All language subtitles for years.of.living.dangerously.s02e06.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track4_[eng]

I've always loved the ocean.

Growing up in Vancouver,
I was surrounded by water.

The ocean was a part
of every family trip.

Throughout my life
the ocean has seemed constant,

unchanging, immense,

always there to give.

But recently, I've been hearing
that the oceans are in trouble.

The shellfish industry here
is struggling.

I first started noticing baby
scallops dying a few years ago.

The culprit:
lethally acidic sea water.

In the last few years,

the local scallop industry lost
millions of dollars worth of stocks

due to something called
"ocean acidification."

The same thing has been happening
in the Pacific Northwest of the US.

I wanna know what's going on.

This idea of acidification
is a tough one for me to understand.

The water doesn't feel acid,

it doesn't burn me
when I stick my hand in it.

What does that mean
when you say acidification?

It's not acid,

but it's more acid
than it was, it's less alkaline.

So, what is going on here?

The best science points to climate
change as being the problem.

The oceans are becoming
more acidic.

When we emit CO2
into the atmosphere,

it's absorbed through the surface
of the ocean

and it reacts with sea water to
change the chemistry of the ocean.

The tailpipe emissions from my car
go up into the air,

go into the water
and that causes the acidification?

That is absolutely correct.

So we have put enough carbon,
we burned enough fuel

to literally change the composition
of the world's oceans.

It's hard to believe.
It's really hard to believe.

That change can affect
mussels, clams, oysters.

Right. The major thing it does
is it makes it more difficult

for the animals that make some sort
of a shell to create the shells.

In Vancouver there's been a real
problem with the scallop industry.

And in Washington there's been
problems with the oyster industry

as well as clams in California
and other places as well.

Let's fast forward 50 years.

My son's talking to your son,
if you have a son.

Maybe there's no more
scallop industry

because we failed to do anything
about climate change.

-That's not good.
-That's not good.

But it gets even worse.

The ocean acidification
is not the only problem.

The oceans are a huge heat sink.

Ninety percent of the global warming
that has gone on the planet

is stored in the ocean, that's where
all the heat is from global warming.

-Wow.
-Every person on Earth,

depends on the oceans
for life itself.

And coral reefs, for example, are
an extremely important part of that.

Global warming and ocean
acidification are a double whammy

for corals in the tropics.

If you head
to the Great Barrier Reef

you're going to see
major changes in the reef

that are related to ocean warming
and acidification.

It's hard for me to imagine
that climate change

has altered the entire ocean system.

I need to see this for myself.

The best place to see the impacts
of climate change on the oceans

is in Australia,
at the Great Barrier Reef.

It's the world's largest
coral reef system.

So big you can see it from space.

I'm headed to its southern regions,
to a place called Heron Island,

where scientists from
the University of Queensland

are doing groundbreaking research
on coral reefs.

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
is a marine biologist

who has spent his life
studying corals.

More and more, his focus has been
on climate change

and the impact it will have
on the world's reefs.

-Amazing, isn't it?
-Yeah.

Spectacular.

It always pleases me when I look
at a sea like this with a coral reef

and fish and sharks, it's just...

And the reefs from above hide
all of that biodiversity,

and the only way to see it
is to get in the water.

Heron Island is surrounded

by some of the most pristine
coral reefs in the world.

Before I see how climate change
will affect them,

Ove wants to show me
what's at stake.

I've been a diver
since I was a teenager,

but what greets me under the surface
of the water blows my mind.

The Great Barrier Reef is one the
Seven Natural Wonders of the world.

And I can see why.

I have never seen this kind
of diversity in life.

Or been this close
to a Majestic Manta Ray.

Being eye to eye with these animals
is humbling.

I'm realizing how interconnected
everything is.

And when I look closer,

I see that reefs
are supporting all of this life.

Providing food,

shelter,

and places to hide from predators.

Coral reefs punch way above
their weight in productivity.

