And it relies on its biodiversity to run smoothly. Video zone: David Attenborough: A Life on Our . It was only in the 50s that large fleets first ventured out into international waters to reap the open ocean harvest across the globe. [Attenborough] By the time Life on Earth aired in 1979, I had entered my 50s. And tree diversity is the key to a rainforest. [Attenborough] They ate meat rarely. Sunlight, wind, water and geothermal. Coral reefs were turning white. And the rich and thriving living world around us has been key to this stability. The predators help to keep nutrients in the oceans sunlit waters, recycling them so that they can be used again and again by plankton. A further 60% are the animals we raise to eat. But lines blur when a key informant makes a big ask. There was nothing left to restrict us. You say 75% of the Amazon rainforest could be gone. An imaginative young squirrel leads a musical revolution to save his parents from a tyrannical leader. Summer sea ice in the Arctic has reduced by 40% in 40 years. In 1990, parts of the Mexican Coast were overfished, so a marine protected area was established. Which is why weve cut down three trillion trees across the world. I wasn't prepared for it. SIMON: So what gives you hope? It's a statement of his past experiences, what will happen if our current destructive path continues, and what we need to do to rehabilitate our remarkable planet. Imagine if we phase out fossil fuels and run our world on the eternal energies of nature too. Then watch the video and do the exercises. He believes that we have The Planetary Boundaries model as our guide, and that we should be looking to it for inspiration. However, these marvels of the underwater food chain have become rarer, owing to overfishing, and because of disruptions in the food chain, our oceans are dying. Global food production enters a crisis as soils become exhausted by overuse. [Attenborough] Ive been lucky enough to spend my life exploring the wild places of our planet. [Attenborough] We are facing nothing less than the collapse of the living world. Emmy-winning narrator David Attenborough ("Our Planet," "Planet Earth II") looks back and shares a way forward. Below the line are a multitude of lifeforms. Interspersed with footage of his career and of a wide variety of ecosystems, he narrates key moments in his career and indicators of how the planet has changed since he was born in 1926. Levies and carbon taxes will go somewhere to shift this. Working with their traditional technology, they were living sustainably, a lifestyle that could continue effectively forever. So when he asks that people heed his "witness statement" about the peril humans . The trick is to raise the standard of living around the world without increasing our impact on that world. Not just ruined it. 2020 WORLD POPULATION: 7.8 BILLION CARBON IN ATMOSPHERE: 415 PARTS PER MILLION REMAINING WILDERNESS: 35%, Science predicts that were I born today, I would be witness to the following. If we do things that are unsustainable, the damage accumulates ultimately to a point where the whole system collapses. It's happening already. The government decided to act, offering grants to land owners to replant native trees. There was an edge to our existence. The most remote habitat of all exists at the extreme north and south of the planet. Sitting on the edge of the Sahara, and cabled directly into southern Europe, Morocco could be an exporter of solar energy by 2050. Just imagine that. Our blind assault on the planet has finally come to alter the very fundamentals of the living world. Raising yields tenfold in two generations while at the same time using less water, fewer pesticides, less fertilizer and emitting less carbon. As much now as I did when I was a boy. The very thing that gave birth to our civilization. Its an achingly intricate labor. The evidence is all around. Humanitarian crises would result as people would be forced to relocate, triggering border conflict. In addition to this, we have an increased life expectancy. All that evolution undone. This trajectory is unsustainable, and the Great Acceleration will inevitably result in a "Great Decline.". With all these things, there is one overriding principle. . It triggered an environmental catastrophe that had an impact across Europe. [Attenborough] It was a stark contrast to the world I knew. As a result, the no fish zones have increased the catch of the local fishermen, while at the same time allowing the reefs to recover. Kate Raworth, an economist at the University of Oxford, has added a social boundary to The Planetary Boundaries model - one that requires us to provide minimum levels of human well-being for all, including adequate housing, clean water, food, education, and justice. And powerful evidence that however grave our mistakes, nature will ultimately overcome them. Search the history of over 797 billion It had everything a community would needfor a comfortable life. It seems possible for us to feed ourselves quite happily using half the land we currently use. SIMON: I feel the need to take up some of the very practical points that you raise in this book. But what if Nimona is the monster he's sworn to kill? Ive visited the polar regions over many decades. Again, the two features work together. The rest, from mice to