TED: The silent drama of photography | Sebastião Salgado

The speaker shares his journey from growing up on a farm in Brazil to becoming an economist and activist. He later transitions to a career in photography, capturing social issues and environmental challenges. After witnessing the horrors in Rwanda, he returns to Brazil to restore his family's land, leading a successful reforestation project. The speaker emphasizes the importance of environmental conservation and the role of forests in sustaining life on Earth.

What was the primary economic activity on the speaker's family farm?

• Raising cattle for market

• Mining for minerals

• Growing crops for export

• Fishing in local rivers

What significant life event occurred for the speaker during their time in France?

• They became a chef

• They started a tech company

• They completed a PhD in economics

• They became a professional athlete

What led the speaker to lose faith in humanity during their photography career?

• Experiencing personal illness

• Facing financial difficulties

• Seeing brutality in Rwanda

• Witnessing natural disasters

What was the initial condition of the land when the speaker returned to it?

• It was completely barren

• It had less than half a percent of rainforest

• It was covered in urban development

• It was a thriving rainforest

What was the speaker's wife's role in the reforestation project?

• She was responsible for marketing

• She managed the financial aspects

• She came up with the idea to restore the rainforest

• She was the lead architect

What was the primary goal of the speaker's photography project after returning to photography?

• To capture urban life

• To document historical events

• To raise awareness about environmental conservation

• To showcase technological advancements

What is the significance of forests according to the speaker?

• They provide space for urban development

• They are essential for oxygen production and carbon capture

• They are a source of timber

• They are primarily for recreational use

What analogy does the speaker use to describe the importance of trees?

• Trees are the hair of the planet

• Trees are the heart of the environment

• Trees are the lungs of the planet

• Trees are the backbone of the ecosystem

What was the outcome of the reforestation project on the speaker's land?

• It became a commercial farming area

• It successfully restored a rainforest ecosystem

• It resulted in a new urban area

• It failed to restore any forest

What does the speaker hope to achieve with their environmental model?

• To develop new urban centers

• To inspire global reforestation efforts

• To increase agricultural output

• To create a new economic system