Though they make up less than 1%
of the ocean floor,

reefs support a quarter
of all marine species.

If climate change
will alter the reefs,

is all this life under threat?

The major problem
is that we've assumed

that the ocean is too big to fail.

We've assumed we can fish the fish
and always have more fish.

We've assumed that we can put
pollution into the ocean

and it'll just go away

and not come back
and won't build up.

But we've learned in the last
50 years that the ocean is finite.

That there are limits
to what it can absorb.

At the moment it's showing all
the signs that it's on wobbly legs.

How is it trying to tell us?
What are the signs?

It hasn't been this warm

or changing temperature
for thousands of years.

And to see a change
in the chemistry of the ocean

that has no parallel in 65 million
years if not 300 million years.

That's the last time
it changed this quickly.

They often refer
to ocean acidification

as the evil twin of global warming.

Because it's a separate
but very potent effect.

We only started to learn
about it 15 years ago.

So we really only know
the tip of the iceberg.

-Right.
-Here's the kicker,

it takes 10 000 years or more

to reverse the changes
that we've made already.

-That's astonishing.
-It's astonishing, isn't it?

Ove explains to me that we've pumped
more carbon dioxide

into the atmosphere, than there's
ever been in human history.

Scientists knew that this added CO2
was warming the oceans

along with the rest of the planet.

What they only recently discovered
was that about a third of it

ends up in the ocean.

There, it combines with sea water
to create a dilute acid.

And here's the truly shocking part,

today's ocean is already 30% more
acidic than it was

before the Industrial Revolution.

What I want to know is what those
changes mean for our future.

And Ove says he can show me.

He and his colleagues
at the University of Queensland

have created an experiment

that shows what the future
might look like.

You're looking at an experiment
we've been running for 12 months.

This experiment has been exposing

parts of coral reefs to warmer
and more acidic oceans.

So this is a tank
where we've done nothing.

Corals growing, there are corals
competing with each other,

it's a normal natural reef.

What we hope and what we see here
is that reefs will survive.

-And in relative good health.
-Yes.

So the water in here
is the water that's out here.

These are the corals
you find out here.

-Exactly the same.
-If we were able to keep

these reefs in the water
as it stands right now...

If we don't stack the odds
against them, they will survive.

But of course, what we've been doing
is adding CO2 to the water

and acidifying the ocean,
we've been hitting the upper layers,

and that's what we've got
in those other tanks.

To see how climate change
will impact corals,

Ove and his team have exposed
the exact same reef species

to a variety of future conditions.

In this tank, we just changed
the acidity levels.

Adding CO2 to the water.

The scientists working on this
project have discovered

that although they look well,

when you actually look at the
process of building these gardens,

it's all proceeding a lot slower.

And they almost got
a form of osteoporosis.

That's important because

if you have a storm come through,

these corals are gonna break
more easily.

And in terms of growing back,
they're gonna take a lot longer.

When you look at this next tank,

where the same reef,

same number of corals
and other organisms,

but now exposed to 12 months
of 4º Celsius above

where it is today.

So it's a warmer ocean.

And what you see here
is most of the corals are dead.

Any coral that survived is bleached.

Wow.

-You can see that.
-It's dramatic frankly.

Ove tells me that coral
is actually an animal,

and that inside its tissue there are
tiny brown algae like organisms

that provide up to 90%
of the coral's energy.

When the water gets too warm,

the coral expels these organisms

becoming a ghostly white.

That's bleaching.

The coral is still alive,

but if conditions don't return
to normal quickly,

the coral could die from starvation.

The other thing is that it's been
dominated by...

bacteria or slime.

-It's pretty ugly.
-So we've changed the acidity,

changed the temperature,
what happens when we change both?

Oh my God!

This to me looks like death.

Truly shocking. It's truly shocking.

And you'll find it's really brittle
if you touch it.

Oh, yeah. Right.