whales, make up just 4%. And there, only a few yards away, we spotted a great furry red form swaying in the trees. Theyd never seen sloths before. "No fishing" zones cover less than 7% of the ocean. Back then, it seemed inconceivable that we, a single species, might one day have the power to threaten the very existence of the wilderness. Sir David,. While the future of our planet may look bleak, Attenborough offers us hope and a vision for restoring our planet. Even as some of us were setting foot on the moon, others were still leading such a life in the most remote parts of the planet. An in-depth, sobering look at the tragic events of a century ago. So there's not a profit in it, we still go killing it, and they throw a heck of a lot of it back. The global air temperature had been relatively stable till the 90s. There were twice the number of people on the planet as there were when I was born. He researched how the Earth had experienced massive eruptions at specific points, destroying many species. Based on the comic book series by Mark Millar and Peter Gross. Tasks . When her husband dies, Sole decides that the best way to take care of her son is to become a crime boss even if that means being her father's enemy. David Attenborough became a household name in 1979 with his ground-breaking BBC series, "Life On Earth," which was seen by an estimated 500 million people worldwide. In 1950, a Japanese family was likely to have three or more children. Fast forward to 2021, and a far greater catastrophe looms. We need to rediscover how to be sustainable. But you now want to explain to us what peril we are in. We are Canadian. on October 24, 2021. You can be forgiven for thinking that these plains are endless when they could swallow up such a herd. We also need to rebuild our seas to capture carbon, increase biodiversity and food supply. We eat 50 billion chickens a year and feed them with soy planted on deforested land. Then you deal so with the land. It was a rediscovery of a fundamental truth. We will finally learn how to work with nature rather than against it. Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster and naturalist. There just isnt the space. 1978 WORLD POPULATION: 4.3 BILLION CARBON IN ATMOSPHERE: 335 PARTS PER MILLION REMAINING WILDERNESS: 55%. A Life on Our Planet. Pripyat is situated in Ukraine, and was built by the Soviet Union in the 1970s. We have pursued animals to extinction many times in our history, but now that it was visible, it was no longer acceptable. But during his lifetime, Attenborough has also seen first-hand the monumental scale of humanity's impact on nature. Life in Pripyat continued comfortably until 26 April 1986, when reactor number 4 at Chernobyl exploded. We invented farming. If there is no corner of the oceans which is safe from fishing vessels of one kind or another, we are heading for total elimination of the edible fish from the sea. They had never seen the center of New Guinea before. The future generations of many tree species would be at risk. authoritarian parents often quizlet; worley sustainability; joshua blake pettitte; arizona snowbowl ikon pass; upadhyay caste obc or general; when do baby . A broadcaster recounts his life, and the evolutionary history of life on Earth, to grieve the loss of wild places and offer a vision for the future. David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet: Directed by Alastair Fothergill, Jonathan Hughes, Keith Scholey. Starring: David Attenborough. Based on a children's book by Paul McCartney. For the first time, Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garca Mrquez's masterwork comes to the screen. David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet is a 2020 film by the documentarian and natural historian David Attenborough. [over megaphone] Please stop killing the whales. As healthcare and education improved, peoples expectations and opportunities grew, and the birth rate fell. Within 20 years, renewables are predicted to be the worlds main source of power. We filmed 650 species, and we traveled one and a half million miles. That without such an immense space, the herds would diminish and the entire ecosystem would come crashing down. Prehistoric Planet will be back for a second season. The Masai in Kenya engages in projects to reduce their cattle herds and develop wildlife. And we were responsible. If you have a global view, which - and science can give us - science would say that there are more species in danger of total disappearance than there have been in human history. This might all sound like a post-apocalyptic horror movie. The 50,000 large dams in the world, change the water flow and temperature of rivers. Nature, once again, had to start again. [Attenborough on video] Climbing over the tightly-packed bodies is the only way across the crowd. In the northern regions, the temperatures would lift in March, triggering spring, and stay high until they dipped in October and brought about autumn. The wealthiest 16% in the world are responsible for almost 50% of the environmental impact. Boo! The good news is that electric cars are already here. Every other species on Earth reaches a maximum population after a time. The orangutan. SIMON: You advocate what you call no-fish zones. We require wisdom. In the past, animals had to develop some