Why Are We Sending Critical Metals to the Dump? | Jeff More | TED

The world is heading toward a massive copper shortage that could derail the clean energy transition, says mining expert Jeff More. He shows how advanced sensing technology could get us back on the right track, drastically cutting down on the wasted materials from traditional mining and helping meet the growing demand for essential metals. (Recorded at TED Countdown: Overcoming Dilemmas in the Green Transition on October 30, 2025)

Countdown is TED's global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal: to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, in the race to a zero-carbon world. Get involved at https://countdown.ted.com

Follow TED Countdown!
https://twitter.com/TEDCountdown
https://www.instagram.com/tedcountdown
https://www.facebook.com/TED

If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas: https://ted.com/membership

Follow TED!
X: https://twitter.com/TEDTalks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted
Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world's leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit https://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more: https://go.ted.com/jeffmore

https://youtu.be/4fOWQfzWHbc

TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com

#TED #TEDTalks #Environment