I just watched the TED.com presentation by Larry Brilliant, director of Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google. He talked about the vast array of problems that face the human race in the years to come: global warming, communicable diseases, poverty, etc. and then how we should be optimistic that we, the human race, will overcome these issues.

His case for optimism is to look back at the success of the war against small pox. I knew that it was a big deal but I had no idea it was such a big deal. Small pox killed more people than all the wars in human history, combined. That’s no small number. But it was overcome and now lies extinct.

Larry isn’t a dynamic speaker but his message is. Do yourself a favor and watch the video.

Environmental scientist David Keith provides us with his views on climate engineering and how it could be used to put the brakes on global warming.

It’s refreshing to see someone speak of their idea, an important one at that, with such objectivity. David Keith is talking about his ideas for saving the planet, and perhaps humanity. He speaks persuasively but not by preaching. He lays out the theories and says, “we need to thing about this more.”I wish we could have politicians with this sort of candor and thoughtfulness. But that’s about as likely as China reducing CO2 emissions.