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- When people look at the environment,
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look at the world and
say, oh everything's fine,
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it makes me think of a friend of mine.
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And he was a heroin
addict and an alcoholic.
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And he was a pretty happy
heroin addict and alcoholic.
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And one day he got into his car,
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he'd been shooting up
and he'd been drinking.
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He got into his car and
had some friends in the car
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and he was driving,
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no one was wearing their seatbelt,
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I think you see where this is going.
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And if you had asked him and his friends,
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as they're in their
car, listening to music,
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going 100 miles an hour on the freeway,
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how they felt, they'd be like,
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we feel great, everything's fine!
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Ask them three seconds later
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when they were in a huge accident,
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he lost his legs and
two of his friends died.
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And how do I convince
you that you are that
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heroin addict alcoholic in the car
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driving without a seatbelt?
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'Cause right now, you
think things are fine.
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I think things are fine.
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And I can guarantee you, they are not.
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- Whether we know it or not,
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whether we like it or not,
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humanity is currently facing
existential challenges.
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Experts warn that life on
Earth is likely to change
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drastically in just our
generation's lifetime
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if we continue business as usual.
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So, what does our future
have in store for us
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just in the next few decades?
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To explore this compelling question,
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we're first going to watch
a short 15 minute story
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we created that takes
place in the year 2050.
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After that, we'll come back
and hear what scientists
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have to say today about the
challenges humanity is facing.
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- A dramatic day in northern Alaska,
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as a 300 foot section
of the Dalton Highway
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near Sagwan was obliterated
by a methane gas explosion.
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Leaving behind a large crater.
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You are seeing live footage from our
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Consolidated News Service Worldeye Drone,
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operating 431 miles north
of Fairbanks Alaska.
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No casualties have been reported,
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but the loss of this critical roadway
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is expected to cause serious disruptions
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for communities throughout the region.
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The volatile nature of
methane events in this
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and other regions if of
utmost concern for scientists
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monitoring the problem.
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For more, we're joined by Dr Marcus Cohen,
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who's an advisor to the
National Weather Service's
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Event Mitigation Unit.
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Hello, Dr Cohen.
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- Good morning, Megan, glad to be here.
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- Dr Cohen, you were
telling me over the break
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that these methane
explosions are nothing new
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and you didn't seem to
be entirely surprised
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by this event either.
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- Well, we've been monitoring
this phenomenon for decades
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and while it's nothing new,
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we have seen an increase in the frequency
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of these methane bubbles,
which is very concerning.
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Basically, as the ice melts,
underground methane bubbles
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rise and eventually leak
into the atmosphere.
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And sometimes it does
so in the form of these
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dramatic explosions like we saw today.
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- So why is this happening now?
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- Well, in short, because
the planet is warming,
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which is melting the ice and permafrost
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that covers the methane.
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Methane in the atmosphere heats the planet
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and when more of it leaks
out from under the ice,
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it causes even more warming,
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which in turn causes the ice to melt,
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which then allows even more
methane to reach the surface
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and so on and so on.
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And this vicious cycle
is what we refer to as a
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positive feedback loop.
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Which, once it gets
going, it sustains itself.
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- Now that the new
International Carbon Mandates
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are in place, do you
think there's any chance
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we can lessen or reverse the situation?
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- Well, we started very late,
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on meaningful greenhouse gas reforms.
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The problem is manmade
emissions aren't the only
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problem we're facing now.
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Even if we completely stop all industrial,
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00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,450
agricultural, and
transportation emissions,
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bring them down to zero immediately,
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the methane and other gasses
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that are now being released
from under the permafrost
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may still push recovery out of reach.
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- That is sobering but
we have to leave it there
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Dr Cohen, on that note,
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thank you for being with us today
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and helping us understand the situation.
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- Thank you, Megan.
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- In other news, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
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Authority, or NOAA, issued new warnings.
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They are reporting that the
ocean's pH is still decreasing,
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meaning it's further acidifying.
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This, despite concerted
attempts to regulate carbon
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emissions and industrial
and agricultural runoff.
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NOAA reports that as a result,
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phytoplankton populations in the ocean
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are still on the decline.
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And last night in an emergency session,
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the United Nations extended
the ICM Operational Window
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through June of 2052.
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Prolonging what were
intended to be short term
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food and water rationing measures.
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We are just receiving some breaking news.
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An anti-government group in Seattle
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has reportedly taken hostages
and barricaded themselves
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in Pike Place Market.
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We're going to try to
Consolidated News reporter
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Jasmine Patel, live in Seattle.
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Hello, Jasmine, are you there.
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- Yes, thank you Megan.
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We're outside the old
Pike Place Fish Market,
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once a Mecca for tourists
and shoppers looking
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to buy fresh Pacific seafood.
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It is here that a group calling themselves
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Free American Patriots have
staged their symbolic stand.
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Last night, 30 members of
the group took an estimated
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25 people hostage from
a nearby rail station.
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They are armed and barricaded themselves
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inside the old fish market.
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- What do we know about the group?
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- They are another group of
what is being referred to
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as the Fish Truth Movement.
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They believe fishless
oceans are a fabrication
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of a government conspiracy trying to force
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a vegan agenda on an
unknowing American public.
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- Have they made any demands?
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- They say they will release the hostages
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once the government reopens
and restocks the fish market.
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Something that experts have reiterated
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is literally impossible.
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- Nurse, nurse!
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- Thank you,
Jasmine, for that report.
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- Nurse!
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- What is it Mr. Baker?
- It's time for my water.
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- I'm looking
at a recent US poll...
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- Okay, yeah, I'll go get it.
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- That shows at
least 23% of viewers actually
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agree with these groups and
believe that fishless oceans
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are not real.
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I don't think any serious
person doubts the UN
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when they say fisheries are empty, but
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who wouldn't wish it weren't so.
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For historical context, fishless oceans
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were actually predicted
at least 40 years ago.
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At a time when about a
third of all seafood species
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had already crashed.
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Some experts predicted
back then that we would
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have fishless oceans by 2048.
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- Here you go.
- As we now
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know, that was very close to the mark.
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- The ICM mandate specifically allows each
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citizen eight eight ounce
glasses of water a day.
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Eight times eight, remember?
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My right, as a human being,
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even if I am locked up in this nuthouse.
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- Yes, Mr Baker, you do have rights.
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And I just gave you exactly
eight ounces of water.
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The dispenser measures
it exactly every time.
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- That's what they want you to believe.
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- Mr Baker, come back here, Mr Baker!
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Mr Baker.
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- Hey, hey, hey!
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- Hey, calm down, back back.
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- No, I need water!
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- Get him in the bed.
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- No, no, I need water!
- Okay, okay.
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- No, not fair!
- You'll get water,
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- I need water.
- Calm down.
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Mr Baker, calm down. - Water.
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- It's gonna be okay.
- I need water.
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Need water. - Shh, okay, okay.
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We'll get you some water.
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- What's goin' on, who called the page?
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- I did, a patient was
acting very aggressively,
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but he's calmed down now.
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- So, what happened?
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Oh, Mr Baker again.
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- He was complaining I
didn't give him his ration
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of water and it blew up from there.
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- Well, did ya?
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- Did I what?
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- Give him the right amount.
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- What?
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What do you think?
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I've been hoarding the
patients' water for myself?
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Of course, I gave it to
him and everyone else.
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A full eight ounce glass.
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What are implying?
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00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:04,420
- Nothing, sorry, it's just
that some of the facilities
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had to reduce their
rations, so I just wanted
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to be sure of our supply
and make sure you were
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distributing the right amount.
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Come on, let's go take a look.
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00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:21,560
- I'm telling you, she did
not give me eight ounces.
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00:10:21,610 --> 00:10:22,666
- Did you get a glass, sir?
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00:10:22,690 --> 00:10:25,340
- Yeah, with like maybe five ounces,
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but not the full eight.
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See, they think you can't tell, but I can,
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so I said something, it's my right.
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And the orderlies went crazy!
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They went crazy, but not me.
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I was calm.
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00:10:38,250 --> 00:10:40,943
- It says here you tried
to break the water machine.
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I thought you said this morning
you were ready to go home.
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Really, Mr Baker, I want to discharge you,
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00:10:49,710 --> 00:10:51,610
but you're making it
very difficult to do so.
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00:10:51,660 --> 00:10:54,250
- Oh come on, I'm ready to go.
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00:10:54,300 --> 00:10:56,310
Look how calm I am.
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And I'm not, I'm not suicidal either,
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00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:02,000
and you know that.
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I just wanna go home.
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I can have more water there anyway.
225
00:11:05,370 --> 00:11:06,153
- Mr Baker...
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00:11:06,203 --> 00:11:08,850
- Oh, you think a hospital, of all places,
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00:11:08,900 --> 00:11:10,650
wouldn't hold water from its patients.
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00:11:10,700 --> 00:11:13,660
- Mr Baker, we're just
following the ICM mandates.
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00:11:13,710 --> 00:11:16,380
You're not seriously
suggesting that we don't.
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00:11:16,430 --> 00:11:19,620
And besides, we all need to ration water
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00:11:19,670 --> 00:11:21,245
while there's a shortage,
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and once you're discharged,
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you should be doing the
exact same thing at home.
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00:11:24,850 --> 00:11:26,253
- Okay, whatever.
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00:11:27,930 --> 00:11:30,070
- What's this I hear about fish?
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00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:32,740
The staff say you're asking
for fish at every meal.
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00:11:32,790 --> 00:11:33,791
You know we don't have any
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00:11:33,815 --> 00:11:35,335
and you don't have any at home either.
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00:11:36,716 --> 00:11:39,110
- So, I'm not gonna get a fish sandwich
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00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:40,724
at my going away party?
241
00:11:48,370 --> 00:11:52,629
It's fishy, I mean, who's
hiding all those fish?
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00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:56,270
You, the government, the Japanese?
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00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,710
- Mr Baker, I need to know whether or not
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00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:00,730
you think there are any fish to eat.
245
00:12:00,780 --> 00:12:02,540
It's for cognitive purposes,
246
00:12:02,590 --> 00:12:04,110
it's very important that I know this.
247
00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:05,539
Please answer the question.
248
00:12:06,422 --> 00:12:08,640
- A smart doctor like you doesn't know?
249
00:12:08,690 --> 00:12:09,990
- I'd like you to tell me.
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00:12:11,330 --> 00:12:14,030
- If this was a game show, I
could win a bunch of money.
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00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:15,269
- You don't know, do you?
252
00:12:18,020 --> 00:12:20,930
- Oh no, sorry to report to the world,
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00:12:20,980 --> 00:12:24,380
but as predicted by many fishy scientists,
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00:12:24,430 --> 00:12:26,500
we have fished all the fishies.
255
00:12:26,550 --> 00:12:27,840
Well, almost all the fishies.
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00:12:27,890 --> 00:12:29,980
Any that are left are kinda hard to find,
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unless you have enough money.
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Then you can treat yourself
259
00:12:32,850 --> 00:12:34,633
to some of the old frozen stocks.
260
00:12:36,380 --> 00:12:39,805
And great news folks, we still
have plenty of jellyfishies.
261
00:12:39,855 --> 00:12:43,790
Oh, get ready, 'cause we're
about to learn to cook
262
00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,880
and eat jellyfish, and
in other related news,
263
00:12:47,930 --> 00:12:51,780
those tiny little ocean
phytoplankton thingies,
264
00:12:51,830 --> 00:12:53,730
well they're dyin' off too,
265
00:12:53,780 --> 00:12:55,799
but no big deal, I mean,
266
00:12:55,849 --> 00:12:58,450
they just make half of our oxygen.
267
00:12:58,500 --> 00:13:00,400
We still have the other half, right?
268
00:13:00,450 --> 00:13:03,780
No problemo, just skip
every other breath, folks.
269
00:13:03,830 --> 00:13:05,378
You'll be sound as a pound.
270
00:13:07,770 --> 00:13:09,380
- Thank you, thank you, Mr Baker,
271
00:13:09,430 --> 00:13:11,130
that was an excellent explanation.
272
00:13:14,310 --> 00:13:15,960
I remember when I was just a kid,
273
00:13:16,890 --> 00:13:18,390
they warned us about the fish.
274
00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,180
Really screwed that up, didn't we?
275
00:13:23,233 --> 00:13:24,726
Couldn't be bothered, I guess.
276
00:13:24,776 --> 00:13:26,820
- It wasn't just the fish.
277
00:13:26,870 --> 00:13:29,200
They warned us about everything, really.
278
00:13:29,250 --> 00:13:31,680
I mean, you're the
psychiatrist, you tell me.
279
00:13:31,730 --> 00:13:34,038
Why did we ignore it all?
280
00:13:34,088 --> 00:13:37,130
Really, indulge me, no BS.
281
00:13:37,180 --> 00:13:39,883
- Okay, think about it like this.
282
00:13:40,884 --> 00:13:45,220
What do you get when you mix
a lot of shortsightedness
283
00:13:45,270 --> 00:13:48,570
with a little selfishness
and just a dash of apathy,
284
00:13:48,620 --> 00:13:52,550
and oh, no shortage of
scientific illiteracy,
285
00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:56,160
and don't forget, a whole lot
of power and technology, too.
286
00:13:56,210 --> 00:14:01,206
In my opinion, we're two hairs
short of being chimpanzees.
287
00:14:01,230 --> 00:14:04,260
We're extremely emotional,
with powerful, primitive,
288
00:14:04,310 --> 00:14:06,840
shortsighted survival drives,
289
00:14:06,890 --> 00:14:08,650
and in the blink of an evolutionary eye,
290
00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:10,570
we developed this powerful technology
291
00:14:10,620 --> 00:14:13,263
that completely changed
the shape of the planet.
292
00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,300
Anyway, let's get back to business.
293
00:14:19,350 --> 00:14:22,800
Probably do need to discharge Mr Baker
294
00:14:22,850 --> 00:14:25,350
and some of the other patients, too.
295
00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,430
Beds are full and the waiting list
296
00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:29,950
isn't getting any shorter.
297
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,160
We have what, 21 patients now?
298
00:14:34,210 --> 00:14:35,860
Yeah, 21 patients.
299
00:14:35,910 --> 00:14:37,290
- All suicide attempts?
300
00:14:37,340 --> 00:14:38,123
- Looks like it.
301
00:14:38,173 --> 00:14:41,360
Suicide attempts, suicidal
ideation, suicidal gestures.
302
00:14:41,410 --> 00:14:42,460
- I don't blame them.
303
00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:45,610
- Are you all right,
why would you say that?
304
00:14:45,660 --> 00:14:47,890
- No, actually, I'm not all right.
305
00:14:47,940 --> 00:14:49,410
Why would I be?
306
00:14:49,460 --> 00:14:53,540
One meal a day, just one measly meal?
307
00:14:53,590 --> 00:14:56,313
Rationing food and water
doesn't get you down, too?
308
00:14:57,260 --> 00:15:00,250
And I can't remember the last
time we could eat three meals,
309
00:15:00,300 --> 00:15:01,180
just like normal...
310
00:15:01,230 --> 00:15:04,790
- Look, I know it's hard,
but it's just temporary.
311
00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:06,893
- Yeah, that's what they said a year ago.
312
00:15:09,550 --> 00:15:12,180
I feel hungry and weak all the time,
313
00:15:12,230 --> 00:15:14,750
and then the methane bubbles
that keep resurfacing.
314
00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:16,390
That doesn't worry you too?
315
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:17,960
And the plankton thing,
316
00:15:18,010 --> 00:15:20,460
everything just seems to be
crashing down all around us...
317
00:15:20,510 --> 00:15:21,670
- Look, Karen.
318
00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,573
The plankton thing's
going okay for now, right?
319
00:15:25,500 --> 00:15:27,710
Yes, some types have died off,
320
00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:29,683
but others are supposedly doing okay.
321
00:15:30,580 --> 00:15:33,196
Everything's going to be fine.
322
00:15:33,246 --> 00:15:35,196
Everything's gonna be fine.
323
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,193
Really, just like us?
324
00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,780
- Really, Karen, this is about us now?
325
00:15:51,830 --> 00:15:55,020
- No, actually, this is not about us,
326
00:15:55,070 --> 00:15:58,320
but the Department of
Agriculture doesn't exactly
327
00:15:58,370 --> 00:16:00,620
share your optimistic views.
328
00:16:00,670 --> 00:16:04,690
I think you're trying to tell
me what I wanna hear, again.
329
00:16:04,740 --> 00:16:06,790
Do you really think they
can figure out how to farm
330
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:08,483
so much food with so little water?
331
00:16:08,533 --> 00:16:10,050
- Why are you so mad at me?
332
00:16:10,100 --> 00:16:11,440
I didn't cause this.
