In this TED Talk, Dee Boersma makes the case for considering the costs that other species and our environment bears in exchange for much of the profits companies make.

Think of penguins as ocean sentinels, says Dr. Boersma — they’re on the frontlines of sea change. Sharing stories of penguin life and culture, she suggests that we start listening to what penguins are telling us.

An animated infographic depicting one of the highlights from Dr. Boersma’s 2014 TedXRainier talk. Credits to Daniel Ringold and Maranatha Wilson.

Long-term studies of penguins demonstrate that they are constantly facing new challenges. If humans are to mitigate their impact on wildlife, we must use science to inform decisions and pay more of the true environmental cost of our actions. Paying the true costs of environmental damage is an important tool humans can use to reduce the impact of our growing population on the planet.

Dr. Boersma shares stories about the lives of Magellanic Penguins in the deserts of Patagonia and discusses some of the more impressive penguin facts.

Researchers Dee Boersma and Pablo Boroborglu of the Global Penguin Society describe their work in studying and protecting these precious species and how others can help.

Dr. Boersma’s presentation at the Washington Foundation for the Environment’s Environmental Issues Slam 2013 shares how studying penguin populations can give us insight into changing environmental conditions.

In this short intro to her longer Oppenheim Lecture, Dr. Boersma discusses how climate change has already impacted penguin colonies and the oceans at large.

Dr. Boersma shares her research as one of many examples of how climate change–warmer land and ocean temperatures new weather patterns, and changing ecosystems–are causing unexpected shifts in the location, life cycles, and populations of species.