculturesmotorcultures,
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naši automobili, naše motorizovano društvo,
01:21
where people gatherскупити around the vehicleвозило
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gde se ljudi skupljaju oko vozila
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as a celebrationproslava.
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kao da je u pitanju slavlje.
01:27
And then the thirdтрећи one is this ideaидеја of the endкрај of oilуље,
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A zatim i treće poglavlje o ideji kraja naftnih zaliha,
01:29
this entropiczakon entropske endкрај,
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tom entropijskom kraju,
01:31
where all of our partsделови of carsаутомобили, our tiresгуме,
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gde su svi delovi naših automobila, naše gume,
01:34
oilуље filtersфилтери,
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naftni filtri,
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helicoptersHelikopteri, planesавиона --
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helikopteri, avioni -
01:38
where are the landscapesпејзажи where all of that stuffствари endsКрајеви up?
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gde su predeli na kojima sve te stvari završavaju?
01:41
And to me, again, photographyфотографије was
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Ponavljam, fotografija je za mene
01:43
a way in whichкоја I could exploreистражити and researchистраживање the worldсвет,
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način na koji mogu istraživati i proučavati svet,
01:46
and find those placesместа.
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i pronaći ta mesta.
01:48
And anotherдруги ideaидеја that I had as well,
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Još jedna ideja koju sam imao,
01:50
that was broughtдоведен forwardнапред by an ecologistekolog --
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a koju je predložio jedan ekolog -
01:54
he basicallyу основи did a calculationизрачунавање where
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u principu on je uzimajući u obzir
01:57
he tookузела one literlitar of gasгасни and said,
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litru benzina proračunao i rekao:
01:59
well, how much carbonугљеник it would take, and how much organicоргански materialматеријал?
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"Koliko je potrebno ugljenika i organskih jedinjenja?"
02:03
It was 23 metricметрички tonsтоне for one literlitar.
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Odgovor je 23 tone za jedan litar.
02:06
So wheneverбило кад I fillпопуните up my gasгасни,
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Dakle, svaki put kada napunim rezervoar
02:08
I think of that literlitar, and how much carbonугљеник.
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mislim o toj litri i svom tom ugljeniku.
02:10
And I know that oilуље comesдолази from the oceanокеан and phytoplanktonфитопланктон,
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I znam da naftu dobijamo iz okeana i fitoplanktona.
02:13
but he did the calculationsкалкулације for our EarthZemlja
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On je zatim proračunao stanje za celu Zemlju
02:16
and what it had to do to produceпроизвести that amountизнос of energyенергија.
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i na koji način je u stanju da proizvede tu količinu energije.
02:18
From the photosyntheticfotosintetske growthраст,
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Koristeći fotosintezu
02:20
it would take 500 yearsгодине of that growthраст
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bilo bi potrebno 500 godina
02:23
to produceпроизвести what we use, the 30 billionмилијарде barrelsбачве we use perпер yearгодине.
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za proizvodnju 30 milijardi barela koje upotrebimo godišnje.
02:28
And that alsoтакође broughtдоведен me to the factчињеница that
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To me je prenulo da razmislim
02:30
this posesпоза suchтаква a riskризик to our societyдруштво.
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koliki zapravo rizik to predstavlja za ljudsko društvo.
02:33
Looking at 30 billionмилијарде perпер yearгодине,
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Računajući sa tih 30 milijardi barela godišnje,
02:38
we look at our two largestнајвеће suppliersдобављачи,
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pogledajmo dva najveća dobavljača -
02:40
SaudiSaudijski ArabiaArabija and now CanadaKanada, with its dirtyпрљаво oilуље.
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Saudijsku Arabiu, a zatim Kanadu sa "prljavom naftom".
02:42
And togetherзаједно they only formобразац about 15 yearsгодине of supplyснабдевање.
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Skupa te rezerve su dovoljne za samo 15 godina isporuke.
02:46
The wholeцела worldсвет, at 1.2 trillionтрилион estimatedпроцењено reservesрезерве,
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Porcenjena vrednost rezervi celog sveta - 1,2 triliona barela
02:49
only givesдаје us about 45 yearsгодине.
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je dovoljna za 45 godina.
02:51
So, it's not a questionпитање of if, but a questionпитање of when
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Dakle, pitanje nije "da li će", već "kada će"
02:54
peakврх oilуље will come uponна us.
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doći do tačke maksimalne eksploatacije nafte.
02:56
So, to me, usingКористећи photographyфотографије --
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Meni lično, korišćenje fotografije -
02:58
and I feel that all of us need to now beginзапочети to really
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a mislim da već sada svi moramo početi da se
03:01
take the taskзадатак of usingКористећи our talentsталенте,
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prihvatamo korišćenja naših talenata,
03:03
our waysначини of thinkingразмишљање,
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našeg načina razmišljanja,
03:06
to beginзапочети to dealдоговор with what I think is probablyвероватно
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kako bi se uhvatili u koštac s onim što je verovatno
03:08
one of the mostнајвише challengingизазован issuesпитања of our time,
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jedno od najizazovnijih pitanja našeg vremena -
03:11
how to dealдоговор with our energyенергија crisisкриза.
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kako se nositi sa energetskom krizom.
03:13
And I would like to say that, on the other sideстрана of it,
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Želeo bih da budem u stanju, kada se kriza završi,
03:15
30, 40 yearsгодине from now, the childrenдеца that I have,
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za 30, 40 godina, da pogledam svoju decu u oči
03:17
I can look at them and say, "We did everything
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i da im kažem: "Učinili smo sve što je
03:19
we possiblyмогуће, humanlyljudski could do,
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bilo u našoj moći, ljudski moguće,
03:22
to beginзапочети to mitigateublaže this,
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kako bismo počeli da ublažavamo posledice
03:25
what I feel is one of the mostнајвише importantважно and criticalкритичан
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onoga za šta osećam da je jedan od najvažnijih
03:27
momentsмоменте in our time. Thank you.
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i najkritičnijih momenata našeg vremena." Hvala vam.
03:30
(ApplauseAplauz)
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(Aplauz)
Translated by Stevan Radanovic
Reviewed by Ivana Korom

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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