333
00:16:11,490 --> 00:16:13,276
- You just take what you
want, when you want it,
334
00:16:13,300 --> 00:16:14,950
and you don't care who you hurt?
335
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,230
- Are you talkin' about us or the Earth?
336
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:19,950
- Both.
337
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,256
We've been down this road before.
338
00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:22,980
You make all kinds of promises...
339
00:16:23,030 --> 00:16:24,427
- Hey, Karen.
340
00:16:24,477 --> 00:16:27,100
Let's not rehash this again, okay?
341
00:16:27,150 --> 00:16:30,880
It happened, it was good for a time,
342
00:16:30,930 --> 00:16:33,440
but we both knew it wasn't gonna last.
343
00:16:33,490 --> 00:16:35,710
- Sort of like our food and water?
344
00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:37,280
- That's not fair.
345
00:16:37,330 --> 00:16:38,630
I never meant to hurt you.
346
00:16:40,700 --> 00:16:42,660
We've got more important
things to focus on,
347
00:16:42,710 --> 00:16:44,250
don't you think?
348
00:16:44,300 --> 00:16:48,653
- I know, I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated.
349
00:16:49,540 --> 00:16:52,263
I don't understand how we
let everything get so bad.
350
00:16:53,613 --> 00:16:56,190
- You're back to talking
about the Earth again, right?
351
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,633
- Yes, yes, the Earth.
352
00:17:00,010 --> 00:17:03,320
You know, my parents were educated people,
353
00:17:03,370 --> 00:17:06,250
just totally oblivious.
354
00:17:06,300 --> 00:17:08,070
We grew up with so much water and food
355
00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:09,230
we didn't know what to do,
356
00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:13,960
and all the while this whole
little mess was brewing.
357
00:17:14,010 --> 00:17:16,290
We ended up turning our one little planet
358
00:17:16,340 --> 00:17:18,780
completely upside down.
359
00:17:18,830 --> 00:17:20,536
- When I was growing up,
my folks used to tell me
360
00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:22,206
oh, these are problems
in third world countries,
361
00:17:22,230 --> 00:17:23,430
it'll never happen here.
362
00:17:26,030 --> 00:17:28,810
It's the elephant in the room
and we all just ignored it.
363
00:17:28,860 --> 00:17:31,323
- Jesus, elephants.
364
00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,650
I mean I think there's one
left in a zoo somewhere.
365
00:17:35,700 --> 00:17:36,630
Call it what you want,
366
00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:38,680
but we created this mess on our own,
367
00:17:38,730 --> 00:17:40,700
with a mass extinction to boot.
368
00:17:40,750 --> 00:17:43,650
You know, my folks had
eight frickin' kids, eight!
369
00:17:43,700 --> 00:17:45,890
Don't get me wrong, I love my parents
370
00:17:45,940 --> 00:17:47,560
and my brothers and my sisters,
371
00:17:47,610 --> 00:17:48,410
but what the hell, right?
372
00:17:48,460 --> 00:17:49,600
It's like we're a plague!
373
00:17:49,650 --> 00:17:52,079
- Karen, calm down, right now.
374
00:17:52,129 --> 00:17:53,643
This isn't helping anything.
375
00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:58,543
The experts, they're
getting on top of this.
376
00:17:59,790 --> 00:18:01,507
Let's stick to the facts,
377
00:18:01,557 --> 00:18:04,548
you know, take it a day at a time.
378
00:18:04,598 --> 00:18:09,240
You know what, why don't you
take tomorrow off and relax?
379
00:18:09,290 --> 00:18:10,503
- I was planning on it.
380
00:18:16,300 --> 00:18:18,510
- You've got a lot of frozen food.
381
00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:19,886
Why don't you sit down to a big meal
382
00:18:19,910 --> 00:18:22,540
and forget any of this is even happening?
383
00:18:22,590 --> 00:18:24,730
We'll get you back in shape, okay?
384
00:18:24,780 --> 00:18:26,420
- Yeah, sure.
385
00:18:26,470 --> 00:18:30,100
- Karen, I still care
about you, I always have...
386
00:18:30,150 --> 00:18:32,073
- Don't, please don't.
387
00:18:33,010 --> 00:18:34,873
I'm sorry I even brought it up.
388
00:18:37,070 --> 00:18:38,070
- Karen...
389
00:18:39,610 --> 00:18:41,833
- Thank you for everything, really.
390
00:18:44,150 --> 00:18:45,150
Goodbye, Jerry.
391
00:19:05,500 --> 00:19:07,076
- Morning Susan, what's on my plate today?
392
00:19:07,100 --> 00:19:10,820
- Well, we are understaffed
and completely full.
393
00:19:10,870 --> 00:19:14,633
It's gonna be a crazy day
today, no pun intended.
394
00:19:15,900 --> 00:19:17,430
- Well, when it rains, it pours.
395
00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,110
When you see Karen, just
send her to my office?
396
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:21,733
- Jerry, Karen's not,
397
00:19:23,460 --> 00:19:24,460
didn't you hear?
398
00:19:27,530 --> 00:19:28,910
- Hear what?
399
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,340
- Her sister found her yesterday morning.
400
00:19:31,390 --> 00:19:33,563
She's, she's dead.
401
00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:40,823
She was a good kid, sorry.
402
00:19:46,684 --> 00:19:47,684
- Yeah.
403
00:19:54,490 --> 00:19:57,430
- Well, that was very shocking and sad.
404
00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,040
But in fact, scientists today are warning
405
00:20:00,090 --> 00:20:02,700
that many of the problems
in our future scene
406
00:20:02,750 --> 00:20:06,211
could be upon us, and surprisingly soon.
407
00:20:10,450 --> 00:20:14,170
Our characters from the future
mentioned a mass extinction.
408
00:20:14,220 --> 00:20:16,770
- It's the elephant in the room
and we all just ignored it.
409
00:20:16,820 --> 00:20:17,740
- Call it what you want,
410
00:20:17,790 --> 00:20:19,780
but we created this mess on our own,
411
00:20:19,830 --> 00:20:21,950
with a mass extinction to boot.
412
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,620
- Unfortunately,
a rapid and widespread
413
00:20:24,670 --> 00:20:26,880
loss of species is something that's
414
00:20:26,930 --> 00:20:29,610
already happening right now.
415
00:20:29,660 --> 00:20:32,400
In fact, biologists
have classified our time
416
00:20:32,450 --> 00:20:36,270
as the sixth mass extinction
in Earth's history.
417
00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:38,506
- First, let me start by saying that
418
00:20:38,556 --> 00:20:42,310
we have millions of species on the planet
419
00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:46,260
and they have evolved
over hundreds of millions
420
00:20:46,310 --> 00:20:49,520
of years into a fantastic
array of different
421
00:20:49,570 --> 00:20:52,610
types of plants and animals and microbes.
422
00:20:52,660 --> 00:20:54,530
And it's really fascinating.
423
00:20:54,580 --> 00:20:57,800
At the same time, right
now we're undergoing
424
00:20:57,850 --> 00:20:59,990
what's called a mass extinction.
425
00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,280
And that means that
the rates of extinction
426
00:21:03,330 --> 00:21:07,600
are much faster, much higher
than they normally would be.
427
00:21:07,650 --> 00:21:10,380
- In the past, there
have been five episodes
428
00:21:10,430 --> 00:21:14,090
of mass extinctions in
which the majority of the
429
00:21:14,140 --> 00:21:17,630
plants and animals of the
planet were wiped out.
430
00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,080
The last one was 65 million years ago
431
00:21:21,130 --> 00:21:23,990
when we lost the dinosaurs
and a lot of other things.
432
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,920
Since then we've built up a
huge amount of biodiversity,
433
00:21:27,970 --> 00:21:29,650
and then in the last 200 years,
434
00:21:29,700 --> 00:21:31,940
we've started destroying it.
435
00:21:31,990 --> 00:21:34,700
- To recap, the Earth
has been around for about
436
00:21:34,750 --> 00:21:37,160
4.5 billion years,
437
00:21:37,210 --> 00:21:39,780
and in those years, there
have been a total of
438
00:21:39,830 --> 00:21:42,590
five mass extinctions so far.
439
00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,070
The Permian mass extinction
was the third and largest one
440
00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:48,570
around 252 million years ago.
441
00:21:48,620 --> 00:21:51,560
The the fifth, and most recent one,
442
00:21:51,610 --> 00:21:53,680
was when the dinosaurs went extinct
443
00:21:53,730 --> 00:21:56,690
about 65 million years ago.
444
00:21:56,740 --> 00:22:00,340
But now we're in the
sixth mass extinction.
445
00:22:00,390 --> 00:22:02,620
And unlike the previous five,
446
00:22:02,670 --> 00:22:05,760
this one is the first
one that is not caused
447
00:22:05,810 --> 00:22:07,380
by natural phenomena,
448
00:22:07,430 --> 00:22:09,530
like meteors hitting the Earth,
449
00:22:09,580 --> 00:22:11,950
or major volcanic eruptions.
450
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:13,580
This one is different.
451
00:22:13,630 --> 00:22:17,470
It's being caused by
humans and our activities.
452
00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,680
It's the first time a single species
453
00:22:20,730 --> 00:22:23,560
is causing a mass extinction.
454
00:22:23,610 --> 00:22:27,560
So, we're truly navigating
through uncharted waters.
455
00:22:27,610 --> 00:22:29,660
- We have a catastrophic situation
456
00:22:29,710 --> 00:22:32,860
that's basically unrecognized.
457
00:22:32,910 --> 00:22:34,860
In about the last 40 years,
458
00:22:34,910 --> 00:22:38,293
we've lost more than half
the wildlife on the planet.
459
00:22:39,254 --> 00:22:41,100
- That bears repeating.
460
00:22:41,150 --> 00:22:44,520
Over one half of all wild
animals on our planet
461
00:22:44,570 --> 00:22:48,310
have disappeared in
just the last 40 years.
462
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:50,620
- I'm sure many people think
463
00:22:50,670 --> 00:22:52,690
what has biodiversity ever done for me
464
00:22:52,740 --> 00:22:54,470
and why should I worry about it?
465
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:59,280
Well, if you don't have a functioning
466
00:22:59,330 --> 00:23:01,820
ecological system that produces oxygen,
467
00:23:01,870 --> 00:23:03,594
that produces food,
468
00:23:03,644 --> 00:23:06,080
people will not survive.
469
00:23:06,130 --> 00:23:08,510
- Many of our crops,
many of the ones that are
470
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,660
the most important really
for our own health,
471
00:23:11,710 --> 00:23:14,360
are dependent on an animal pollinator,
472
00:23:14,410 --> 00:23:16,480
like a bee, to pollinate it.
473
00:23:16,530 --> 00:23:18,650
And so, without these pollinators,
474
00:23:18,700 --> 00:23:22,330
we wouldn't have important
components of our food supply.
475
00:23:22,380 --> 00:23:25,560
Pollinators help to produce 75%
476
00:23:25,610 --> 00:23:27,820
of our different crop species.
477
00:23:27,870 --> 00:23:30,340
That's how important they are to our diet.
478
00:23:30,390 --> 00:23:32,860
As well as things we really
like, like chocolate.
479
00:23:32,910 --> 00:23:35,250
Many people don't know that cacao,
480
00:23:35,300 --> 00:23:36,810
which chocolate comes from,
481
00:23:36,860 --> 00:23:38,770
is pollinated by a tiny fly.
482
00:23:38,820 --> 00:23:42,000
Without that tiny fly, we
wouldn't have chocolate.
483
00:23:42,050 --> 00:23:44,714
Personally, I think that
would be a catastrophe.
484
00:23:47,300 --> 00:23:50,530
- Even if we were to
take a more selfish view
485
00:23:50,580 --> 00:23:54,410
of not caring about other
species or the natural world,
486
00:23:54,460 --> 00:23:57,490
we should still literally
be doing everything
487
00:23:57,540 --> 00:24:00,870
in our power to protect
and preserve biodiversity
488
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,480
for our own survival.
489
00:24:03,530 --> 00:24:06,870
- If you had visited the
planet three billion years ago,
490
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:08,640
you would not have survived a minute
491
00:24:08,690 --> 00:24:11,550
because there was no oxygen to breathe,
492
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:12,920
the water was toxic,
493
00:24:12,970 --> 00:24:15,340
there was no food to eat,
494
00:24:15,390 --> 00:24:17,380
so you wouldn't have survived.
495
00:24:17,430 --> 00:24:20,410
And three billions years of evolution,
496
00:24:20,460 --> 00:24:23,960
of the web of life that
makes the planet habitable
497
00:24:24,010 --> 00:24:27,960
is what we are rapidly destroying.
498
00:24:28,010 --> 00:24:33,010
- So why is this tragic loss
of biodiversity happening?
499
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:38,040
- The biggest cause of extinctions
is habitat destruction.
500
00:24:38,870 --> 00:24:43,360
We know that all organisms
need appropriate habitats
501
00:24:43,410 --> 00:24:45,430
and when you destroy the habitats,
502
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,480
you are wiping out populations.
503
00:24:48,530 --> 00:24:51,850
The basic cause of the extinction episode
504
00:24:51,900 --> 00:24:55,670
of the sixth mass extinction
is the much too large
505
00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:58,440
a size of the human enterprise.
506
00:24:58,490 --> 00:25:00,290
- Habitat loss is the number one driver
507
00:25:00,340 --> 00:25:02,590
of biodiversity loss.
508
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:07,130
And what's behind that is
really our population growth,
509
00:25:07,180 --> 00:25:10,583
and also how we consume resources.
510
00:25:11,590 --> 00:25:14,270
- There are several
causes for the dramatic loss
511
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:16,860
of biodiversity we are experiencing.
512
00:25:16,910 --> 00:25:21,550
For example, poaching is a
serious threat to many species.
513
00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,310
However the biggest driver
of species extinctions
514
00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:30,240
is actually the destruction
of natural habitats by humans.
515
00:25:30,290 --> 00:25:33,580
According to the United
Nations, the livestock sector
516
00:25:33,630 --> 00:25:37,860
is by far the single largest
user of land on the planet.
517
00:25:37,910 --> 00:25:41,320
And it is the major
driver of deforestation.
518
00:25:41,370 --> 00:25:45,600
Livestock systems occupy a staggering 45%
519
00:25:45,650 --> 00:25:47,573
of the global surface area.
520
00:25:48,890 --> 00:25:51,450
I don't think annual
agriculture comes to mind
521
00:25:51,500 --> 00:25:54,270
immediately for most people as the largest
522
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,200
land user on the planet.
523
00:25:56,250 --> 00:25:57,790
But it is.
524
00:25:57,840 --> 00:25:59,990
- So then, as
we're eating more meats,
525
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,100
we're eating more of a product that really
526
00:26:02,150 --> 00:26:03,760
just takes a lot to produce.
527
00:26:03,810 --> 00:26:05,200
It takes a lot of land,
528
00:26:05,250 --> 00:26:06,360
it takes a lot of energy,
529
00:26:06,410 --> 00:26:08,190
it takes a lot of water.
530
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:12,480
And as we use these
more expensive products,
531
00:26:12,530 --> 00:26:14,720
as we consume more expensive products,
532
00:26:14,770 --> 00:26:17,960
it means that we basically are co-opting
533
00:26:18,010 --> 00:26:21,180
more of the Earth's
resources for ourselves,
534
00:26:21,230 --> 00:26:23,660
and that's competing with biodiversity.
535
00:26:23,710 --> 00:26:26,230
It's meaning that we need to take up
536
00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:27,880
a lot of their habitats.
537
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:39,920
- The fact that we, you know,
this weird primate species,
538
00:26:40,710 --> 00:26:45,710
of like relatively
hairless, defenseless apes,
539
00:26:45,890 --> 00:26:50,820
are destroying the only home
that we know of in the universe
540
00:26:50,870 --> 00:26:52,103
that will support life.
541
00:26:53,591 --> 00:26:58,591
It's horrifying on a scale
that we can't even conceive of.
542
00:27:00,750 --> 00:27:03,430
Which is why, like, I
feel badly for humans,
543
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,050
but there is a part of me
that just thinks, that like,
544
00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:08,620
if we can't change ourselves,
545
00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:12,060
if we can't learn how to live in sort of
546
00:27:12,110 --> 00:27:15,280
sustainable harmony with the only world
547
00:27:15,330 --> 00:27:17,100
that will support us,
548
00:27:17,150 --> 00:27:18,193
we need to go away.
549
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,313
And the other thing is, we will go away.
550
00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,680
- In other news, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
551
00:27:25,730 --> 00:27:29,140
Authority, or NOAA, issued new warnings.
552
00:27:29,190 --> 00:27:33,400
They are reporting that the
oceans' pH is still decreasing,
553
00:27:33,450 --> 00:27:36,000
meaning it's further acidifying.