The corals are breaking down
as well.

Even after the coral itself
has died,

the skeleton that gets left over
is eaten by the water.

Absolutely.

The stuff that we're not seeing
has dissolved.

-It's gone.
-It's this.

Yeah, it's sand.

We thought that would take
a lot longer.

-It's horrific to watch.
-Yeah, it is horrific.

I mean this is a truly...

shocking visual coming from there.

It really is.

This is what happens.

It's an experience for me
as a scientist

to look at this and realize
that the animal that I study

isn't part of the future.
That's a future we're on right now.

Keep pumping CO2 into the
atmosphere, this is what we'll get.

Would all these tropical reef fish,

which are the basis
of the food chain,

would they survive
in an environment like this?

Many species will either become
extremely rare or go extinct.

We have to decarbonize
in the next few decades,

or face the worst of times.

Is this what our future holds?

The difference between
the thriving reefs I dived in

and the sludgy mess I've just seen
is frightening.

Looking out on this pristine ocean,

it's hard to believe
that humans alone

could drastically alter something
so vast and ancient.

But I've learned not to be fooled
by surface appearances.

The oceans are more delicate
and fragile than they seem.

Specially the reefs.

The nursery for all that life.

It's clear we are running
out of time.

My question is,
how long have we got?

This year is the warmest on record.

And with ocean temperatures
reaching dangerously high levels,

a major coral bleaching event

is predicted to hit
the Great Barrier Reef.

It's a race against time

to document these reefs
before climate change

alters conditions here.

The XL Catlin Seaview Survey

uses cameras to take high numbers
of 360 degree photographs

of the bottom of the sea.

Effectively mapping the seafloor
like Google Street view maps land.

With this technology,

scientists are able to establish
a baseline for the coral reefs.

So that after a bleaching event,

they can figure out
how much was actually lost.

It's part of the largest visual
stocktake of corals

on the planet ever done.

And after today's dives,
I'm actually feeling hopeful.

The reefs here are thriving.

But then I learned my optimism
may be misplaced.

Ove has footage from other reefs
around the world.

And he says what's happening there

will eventually happen here too.

This is largely a healthy reef.

If you look at a reef
that's under stress,

like this one here...

And there's bleaching
all over the place.

-That's the white patches.
-Yes.

Looks like it snowed under water.

Some of that might recover,
if it gets cooler soon.

But a lot of that will die
either directly

or it'll die of starvation
or disease.

The healthy reef on the left side
has reefs that started to bleach...

28TH AUGUST 2015, 6TH NOVEMBER 2015

...like the one on the right.

We're talking... Wow!

That's only a couple of months
of it being under that stress.

It's surprising to see
how quickly it happens.

That is shocking.

The first time people saw
a mass bleaching event

was in the early 1980s.

And never before then.

But in 1998
we had the first global event.

But then you go to 2010
and it happens again,

2015, 2016,
and it's happening again.

And all that while it appears

that the interval between
these events is shortening,

and their intensity is increasing.

We're now in the third global
mass bleaching event.

This year we had very warm
conditions coming into the summer,

plus a strong El Niño.

That pushed sea temperatures
to the limit over most of the reef.

Looks like it's in real deep trouble
this year.

Up to this bleaching event, how much
of the world's corals were lost?

In the Caribbean it's very clear

that we have lost probably 80%
of corals,

-since the 1970s...
-Hold on.

Eighty percent of the corals
in the Caribbean are already gone?

That's right.
I think you can safely say

that we've probably lost
40 to 50% of corals

across the planet
in the last 50 years.

Within 20 or 30 years time
you don't have coral anymore.

To be clear, if we continue down
even the current path,

if we just continue
as we're going right now,

coral reefs will cease to exist
by mid century.

-Of this century.
-Yes.

Thirty five years from now.

Because we're just putting
so much stress on them

that they're going backwards.

I'm sorry. That's astonishing.

