In September 2011, I was honored to be on the speaker roster for TEDxBoulder, which is a local though independently-run version of the much-lauded TED talks. My talk was about saving the Earth from asteroid impacts, something I've spent a lot of time thinking and writing about. The talk is online, and I've included it here:

[embed width="610"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM4tL6AM_bo[/embed]

The "We have a space program" line is from science fiction author Larry Niven, so I can't take credit for it, though I modified it to add the "we can vote" bit. Also, this was the biggest audience I've ever spoken to, and it was a great crowd. I was almost last on the roster, but the audience was attentive and clearly enjoying themselves. It was a really fun, energizing, and mind-expanding evening. The other talks that night are being put online as well

. If you ever get a chance to attend a local TEDx conference, you should.