554
00:27:36,050 --> 00:27:39,020
This despite concerted
attempts to regulate carbon
555
00:27:39,070 --> 00:27:42,497
emissions and industrial
and agricultural runoff.
556
00:27:48,250 --> 00:27:50,020
- The newscast
in the future reported
557
00:27:50,070 --> 00:27:52,650
that the ocean was acidifying.
558
00:27:52,700 --> 00:27:56,070
Yet again, this is another
problem that we don't really
559
00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:58,500
need to go to the future to see,
560
00:27:58,550 --> 00:28:01,580
because it's already happening today.
561
00:28:01,630 --> 00:28:04,410
So, what does ocean acidification mean?
562
00:28:04,460 --> 00:28:07,890
It means the pH of the
oceans' water is decreasing.
563
00:28:07,940 --> 00:28:10,910
PH simply measures how acidic or alkaline
564
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:12,740
a given substance is.
565
00:28:12,790 --> 00:28:15,990
But why is the ocean acidifying?
566
00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:20,610
Well, because a third of all
the carbon dioxide, or CO2,
567
00:28:20,660 --> 00:28:23,350
that we are releasing into the atmosphere,
568
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,580
gets absorbed by the ocean,
569
00:28:25,630 --> 00:28:28,210
where it turns into carbonic acid.
570
00:28:28,260 --> 00:28:30,250
And it happens to be the case
571
00:28:30,300 --> 00:28:34,680
that we've put huge amounts
of CO2 in the atmosphere
572
00:28:34,730 --> 00:28:37,413
in a very short period of time.
573
00:28:38,260 --> 00:28:41,860
- As we are emitting CO2,
a constant fraction of it
574
00:28:41,910 --> 00:28:44,640
goes into the ocean and
turns it into an acid.
575
00:28:44,690 --> 00:28:47,580
For every pound of CO2 we
emit into the atmosphere,
576
00:28:47,630 --> 00:28:50,600
about 30% of it ends up in the ocean.
577
00:28:50,650 --> 00:28:53,050
So, acidification is a very linear,
578
00:28:53,100 --> 00:28:55,520
very predictable affair.
579
00:28:55,570 --> 00:28:58,730
- The oceans' average
pH already dropped from
580
00:28:58,780 --> 00:29:00,810
8.2 to 8.1
581
00:29:00,860 --> 00:29:03,000
since pre-industrial times.
582
00:29:03,050 --> 00:29:05,410
And scientists estimate
that it will drop further
583
00:29:05,460 --> 00:29:07,220
by the end of this century,
584
00:29:07,270 --> 00:29:10,770
to an average pH of 7.8
585
00:29:10,820 --> 00:29:15,170
So after being relatively
stable for thousands of years,
586
00:29:15,220 --> 00:29:17,810
now we're looking at a total pH drop
587
00:29:17,860 --> 00:29:20,150
of zero point four units
588
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:22,780
in only about 300 years.
589
00:29:22,830 --> 00:29:27,830
And while point four pH units
may not sound like a lot,
590
00:29:27,860 --> 00:29:31,010
for the plants and animals
who live in the ocean,
591
00:29:31,060 --> 00:29:33,190
it's a huge change.
592
00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,390
- Life, as we know it, has
evolved to depend on those
593
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:40,120
very constant, very well
buffered conditions in the ocean.
594
00:29:40,170 --> 00:29:41,920
If the ocean turns more acidic,
595
00:29:41,970 --> 00:29:45,700
it's a chemical environment
that a lot of species
596
00:29:45,750 --> 00:29:48,100
are not accustomed to because
they've never seen this
597
00:29:48,150 --> 00:29:49,800
in their species lifetime,
598
00:29:49,850 --> 00:29:51,305
millions of years.
599
00:29:51,355 --> 00:29:53,155
And, as such, this can really present
600
00:29:53,205 --> 00:29:55,850
a large challenge to ocean life.
601
00:29:55,900 --> 00:29:58,460
For example, the western United States,
602
00:29:58,510 --> 00:30:00,840
there's a big oyster industry,
603
00:30:00,890 --> 00:30:02,600
and some of the oyster hatcheries,
604
00:30:02,650 --> 00:30:05,560
where the very fragile
larvae of the oysters form,
605
00:30:05,610 --> 00:30:08,380
had to be moved to
Hawaii because the water
606
00:30:08,430 --> 00:30:10,930
was turning too acidic
for them to survive.
607
00:30:10,980 --> 00:30:13,310
And what a lot of people
don't realize is that
608
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,350
ocean acidification is
already outside the bounds
609
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:17,603
of natural variability.
610
00:30:20,686 --> 00:30:23,086
- Another creature
that has attracted a lot of
611
00:30:23,136 --> 00:30:26,200
concern for its sensitivity
to ocean acidification
612
00:30:26,250 --> 00:30:29,160
and warming is phytoplankton.
613
00:30:29,210 --> 00:30:30,460
Why is that?
614
00:30:30,510 --> 00:30:32,160
Well, for a number of reasons.
615
00:30:32,210 --> 00:30:35,000
One of which is that ocean phytoplankton
616
00:30:35,050 --> 00:30:37,310
are responsible for one half
617
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,760
of the world's oxygen production.
618
00:30:40,810 --> 00:30:41,900
Half of it.
619
00:30:41,950 --> 00:30:44,710
- So, half of all plant
production happens in the ocean,
620
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,320
and that also means half of
our oxygen that is produced
621
00:30:47,370 --> 00:30:49,800
annually on the globe,
happens in the ocean.
622
00:30:49,850 --> 00:30:52,410
It's produced by tiny
algae called phytoplankton,
623
00:30:52,460 --> 00:30:54,620
which produce the same amount of oxygen
624
00:30:54,670 --> 00:30:56,820
as all other plants in the world combined.
625
00:30:56,870 --> 00:30:58,690
In some sense, every second breath we take
626
00:30:58,740 --> 00:31:00,240
comes from the ocean.
627
00:31:00,290 --> 00:31:03,650
- The further changes in
phytoplankton that are projected
628
00:31:03,700 --> 00:31:07,340
if ocean acidification
and warming continue,
629
00:31:07,390 --> 00:31:09,860
are completely unprecedented.
630
00:31:09,910 --> 00:31:11,440
So we really don't know how
631
00:31:11,490 --> 00:31:13,483
exactly it's all going to play out.
632
00:31:14,430 --> 00:31:18,650
- In 2018 my one wish for Christmas
633
00:31:18,700 --> 00:31:20,890
was some device that will suck CO2
634
00:31:20,940 --> 00:31:22,970
out of the atmosphere.
635
00:31:23,020 --> 00:31:25,263
But in a way,
636
00:31:27,230 --> 00:31:30,220
I wonder if that would
actually be the best thing,
637
00:31:30,270 --> 00:31:33,200
'cause of course, we're on a sorta like,
638
00:31:33,250 --> 00:31:37,490
collision course with
disaster and tragedy.
639
00:31:37,540 --> 00:31:40,630
I hate to say this, but
we kind of deserve it.
640
00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,550
Like, we're the cause of the problem.
641
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:44,776
You're the cause of the problem.
642
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:46,330
I'm the cause of the problem.
643
00:31:46,380 --> 00:31:49,670
And sure, it would be nice
to magically push a button
644
00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:51,380
and suck all, well, not all of it,
645
00:31:51,430 --> 00:31:54,280
a lot of the CO2 out of the atmosphere,
646
00:31:54,330 --> 00:31:56,690
but what would we have learned?
647
00:31:56,740 --> 00:32:01,020
I don't want a magic fix
that will reduce CO2,
648
00:32:01,070 --> 00:32:03,640
I want us to stop treating this planet
649
00:32:03,690 --> 00:32:04,750
like a garbage dump,
650
00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:07,090
and I want us to stop
pretending that there
651
00:32:07,140 --> 00:32:10,620
is some, like, plan B, some
other planet we can move to.
652
00:32:10,670 --> 00:32:14,310
Like, I'm sorry Elon Musk,
Mars is not a viable solution.
653
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:17,960
You can't move eight
billion people to Mars,
654
00:32:18,010 --> 00:32:19,440
which does not support life.
655
00:32:19,490 --> 00:32:22,210
- Sorry to report to the world, but
656
00:32:22,260 --> 00:32:24,810
as predicted by many fishy scientists,
657
00:32:24,860 --> 00:32:26,910
we have fished all the fishies,
658
00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:28,260
well almost all the fishies.
659
00:32:28,310 --> 00:32:30,410
Any that are left are kinda hard to find.
660
00:32:30,460 --> 00:32:32,150
Unless you have enough money.
661
00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:33,266
Then you can treat yourself
662
00:32:33,290 --> 00:32:34,899
to some of the old frozen stocks.
663
00:32:39,460 --> 00:32:41,390
- We saw in our future world,
664
00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:43,960
that fish were very hard to come by.
665
00:32:44,010 --> 00:32:46,310
This is based on a simple reality.
666
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:49,310
We're taking too much
life out of the ocean,
667
00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:53,110
while dumping too many
harmful things into it.
668
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,120
The World Economic Forum recently issued
669
00:32:56,170 --> 00:32:57,903
a sobering prediction.
670
00:32:57,953 --> 00:33:00,353
With a business as usual scenario,
671
00:33:00,403 --> 00:33:05,380
by 2050 there will be more
plastic in the ocean than fish.
672
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,090
The pervasiveness of
plastic seems to have really
673
00:33:09,140 --> 00:33:10,700
snuck up on us.
674
00:33:10,750 --> 00:33:14,380
It's a manmade substance,
first created in 1907,
675
00:33:14,430 --> 00:33:16,610
but now, barely a century later,
676
00:33:16,660 --> 00:33:19,170
it's literally everywhere.
677
00:33:19,220 --> 00:33:22,650
Most plastic is never recycled either.
678
00:33:22,700 --> 00:33:25,040
In fact, a lot of it can't be recycled,
679
00:33:25,090 --> 00:33:26,670
even if we wanted to,
680
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:30,420
because of certain components
that are used in its making.
681
00:33:30,470 --> 00:33:34,040
According to the United
Nations, more than eight million
682
00:33:34,090 --> 00:33:37,060
metric tons of plastic find their way
683
00:33:37,110 --> 00:33:39,880
to the ocean every year.
684
00:33:39,930 --> 00:33:41,946
That's the equivalent of dumping
685
00:33:41,996 --> 00:33:46,677
1,440 garbage trucks of plastic
686
00:33:46,727 --> 00:33:51,727
into the sea every single day.
687
00:33:53,230 --> 00:33:54,180
- Plastic doesn't break down.
688
00:33:54,230 --> 00:33:56,800
It stays in the environment
and accumulates.
689
00:33:56,850 --> 00:33:58,770
The more we dump in, the more there is.
690
00:33:58,820 --> 00:33:59,910
It doesn't go away.
691
00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:01,790
It breaks into smaller and smaller pieces,
692
00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:05,880
but those micro-plastics remain
and they have toxic effects
693
00:34:05,930 --> 00:34:07,580
that we don't even really understand,
694
00:34:07,630 --> 00:34:09,670
we are only beginning to study now.
695
00:34:09,720 --> 00:34:11,640
Including their effects on humans.
696
00:34:11,690 --> 00:34:15,070
For example, if you eat a
muscle, or any shellfish
697
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,980
or any product from the sea
is almost guaranteed now
698
00:34:18,030 --> 00:34:20,580
to have little plastic filaments in them.
699
00:34:20,630 --> 00:34:22,890
Because the plastic is everywhere
700
00:34:22,940 --> 00:34:25,410
and is being fed upon by these animals.
701
00:34:25,460 --> 00:34:28,280
- Scientists have even measured
the proportion of plastic
702
00:34:28,330 --> 00:34:32,120
mass to the proportion of
plankton mass in the ocean
703
00:34:32,170 --> 00:34:35,950
and in some places, like
the North Pacific Gyre,
704
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:40,123
they found there was six times
more plastic than plankton.
705
00:34:41,050 --> 00:34:44,980
So we're really turning the
oceans into a plastic soup.
706
00:34:45,030 --> 00:34:48,130
- You find plastic in
almost all seafood now.
707
00:34:48,180 --> 00:34:51,390
So, when you take a muscle
from Halifax Harbor,
708
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,420
it has about 100 plastic filaments in it.
709
00:34:54,470 --> 00:34:56,850
When you take a muscle
from an aquaculture farm,
710
00:34:56,900 --> 00:34:58,670
it has about 200 plastic filaments,
711
00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:00,290
because they grow it on plastic ropes
712
00:35:00,340 --> 00:35:02,400
that shed the micro-fibers that then
713
00:35:02,450 --> 00:35:03,990
are eaten up by the muscle.
714
00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:07,380
- So, if you're eating
seafood, you're probably also
715
00:35:07,430 --> 00:35:09,980
eating quite a bit of plastic, too.
716
00:35:10,030 --> 00:35:12,130
Embedded in the animal's tissue,
717
00:35:12,180 --> 00:35:15,530
even if you don't see
the plastic or taste it.
718
00:35:15,580 --> 00:35:18,180
A recent study from the
University of Belgium
719
00:35:18,230 --> 00:35:22,830
actually examined how much
plastic seafood-loving
720
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:26,390
Europeans were eating
and estimated it could be
721
00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:31,440
around 11,000 tiny pieces of
plastic per person, per year.
722
00:35:31,710 --> 00:35:34,240
We don't know how eating all this plastic
723
00:35:34,290 --> 00:35:36,300
will affect human health.
724
00:35:36,350 --> 00:35:39,010
We've only just started to study this,
725
00:35:39,060 --> 00:35:41,530
so it's still largely an unknown,
726
00:35:41,580 --> 00:35:43,740
which is not reassuring at all.
727
00:35:43,790 --> 00:35:47,500
On top of that, we've also
seen that the nano-plastics
728
00:35:47,550 --> 00:35:50,870
which are the very
small plastic particles,
729
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:55,250
can actually cross cell
membranes in some fish.
730
00:35:55,300 --> 00:35:58,690
We've seen that they can
accumulate in organs,
731
00:35:58,740 --> 00:36:01,940
like the brain, testicles, and liver
732
00:36:01,990 --> 00:36:04,619
and cause problems with the reproduction,
733
00:36:04,669 --> 00:36:06,830
immune system, and behavior.
734
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:10,980
And this ability of plastic
to cross cell membranes
735
00:36:11,030 --> 00:36:14,620
is, in my opinion, one
of the most concerning.
736
00:36:14,670 --> 00:36:16,860
Because, if it's affecting wildlife,
737
00:36:16,910 --> 00:36:18,710
I don't know how we can be certain that
738
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,165
it's somehow not going to affect us, too.
739
00:36:41,610 --> 00:36:44,250
We've known about the
problem of fatal encounters
740
00:36:44,300 --> 00:36:46,560
between marine wildlife and debris
741
00:36:46,610 --> 00:36:47,980
for a long time.
742
00:36:48,030 --> 00:36:51,010
Since at least the 1960s.
743
00:36:51,060 --> 00:36:54,640
But today, of course, the
magnitude is many times
744
00:36:54,690 --> 00:36:56,610
greater than it was then.
745
00:36:56,660 --> 00:36:58,910
And now we also have more technology,
746
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:02,020
like cellphones with cameras and YouTube,
747
00:37:02,070 --> 00:37:05,570
so it's easier to witness the
plight of these poor animals.
748
00:37:05,620 --> 00:37:07,590
With just a quick Google search,
749
00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:09,920
you'll see clips and pictures uploaded
750
00:37:09,970 --> 00:37:14,523
from all over the world of
animals tangled in plastic,
751
00:37:18,370 --> 00:37:19,683
eating plastic,
752
00:37:23,290 --> 00:37:26,003
with plastic forks in their nostrils,
753
00:37:28,500 --> 00:37:31,593
with plastic straws stuck in their noses,
754
00:37:37,210 --> 00:37:40,523
birds dying with plastic-filled stomachs,
755
00:37:43,900 --> 00:37:47,180
baby birds being fed
plastics by their mothers,
756
00:37:47,230 --> 00:37:49,480
who mistake it for food,
757
00:37:49,530 --> 00:37:51,690
and even whales, stranded ashore,
758
00:37:51,740 --> 00:37:54,970
starving and dying, unable to eat anything
759
00:37:55,020 --> 00:37:58,190
because their stomachs
are filled with plastic,
760
00:37:58,240 --> 00:38:00,030
like this one in severe distress
761
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:01,680
in the last moments of her life.
762
00:38:04,950 --> 00:38:09,050
I just can't imagine the level
of despair and helplessness
763
00:38:09,100 --> 00:38:11,730
whales and all the other animals must feel
764
00:38:11,780 --> 00:38:15,120
as their stomachs fill
with plastic to the point
765
00:38:15,170 --> 00:38:18,403
that they cannot eat food anymore and die.