-Astonishing.
-I'm used to it.

I know, it's amazing that you have.

I think there's a bit of battle
fatigue among scientists

who try to communicate
this to people,

that coral reefs are under
extreme threat of disappearing.

What I see next makes me realize
how close this threat is.

Footage coming in from the northern
sections of the Great Barrier Reef

shows widespread bleaching
already underway.

That is um...

That's far worse
than I thought it was.

In some regions,
parts of the reef have already died

and have been taken over
by the slime

that Ove showed me
in his future scenario tanks.

One of the Seven Natural Wonders
of the World

is disappearing before our eyes.

And with it, the support system
for millions of sea creatures.

There's just no hope.

Yeah, that's pretty shocking.

The thing that's sort of tragic
about this is that

they're important to humans as well.

Coral reefs do directly support 500
million people across the planet.

You've only got to go to
the Philippines to see people

living almost desperately

on a vanishing ecosystem
along those coastlines.

This is life and death
in some of these countries.

I was later to find out, 93% of
the northern Great Barrier Reef

was impacted by bleaching.

How much will recover is unknown.

It's devastating to know
that if I ever have kids,

they may never see or experience
these reefs.

But what I'm coming to realize

is it's not just marine creatures
at risk.

People will suffer too.

So I'm heading to the Philippines,

to a region known
as the Coral Triangle.

Where humans have relied on
coral reefs for thousands of years.

There are parts of the world
for which coral is a lifeline.

In the Philippines it's easy to see.

The ocean provides.

It's not just food and income.

It's a way of life.

The Philippines sit at the apex
of the Coral Triangle.

Often referred to
as the Amazon of the seas.

This area contains the most
biodiverse oceans in the world.

A staggering amount
of marine species lives here.

And there are more types of coral
than anywhere else on Earth.

I've come here to learn more about
the relationship

between people and coral reefs.

-Here we are.
-This is the fish market.

Rene Juntereal is a scuba instructor

and teacher of Economics
at Silliman University.

You've got snapper here,
you've got jack.

Crustaceans, some tuna.

You're so handsome.

You said that fish in general is 80%
of the Filipino diet.

Of the middle and lower income diet.

Everyday, every municipality,
every morning you've got this, yeah.

Wow!

It's not yet 7 a. m.
and the market is packed.

Rene says it'll be
like this all day.

It's clear the demand
for seafood is huge.

But things are changing.

You said that the fishermen report
that the stocks are getting smaller.

So the yield is small
and the actual fish too.

The fish size and the yield
are smaller, it's harder to catch.

Not only that,

but the types of fish available
at the market are changing too.

Specially these,
they're very bony, very small,

but they're very cheap.

So four or five years ago
you wouldn't see these at all.

A fisherman would give them away
or they'd eat them there.

Eat there, right.
No point of bringing them to market.

No, no one would buy them.

Rene says over fishing and pollution

are taking a huge toll
on the region.

But climate change threatens
to make things much worse.

And all this puts pressure
on the reefs

in a place that depends on them.

What's the population
that's sort of living around

and surviving off
of the coral reefs?

Coastwise, people living
on the coasts, about 64, 65 million.

A large portion
is below the poverty line.

So if those stocks go away,
there is no other source of protein,

-no other affordable source.
-Yes, that's a good point.

The contribution of coral reefs
or the marine system

to the Philippine economy is
something like a billion US dollars.

So when you look into the future
and you think about climate change

and the effects on your little slice
of paradise here,

what are your concerns?
What keeps you up at night?

I'm concerned there won't be
any more coral reefs left.

There won't be any fish,
there won't be a tourism industry,

there won't be food
for 60 or 70% of the people.

So you're talking about a potential
massive crisis

for 60% of the Filipino population.

I'm concerned that people
aren't taking it that seriously.

If what I saw in Australia
is headed here,

Rene is right to be concerned.

