Meet the environmental superhero that could save the planet | Inga Potter | TEDxPortsmouth
What if the key to environmental resilience was swaying gently beneath the ocean surface? In this enlightening TEDx talk, marine biologist and kelp entrepreneur Inga Potter unveils kelp’s remarkable potential to heal our planet. Regenerative, nutrient-rich, and carbon-absorbing, kelp may be nature’s most underestimated climate superhero.
Inga shares how kelp farming supports both ecological restoration and economic revitalization—providing jobs, absorbing carbon, improving ocean health, and fueling new innovations in skincare and bioplastics. As co-founder of Cold Current Kelp and a lifelong ocean advocate, she reveals how science, sustainability, and entrepreneurship can come together to tackle one of our most urgent crises.
With clarity, passion, and science-backed optimism, Inga helps us imagine a future where working waterfronts thrive, communities adapt, and the ocean becomes a source of renewal. If you care about climate, coastlines, or creative solutions, this talk might just make you a kelp believer.
Inga Potter is a marine biologist, educator, and blue economy entrepreneur, co-founder of Cold Current Kelp, a kelp farm and skincare company in Kittery, Maine. The company uses regeneratively farmed kelp to create skincare products and develop extraction technology to explore the chemistry of kelp’s bioactive compounds. Inga is passionate about kelp’s potential to heal the planet and build resiliency in New England’s waterfront communities. She earned her Ph.D. in large fish ecology from the University of New Hampshire in 2010 and has collaborated with scientists globally. Inga’s lifelong love of the ocean began with childhood summers on Nantucket Island, where she now returns with her four children. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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