physical ability to change their lives. And in life the animal itself lived in the chamber here and spread out its tentacles to catch its prey. But it now appeared this was only because the ocean was absorbing much of the excess heat, masking our impact. As the ocean continues to heat and becomes more acidic, coral reefs around the world die. Attenborough's wildlife journey started at a young age. The scale of the problem is so overwhelming . J.P. Morgan: How One Man Financed America is a fast-paced and informative portrait of Americas most prolific banker a man so powerful that when he died, the NYSE paused all trading for half a day out of respect. Due to carelessness, poor planning, and human error, it's probably the most devastating environmental disaster to date. Orangutan mothers have to spend ten years with their young, teaching them which fruits are worth eating. 1997 WORLD POPULATION: 5.9 BILLION CARBON IN ATMOSPHERE: 360 PARTS PER MILLION REMAINING WILDERNESS: 46%. He and his son used a plane to follow the herds over the horizon. Its a creature called an ammonite. On current projections, there will be 11 billion people on Earth by 2100. None of us can afford for it to happen. We cant cut down rainforests forever, and anything that we cant do forever is by definition unsustainable. Did you know that 1.8 trillion plastic fragments are currently drifting like a garbage site in the northern Pacific? David Attenborough is a famous British naturalist. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. How do we reclaim farmland but also increase the food supply for a growing population? A century ago, more than three quarters of Costa Rica was covered with forest. Sir David, thanks so much for being with us. A sixth mass extinction event is well underway. Offline ansehen. We rely entirely on this finely tuned life-support machine. With David Attenborough, Max Hughes. 75% of all species were wiped out. [chuckles] Because I wish the struggle wasnt there or necessary. And we're on the danger of doing that. Without this training, they would not complete their role in dispersing seeds. Let's briefly go back in time. [Attenborough] By the end of the century, Borneos rainforest had been reduced by half. At times, our ancestors existed only in tiny numbers, but just over 10,000 years ago, that number suddenly stabilized and with it, Earth's climate. It was a great place to come to as a boy, because this is, um, ironstone workings, but it was disused. We need to shift to plant-based diets. Sparkling coastal seas. Its all happened within the last 2,000 years or so. He researched how the Earth had experienced massive eruptions at specific points, destroying many species. The white color is caused by corals expelling algae that lives symbiotically within their body. Indoors, within cities. Ice-free summers in the Arctic would also start. Overnight, Pripyat transformed from a pleasant, bustling town to a nightmarish disaster zone. No one has lived here since. Urban farming is an option on rooftops, abandoned buildings, and exterior walls of city buildings. attenborough a life on our planet transcript life on earth the greatest story ever told david . It was a feature of all five mass extinctions. In 2008, academic researcher Maxwell Boykoff, studied UK tabloids to determine how climate change was represented across the widest circulating newspapers. There is little left for the rest of the living world. In the 1960s, families often had five children, but today the average is 2.5. Against the backdrop of the WWII battle known as Hitler's first defeat, a Norwegian soldier returns home and learns a shocking truth about his wife. The various meetings that have been convened by the United Nations - setting out plans which need validation by national governments and which will cost national governments, and I think that we need to persuade our own government in this country - and maybe you in your country - that we as citizens recognize what's happening to the world. In his more recent travels, Attenborough noticed fishers using mosquito nets in the hope of catching something to eat. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Half of the worlds rainforests have already been cleared. Whole habitats would soon start to disappear. So, how do we recognize critical thresholds? Protected fish populations soon became so healthy, they spilt over into the areas open to fishing. Still, energy use, production, transport, farming, and telecommunication have also shown their sinister side. But it was noticeable that some of these animals were becoming harder to find. The number that can be sustained on the natural resources available. Filmmaker Sir David Attenborough has been documenting the natural world since the 1950s. It had everything a community would need for a comfortable life. The problem is that our fishing fleets are just as good at finding those hot spots as are the fish. When I was a boy, I spent all my spare time searching through rocks in places like this for buried treasure. You can see it. Seasons blend into one another in these tropical conditions, with lush growth, abundant flowering, and seed production occurring in ongoing cycles. [protester over megaphone] We are men and women, and we speak for children, and were all saying, Please stop killing the whales..