Rene wants to show me some
of the Philippines famous reefs.

He's taking me to his favorite
dive spot, Apo Island.

The marine reserve here

has some of the healthiest corals
in the country.

Protected from over fishing
and pollution,

the reserve shelters the reefs from
some of the assaults on the sea.

The reefs in the Philippines

are every bit as beautiful as those
I saw in the Great Barrier Reef.

But here, I'm looking at them
with different eyes.

They're a source of food,
not just for the sea life down here

but for people too.

In the quiet calm,
I'm struck by the enormity.

It's no wonder
that mankind looked at the ocean

and thought it would last forever.

But already there are signs
things are changing.

And after seeing a mostly thriving
coral reef,

Rene leads me to something else.

Five years ago,
a storm tore through

parts of the marine reserve
surrounding the island.

And this is the result.

Weakened by bleaching, the coral
reefs were more susceptible to harm.

In just hours,

a reef that took thousands of years
to flourish and grow

was wiped out.

I can't help but think
of Ove's future scenario tanks.

Those grim predictions
seem already true.

Could this be the future
of all coral reefs?

Nothing but rubble and a few
small reminders of the life

and beauty that once existed?

Has that level of destruction always
been a part of the local ecosystem?

Or is it something new, the complete
destruction of an entire reef?

I can say that it's just started
to spike

and accelerate
in the last five years.

The coral is under assault
from a variety of different things.

The coral gets a bit weaker,
the storms get stronger

and suddenly you end up
with what we saw,

total decimation under the water.

Right. Those are already
protected areas.

They're healthier than most
of the normal reefs.

If they have a hard time
with that damage,

what about the reef
that's under other stresses?

To go from the annihilated portion
that we saw,

back to healthy,
how long does it take?

Decades, centuries?

I'd say centuries, yeah.

It's enough to bring tears
to your eyes.

It's tremendously depressing
to know that there's not a chance

that's coming back in your
or my lifetime, or even your kids'.

We're hundreds of years away
from that piece of the ecosystem

being returned to something
that would be healthy.

It's something that affects
everyone.

It's more than just
a few fish going away,

it's more than just a beautiful
postcard picture.

The destruction there represents
not just the destruction of reef.

-Families in trouble.
-Right.

Through frequent dive trips
to Apo Island,

Rene has befriended
many of the locals.

Hey, come over and meet Josh.

Zenon is a third generation
fisherman,

who has spent his entire life on the
island, living off its resources.

He and his son Jory make daily trips
to spear fish for the family.

Rene tells me there's no better way
to understand

the importance of the reefs
to the people here

than to watch them at work.

With the simplest
homemade equipment,

Zenon and Jory dive to depths
of several meters,

holding their breath
for minutes at a time.

It's beautiful to watch.

This father and son
are so in tune with the ocean,

they almost look like
they belong under water.

But the fish they're hunting for
are nowhere to be found.

After a day in the water,

Zenon and Jory
have invited us back for a meal.

Apo Island has a small population.

And there are few resources
beyond what the sea provides.

There are no cars on the island,

and most people eat
what they catch or grow.

Apo Island is not unusual.

The Philippines is made up of more
than 7000 islands.

And hundreds of thousands
of Filipinos live just like this.

Zenon usually serves up
what he finds on the reefs,

but today is canned fish.

-Josh.
-Yes, please.

This would be a typical amount
for four people, right?

-Bit more that four even.
-Okay.

This is actually yummy.

This is very yummy.

Today when we were watching we saw
that there wasn't much to catch.

So this is not fresh fish,
it's canned fish.

Does that happen a lot?

Three days out of a week.

Out of a week sometimes no catch
three says out of a week.

Were there times
when you had nothing to eat?

-There are meals they don't get.
-They just don't eat.

-Has it always been like that?
-No.

No? There were more in the past?

Lots of fish.

-Lots of fish.
-Used to be lots of fish.

So then, can they still exist off
of what remains?

