SEE THE BIG PICTURE

His company, UrtheCast, is putting HD cameras on the International Space Station so you can watch Earth like an astronaut. Seeing the "big picture" is what drives Wade Larson. As the visionary behind UrtheCast (pronounced "Earth cast"), Wade is part of the team that is building and in late 2013 will launch, install, and begin operating two cameras onboard the International Space Station--one of which will be the world's first ever HD video from space. The UrtheCast cameras will allow everyone with an internet connection to watch video of the Earth in near real time. Formerly a vice president at the space missions division of Canada's leading space company, Wade has also managed Canada's international partnerships in Earth Observation at the Canadian Space Agency and was frequently Canada's representative at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS). Wade calls UrtheCast a mash up of Google Earth and YouTube, and hopes that it will provide people everywhere with a new view of our home planet. Will UrtheCast give us an astronaut's perspective? Is seeing believing? For more on Wade, visit http://urthecast.com/ --- 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)