766
00:38:23,770 --> 00:38:26,870
Remember this problem
is all because of us.
767
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:31,070
100 years ago, there was
virtually no plastic anywhere,
768
00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:33,341
so it's a tragedy of our own making.
769
00:39:49,211 --> 00:39:52,350
With a human population of 7.5 billion
770
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:55,520
and growing, if we all want to eat fish,
771
00:39:55,570 --> 00:39:58,090
then over-fishing seems to be the result.
772
00:39:58,140 --> 00:40:01,410
- Most fishing, prior
to 1950, was coastal.
773
00:40:01,460 --> 00:40:05,370
Few fisheries happened way
outside in the open oceans.
774
00:40:05,420 --> 00:40:07,470
That changed after World
War II because of new
775
00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:09,980
technology, more power diesel engines.
776
00:40:10,030 --> 00:40:12,010
New materials for nets, and so on,
777
00:40:12,060 --> 00:40:14,460
that made it feasible to fish way offshore
778
00:40:14,510 --> 00:40:17,220
in fish populations that had
never been fished before.
779
00:40:17,270 --> 00:40:20,220
And what we documented is
that within 20 to 30 years,
780
00:40:20,270 --> 00:40:22,340
a lot of those populations
became depleted,
781
00:40:22,390 --> 00:40:24,900
particularly for the very large fish.
782
00:40:24,950 --> 00:40:28,360
So the United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization
783
00:40:28,410 --> 00:40:30,290
comes out with a report every two years
784
00:40:30,340 --> 00:40:31,990
and what they've shown is that the larger
785
00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:34,680
and larger fraction of
those fish populations
786
00:40:34,730 --> 00:40:36,640
is being depleted and right now,
787
00:40:36,690 --> 00:40:40,391
about 80% or more are fully fished,
788
00:40:40,441 --> 00:40:42,300
meaning their fished to capacity
789
00:40:42,350 --> 00:40:44,750
or they're over-fished and being depleted.
790
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:48,106
- Using data from the
UNFAO, scientists from
791
00:40:48,156 --> 00:40:52,380
Dalhousie University projected
that by the year 2048
792
00:40:52,430 --> 00:40:55,850
all fisheries would be practically empty.
793
00:40:55,900 --> 00:40:59,480
In other words, if we
continue business as usual,
794
00:40:59,530 --> 00:41:03,420
they're warning we could have
virtually fishless oceans
795
00:41:03,470 --> 00:41:05,673
in just a few short decades.
796
00:41:06,900 --> 00:41:09,110
- Many studies have
concluded that if we keep
797
00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,260
fishing the way we've
been fishing in the past
798
00:41:11,310 --> 00:41:13,280
we will collapse many or most
799
00:41:13,330 --> 00:41:15,940
fish populations by the
middle of the century.
800
00:41:15,990 --> 00:41:18,890
There was just a new paper last
year that showed this again
801
00:41:18,940 --> 00:41:22,950
using new data for fisheries
management worldwide.
802
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,750
- When people are
confronted with this reality
803
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:27,550
they sometimes think, well,
804
00:41:27,600 --> 00:41:30,260
we can just have farmed
fish instead, right?
805
00:41:30,310 --> 00:41:33,170
Although farm fish, or
aquaculture, is sometimes
806
00:41:33,220 --> 00:41:36,370
touted as an alternative
approach to commercial fishing,
807
00:41:36,420 --> 00:41:40,250
in reality, it has its own
set of very serious problems
808
00:41:40,300 --> 00:41:42,270
and can still be detrimental to both
809
00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:44,370
wild fish and ecosystems.
810
00:41:44,420 --> 00:41:48,240
From destruction and
contamination of natural habitats,
811
00:41:48,290 --> 00:41:52,143
to genetic problems from
the inbreeding of farm fish
812
00:41:52,193 --> 00:41:55,780
that sometimes escape and
pass on their problems
813
00:41:55,830 --> 00:41:57,610
to the wild populations,
814
00:41:57,660 --> 00:42:00,350
making them less likely to survive.
815
00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:03,220
In addition, the crowded
farming conditions
816
00:42:03,270 --> 00:42:06,950
are a breeding ground for
diseases and parasites.
817
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,020
One good example is parasitic sea lice,
818
00:42:10,070 --> 00:42:13,370
which feed on the skin and blood of salmon
819
00:42:13,420 --> 00:42:16,250
and can ultimately kill the fish.
820
00:42:16,300 --> 00:42:19,440
Wild salmon populations
have been severely affected
821
00:42:19,490 --> 00:42:22,130
by lice spread from fish farms.
822
00:42:22,180 --> 00:42:26,030
On top of all that, many farmed
fish are also carnivorous.
823
00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:29,053
Meaning they need to be
fed wild caught fish.
824
00:42:32,710 --> 00:42:35,100
I don't think farming
fish is the most effective
825
00:42:35,150 --> 00:42:37,480
or realistic solution to the problem.
826
00:42:37,530 --> 00:42:39,440
A more elegant and simple approach
827
00:42:39,490 --> 00:42:42,730
for all of us who have
access to basic food options,
828
00:42:42,780 --> 00:42:44,723
is to simply stop eating fish.
829
00:42:59,034 --> 00:43:01,461
- I have some friends who think that like
830
00:43:01,511 --> 00:43:03,540
by being environmentally responsible,
831
00:43:03,590 --> 00:43:05,900
they're going to stop eating
land animals and only eat
832
00:43:05,950 --> 00:43:10,403
sea animals, fish and
crustaceans and things.
833
00:43:10,453 --> 00:43:11,656
Like, if you care about the ocean,
834
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:15,280
you have to stop eating
animals that live in the ocean.
835
00:43:15,330 --> 00:43:17,240
It's so self-evident,
836
00:43:17,290 --> 00:43:21,260
I don't know how destroying fish
837
00:43:21,310 --> 00:43:23,840
and destroying the ecosystem of the ocean
838
00:43:23,890 --> 00:43:27,270
is somehow environmentally responsible,
839
00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:30,050
but we're a messed up species,
840
00:43:30,100 --> 00:43:31,440
so I'm not surprise that like,
841
00:43:31,490 --> 00:43:33,880
someone came up with that terrible idea.
842
00:43:33,930 --> 00:43:38,150
- My parents were educated
people, just totally oblivious.
843
00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:42,860
And all the while, this whole
little mess was brewing.
844
00:43:42,910 --> 00:43:45,180
We ended up turning our one little planet
845
00:43:45,230 --> 00:43:46,937
completely upside down.
846
00:43:52,420 --> 00:43:55,892
- Our rapidly growing
population is a multiplier that
847
00:43:55,942 --> 00:43:59,980
affects every global
environmental issue we face.
848
00:44:00,030 --> 00:44:03,580
The fact is, we've had
an unprecedented spike
849
00:44:03,630 --> 00:44:07,180
in our population over
the last two centuries.
850
00:44:07,230 --> 00:44:10,110
That, coupled with our
consumption patterns,
851
00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:13,480
is placing serious strain
on our planet's finite
852
00:44:13,530 --> 00:44:16,260
natural resources and ecosystems
853
00:44:17,100 --> 00:44:19,950
- The number of people on
the planet would not matter
854
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:22,520
if we were ethereal beings.
855
00:44:22,570 --> 00:44:25,790
What matters is the combination
of the number of people
856
00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:28,920
and their economic
activity, namely consumption
857
00:44:28,970 --> 00:44:30,450
and waste products.
858
00:44:30,500 --> 00:44:33,750
- Our species, modern
humans, has been around
859
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,417
for about 200,000 years.
860
00:44:36,467 --> 00:44:40,674
And it took us all that time
to reach a population of
861
00:44:40,724 --> 00:44:45,640
one billion, which we finally
did relatively recently,
862
00:44:45,690 --> 00:44:47,900
in the early 1800s.
863
00:44:47,950 --> 00:44:52,450
But today, only about
200 years after that,
864
00:44:52,500 --> 00:44:55,940
we've multiplied seven times over.
865
00:44:55,990 --> 00:44:59,500
We're not more than 7.5 billion humans
866
00:44:59,550 --> 00:45:04,550
and on track to hit close to
ten billion by the year 2050.
867
00:45:04,690 --> 00:45:05,996
- I'm concerned about population,
868
00:45:06,020 --> 00:45:08,670
because if you look over
all of human history,
869
00:45:08,720 --> 00:45:11,050
it took up until the 1800s to reach
870
00:45:11,100 --> 00:45:13,140
the first one billion people on Earth.
871
00:45:13,190 --> 00:45:15,480
And the last one billion people,
872
00:45:15,530 --> 00:45:17,590
to go from six to seven
billion people on Earth,
873
00:45:17,640 --> 00:45:19,483
took only about 12 years.
874
00:45:21,150 --> 00:45:24,280
- Why did our population
grow so quickly in just
875
00:45:24,330 --> 00:45:25,853
the last two centuries?
876
00:45:26,710 --> 00:45:30,060
Well, simply put, we've
had the very good fortune
877
00:45:30,110 --> 00:45:33,050
of being able to decrease child mortality
878
00:45:33,100 --> 00:45:35,810
and increase our life expectancies
879
00:45:35,860 --> 00:45:38,528
as a result of the agricultural revolution
880
00:45:38,578 --> 00:45:42,170
and technological advances
in modern medicine.
881
00:45:42,220 --> 00:45:45,160
So more children now grow up,
882
00:45:45,210 --> 00:45:48,412
live longer and have
children of their own.
883
00:45:48,462 --> 00:45:51,710
And this in the aggregate
dramatically increased
884
00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:54,900
the world population in
a short period of time.
885
00:45:54,950 --> 00:45:57,750
- Every year we're adding about 80 million
886
00:45:57,800 --> 00:45:58,950
extra people to the planet,
887
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,250
and that is about the
population of Germany.
888
00:46:01,300 --> 00:46:04,210
So, if you think about
the need to find a good
889
00:46:04,260 --> 00:46:05,630
home for those people,
890
00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:07,530
to ensure that they have access to food,
891
00:46:07,580 --> 00:46:09,630
that they have access to clean water,
892
00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:12,210
that they have healthcare and education.
893
00:46:12,260 --> 00:46:14,310
It really puts things into perspective.
894
00:46:14,360 --> 00:46:18,410
- When I was born, in 1932,
895
00:46:18,460 --> 00:46:20,920
there were two billion
people on the planet,
896
00:46:20,970 --> 00:46:24,630
now there are 7.5 billion people.
897
00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:28,580
The size of the human
population has more than tripled
898
00:46:28,630 --> 00:46:30,373
in my one lifetime.
899
00:46:32,870 --> 00:46:34,670
One of the really critical things,
900
00:46:34,720 --> 00:46:39,280
the resource that we'll
never run out of, is morons.
901
00:46:39,330 --> 00:46:41,240
Morons, for instance, say,
902
00:46:41,290 --> 00:46:43,160
it's only consumption, it's not the
903
00:46:43,210 --> 00:46:45,310
number of people that counts.
904
00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:48,310
That's like saying the area of a rectangle
905
00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:51,720
is determined only by its
width, not by its length.
906
00:46:51,770 --> 00:46:54,710
Certainly, consumption is a big problem,
907
00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:56,840
so is population size.
908
00:46:56,890 --> 00:47:00,185
The two multiply together
to give you your impact
909
00:47:00,235 --> 00:47:02,247
on your life support systems.
910
00:47:03,420 --> 00:47:07,220
- Never in human history,
have we asked so much
911
00:47:07,270 --> 00:47:11,650
of our environment, our
infrastructure, and our society
912
00:47:11,700 --> 00:47:15,180
to accommodate such large
increases in our population
913
00:47:15,230 --> 00:47:17,990
over such a short period of time.
914
00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:21,100
Just as one example, at
the pace we are currently
915
00:47:21,150 --> 00:47:23,950
growing our population,
we need to be building
916
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:28,030
63 thousand new classrooms
every single week,
917
00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:30,420
repeatedly, week after week,
918
00:47:30,470 --> 00:47:34,070
if we want every child to
have access to education.
919
00:47:34,120 --> 00:47:38,100
Funding, building, and
staffing 63 thousand new
920
00:47:38,150 --> 00:47:41,770
classrooms every single
week, over and over.
921
00:47:41,820 --> 00:47:43,530
So are we building them?
922
00:47:43,580 --> 00:47:45,990
And are we prepared to
keep building at that pace
923
00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:47,700
every single week?
924
00:47:47,750 --> 00:47:51,620
The answer is no, unfortunately
we are not building them.
925
00:47:51,670 --> 00:47:53,580
And I don't think it's realistic
926
00:47:53,630 --> 00:47:56,540
to think that we could at that pace.
927
00:47:56,590 --> 00:47:59,808
- The impact of human beings on the planet
928
00:47:59,858 --> 00:48:01,798
doubles every 17 years.
929
00:48:01,848 --> 00:48:04,588
That is, if you take the
rate of population growth,
930
00:48:04,638 --> 00:48:06,420
and add to it the rate of economic growth,
931
00:48:06,470 --> 00:48:08,260
and put those two things together,
932
00:48:08,310 --> 00:48:11,850
we make twice the impact on
the planet every 17 years
933
00:48:11,900 --> 00:48:13,947
and you can't do that
for many doublings before
934
00:48:13,997 --> 00:48:15,343
you destroy the planet.
935
00:48:17,350 --> 00:48:19,710
- A lot of people think
the population problem
936
00:48:19,760 --> 00:48:23,420
is too many Indians, or too
many people in Africa and so on.
937
00:48:23,470 --> 00:48:25,870
Actually, it's too many
people in the United States
938
00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:27,180
to start out with.
939
00:48:27,230 --> 00:48:30,640
You and I consume much more
than the average person
940
00:48:30,690 --> 00:48:33,350
in Africa or the average person in India.
941
00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:35,180
And that's part of the problem.
942
00:48:35,230 --> 00:48:38,250
To support the people we have today,
943
00:48:38,300 --> 00:48:39,960
the current estimate is you'd need
944
00:48:40,010 --> 00:48:41,950
one and a half Earths to do it.
945
00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:44,080
To support the people we have today
946
00:48:44,130 --> 00:48:46,510
at the style of the average American,
947
00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:49,370
you would need four or five more Earths.
948
00:48:49,420 --> 00:48:53,080
We're living on our capital,
not on our interest.
949
00:48:53,130 --> 00:48:56,070
It's as if we were an
idiot child that inherited
950
00:48:56,120 --> 00:48:59,650
a million dollars and
kept writing bigger checks
951
00:48:59,700 --> 00:49:01,750
on the bank account every year,
952
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:03,930
and never looking at the balance.
953
00:49:03,980 --> 00:49:06,150
We're using up our precious soils,
954
00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:09,190
we're using up our easily
accessible resources.
955
00:49:09,240 --> 00:49:11,890
Basically, we're behaving like idiots,
956
00:49:11,940 --> 00:49:15,270
because we're the only species we know of
957
00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:17,943
that is determinedly set
out to destroy itself.
958
00:49:23,950 --> 00:49:27,280
- Supposing the moon had
water and an atmosphere,
959
00:49:27,330 --> 00:49:29,360
and we had a cheap way of getting there.
960
00:49:29,410 --> 00:49:31,050
At the present rate of population growth,
961
00:49:31,090 --> 00:49:32,390
we'd fill it up in 10 years.
962
00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:34,270
It wouldn't help us.
963
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:37,370
- Given the fundamental
importance that our population
964
00:49:37,420 --> 00:49:41,090
plays in so many converging
environmental issues,
965
00:49:41,140 --> 00:49:43,300
you would think that
environmental organizations
966
00:49:43,350 --> 00:49:46,470
would be having a robust
conversation about it,
967
00:49:46,520 --> 00:49:49,980
yet most don't talk about
population growth that much,
968
00:49:50,030 --> 00:49:51,240
if at all.
969
00:49:51,290 --> 00:49:54,530
- If you think about
any controversial topic,
970
00:49:54,580 --> 00:49:59,580
people are always aware
of difficult subjects
971
00:49:59,671 --> 00:50:02,730
and if they bring those
difficult subjects up,
972
00:50:02,780 --> 00:50:03,990
it may get them into trouble.
973
00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:07,070
So, if you go to a dinner
party and you bring up
974
00:50:07,120 --> 00:50:09,580
population and people jump all over you,
975
00:50:09,630 --> 00:50:11,360
you'll say, okay I won't touch that again.
976
00:50:11,410 --> 00:50:13,076
- There are a few reasons
why people are afraid
977
00:50:13,100 --> 00:50:16,370
to talk about population, but
I thing at the heart of it
978
00:50:16,420 --> 00:50:21,000
because there have been some
coercive population programs
979
00:50:21,050 --> 00:50:23,984
and policies, people
are afraid that if they
980
00:50:24,034 --> 00:50:27,410
make these links between
population and the environment,
981
00:50:27,460 --> 00:50:31,020
that it's suggesting that we
have to control the population,
982
00:50:31,070 --> 00:50:33,400
that there has to be some external force.