It's hard.

So, in his best case scenario...

What does he want for today
and what does he want for tomorrow?

For my family...

For our future...

To be able to eat
three times a day...

That he gets to finish school...

That's enough.

-He fishes while you're in school?
-Yes.

When you finish with your studies,
will you stay on the island?

Don't know.

-Maybe.
-Yeah.

So is he happy that his sons
and daughters

are finding different opportunities
and leaving?

Or is he sad that
that way of life is broken now?

For me, it's lonley.

He wants them back.

-He'd rather...
-Have them on the island.

If therre were enough fisk,
would you all be together?

We would be complete.

He'd rather there was enough fish
and they were all together.

I'm tearing up.

I didn't expect that answer.

It breaks my heart
that in his perfect world

he'd be able to draw
his family back to him.

But if the island won't support you,
you can't stay, right?

Thank you for having us.

I appreciated it.

It frustrates me that those who are
contributing the least

to climate change, are the ones
who will suffer the most.

I can't help but wonder,

what will happen to the people
in these towns in all this region

when their source of food
and income slowly disappears?

While people in the Philippines
were sleeping,

what was supposed to be
a minimal storm

has rapidly intensified
into a major typhoon.

And now with little notice
for preparations

the possibility of a disaster
may be imminent.

Back at my hotel,

I'm shocked by news
that a category 4 typhoon

is fast descending
on the Philippines.

Close to a million people are being
evacuated from their homes.

And the potential for large scale
devastation is huge.

About global warming, the warmest
waters in the world right now

are off the central coast
of the Philippines.

Look at December.
December's a quiet month.

But the last several years
with global warming,

December 2011, 2012, 2014
and now 2015.

Thinking about hose about to be made
homeless is horrifying.

As oceans warm, storms like this
will become more intense.

Those storms will not only
wreak havoc on the land,

but underwater too.

I wake the morning after typhoon
Nona swept through the Philippines,

to the north of us, reefs were
damaged, homes were destroyed,

and more than 40 people
lost their lives.

I want to talk to someone
who can tell me

what all of this destruction,
both present and future,

means for a population
dependent on the ocean.

We saw a storm pass through
just north of us here,

which is not traditionally
your typhoon season,

and we had a significant storm...

In the last few years,
it's been like that.

That there's no predictability
anymore.

No predictability.

Laura David is one of the leading
oceanographers in the Philippines,

and part of an international team
of scientists

focusing on climate change.

With the combination of warming
and acidification,

against the backdrop
of a population that takes

most of its food
out of the local coral reef,

you're either not gonna be able
to find what you used to,

or it's just going to disappear.

I don't think people realize
the magnitude of that.

Because if we can't get our
food protein from the sea,

we start doing it in land
and we don't have enough land.

There's some serious security issues
around that.

Definitely. Because once
this part of the world is hungry,

I mean, where do we go?

If you go around the Coral Triangle,

and all the states that actually
depend on the coral reefs,

like Malaysia and Papua New Guinea
and Indonesia,

it's the same problem.

So you're talking
about a population...

At least about 380 million.

-People?
-That's about the ballpark.

If we don't stop what we're doing.

I don't mean to laugh
but that seems... That's shocking.

Wow!

Everything that I do in my regular
life in some way contributes to this

and I hope that some of the things
that I do in my life

are helping to mitigate it.

But it does feel
like we're past the age

of simple choices,
when could do it gently.

It feels like we have to make
a more radical shift,

if we're going to maintain
a life that I really enjoy living.

And I'd like to some day look
into the face of my children

and not feel guilty
for the planet that I'm giving them.

Yeah. There are days when you
almost feel helpless and catatonic,

that you can't do anything
about it anymore.

But then I see the next generation,
and they're more aware.

There's hope.
I pray that there's hope.

And that keeps me going.

Right.

Should I have kids?

If your kid can help, yes,
why not?

