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This city in Ukraine was once
home to almost 50,000 people.
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It had everything
a community would need
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for a comfortable life.
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INDISTINCT CHATTER
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But on the 26th of April, 1986
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it suddenly became
uninhabitable.
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The nearby nuclear power station
of Chernobyl exploded...
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and in less than 48 hours,
the city was evacuated.
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No one has lived here since.
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The explosion was the result of
bad planning and human error...
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mistakes.
12
00:02:17,804 --> 00:02:20,682
It triggered
an environmental catastrophe
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that had an impact
across Europe.
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Many people regarded it
as the most costly
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in the history of mankind.
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But Chernobyl
was a single event.
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The true tragedy of our time
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is still unfolding
across the globe
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barely noticeable
from day to day.
20
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I'm talking about the loss
of our planet's wild places.
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Its biodiversity.
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The living world is a unique
and spectacular marvel.
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Billions of individuals
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of millions of kinds
of plants and animals...
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dazzling in their variety
and richness...
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working together to benefit
from the energy of the sun
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and the minerals of the earth.
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Leading lives that interlock
in such a way
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that they sustain each other.
30
00:03:29,334 --> 00:03:31,294
We rely entirely
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00:03:31,378 --> 00:03:34,631
on this finely tuned
life—support machine.
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And Jitrelies on
its biodiversity
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to run smoothly.
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Yet the way we humans
live on Earth now
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is sending biodiversity
into a decline.
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00:03:53,525 --> 00:03:55,736
TREE CREAKS AND CRASHES
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This, too, is happening
as a result of bad planning
38
00:04:01,825 --> 00:04:02,909
and human error
39
00:04:03,744 --> 00:04:07,622
and it, too, will lead
to what we see here.
40
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A place in which we cannot live.
41
00:04:19,009 --> 00:04:20,469
The natural world is fading.
42
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The evidence is all around.
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It's happened in my lifetime.
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I've seen it with my own eyes.
45
00:04:27,726 --> 00:04:30,520
This film is
my witness statement
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and my vision for the future...
47
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the story of how we came to
make this, our greatest mistake
48
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and how, if we act now,
we can yet put it right.
49
00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:01,259
| am David Attenborough
50
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and | am 93.
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I've had the most
extraordinary life.
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It's only now that
| appreciate how extraordinary.
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INDISTINCT CHATTER
54
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I've been lucky enough
to spend my life
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exploring the wild places
of our planet.
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I've travelled
to every part of the globe.
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I've experienced
the living world first-hand
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in all its variety and wonder.
59
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In truth, | couldn't imagine
living my life in any other way.
60
00:05:50,183 --> 00:05:51,434
BIRDS CLICK
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00:05:51,518 --> 00:05:55,897
I've always had a passion
to explore, to have adventures
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to learn about the wilds beyond.
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00:05:59,192 --> 00:06:00,318
HE EXCLAIMS
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And I'm still learning...
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Boo!
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...as much now
as | did when | was a boy.
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BIRDSONG
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It was a very different world
back then.
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We had very little understanding
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of how the living world
actually worked.
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It was called "natural history"
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because that's essentially
what it was all about...
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history.
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It was a great place
to come to as a boy
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because this is
ironstone workings
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but it was disused.
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All this was absolutely clear.
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It was... Only just stopped
being a working quarry.
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00:07:14,351 --> 00:07:17,979
When | was a boy,
| spent all my spare time
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00:07:18,063 --> 00:07:20,649
searching through rocks
in places like this...
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00:07:22,108 --> 00:07:23,652
for buried treasure.
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00:07:26,988 --> 00:07:28,073
Fossils.
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00:07:29,491 --> 00:07:31,326
It's a creature
called an ammonite.
84
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And, in life, the animal itself
lived in a chamber here
85
00:07:35,288 --> 00:07:38,249
and spread out its tentacles
to catch its prey.
86
00:07:39,542 --> 00:07:43,338
And it lived about
180 million years ago.
87
00:07:44,381 --> 00:07:45,840
This particular one
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00:07:45,924 --> 00:07:49,052
has a scientific name
of Tiltonicerus
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because the first one ever
was found near this quarry
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00:07:52,806 --> 00:07:55,517
here in Tilton,
in the middle of England.
91
00:07:56,893 --> 00:07:59,813
Over time,
| began to learn something
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00:07:59,896 --> 00:08:02,273
about the Earth's
evolutionary history.
93
00:08:03,358 --> 00:08:07,404
By and large, it's a story
of slow, steady change.
94
00:08:10,031 --> 00:08:15,370
Over billions of years, Nature
has crafted miraculous forms
95
00:08:15,453 --> 00:08:19,416
each more complex
and accomplished than the last.
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00:08:21,918 --> 00:08:25,255
It's an achingly
intricate labour.
97
00:08:29,426 --> 00:08:32,554
And then,
every 100 million years or so
98
00:08:32,929 --> 00:08:35,724
after all those
painstaking processes
99
00:08:36,725 --> 00:08:38,768
something catastrophic
happens...