983
00:50:33,450 --> 00:50:36,690
But, good population policies
and programs respect what
984
00:50:36,740 --> 00:50:40,900
couples want and they're
about giving women and men
985
00:50:40,950 --> 00:50:43,610
what they want and not
telling people what to do.
986
00:50:43,660 --> 00:50:46,190
- In talking about the
very real problem of
987
00:50:46,240 --> 00:50:49,230
unsustainable population growth, I believe
988
00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:53,229
the focus needs to be on raising
the awareness of the issue,
989
00:50:53,279 --> 00:50:56,490
promoting gender equality
and women's rights
990
00:50:56,540 --> 00:51:00,400
around the world, supporting
things like family planning,
991
00:51:00,450 --> 00:51:03,360
so that all women have
the means to determine
992
00:51:03,410 --> 00:51:06,240
the number and spacing of their children,
993
00:51:06,290 --> 00:51:11,100
encouraging small family norms,
supporting adoption efforts,
994
00:51:11,150 --> 00:51:15,270
increasing education, eradicating poverty,
995
00:51:15,320 --> 00:51:19,533
and abolishing horrid
practices like child marriages.
996
00:51:20,580 --> 00:51:23,670
These human rights efforts
are critically important
997
00:51:23,720 --> 00:51:26,760
in their own right, but
they also happen to be
998
00:51:26,810 --> 00:51:29,590
some of the most effective
actions we can take
999
00:51:29,640 --> 00:51:32,643
to help slow our population growth rate.
1000
00:51:33,540 --> 00:51:36,840
Also, in our culture,
there are still sometimes
1001
00:51:36,890 --> 00:51:39,840
some religious or social
pressures that can make
1002
00:51:39,890 --> 00:51:43,030
people feel like they
have to have children,
1003
00:51:43,080 --> 00:51:45,970
or they have to have a
certain number of children,
1004
00:51:46,020 --> 00:51:48,290
even if they don't really want to.
1005
00:51:48,340 --> 00:51:51,000
Even if you are capable
of having and supporting
1006
00:51:51,050 --> 00:51:54,560
children, no one should feel
like they must have children
1007
00:51:54,610 --> 00:51:56,810
if that's not what they want to do.
1008
00:51:56,860 --> 00:52:00,860
As a personal example, I actually
underwent tubal ligation,
1009
00:52:00,910 --> 00:52:04,660
or permanent sterilization
surgery, several years ago
1010
00:52:04,710 --> 00:52:06,820
while single and childless.
1011
00:52:06,870 --> 00:52:10,360
Even though I love kids, I
just don't have the inclination
1012
00:52:10,410 --> 00:52:14,100
to have any children of
my own, and that's okay.
1013
00:52:14,150 --> 00:52:17,897
But no woman or man should
feel like they have to have
1014
00:52:17,947 --> 00:52:21,580
children simply in response
to social pressures.
1015
00:52:21,630 --> 00:52:23,782
And for the benefit of all humans,
1016
00:52:23,832 --> 00:52:27,740
including today's children and
future generations to come,
1017
00:52:27,790 --> 00:52:31,120
I think we have a moral
obligation to raise awareness
1018
00:52:31,170 --> 00:52:35,040
about the unsubstantiality of
our current population growth
1019
00:52:35,090 --> 00:52:39,420
rate and the importance
of slowing that rate down,
1020
00:52:39,470 --> 00:52:42,420
as well as changing our
consumption patterns
1021
00:52:42,470 --> 00:52:46,070
so that we avoid irreparably
depleting and destroying
1022
00:52:46,120 --> 00:52:49,780
the very environmental
systems on which we humans
1023
00:52:49,830 --> 00:52:52,170
and all other species depend.
1024
00:52:52,220 --> 00:52:55,820
- So, I think that the
silence around population
1025
00:52:55,870 --> 00:52:59,710
has to be broken, and
people have to speak out
1026
00:52:59,760 --> 00:53:02,860
about the relationship between
population and environment,
1027
00:53:02,910 --> 00:53:05,600
that there is something we can
do to slow population growth
1028
00:53:05,650 --> 00:53:09,720
and it will have drastic
benefits for access to resources,
1029
00:53:09,770 --> 00:53:13,570
access to land, access
to water, food security,
1030
00:53:13,620 --> 00:53:17,320
and clean air, stable climate.
1031
00:53:17,370 --> 00:53:19,190
All of that's affected by population.
1032
00:53:19,240 --> 00:53:22,260
It will be much easier to
manage these challenges
1033
00:53:22,310 --> 00:53:25,250
if we can slow and
stabilize population growth.
1034
00:53:25,300 --> 00:53:28,230
Than if we continue on a
business as usual path.
1035
00:53:28,280 --> 00:53:31,893
- A lot of us, myself
included, everyone watching,
1036
00:53:31,943 --> 00:53:36,040
most of us self-identify as good people.
1037
00:53:36,090 --> 00:53:38,770
Of the 7.7 billion people on the planet,
1038
00:53:38,820 --> 00:53:40,607
I guarantee you almost all of them think
1039
00:53:40,657 --> 00:53:43,218
they're a good person, and
they're leading a good life,
1040
00:53:43,268 --> 00:53:45,590
they're like, lookin' after their family.
1041
00:53:45,640 --> 00:53:49,757
But we are not judged
1042
00:53:49,807 --> 00:53:52,273
on how we self-identify.
1043
00:53:52,323 --> 00:53:55,420
We're judged on our actions, you know,
1044
00:53:55,470 --> 00:53:59,110
and if our actions cause
misery and destruction
1045
00:53:59,160 --> 00:54:01,977
and suffering, we're not good people.
1046
00:54:02,027 --> 00:54:05,260
And you know, I'm not God,
it's not my place to judge,
1047
00:54:05,310 --> 00:54:07,880
but like, where do we get the
idea that we're living good,
1048
00:54:07,930 --> 00:54:10,300
benign lives if the product of our lives
1049
00:54:10,350 --> 00:54:12,840
is nothing but suffering and destruction?
1050
00:54:26,240 --> 00:54:28,320
- Dr Cohen, you were
telling me over the break
1051
00:54:28,370 --> 00:54:31,760
that these methane
explosions are nothing new,
1052
00:54:31,810 --> 00:54:34,540
and you didn't seem to
be entirely surprised
1053
00:54:34,590 --> 00:54:36,220
by this event either.
1054
00:54:36,270 --> 00:54:38,466
- Well, we've been monitoring
this phenomenon for decades
1055
00:54:38,490 --> 00:54:41,800
and while it's nothing new,
we have seen an increase
1056
00:54:41,850 --> 00:54:43,610
in the frequency of these methane bubbles
1057
00:54:43,660 --> 00:54:45,288
which is very concerning.
1058
00:54:50,090 --> 00:54:52,830
- Our fictional characters
in the future were worried
1059
00:54:52,880 --> 00:54:56,510
about methane bubbles escaping
from under the Arctic.
1060
00:54:56,560 --> 00:54:59,820
But we actually don't have to
go to the future to see this,
1061
00:54:59,870 --> 00:55:03,510
because it's something that's
already happening today.
1062
00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:07,090
In fact, the image we used
for the fictional newscast
1063
00:55:07,140 --> 00:55:11,190
is from a real life crater in
Siberia, thought to have been
1064
00:55:11,240 --> 00:55:15,500
formed by a recent methane
pocket explosion in an area
1065
00:55:15,550 --> 00:55:18,590
that used to be covered
by frozen permafrost.
1066
00:55:18,640 --> 00:55:21,340
Some places in the Arctic
are starting to look like
1067
00:55:21,390 --> 00:55:24,773
bubbling jacuzzis, not
because the water is boiling,
1068
00:55:24,823 --> 00:55:28,740
but because methane that was
previously trapped in ice
1069
00:55:28,790 --> 00:55:31,253
is now bubbling up to the surface.
1070
00:55:32,210 --> 00:55:34,330
Some daring scientists,
like this one from the
1071
00:55:34,380 --> 00:55:37,770
University of Alaska, can
even dig just a little bit
1072
00:55:37,820 --> 00:55:42,210
into the ice and light
escaping methane right on fire.
1073
00:55:42,260 --> 00:55:44,450
But why does it matter if frozen methane
1074
00:55:44,500 --> 00:55:47,180
is now being released into the atmosphere?
1075
00:55:47,230 --> 00:55:50,330
Well, it's a concern for two main reasons.
1076
00:55:50,380 --> 00:55:53,345
First, because the total amount
of methane trapped in frozen
1077
00:55:53,395 --> 00:55:57,350
parts of our planet is truly enormous.
1078
00:55:57,400 --> 00:56:00,940
There's several tons more
methane trapped by ice
1079
00:56:00,990 --> 00:56:04,020
than there is in the entire atmosphere.
1080
00:56:04,070 --> 00:56:06,240
The second reason why methane matters,
1081
00:56:06,290 --> 00:56:10,200
is it happens to be an extremely
powerful greenhouse gas.
1082
00:56:10,250 --> 00:56:14,610
It's at least 20 times more
powerful than carbon dioxide
1083
00:56:14,660 --> 00:56:17,490
in trapping heat from the sun.
1084
00:56:17,540 --> 00:56:21,349
If this enormous store of
frozen methane or a big
1085
00:56:21,399 --> 00:56:25,570
part of it is released
into our atmosphere,
1086
00:56:25,620 --> 00:56:30,380
it could amplify the degree
and speed of climate change.
1087
00:56:30,430 --> 00:56:31,970
- It's a very unusual kind of ice
1088
00:56:32,020 --> 00:56:33,380
that you can actually burn.
1089
00:56:33,430 --> 00:56:36,880
Also, of course, like
regular ice, it can melt.
1090
00:56:36,930 --> 00:56:39,260
- It's actually methane
trapped in water molecules,
1091
00:56:39,310 --> 00:56:41,740
but frozen and it's under
pressure and at cold
1092
00:56:41,790 --> 00:56:43,960
temperatures under the oceans.
1093
00:56:44,010 --> 00:56:45,890
There's a lot of it, but
it's deep in the ocean,
1094
00:56:45,920 --> 00:56:47,650
it's hard to get at, it's very unstable,
1095
00:56:47,700 --> 00:56:49,750
so people just generally leave it alone,
1096
00:56:49,800 --> 00:56:51,200
and that's a good thing.
1097
00:56:51,250 --> 00:56:54,020
But in the Arctic Ocean,
it's more shallow,
1098
00:56:54,070 --> 00:56:55,650
and so we're already starting to see,
1099
00:56:55,700 --> 00:56:57,277
due to warming, the melting of ice,
1100
00:56:57,327 --> 00:56:58,630
the warming of the Arctic Sea,
1101
00:56:58,680 --> 00:57:00,490
we're starting to see methane bubbles
1102
00:57:00,540 --> 00:57:02,530
coming out of the Arctic Ocean.
1103
00:57:02,580 --> 00:57:06,520
And it's hard to say
how much that is so far,
1104
00:57:06,570 --> 00:57:08,940
but we know that with further warming,
1105
00:57:08,990 --> 00:57:10,873
it's going to get worse.
1106
00:57:15,370 --> 00:57:18,660
- The good news is, when
methane is locked under
1107
00:57:18,710 --> 00:57:20,400
or within a frozen surface,
1108
00:57:20,450 --> 00:57:24,110
it's harmless because it
doesn't enter the atmosphere.
1109
00:57:24,160 --> 00:57:27,360
The bad news is, over the past century,
1110
00:57:27,410 --> 00:57:30,150
we've been putting a lot
of carbon dioxide into our
1111
00:57:30,200 --> 00:57:33,350
atmosphere, which traps heat from the sun
1112
00:57:33,400 --> 00:57:36,730
and has been causing the
average global temperature
1113
00:57:36,780 --> 00:57:39,450
to warm up, and as a result,
1114
00:57:39,500 --> 00:57:42,450
places that were once permanently frozen,
1115
00:57:42,500 --> 00:57:46,510
are now thawing, or thawing
for part of the year.
1116
00:57:46,560 --> 00:57:48,645
- I think the danger of
the methane is even though
1117
00:57:48,695 --> 00:57:51,630
we're starting to see the
melting of the permafrost,
1118
00:57:51,680 --> 00:57:54,000
we're starting to see
bubbling out of the Arctic,
1119
00:57:54,050 --> 00:57:55,860
it's not that it's a lot now,
1120
00:57:55,910 --> 00:57:59,228
but it's a sign of something
that could happen in much
1121
00:57:59,278 --> 00:58:00,690
greater amounts in the future,
1122
00:58:00,740 --> 00:58:02,390
and therefore we want to stop it
1123
00:58:02,440 --> 00:58:04,610
before it gets out of control.
1124
00:58:04,660 --> 00:58:08,910
Right now, the biggest
contributor to climate change
1125
00:58:08,960 --> 00:58:10,393
and global warming is CO2.
1126
00:58:11,866 --> 00:58:14,335
- So we refer to these gasses, like CO2
1127
00:58:14,385 --> 00:58:18,410
as greenhouse gasses
because of this metaphor
1128
00:58:18,460 --> 00:58:20,110
with an actual greenhouse.
1129
00:58:20,160 --> 00:58:23,090
A greenhouse is a glass
building that lets sunlight
1130
00:58:23,140 --> 00:58:26,610
come in and then it traps
some of the heat in there
1131
00:58:26,660 --> 00:58:29,470
so it's warmer inside the greenhouse
1132
00:58:29,520 --> 00:58:31,420
than outside the greenhouse.
1133
00:58:31,470 --> 00:58:33,540
And I have firsthand
experience with a greenhouse,
1134
00:58:33,590 --> 00:58:37,360
having had my wedding
reception in a greenhouse,
1135
00:58:37,410 --> 00:58:40,800
in July, in Massachusetts,
with no air conditioning.
1136
00:58:40,850 --> 00:58:42,260
So, they work.
1137
00:58:42,310 --> 00:58:46,710
In fact, on our planet, if
we didn't have CO2 and those
1138
00:58:46,760 --> 00:58:50,850
greenhouse gasses, the
planet would freeze over.
1139
00:58:50,900 --> 00:58:53,920
It would freeze over, from
the pole down to the equator.
1140
00:58:53,970 --> 00:58:57,700
- The problem is that in a
very short period of time
1141
00:58:57,750 --> 00:59:01,280
we have rapidly increased
the amount of these
1142
00:59:01,330 --> 00:59:03,920
heat-trapping substances
in our atmosphere,
1143
00:59:03,970 --> 00:59:07,080
not over thousand or millions of years
1144
00:59:07,130 --> 00:59:09,520
like has happened naturally in the past,
1145
00:59:09,570 --> 00:59:14,000
we're literally doing it in
the blink of a geological eye.
1146
00:59:14,050 --> 00:59:17,340
The amount of CO2 in the
atmosphere used to be around
1147
00:59:17,390 --> 00:59:21,460
280 parts per million
for thousands of years,
1148
00:59:21,510 --> 00:59:24,330
until we had the Industrial Revolution.
1149
00:59:24,380 --> 00:59:27,250
And then, in a very short period of time,
1150
00:59:27,300 --> 00:59:32,300
less than 300 years, we
increased the concentration
1151
00:59:32,350 --> 00:59:36,483
to over 400 parts per million today.
1152
00:59:37,510 --> 00:59:39,340
Ending our use of fossil fuels,
1153
00:59:39,390 --> 00:59:42,410
by transitioning to clean renewable energy
1154
00:59:42,460 --> 00:59:45,959
is urgently needed to stop
this dangerous increase
1155
00:59:46,009 --> 00:59:50,330
in the amount of heat-trapping
CO2 in our atmosphere.
1156
00:59:50,380 --> 00:59:53,560
And while we need to
absolutely remain diligent
1157
00:59:53,610 --> 00:59:56,700
in the crucial task of
transitioning to clean,
1158
00:59:56,750 --> 01:00:00,580
renewable energy, there is
also another critical action
1159
01:00:00,630 --> 01:00:03,160
that is available to us as individuals
1160
01:00:03,210 --> 01:00:05,110
that we can all take right now,
1161
01:00:05,160 --> 01:00:08,800
that would have a significant
and almost immediate impact,
1162
01:00:08,850 --> 01:00:13,040
and that does not require
any new laws or technology.
1163
01:00:13,090 --> 01:00:15,300
According to the United Nations,
1164
01:00:15,350 --> 01:00:19,320
animal agriculture is
responsible for more human-caused
1165
01:00:19,370 --> 01:00:22,910
greenhouse gas emissions
than the entire global
1166
01:00:22,960 --> 01:00:26,240
transportation sector combined.