Wow.

If there are more great minds
and great hearts,

knowing where we're supposed to go,

I think we can make a difference.
But it has to be now.

I think we think that 20 years
is okay to delay,

and it's not.

So...

I'm heading to Manila.

From up in the air,

I think of what is happening
on the ground.

Millions of people are fishing,
buying catch at the market,

or taking tourist boats to sea.

And it's not just here.

This is happening
all over the Coral Triangle.

I wonder where they would go
if they had to leave.

Together, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Malaysia,

Papua New Guinea, the Solomon
Islands and Timor-Leste

have a population
of about 384 million.

By comparison, Syria,

currently in the midst of
the world's biggest refugee crisis

had a prewar population
of only around 23 million.

I'm wondering
how the government here

responds to such a looming threat
to its population.

And what it might mean
for the rest of the world.

So I'm meeting with someone from
the government of the Philippines.

Loren Legarda is a senator
known for her record

of protecting the environment.

She's also a climate change
ambassador for the UN.

With ocean acidification
and the warming of the water,

with the loss of fish stocks,

and the huge degree of instability
that could potentially cost,

there's a real chance
that there'll be a huge amount

of human migration, right?

The answer is yes.

Here you have a paradox.

There used to be unlimited bounties
from the sea, but now,

because of over fishing,
warming and acidification,

all of these produce a threat

to meeting the basic needs
of our countryside population.

The issue of climate change
in the Philippines

is a national security matter
for us.

It's not just
environmental security,

it affects every aspect
of our lives.

-And do you think it's too late?
-It's not too late.

No one should be defeatist
to say it's too late.

It takes urgent climate action.

Let's get away from fossil fuels,

let's ban coal,
let's put a carbon tax on coal.

This needs to come
from big polluters, namely China,

India and the United States.

Put together they're more than 50%

of the greenhouse gas emissions
in the world.

Do you think that the major emitters
are doing enough

to mitigate their emissions?

No. And it's not enough

that they mitigate
their own emissions.

They should also assist

other countries,
including vulnerable nations

and developed nations
or the less consumptive nations,

who are non emitters
in the world, like the Philippines,

but who is suffering the most.

We are so interconnected.

Whether it's your ocean
in your side of the world,

or our ocean, it's your waste
that should not be exported

-to any developing nation.
-To anywhere.

I get frustrated sometimes
when people don't understand

why it's necessary
to do these things.

Because we are in an emergency room.

And no time should be lost.

The ocean is a lifeline

for every human on Earth.

The vast deep ocean

gives us oxygen,

food,

and a temperature
in which we can survive.

It's a symbol of calm.

The thing we look to
to take away our troubles.

The seas provide so much.

And nowhere is it more apparent
than here.

But the ocean connects us all.

I'm back in the US.

So often these things
seem so far off.

Whether in time or geography.

But in the Pacific Northwest,

the shellfish industries
continue to struggle

as far south as San Francisco.

In Maine, there are similar reports
of dwindling oyster populations.

Ocean warming is causing lobsters

of the coast of Connecticut
and Rhode Island to move north.

Devastating local economies
that depend on them.

Perhaps most alarming

is what is happening in Florida.

Ocean acidification wasn't supposed
to have an effect there

for another 50 to 60 years.

But scientists
of the University of Miami,

are discovering the coral is already
dissolving at a rapid pace.

Ocean acidification and warming,

they're happening here.

Confronted with the information

that we are altering
our oceans forever,

what do you do?

I want to talk to someone who can
tell me if there are any solutions.

Doctor Sylvia Earle is one of
the world's foremost oceanographers.

She's been a diver since the '50s.

Has broken records
for deep-sea exploration.

And was the first female
chief scientist of NOAA.

Over the years,

Sylvia has been witness
to drastically changing seas,

and has dedicated her life
to advocating for their protection,

denouncing destructive fishing
practices and ocean pollution.

