TED MED Day 2: Plastic Bags Are Choking the World, Killing Animals

Day Two of TED MED is over (see Day One's coverage here), and people sound antsy to put words into action.  Peter Menzel's speech on the environmental and health catastrophe caused by plastic bags did its job; says one tweeter: "Plastic bags are a f*&%ing scourge. clogging storm drains in Yemen during monsoon season, causing widespread flooding. awful. #TEDMED."  Another says, "Peter Menzel: pollution from plastic bags is choking the world and killing animals in dev countries. #tedmed."

Menzel is a photojournalist whose work focuses on science and environment. (You might also recognize him from his famous series of photos on what the world eats, which we covered earlier this year here on TakePart). You can see a twitpic from Menzel's speech here.

Up next? Robots. Reuters reports that iRobot CEO Colin Angle will discuss the role of robots in the future of health care. Sound scary? It's not as extreme as it sounds. They are exploring "the potential of robotics as an assistive technology to promote wellness and enhance quality of life for seniors." That means robots would perform tasks like chores and medicine administration.  So we don't have to worry about computer chips in our brains...yet.

Stay tuned for more updates from TakePart as we track the ins and outs of TED MED.