1167
01:00:26,290 --> 01:00:28,610
This means that livestock sector,
1168
01:00:28,660 --> 01:00:30,430
the sector that raises animals,
1169
01:00:30,480 --> 01:00:33,070
like cows, pigs, chickens, and goats,
1170
01:00:33,120 --> 01:00:37,463
produces more heat-trapping
greenhouse gas emissions
1171
01:00:37,513 --> 01:00:40,620
than all of the cars, buses, trains,
1172
01:00:40,670 --> 01:00:43,210
ships, and airplanes combined.
1173
01:00:43,260 --> 01:00:45,531
In addition, the United Nations reports
1174
01:00:45,581 --> 01:00:50,320
the livestock sector is
also the major driver
1175
01:00:50,370 --> 01:00:53,527
of deforestation in the world.
1176
01:00:53,577 --> 01:00:57,490
And trees are an important
carbon dioxide sink,
1177
01:00:57,540 --> 01:01:01,683
meaning they absorb and sequester
it out of our atmosphere.
1178
01:01:03,730 --> 01:01:07,270
In addition to continued
development and implementation
1179
01:01:07,320 --> 01:01:11,210
of clean energy technologies,
a mass global shift
1180
01:01:11,260 --> 01:01:15,130
away from animal foods is urgently needed
1181
01:01:15,180 --> 01:01:17,920
and would have significant
and almost immediate
1182
01:01:17,970 --> 01:01:20,980
impact in addressing our climate crisis.
1183
01:01:21,030 --> 01:01:23,370
- It's funny, when I
became a vegan in 1987,
1184
01:01:23,420 --> 01:01:24,560
my reason was simple.
1185
01:01:24,610 --> 01:01:26,900
I loved animals and I
didn't want to do anything
1186
01:01:26,950 --> 01:01:29,570
that contributed or
caused animal suffering.
1187
01:01:29,620 --> 01:01:31,850
But as time passed, I began
to find out more about
1188
01:01:31,900 --> 01:01:34,440
the role of animal
agriculture in human health
1189
01:01:34,490 --> 01:01:36,750
and in the environment, but especially
1190
01:01:36,800 --> 01:01:38,520
what has reinforced my veganism,
1191
01:01:38,570 --> 01:01:42,190
is the role that animal
agriculture in climate change.
1192
01:01:42,240 --> 01:01:43,610
- Why are you a vegetarian?
1193
01:01:43,660 --> 01:01:45,806
I asked him and it wasn't even
because meat's bad for you,
1194
01:01:45,830 --> 01:01:48,500
he said that raising cattle
was bad for the planet
1195
01:01:48,550 --> 01:01:51,900
with cow flatulence in
the ozone and the clearing
1196
01:01:51,950 --> 01:01:54,160
of land for the raising of cattle.
1197
01:01:54,210 --> 01:01:56,743
What are you doing to
help the environment?
1198
01:01:57,760 --> 01:01:59,202
I'm eatin' the cow.
1199
01:02:00,850 --> 01:02:01,930
- It's your choice,
1200
01:02:01,980 --> 01:02:05,040
comedians and everyone else,
you can continue to make jokes
1201
01:02:05,090 --> 01:02:08,490
about cow farts, or you
can address the fact
1202
01:02:08,540 --> 01:02:10,680
that animal agriculture
and the way it contributes
1203
01:02:10,730 --> 01:02:13,290
to climate change is
going to make this planet
1204
01:02:13,340 --> 01:02:15,470
uninhabitable for us.
1205
01:02:15,520 --> 01:02:17,180
- One meal a day?
1206
01:02:17,230 --> 01:02:18,803
Just one measly meal?
1207
01:02:19,650 --> 01:02:22,831
Rationing food and water
doesn't get you down, too?
1208
01:02:22,881 --> 01:02:25,770
And I can't remember the
last time we could eat
1209
01:02:25,820 --> 01:02:27,270
three meals just like normal.
1210
01:02:28,870 --> 01:02:31,280
- Civilization has only flourished
1211
01:02:31,330 --> 01:02:34,240
when there is food availability.
1212
01:02:34,290 --> 01:02:38,030
Well, unfortunately, severe
food and water shortages
1213
01:02:38,080 --> 01:02:41,350
are anticipated in the
not-so-distant future
1214
01:02:41,400 --> 01:02:44,170
if we continue business as usual.
1215
01:02:44,220 --> 01:02:48,020
Global resource depletion,
our own consumption patterns,
1216
01:02:48,070 --> 01:02:50,987
and population growth all play a part.
1217
01:02:56,530 --> 01:02:59,810
- There are three
projections for the year 2050
1218
01:02:59,860 --> 01:03:01,810
made by the UN Population Division.
1219
01:03:01,860 --> 01:03:03,880
High, medium, and low.
1220
01:03:03,930 --> 01:03:07,365
If we're at the high or
even the medium projection,
1221
01:03:07,415 --> 01:03:12,415
so somewhere between 9.5 and
10.5 billion people by 2050,
1222
01:03:12,610 --> 01:03:16,200
we will clearly face a food crisis.
1223
01:03:16,250 --> 01:03:19,080
- Right now enough calories
certainly are produced
1224
01:03:19,130 --> 01:03:22,010
to feed everyone, so right
now enough food is produced,
1225
01:03:22,060 --> 01:03:24,740
but there are these issues
that lead to food insecurity
1226
01:03:24,790 --> 01:03:26,670
due to distribution.
1227
01:03:26,720 --> 01:03:28,780
Projecting forward into the future,
1228
01:03:28,830 --> 01:03:31,000
it's easy to imagine that
it's less of a distribution
1229
01:03:31,050 --> 01:03:34,110
issue and becomes more of
a issue that it's very very
1230
01:03:34,160 --> 01:03:36,850
difficult to actually
produce all the calories
1231
01:03:36,900 --> 01:03:38,550
that will be demanded.
1232
01:03:38,600 --> 01:03:40,480
- According to the United Nations,
1233
01:03:40,530 --> 01:03:42,820
with our current population growth
1234
01:03:42,870 --> 01:03:45,590
and the current trends
of a growing middle class
1235
01:03:45,640 --> 01:03:47,760
who are consuming more animal foods,
1236
01:03:47,810 --> 01:03:50,610
we'll need to double our crop production
1237
01:03:50,660 --> 01:03:54,690
by the year 2050, just to keep up.
1238
01:03:54,740 --> 01:03:57,280
The problem is our planet doesn't really
1239
01:03:57,330 --> 01:03:59,640
have the land to do this.
1240
01:03:59,690 --> 01:04:02,600
- We're currently using
pretty much all of the good
1241
01:04:02,650 --> 01:04:05,515
arable land for agriculture.
1242
01:04:05,565 --> 01:04:07,100
If it's good land for growing crops,
1243
01:04:07,150 --> 01:04:09,300
we're probably already
growing crops there.
1244
01:04:09,350 --> 01:04:11,800
There is some other land
that could be turned into
1245
01:04:11,850 --> 01:04:14,750
cropland, but generally that's a bad idea,
1246
01:04:14,800 --> 01:04:17,960
because other lands are
either sensitive forests,
1247
01:04:18,010 --> 01:04:20,720
or simply not suitable for agriculture.
1248
01:04:20,770 --> 01:04:23,360
- It turns out that feeding
the human population
1249
01:04:23,410 --> 01:04:26,850
with animal foods is
tremendously inefficient.
1250
01:04:26,900 --> 01:04:29,130
Animal foods require a lot more land,
1251
01:04:29,180 --> 01:04:31,750
a lot more water, and a lot more energy,
1252
01:04:31,800 --> 01:04:34,270
as compared to producing plant foods.
1253
01:04:34,320 --> 01:04:36,360
Keep in mind that we're
not just talking about the
1254
01:04:36,410 --> 01:04:39,890
animals themselves, we're also
talking about all the food
1255
01:04:39,940 --> 01:04:42,800
that has to be grown to
feed all those animals.
1256
01:04:42,850 --> 01:04:45,580
And all the land and water
that goes into growing
1257
01:04:45,630 --> 01:04:47,150
all those feed crops.
1258
01:04:47,200 --> 01:04:50,750
Animals are extremely
inefficient converters of food,
1259
01:04:50,800 --> 01:04:54,290
meaning they eat much more
food than they produce.
1260
01:04:54,340 --> 01:04:57,690
- Globally, about 36% of
1261
01:04:57,740 --> 01:04:59,956
plant-based crop production
1262
01:05:00,006 --> 01:05:01,620
goes to feed animals.
1263
01:05:01,670 --> 01:05:05,160
But only about four
percent of that is actually
1264
01:05:05,210 --> 01:05:08,520
returned to our food
system in meat that we eat.
1265
01:05:08,570 --> 01:05:12,890
In other words, there's this
huge conversion inefficiency.
1266
01:05:12,940 --> 01:05:16,390
We're losing about 90% of the calories
1267
01:05:16,440 --> 01:05:18,730
as we go from grains to meat.
1268
01:05:18,780 --> 01:05:22,070
- You have to feed about
30 calories to a cow to get
1269
01:05:22,120 --> 01:05:26,000
one calorie of edible meat out.
1270
01:05:26,050 --> 01:05:28,250
So it takes... the cow uses a lot
1271
01:05:28,300 --> 01:05:30,550
of that energy just to live.
1272
01:05:30,600 --> 01:05:34,120
So eating meat is a very inefficient use,
1273
01:05:34,170 --> 01:05:37,800
in energetic terms, of calories.
1274
01:05:37,850 --> 01:05:40,670
- According to scientists from
the University of Minnesota
1275
01:05:40,720 --> 01:05:42,550
Institute on the Environment,
1276
01:05:42,600 --> 01:05:45,730
of all the calories we
invest in raising animals
1277
01:05:45,780 --> 01:05:48,550
for food, we only recover a fraction,
1278
01:05:48,600 --> 01:05:51,940
on average about 12% in the form of meat,
1279
01:05:51,990 --> 01:05:53,750
dairy, and other animal products.
1280
01:05:53,800 --> 01:05:56,580
- To state the obvious,
it takes a lot of energy
1281
01:05:56,630 --> 01:05:59,580
and a lot of resources, to produce food.
1282
01:05:59,630 --> 01:06:03,170
There's seven and a half
billion of us on this planet.
1283
01:06:03,220 --> 01:06:08,090
But what doesn't make sense
is to produce all this food
1284
01:06:08,140 --> 01:06:10,670
and then feed it to animals.
1285
01:06:10,720 --> 01:06:13,202
You know, I mean, the only
analogy I can think of
1286
01:06:13,252 --> 01:06:15,476
is like, imagine taking
1287
01:06:15,526 --> 01:06:19,137
1,000 pounds of corn
1288
01:06:19,187 --> 01:06:20,640
that you could eat yourself,
1289
01:06:20,690 --> 01:06:22,840
and instead turning it into tequila
1290
01:06:22,890 --> 01:06:25,590
and trying to feed yourself off of that.
1291
01:06:25,640 --> 01:06:27,190
Like we see how dumb that would be,
1292
01:06:27,240 --> 01:06:29,106
it's the exact same thing
we're doing with grain
1293
01:06:29,130 --> 01:06:30,750
that we feed to animals.
1294
01:06:30,800 --> 01:06:34,080
- So it turns out we can
dramatically increase the
1295
01:06:34,130 --> 01:06:36,520
availability of food in the world,
1296
01:06:36,570 --> 01:06:39,872
by feeding ourselves
with the plants directly.
1297
01:06:39,922 --> 01:06:44,392
And this is an important
humanitarian issue to consider.
1298
01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:49,822
- As I travel around the
world, I see poor countries
1299
01:06:49,872 --> 01:06:53,070
who sell their grain to the West,
1300
01:06:53,120 --> 01:06:56,070
while their own children
starve in their arms,
1301
01:06:56,120 --> 01:06:58,940
and the West feeds it to livestock
1302
01:06:58,990 --> 01:07:01,870
...so we can eat a steak?
1303
01:07:01,920 --> 01:07:05,023
Am I the only one who
sees this as a crime?
1304
01:07:06,970 --> 01:07:09,990
Believe me, every morsel of meat we eat
1305
01:07:10,040 --> 01:07:13,813
is slapping the tear-stained
face of a hungry child.
1306
01:07:15,204 --> 01:07:17,790
- And of course, eating
animal foods also affects
1307
01:07:17,840 --> 01:07:20,593
farm animals, too, in a very direct way.
1308
01:07:23,150 --> 01:07:25,700
A couple of years ago,
a slaughterhouse gave me
1309
01:07:25,750 --> 01:07:28,450
permission to film inside their facility,
1310
01:07:28,500 --> 01:07:31,080
with some conditions, but I
was essentially allowed to
1311
01:07:31,130 --> 01:07:33,510
go in and film whatever I wanted.
1312
01:07:33,560 --> 01:07:37,480
So I grabbed a very easy to
use camera and I flew there.
1313
01:07:37,530 --> 01:07:40,050
The first day, I filmed
around the holding areas
1314
01:07:40,100 --> 01:07:41,947
next to the slaughter facility.
1315
01:07:41,997 --> 01:07:45,330
And the second day I filmed
inside the actual building
1316
01:07:45,380 --> 01:07:47,710
where the slaughtering occurred.
1317
01:07:47,760 --> 01:07:50,430
And one thing in
particular that shocked me
1318
01:07:50,480 --> 01:07:52,950
although it probably
shouldn't have shocked me
1319
01:07:53,000 --> 01:07:55,320
because this seems so obvious now,
1320
01:07:55,370 --> 01:07:58,130
was how all the animals
fight for their lives
1321
01:07:58,180 --> 01:08:00,070
until the very end.
1322
01:08:00,120 --> 01:08:03,000
Somehow they all seem to
know they are in danger,
1323
01:08:03,050 --> 01:08:04,830
even in the holding areas.
1324
01:08:04,880 --> 01:08:08,590
One particular cow I saw the
first day in the holding areas
1325
01:08:08,640 --> 01:08:13,540
was a beautiful, huge
completely white cow.
1326
01:08:13,590 --> 01:08:16,600
And somehow, I think
she knew that something
1327
01:08:16,650 --> 01:08:18,920
really bad was going to happen to her.
1328
01:08:18,970 --> 01:08:20,700
Because she was really frightened.
1329
01:08:20,750 --> 01:08:23,040
I don't know if she was
able to smell the blood
1330
01:08:23,090 --> 01:08:26,060
of the animals who went
before her, or what.
1331
01:08:26,110 --> 01:08:30,550
But she was really anxious
and upset and moving around,
1332
01:08:30,600 --> 01:08:32,990
so since I happened to be there,
1333
01:08:33,040 --> 01:08:37,130
my reaction was to try
to console this poor cow,
1334
01:08:37,180 --> 01:08:39,420
so I started talking to her
1335
01:08:39,470 --> 01:08:41,360
trying to soothe her,
1336
01:08:41,410 --> 01:08:43,920
and I spent some time with her,
1337
01:08:43,970 --> 01:08:46,920
and after a few minutes,
she was a lot calmer,
1338
01:08:46,970 --> 01:08:50,070
and even her eyes looked more relaxed and
1339
01:08:50,120 --> 01:08:51,453
she was in better shape.
1340
01:08:53,340 --> 01:08:55,780
But then the next morning, when I returned
1341
01:08:55,830 --> 01:08:58,450
to film the actual slaughter facility,
1342
01:08:58,500 --> 01:09:02,070
in addition to all the other
cows they were slaughtering
1343
01:09:02,120 --> 01:09:06,010
it came the turn of
that beautiful and sweet
1344
01:09:06,060 --> 01:09:08,743
and completely white cow
to go through slaughter.
1345
01:09:10,330 --> 01:09:12,680
And unlike the other cows before her,
1346
01:09:12,730 --> 01:09:15,290
who were desperately trying to escape,
1347
01:09:15,340 --> 01:09:16,660
trying to crawl up the wall
1348
01:09:16,710 --> 01:09:19,853
and getting up on the hind
legs to avoid getting killed,
1349
01:09:20,960 --> 01:09:24,230
this white cow didn't fight at all.
1350
01:09:24,280 --> 01:09:27,250
Most of the other cows had
to be shoved in so they could
1351
01:09:27,300 --> 01:09:29,440
close the metal door behind them,
1352
01:09:29,490 --> 01:09:32,570
but this one, they didn't
have to shove her in too much,
1353
01:09:32,620 --> 01:09:35,831
because she just came right
in and she kept perfectly
1354
01:09:35,881 --> 01:09:39,930
still and did nothing but stare at me
1355
01:09:39,980 --> 01:09:41,870
because I was right there with my camera
1356
01:09:41,920 --> 01:09:45,340
no more than like a meter
away from where her head was.
