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Hans Rosling's 2006 TED talk demonstrated that statistics can be interesting, as well as important. In this year's talk, Rosling lets the GapMinder software roam freely, providing his own running commentary on how developing countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. He also demos Dollar Street, a program that lets you peer in the windows of typical families worldwide living at different income levels. Be sure to watch straight through to the (literally) jaw-dropping finale.

Try out GapMinder for yourself at http://tools.google.com/gapminder/, and see how knowledge can help change the world.

Jacqueline Novogratz is pioneering new ways of tackling poverty. In her view, traditional charity rarely delivers lasting results. Her solution, outlined here through a series of revealing personal stories, is "patient capital": support for "bottom of the pyramid" businesses which the commercial market alone couldn't provide. The result: sustainable jobs, goods, services -- and dignity -- for the world's poorest.

Bono has been an inspirational voice within rock music for over 20 years. More recently, he's become an inspirational voice in the fight against global poverty as well. In his 2005 TED prize acceptance speech, he calls us in the West to advocate for equal rights in Africa.

Losing the presidential race didn't defeat Al Gore. In this 2006 talk, he is funnier, more passionate, and more practical than ever. Building upon the awareness of climate change created by An Incovenient Truth, here he identifies 15 ways we can address climate change, from buying a hybrid car to inventing a hotter brand name for global warming. His message: Doing something is easier than you think.

"I don't think we're going to make it," John Doerr proclaims, in an emotional talk about climate change and investment. Recently his daughter demanded he fix the mess the world is heading for. So he and his partners at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers embarked on a greentech world tour -- surveying the state of the art, from the ethanol revolution in Brazil to Wal-mart's (!) eco-concept store in Bentonville, Arkansas. KPCB is investing $200 million in green technologies to save the planet -- profitably. But, Doerr fears, it may not be enough.

American exports are changing the world. Some, like our eating habits, are bringing death, not life. In a sobering 3-minute talk, Dr. Dean Ornish tracks the dramatic spread of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease around the globe, concluding that this may be "the first generation in which our kids live a shorter lifespan than we do."

The good news? These trends are preventable and even reversible through diet and exercise.