Maybe she can offer
a way forward.

I'm pretty depressed,
to be perfectly honest.

I didn't really think
it was as dire as it is.

It's easy to get depressed.

The facts is we have changed
the nature of nature.

It's taken 4.5 billion years

of change to make Earth
just right for the likes of us.

But in decades, we have unraveled

the very underpinnings
of our life support system.

It's still, even with the things
that I've seen,

hard for me to look at that ocean,

that broad expanse
that I've grown up on my entire life

and conceive that my actions can
have a meaningful impact in there.

Your actions times 7 billion.

And we should realize
that we are

totally connected
to the natural world,

and our highest responsibility

must be taking care of the systems
that take care of us.

So can we do?

How do we mitigate the effects
of what I just witnessed?

The more that we destroy
the natural systems

the more rapid the accelerating
warming will take place.

So I have a map here
that shows communities

around the world

who have made pledges to say,

we want this place to be protected,
Hope Spots.

With her organization Mission Blue,

Sylvia has created a global network
of Hope Spots,

ocean areas designated
for special protection.

And many of those areas have become
marine protected reserves.

Shielded from fishing and pollution.

Scientific studies are beginning
to show that certain marine animals

may be able to adapt
to the pressures of climate change.

And these areas give them
the best possible chance.

But even now,
only 4% of the ocean is protected.

Little more of the ocean
is protected now

than it was even a few weeks ago
and the trend is very promising.

President Obama made the link
between full protection

of a big chunk of the Pacific
and climate change.

In September 2016,
President Obama expanded

the Papahānaumokuākea marine reserve
near Hawaii.

It's gonna be protected
and allows us to save and study

the fragile ecosystem
threatened by climate change.

In doing so he created the largest
protected area on Earth.

Bigger than all of the United
States' national parks combined.

All of these protections
seem like a great thing.

But I don't see how any of it

is gonna stop the oceans
from acidifying and warming.

So how can this, simply put,

how can this marine protected areas
affect climate change?

The truth is that alone they cannot.

We're at a crossroads.

And our job right now
with rising CO2,

how do we stem the flow of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere?

If we put a price on carbon,

that causes people to say,
"Oh, nature's not free."

How does that then
directly benefit or impact

the health of the oceans?

The main thing is it's making
those generators

of carbon burners,
of fossil fuels on the large scale

do something about it.

Sylvia is telling me
that the only real solution

to ocean warming and acidification

is the biggest solution of all:

decarbonizing.

And putting a price
on carbon pollution

will encourage people and companies
to create less of it.

With the degradation that you've
witnessed in your own lifetime,

what is it that gets you
out of bed everyday?

How do you metabolize that
and keep pushing forward?

Well, for one thing I have children
and I have grandsons.

I can see the world
through their eyes.

I can see where we're taking this
if we keep doing what we're doing.

People ask me what is the biggest
problem facing the ocean today.

The biggest problem is not
what we're putting in or taking out,

it's ignorance.

It's ignorance.

In the ocean, there's nothing there
that is useless.

It's all part of what makes
the ocean function.

And the most important thing
we extract from the ocean

is not oil,

not gas,

it's not fish,

is our existence.

We know we can change, we have to.

We can't just continue to consume

the natural world
and get away with it.

We just cannot.
We must take care of the ocean.

We can do this.

I went into this journey
looking to understand

more about the ocean
I've always loved.

I've learned about a crisis,
complex, overwhelming.

Now every cell of my being
wants to be a part of the solution.

I'm gonna fight for a price
on carbon, and in the meantime

I'm going on expeditions
with conservation group Oceana,

to help educate people
on the importance of our oceans,

and combat the very ignorance

Sylvia said was the biggest threat
to our survival.

-Wow!
-Oh, my God!

It's a small piece of the solution

and I'm going to do more,

we all have our part to play.

What's yours?

Subtitles: Alicia Núñez Valencia
plint.com