1357
01:09:45,390 --> 01:09:50,390
So this poor cow, I think
recognized me from the day before,
1358
01:09:50,610 --> 01:09:52,203
that I had been nice to her,
1359
01:09:53,560 --> 01:09:56,363
and I think she thought I was
going to be able to help her.
1360
01:09:57,280 --> 01:10:00,200
Because she was just
keeping perfectly still,
1361
01:10:00,250 --> 01:10:02,800
and she just had her eyes wide open,
1362
01:10:02,850 --> 01:10:05,490
locked on my eyes, like she was imploring
1363
01:10:05,540 --> 01:10:06,673
for me to save her.
1364
01:10:09,660 --> 01:10:12,173
But there was absolutely
nothing that I could do.
1365
01:10:42,281 --> 01:10:45,410
I remember when I left the
slaughterhouse that morning,
1366
01:10:45,460 --> 01:10:48,860
it was still pretty early,
and as I stepped outside
1367
01:10:48,910 --> 01:10:52,350
there were lots of trees
and the birds were singing,
1368
01:10:52,400 --> 01:10:55,250
and everything seemed so peaceful outside.
1369
01:10:55,300 --> 01:10:58,310
And I thought to myself, how unbelievable
1370
01:10:58,360 --> 01:11:00,150
that this world in which we live,
1371
01:11:00,200 --> 01:11:02,680
seems so peaceful and beautiful
1372
01:11:02,730 --> 01:11:06,720
and at the same time,
this very world is also
1373
01:11:06,770 --> 01:11:08,390
an unrelenting hell on Earth
1374
01:11:08,440 --> 01:11:11,050
for the animals we use for food.
1375
01:11:11,100 --> 01:11:13,770
Every single piece of animal food we eat
1376
01:11:13,820 --> 01:11:16,450
comes from an animal
who desperately wanted
1377
01:11:16,500 --> 01:11:17,661
to not be killed.
1378
01:11:26,310 --> 01:11:29,330
Because no matter how
local, humane, organic,
1379
01:11:29,380 --> 01:11:32,820
cage free, grass fed, it may be labeled,
1380
01:11:32,870 --> 01:11:37,870
for the animals, this world
is a real life horror story,
1381
01:11:38,000 --> 01:11:41,780
one in which they fight for
their lives with futility.
1382
01:11:41,830 --> 01:11:44,963
And then ultimately get
killed against their will.
1383
01:11:47,080 --> 01:11:50,450
- So you're slaughtering
these remarkable animals
1384
01:11:50,500 --> 01:11:52,300
and it's cruel and it's stupid.
1385
01:11:52,350 --> 01:11:55,250
I mean, maybe that's
basically, like when humanity
1386
01:11:55,300 --> 01:11:58,050
disappears and we have to
write the epitaph for humanity,
1387
01:11:58,100 --> 01:11:59,736
like we'll have a
tombstone, it'll just say
1388
01:11:59,760 --> 01:12:02,810
here lies humanity, we
had some good ideas,
1389
01:12:02,860 --> 01:12:06,320
but basically we're just
so cruel and stupid.
1390
01:12:06,370 --> 01:12:07,923
- Why did we ignore it all?
1391
01:12:09,270 --> 01:12:11,740
Really, indulge me, no BS.
1392
01:12:11,790 --> 01:12:14,553
- Okay, think about it like this.
1393
01:12:15,470 --> 01:12:19,610
What do you get when you mix
a lot of shortsightedness,
1394
01:12:19,660 --> 01:12:23,210
with a little selfishness,
and just a dash of apathy,
1395
01:12:23,260 --> 01:12:26,940
and oh, no shortage of
scientific illiteracy,
1396
01:12:26,990 --> 01:12:30,003
and don't forget a whole lot
of power and technology too.
1397
01:12:30,840 --> 01:12:35,840
In my opinion, we're two hairs
short of being chimpanzees,
1398
01:12:35,870 --> 01:12:38,890
we're extremely emotional,
powerful, primitive,
1399
01:12:38,940 --> 01:12:41,240
shortsighted, survival drives.
1400
01:12:41,290 --> 01:12:44,380
- The reasons why I wrote
those lines for Dr Jerry's
1401
01:12:44,430 --> 01:12:48,520
character is because that
is my genuine opinion.
1402
01:12:48,570 --> 01:12:51,530
Dr Potts said he thoughts
the name for humans
1403
01:12:51,580 --> 01:12:55,370
should be "Homo horribilus"
instead of Homo sapiens,
1404
01:12:55,420 --> 01:12:58,920
because humans have been so
violent throughout history.
1405
01:12:58,970 --> 01:13:02,270
Dr Ehrlich said he thought
a more appropriate name
1406
01:13:02,320 --> 01:13:05,680
was "Homo moronicus"
because we're destroying
1407
01:13:05,730 --> 01:13:08,410
the very ecosystems that support us.
1408
01:13:08,460 --> 01:13:12,440
But I think "Homo oblivious"
is my preferred name.
1409
01:13:12,490 --> 01:13:15,350
Because we're all just happily going along
1410
01:13:15,400 --> 01:13:19,150
in our busy lives,
day-by-day, year-by-year,
1411
01:13:19,200 --> 01:13:21,850
consuming more and more resources,
1412
01:13:21,900 --> 01:13:25,150
running towards a very real precipice,
1413
01:13:25,200 --> 01:13:27,480
but totally oblivious.
1414
01:13:27,530 --> 01:13:29,650
- If we look at the course of humanity,
1415
01:13:29,700 --> 01:13:32,800
I see that humanity, we do
a lot of terrible things,
1416
01:13:32,850 --> 01:13:35,120
but we're capable of doing
a lot of great things.
1417
01:13:35,170 --> 01:13:38,580
And we're also capable,
over time, of identifying
1418
01:13:38,630 --> 01:13:41,330
the things that we should
no longer be doing.
1419
01:13:41,380 --> 01:13:44,560
You know, we ended slavery largely.
1420
01:13:44,610 --> 01:13:47,050
You know, 100 years ago
in the United States,
1421
01:13:47,100 --> 01:13:50,790
women couldn't vote and children
still worked in factories.
1422
01:13:50,840 --> 01:13:53,020
We all know what the right thing to do,
1423
01:13:53,070 --> 01:13:54,980
or the right things to do are.
1424
01:13:55,030 --> 01:13:57,007
We know what to do and
we know how to do it.
1425
01:13:57,057 --> 01:13:59,690
The problem is, we're not doing it.
1426
01:13:59,740 --> 01:14:02,000
And until we do,
1427
01:14:02,050 --> 01:14:03,890
we're just going to hasten
our own destruction,
1428
01:14:03,940 --> 01:14:05,106
and the destruction of all the other
1429
01:14:05,130 --> 01:14:06,475
creatures on this planet.
1430
01:14:13,810 --> 01:14:16,640
- So what can you and I
actually do as individuals
1431
01:14:16,690 --> 01:14:18,140
that would make a difference?
1432
01:14:18,190 --> 01:14:20,206
Probably more than you think.
1433
01:14:20,256 --> 01:14:23,540
In our personal lives,
we can educate ourselves
1434
01:14:23,590 --> 01:14:26,020
and others on the science and the urgency
1435
01:14:26,070 --> 01:14:28,350
of these pressing issues.
1436
01:14:28,400 --> 01:14:33,386
We can procure and advocate
for clean, renewable energy.
1437
01:14:33,410 --> 01:14:35,770
We can minimize our plastic use,
1438
01:14:35,820 --> 01:14:38,240
especially single use plastic,
1439
01:14:38,290 --> 01:14:39,990
recycle whatever we can,
1440
01:14:40,040 --> 01:14:42,920
and put pressure on companies
and our governments,
1441
01:14:42,970 --> 01:14:46,130
to promote the use of
biodegradable materials
1442
01:14:46,180 --> 01:14:47,770
instead of plastic.
1443
01:14:47,820 --> 01:14:52,220
They already exist and many
look and feel just like plastic.
1444
01:14:52,270 --> 01:14:55,700
When it comes to helping
stabilize our population growth,
1445
01:14:55,750 --> 01:14:58,800
we can all support, in
whatever way we can,
1446
01:14:58,850 --> 01:15:01,360
gender equality across the world,
1447
01:15:01,410 --> 01:15:05,350
as well as access to
education and family planning.
1448
01:15:05,400 --> 01:15:08,082
Also, consider the planetary
benefits of having small
1449
01:15:08,132 --> 01:15:10,940
families instead of large ones,
1450
01:15:10,990 --> 01:15:13,880
and please consider adoption as well.
1451
01:15:13,930 --> 01:15:16,500
Last, but definitely not least,
1452
01:15:16,550 --> 01:15:18,860
when it comes to the impact of our diets,
1453
01:15:18,910 --> 01:15:22,680
we can eat plant foods
instead of animal foods.
1454
01:15:22,730 --> 01:15:25,700
Changing our diets is
absolutely one of the most
1455
01:15:25,750 --> 01:15:28,030
impactful actions we can take,
1456
01:15:28,080 --> 01:15:30,090
and unlike many other issues,
1457
01:15:30,140 --> 01:15:34,050
this one is completely within our control.
1458
01:15:34,100 --> 01:15:37,730
And we can start immediately
with our very next meal.
1459
01:15:37,780 --> 01:15:39,710
- So, I've been vegan for 31 years,
1460
01:15:39,760 --> 01:15:41,430
and when I first went vegan,
1461
01:15:41,480 --> 01:15:43,580
I was making $2,000 a year,
1462
01:15:43,630 --> 01:15:45,830
and I was living in an abandoned factory
1463
01:15:45,880 --> 01:15:47,580
in a crack neighborhood.
1464
01:15:47,630 --> 01:15:49,790
And I ate really well.
1465
01:15:49,840 --> 01:15:54,840
Grains, you know, like rice,
oats, beans, vegetables,
1466
01:15:55,480 --> 01:15:58,096
fruits, nuts, seeds.
1467
01:15:58,146 --> 01:16:00,206
- Do you really think they
can figure out how to farm
1468
01:16:00,230 --> 01:16:01,873
so much food with so little water?
1469
01:16:01,923 --> 01:16:04,840
- Why are you so mad
me, I didn't cause this?
1470
01:16:04,890 --> 01:16:06,646
- You just take what you
want, when you want it,
1471
01:16:06,670 --> 01:16:08,291
and you don't care who you hurt.
1472
01:16:16,950 --> 01:16:19,790
- As a physician, I can
tell you that a sensible
1473
01:16:19,840 --> 01:16:23,390
balanced vegan diet also
happens to be very healthy.
1474
01:16:23,440 --> 01:16:27,000
We can easily get all the
protein we need from plants.
1475
01:16:27,050 --> 01:16:30,230
And when we eat plant
foods, we also get fiber,
1476
01:16:30,280 --> 01:16:34,750
antioxidants and phytonutrients,
which promote health.
1477
01:16:34,800 --> 01:16:37,860
And this is just one of the
reasons why so many health
1478
01:16:37,910 --> 01:16:40,060
authorities are promoting vegan diets.
1479
01:16:40,110 --> 01:16:43,010
For example, Harvard's
Healthy Eating Pyramid
1480
01:16:43,060 --> 01:16:44,560
says, "go with plants"
1481
01:16:44,610 --> 01:16:47,210
"Eating a plant-based diet is healthiest."
1482
01:16:47,260 --> 01:16:50,470
Kaiser Permanente, one of the
largest health organizations
1483
01:16:50,520 --> 01:16:53,463
in the country, is looking
for ways to make plant-based
1484
01:16:53,513 --> 01:16:57,172
diets the "new normal" for
their patients and employees.
1485
01:16:57,222 --> 01:17:00,130
The recent chair of Harvard's
Department of Nutrition,
1486
01:17:00,180 --> 01:17:03,370
Dr Walter Willett,
recommends you "Pick the best
1487
01:17:03,420 --> 01:17:07,297
"protein packages by emphasizing
plant sources of protein"
1488
01:17:07,347 --> 01:17:09,650
rather than animal sources."
1489
01:17:09,700 --> 01:17:12,530
Dr Kim Williams, recent
president of the American
1490
01:17:12,580 --> 01:17:15,217
College of Cardiology,
vigorously recommends
1491
01:17:15,267 --> 01:17:18,760
a plant-based vegan diet
to both his patients
1492
01:17:18,810 --> 01:17:21,510
and to physicians over all other diets
1493
01:17:21,560 --> 01:17:23,720
for optimum nutrition and health.
1494
01:17:23,770 --> 01:17:25,967
- There probably are some really good
1495
01:17:26,017 --> 01:17:27,336
things about the vegetables and fruits.
1496
01:17:27,360 --> 01:17:29,780
You know, it's antioxidants and
1497
01:17:29,830 --> 01:17:34,380
it's vitamins and it's
nutrients and fiber.
1498
01:17:34,430 --> 01:17:35,750
That may be all well and good,
1499
01:17:35,800 --> 01:17:37,806
but it might just be that
animals are so bad for you
1500
01:17:37,830 --> 01:17:40,550
that in eating anything
else that could nutrify you
1501
01:17:40,600 --> 01:17:41,895
without eating an animal,
1502
01:17:41,945 --> 01:17:43,920
is probably going to show up better.
1503
01:17:43,970 --> 01:17:46,550
- Even the largest organization
of food and nutrition
1504
01:17:46,600 --> 01:17:50,100
professionals in the US,
the Academy of Nutrition and
1505
01:17:50,150 --> 01:17:53,380
Dietetics, has long held
their official position
1506
01:17:53,430 --> 01:17:55,870
that balanced vegan diets are healthy,
1507
01:17:55,920 --> 01:17:59,140
nutritionally adequate and
appropriate for individuals
1508
01:17:59,190 --> 01:18:02,240
during all stages of
life, including pregnancy,
1509
01:18:02,290 --> 01:18:07,290
lactation, infancy, older
adulthood, and for athletes.
1510
01:18:07,470 --> 01:18:10,600
- And only thing you know
I always want to emphasize,
1511
01:18:10,650 --> 01:18:14,030
that people just don't
survive on a plant-based diet,
1512
01:18:14,080 --> 01:18:15,350
they thrive.
1513
01:18:15,400 --> 01:18:18,870
Actually, the recent
Olympics that happened in Rio
1514
01:18:18,920 --> 01:18:23,410
the only US male athlete who qualified for
1515
01:18:23,460 --> 01:18:27,290
weightlifting from the US was vegan.
1516
01:18:27,340 --> 01:18:30,890
Scott Jurek, the runner who
broke the record for the
1517
01:18:30,940 --> 01:18:33,073
Appalachian Trail is vegan.
1518
01:18:35,340 --> 01:18:37,580
- My name is Josh LaJuanie.
1519
01:18:37,630 --> 01:18:41,650
I am from south Louisiana,
a small town call Thibodaux,
1520
01:18:41,700 --> 01:18:45,140
which is about 50 miles
southwest of New Orleans.
1521
01:18:45,190 --> 01:18:47,320
That's where I grew
up, huntin' and fishin'
1522
01:18:47,370 --> 01:18:49,833
and doin' all the normal
country folk stuff.
1523
01:18:51,220 --> 01:18:54,700
Found myself weighing 420ish pounds
1524
01:18:54,750 --> 01:18:57,110
by the time I was 32 year old.
1525
01:18:57,160 --> 01:19:00,914
Never though veganism would
ever be a thing in my life
1526
01:19:00,964 --> 01:19:03,310
as hunter, as a fisherman,
as a football player,
1527
01:19:03,360 --> 01:19:08,020
as a stereotypical macho country boy,
1528
01:19:08,070 --> 01:19:11,800
with a four wheel drive
pickup truck and a shotgun.
1529
01:19:11,850 --> 01:19:14,332
I would have never imagined
being vegan at all...
1530
01:19:14,382 --> 01:19:16,168
- No meat, whatsoever,
you don't eat anything...
1531
01:19:16,192 --> 01:19:16,975
- No, no, no.
- Do any of you guys
1532
01:19:17,025 --> 01:19:17,808
still eat meat?
1533
01:19:17,858 --> 01:19:19,800
- Nothing?
- No, zero, or dairy.
1534
01:19:19,850 --> 01:19:22,090
- It has changed my life,
1535
01:19:22,140 --> 01:19:24,240
I've learned a lot in the process,
1536
01:19:24,290 --> 01:19:26,740
and ultimately what wound up happening is,
1537
01:19:26,790 --> 01:19:30,350
I lost 230 pounds and I have become an
1538
01:19:30,400 --> 01:19:32,820
ultra-marathoner myself.
1539
01:19:32,870 --> 01:19:35,880
- So Josh LaJaunie is
a tremendous athlete.
