TED Talks Daily

How we’re turning pollution into toys, toothpaste and more | Xu Hao

Oct 9, 2025
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Science Isn't Enough For Rapid Change

  • Scientific discovery alone took alcohol 200 years to become industry-scale, illustrating slow tech diffusion.
  • Xu Hao argues we cannot wait that long to deploy climate solutions and must accelerate adoption now.
INSIGHT

We Already Have The Science

  • Many necessary low-carbon scientific discoveries already exist today, from solar to carbon conversion.
  • Xu Hao frames this as saving '100 years' if we industrialize existing science quickly.
ANECDOTE

CRISPR Bacteria Turning CO2 Into Plastics

  • Xu Hao describes GasGin using CRISPR-modified clostridium to feed on CO2 and produce butanol.
  • He links butanol to many everyday plastics that today rely on fossil feedstocks.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app