Earth, Air, and Fire: Claire Belcher at TEDxExeter

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Typically our response to fire is Danger! and Devastation! But in this talk, Claire Belcher describes how fire also does positive things for our planet, including regulating the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere.

Video Production Chromatrope ()
Production Manager Andy Robertson ()

Claire Belcher is a Senior Lecturer in Earth System Science at the University of Exeter. As a self-confessed fire starter she uses experiments to understand the role that wildfires play in maintaining the natural balance that makes our planet habitable.

We typically view wildfires as part of the destructive face of nature yet often forget that human harnessing of fire has strongly influenced our social development and success as a species. In a microcosm, what fire has done for human beings, wildfires also do for our planet. Claire's research seeks to understand how evolutionary innovations in our ecosystems have allowed plants and fire to exist on our planet in relative equilibrium. She is currently the leader of a €1.52 million EU European Research Council funded team. Her approach to studying wildfires is described in her recently published edited book "Fire Phenomena and the Earth System, an Interdisciplinary Guide to Fire Science". As a recent awardee of the European Commission's Marie Curie Prize for her work in science communication she says "scientific research isn't worth anything if it isn't communicated".


About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)