1540
01:19:35,930 --> 01:19:39,480
I mean, he doesn't run
marathons, which is 26.2 miles,
1541
01:19:39,530 --> 01:19:43,410
he runs races that are
50 miles, 100 miles.
1542
01:19:43,460 --> 01:19:45,695
And all powered by plants.
1543
01:19:45,745 --> 01:19:50,745
- When people ask me
where I get my protein,
1544
01:19:53,520 --> 01:19:56,820
my very simple answer is food.
1545
01:19:56,870 --> 01:19:59,120
- We get all the protein
we need from plants.
1546
01:19:59,170 --> 01:20:01,870
In fact, plants can
actually provide us really
1547
01:20:01,920 --> 01:20:03,750
excessive amounts of protein,
1548
01:20:03,800 --> 01:20:05,786
and this is something a lot
of people don't realize.
1549
01:20:05,810 --> 01:20:07,970
They think protein is only from animals.
1550
01:20:08,020 --> 01:20:10,560
Plant-foods is where all the health is.
1551
01:20:10,610 --> 01:20:12,760
- Plants have an abundant protein.
1552
01:20:12,810 --> 01:20:15,480
And not just that, getting
protein from plants
1553
01:20:15,530 --> 01:20:17,130
is healthier for us.
1554
01:20:17,180 --> 01:20:18,824
It doesn't come with the saturated fat,
1555
01:20:18,874 --> 01:20:22,230
or cholesterol and oxidants
1556
01:20:22,280 --> 01:20:25,160
and things that give us more inflammation,
1557
01:20:25,210 --> 01:20:28,320
or are otherwise
detrimental to the health.
1558
01:20:28,370 --> 01:20:30,850
- I think it's also
worth mentioning that physicians
1559
01:20:30,900 --> 01:20:33,620
have also been able to
reverse cardiovascular disease
1560
01:20:33,670 --> 01:20:35,210
with a plant-based diet.
1561
01:20:35,260 --> 01:20:38,560
The formation of cholesterol
plaques inside our vessels
1562
01:20:38,610 --> 01:20:43,240
is ubiquitous on a western
diet, and cardiovascular disease
1563
01:20:43,290 --> 01:20:45,839
is the leading cause of death.
1564
01:20:45,889 --> 01:20:47,913
So, it is the most common reason
1565
01:20:47,963 --> 01:20:50,412
for adult men and women to die.
1566
01:20:50,462 --> 01:20:52,720
And these cholesterol plaques start
1567
01:20:52,770 --> 01:20:55,630
forming very early in our lives,
1568
01:20:55,680 --> 01:20:58,480
even though the actual heart
attacks and strokes usually
1569
01:20:58,530 --> 01:21:01,310
don't start happening
until we hit middle age.
1570
01:21:01,360 --> 01:21:04,518
- We know, from autopsies
1571
01:21:04,568 --> 01:21:08,285
that kids as young as 10, 11 years old,
1572
01:21:08,335 --> 01:21:10,210
who die of other causes,
1573
01:21:10,260 --> 01:21:13,580
when autopsies are done,
they already have plaque
1574
01:21:13,630 --> 01:21:15,830
buildup in their arteries.
1575
01:21:15,880 --> 01:21:17,600
- It's obscenely common.
1576
01:21:17,650 --> 01:21:21,290
There are pathology studies of 12 to 14
1577
01:21:21,340 --> 01:21:25,167
year old kids in the
US who died for reasons
1578
01:21:25,217 --> 01:21:27,140
unrelated to heart disease,
1579
01:21:27,190 --> 01:21:31,760
but about 65% of those 12 to 14
1580
01:21:31,810 --> 01:21:34,740
year olds have early signs
of cholesterol disease
1581
01:21:34,790 --> 01:21:38,150
in the blood vessels that
feed their hearts with blood.
1582
01:21:38,200 --> 01:21:40,280
- This military
study, for example,
1583
01:21:40,330 --> 01:21:42,830
looked at the autopsies
of American soldiers
1584
01:21:42,880 --> 01:21:45,480
who died in combat in the Korean War
1585
01:21:45,530 --> 01:21:49,970
with an average age of
22, and it found that 77%
1586
01:21:50,020 --> 01:21:52,770
of the soldiers already had plaques
1587
01:21:52,820 --> 01:21:55,090
of cholesterol in their arteries.
1588
01:21:55,140 --> 01:21:58,920
So even if you look amazing
and very fit on the outside,
1589
01:21:58,970 --> 01:22:00,920
if you're eating a western diet,
1590
01:22:00,970 --> 01:22:04,250
your vessels still probably
have cholesterol plaques
1591
01:22:04,300 --> 01:22:07,220
that will keep accumulating
and getting bigger
1592
01:22:07,270 --> 01:22:11,280
and could ultimately result
in a heart attack or a stroke.
1593
01:22:11,330 --> 01:22:13,430
- If you're eating a western diet,
1594
01:22:13,480 --> 01:22:15,343
you're going to have heart disease.
1595
01:22:16,410 --> 01:22:19,539
- When you look at
randomized controlled trials,
1596
01:22:19,589 --> 01:22:22,330
really the only pattern of
eating that's been shown
1597
01:22:22,380 --> 01:22:24,110
to reverse heart disease, for example,
1598
01:22:24,160 --> 01:22:25,460
is a plant-based diet,
1599
01:22:25,510 --> 01:22:27,430
one that doesn't have animal products.
1600
01:22:27,480 --> 01:22:30,050
- That's right,
this ubiquitous disease,
1601
01:22:30,100 --> 01:22:34,056
that is our number one killer,
has actually been reversed
1602
01:22:34,106 --> 01:22:36,120
with a plant-based diet.
1603
01:22:36,170 --> 01:22:38,930
As an example, here's a
published case study from the
1604
01:22:38,980 --> 01:22:41,540
Cleveland Clinic Foundation of a patient
1605
01:22:41,590 --> 01:22:45,184
who had a heart attack and
was treated with nothing but
1606
01:22:45,234 --> 01:22:48,530
a plant-based vegan diet, with no stints
1607
01:22:48,580 --> 01:22:50,710
or cholesterol lowering medication,
1608
01:22:50,760 --> 01:22:55,620
and he was able to completely
reverse the disease,
1609
01:22:55,670 --> 01:22:59,503
to open up the clogged
arteries going to his heart.
1610
01:23:00,800 --> 01:23:04,090
There is also a lot of
compelling data in the published
1611
01:23:04,140 --> 01:23:07,140
literature that points to
plant-based diets being
1612
01:23:07,190 --> 01:23:09,680
helpful in the prevention of cancer.
1613
01:23:09,730 --> 01:23:13,070
For example, scientists with
Memorial Sloan-Kettering
1614
01:23:13,120 --> 01:23:16,690
Cancer Center and others
literally took petri dishes
1615
01:23:16,740 --> 01:23:19,910
filled with cancer cells
and poured blood from people
1616
01:23:19,960 --> 01:23:23,130
following a plant-based
diet into one petri dish
1617
01:23:23,180 --> 01:23:26,250
and blood from people following
a regular western diet
1618
01:23:26,300 --> 01:23:29,710
into another petri dish to
see who's blood could fight
1619
01:23:29,760 --> 01:23:32,230
off the cancer cells better.
1620
01:23:32,280 --> 01:23:36,090
They found that blood from
those eating a plant-based diet
1621
01:23:36,140 --> 01:23:40,090
inhibited cancer cell growth by 70%.
1622
01:23:40,140 --> 01:23:43,540
But the blood of those
eating a regular western diet
1623
01:23:43,590 --> 01:23:48,390
only inhibited cancer
cell grown by a mere 9%.
1624
01:23:48,440 --> 01:23:51,590
So the blood of those
following a plant-based diet
1625
01:23:51,640 --> 01:23:54,480
was almost eight times more powerful
1626
01:23:54,530 --> 01:23:56,756
at inhibiting the growth of cancer cells.
1627
01:24:00,290 --> 01:24:02,770
- The animal protein itself
has been closely linked
1628
01:24:02,820 --> 01:24:06,150
to increased production of IGF-1,
1629
01:24:06,200 --> 01:24:08,090
insulin-like growth factor.
1630
01:24:08,140 --> 01:24:10,920
Which is very closely tied to cancer.
1631
01:24:10,970 --> 01:24:12,810
- Yes, among other things,
1632
01:24:12,860 --> 01:24:14,350
one of the mechanisms by which
1633
01:24:14,400 --> 01:24:17,350
animal protein is thought
to increase cancer risk
1634
01:24:17,400 --> 01:24:20,370
is something called IGF-1,
1635
01:24:20,420 --> 01:24:24,293
- IGF-1 is insulin-like growth factor one.
1636
01:24:25,620 --> 01:24:28,720
It's a growth factor, it
causes things to grow,
1637
01:24:28,770 --> 01:24:31,871
good and bad, including cancer cells.
1638
01:24:31,921 --> 01:24:35,780
It is something that we
do not want too much of,
1639
01:24:35,830 --> 01:24:39,610
in our body. However, animal foods
1640
01:24:39,660 --> 01:24:43,480
increase our levels of
IGF-1 by two mechanism.
1641
01:24:43,530 --> 01:24:47,310
One, animal foods have IGF-1 in them,
1642
01:24:47,360 --> 01:24:51,610
so when we ingest animal
foods, we ingest IGF-1.
1643
01:24:51,660 --> 01:24:56,570
And two, animals foods cause us to produce
1644
01:24:56,620 --> 01:24:58,820
more IGF-1 though our own liver.
1645
01:24:58,870 --> 01:25:02,090
- Eating these animal
foods or animal protein,
1646
01:25:02,140 --> 01:25:05,480
actually revs up the enzymes in our liver,
1647
01:25:05,530 --> 01:25:08,223
that your body produces additional IGF-1.
1648
01:25:09,242 --> 01:25:11,850
So if you have a cancer,
and we all have cancers
1649
01:25:11,900 --> 01:25:13,680
floating in our blood stream,
1650
01:25:13,730 --> 01:25:16,870
our immune system is
constantly recognizing these
1651
01:25:16,920 --> 01:25:19,750
cancer cells and taking them out.
1652
01:25:19,800 --> 01:25:24,800
What IGF-1 does, it makes
these cancer cells grow faster.
1653
01:25:25,300 --> 01:25:27,310
It makes them proliferate.
1654
01:25:27,360 --> 01:25:30,140
It makes them easier to metastasize.
1655
01:25:30,190 --> 01:25:33,020
So it helps in the inception of cancer,
1656
01:25:33,070 --> 01:25:36,670
in the growth of cancer,
and in the spread of cancer.
1657
01:25:36,720 --> 01:25:39,430
- There's also a direct
relationship between some
1658
01:25:39,480 --> 01:25:42,680
cancers and the problematic
hormonal content that is
1659
01:25:42,730 --> 01:25:45,180
found in meat and in dairy.
1660
01:25:45,230 --> 01:25:48,900
- Dairy naturally has
hormones. So even if the
1661
01:25:48,950 --> 01:25:51,790
packages say no added hormones,
1662
01:25:51,840 --> 01:25:53,260
they can't say no hormones,
1663
01:25:53,310 --> 01:25:55,770
they can only say no added hormones.
1664
01:25:55,820 --> 01:25:59,453
Milk is produced when a cow
has just given birth to a baby.
1665
01:26:00,500 --> 01:26:02,910
A cow is no different
than any other mammal.
1666
01:26:02,960 --> 01:26:06,330
There are a lot of hormones
when a cow has just given birth.
1667
01:26:06,380 --> 01:26:08,440
- Dairy contains large amounts of
1668
01:26:08,490 --> 01:26:12,270
female sex hormones, like
estrogens and progesterone.
1669
01:26:12,320 --> 01:26:15,370
And that includes milk labeled as organic
1670
01:26:15,420 --> 01:26:17,450
or no hormones added.
1671
01:26:17,500 --> 01:26:21,730
Remember, those labels only
mean no hormones were added,
1672
01:26:21,780 --> 01:26:24,030
which is kind of misleading because,
1673
01:26:24,080 --> 01:26:27,000
regardless of whether
hormones were added or not,
1674
01:26:27,050 --> 01:26:31,370
milk still contains all the
hormones that are naturally
1675
01:26:31,420 --> 01:26:33,000
produced by the cows.
1676
01:26:33,050 --> 01:26:36,260
Even pediatricians have expressed concerns
1677
01:26:36,310 --> 01:26:39,260
that "Sexual maturation
of prepubertal children"
1678
01:26:39,310 --> 01:26:43,520
"could be affected by the
ordinary intake of cow milk."
1679
01:26:43,570 --> 01:26:47,220
This study examined the rate
of female hormone related
1680
01:26:47,270 --> 01:26:50,627
cancers in 40 countries and found that
1681
01:26:50,677 --> 01:26:53,610
"milk plus cheese make the
greatest contribution to the"
1682
01:26:53,660 --> 01:26:56,460
"incidence of ovarian cancer" and that
1683
01:26:56,510 --> 01:26:59,780
"milk plus cheese make the
most significant contribution"
1684
01:26:59,830 --> 01:27:02,620
to the incidence of uterine cancers.
1685
01:27:02,670 --> 01:27:05,710
They said among dietary risk factors,
1686
01:27:05,760 --> 01:27:09,470
"we are most concerned with
milk and dairy products"
1687
01:27:09,520 --> 01:27:13,810
because their estrogen and
progesterone levels are so high.
1688
01:27:13,860 --> 01:27:16,970
As noted in this review
published by Johns Hopkins
1689
01:27:17,020 --> 01:27:19,769
School of Public Health, dairy is actually
1690
01:27:19,819 --> 01:27:24,310
"one of the most consistent
dietary predictors"
1691
01:27:24,360 --> 01:27:26,143
"for prostate cancer"
1692
01:27:26,193 --> 01:27:29,642
that exists in the published literature.
1693
01:27:32,920 --> 01:27:36,850
- I do not recommend my
patients to eat fish.
1694
01:27:36,900 --> 01:27:40,970
Fish is an animal food, just
like eggs and dairy and meat,
1695
01:27:41,020 --> 01:27:43,440
and hence it's high in saturated fat,
1696
01:27:43,490 --> 01:27:45,160
it's high in cholesterol,
1697
01:27:45,210 --> 01:27:48,250
and it also raises our IGF-1 levels.
1698
01:27:48,300 --> 01:27:51,510
- When you're eating fish,
you're getting mercury,
1699
01:27:51,560 --> 01:27:54,260
you're getting plastics,
you're getting dioxins,
1700
01:27:54,310 --> 01:27:56,310
you're getting so many heavy metals.
1701
01:27:56,360 --> 01:27:58,330
- There are plenty plant-based sources of
1702
01:27:58,380 --> 01:27:59,840
Omega-3 fatty acids.
1703
01:27:59,890 --> 01:28:04,230
Without having to deal with
the unhealthy aspects of fish.
1704
01:28:04,280 --> 01:28:07,673
- So there you get the
Omega-3s, the healthy fats,
1705
01:28:07,723 --> 01:28:09,690
but you don't get the mercury,
1706
01:28:09,740 --> 01:28:11,180
you don't get the heavy metal,
1707
01:28:11,230 --> 01:28:13,270
you don't get the dioxins.
1708
01:28:13,320 --> 01:28:16,230
And this way, you know
you're being healthy,
1709
01:28:16,280 --> 01:28:18,060
you're being kind to the environment,
1710
01:28:18,110 --> 01:28:20,610
kind to the oceans, kind to the fish.
1711
01:28:20,660 --> 01:28:23,270
And you're being also
kind to your own body.
1712
01:28:23,320 --> 01:28:27,380
- The bottom line is, for those
of us with access to food,
1713
01:28:27,430 --> 01:28:30,070
other than our adopted
habits and convenience,
1714
01:28:30,120 --> 01:28:33,240
there's no good reason for
consuming animal foods.
1715
01:28:33,290 --> 01:28:36,970
Collectively, we're not only
imposing unnecessary suffering
1716
01:28:37,020 --> 01:28:39,280
and death on billions of animals,
1717
01:28:39,330 --> 01:28:41,660
we're also devastating
the environment that
1718
01:28:41,710 --> 01:28:43,178
supports us all.
1719
01:28:48,440 --> 01:28:51,790
Our planet is special
and it is quite literally
1720
01:28:51,840 --> 01:28:54,530
the only home we have.
1721
01:28:54,580 --> 01:28:57,060
This may sound obvious, but really,
1722
01:28:57,110 --> 01:28:58,673
shouldn't we take care of it?
1723
01:28:59,860 --> 01:29:03,270
Let's do whatever we can
to preserve and protect
1724
01:29:03,320 --> 01:29:06,690
the only home and the
only other companions
1725
01:29:06,740 --> 01:29:10,033
in the universe we have ever know.
139274
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