100
00:08:39,686 --> 00:08:41,312
a mass extinction.
101
00:08:42,439 --> 00:08:44,816
Great numbers
of species disappear...
102
00:08:45,775 --> 00:08:48,028
and are suddenly
replaced by a few.
103
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All that evolution undone.
104
00:08:54,576 --> 00:08:55,827
You can see it.
105
00:08:56,244 --> 00:08:58,079
A line in the rock layers.
106
00:08:58,163 --> 00:09:02,709
A boundary that marks
a profound, rapid global change.
107
00:09:03,835 --> 00:09:07,172
Below the line
are a multitude of lifeforms.
108
00:09:08,965 --> 00:09:10,925
Above, very few.
109
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A mass extinction
has happened five times
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in life's
four-billion-year history.
111
00:09:22,312 --> 00:09:24,481
The last time it happened
was the event
112
00:09:24,564 --> 00:09:28,234
that brought the end
of the age of the dinosaurs.
113
00:09:29,402 --> 00:09:33,239
A meteorite impact
triggered a catastrophic change
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00:09:33,323 --> 00:09:35,075
in the Earth's conditions.
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00:09:38,203 --> 00:09:42,457
Seventy-five per cent of all
species were wiped out.
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00:09:45,460 --> 00:09:49,255
Life had no option
but to rebuild.
117
00:09:51,091 --> 00:09:53,134
For 65 million years
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00:09:53,218 --> 00:09:56,638
it's been at work reconstructing
the living world...
119
00:09:58,807 --> 00:10:01,559
until we come
to the world we know.
120
00:10:02,560 --> 00:10:03,937
Our time.
121
00:10:11,820 --> 00:10:14,989
Scientists call it the Holocene.
122
00:10:20,912 --> 00:10:24,207
The Holocene has been
one of the most stable periods
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00:10:24,290 --> 00:10:26,084
in our planet's great history.
124
00:10:26,209 --> 00:10:27,627
BIRDS CHIRP
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00:10:28,795 --> 00:10:31,923
For 10,000 years,
the average temperature
126
00:10:32,006 --> 00:10:36,427
has not wavered up or down
by more than one degree Celsius.
127
00:10:40,598 --> 00:10:43,893
And the rich and thriving
living world around us
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00:10:44,561 --> 00:10:46,938
has been key to this stability.
129
00:10:51,192 --> 00:10:53,611
Phytoplankton
at the ocean's surface
130
00:10:54,279 --> 00:10:57,198
and immense forests
straddling the north
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00:10:57,907 --> 00:11:00,201
have helped
to balance the atmosphere
132
00:11:00,285 --> 00:11:02,620
by locking away carbon.
133
00:11:05,623 --> 00:11:07,500
Huge herds on the plains
134
00:11:07,584 --> 00:11:10,336
have kept the grasslands
rich and productive
135
00:11:10,461 --> 00:11:12,881
by fertilising the soils.
136
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,473
Mangroves and coral reefs along
thousands of miles of coast
137
00:11:23,057 --> 00:11:25,351
have harboured
nurseries of fish species
138
00:11:25,894 --> 00:11:30,106
that, when mature,
then range into open waters.
139
00:11:36,946 --> 00:11:39,449
A thick belt of jungles
around the Equator
140
00:11:39,574 --> 00:11:41,451
has piled plant on plant
141
00:11:42,076 --> 00:11:45,121
to capture as much of
the sun's energy as possible
142
00:11:45,663 --> 00:11:49,334
adding moisture and oxygen
to the global air currents.
143
00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:56,966
And the extent of the polar ice
has been critical
144
00:11:57,050 --> 00:12:00,094
reflecting sunlight back
off its white surface
145
00:12:00,929 --> 00:12:02,847
cooling the whole Earth.
146
00:12:06,768 --> 00:12:11,481
The biodiversity of the Holocene
helped to bring stability.
147
00:12:12,690 --> 00:12:15,276
And the entire living world
148
00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,863
settled into
a gentle, reliable rhythm...
149
00:12:18,947 --> 00:12:20,615
THUNDER RUMBLES
150
00:12:20,698 --> 00:12:21,908
R al=N-=r-1-le L=}
151
00:12:21,991 --> 00:12:24,035
THUNDER RUMBLES
- HERD LOWS
152
00:12:29,707 --> 00:12:33,294
On the tropical plains,
the dry and rainy seasons
153
00:12:33,378 --> 00:12:36,381
would switch every year,
like clockwork.
154
00:12:37,465 --> 00:12:38,967
THUNDER RUMBLES
155
00:12:40,301 --> 00:12:44,806
In Asia, the winds would
create the monsoon on cue.
156
00:12:45,306 --> 00:12:47,267
THUNDER RUMBLES AND CRASHES
157
00:12:52,730 --> 00:12:54,065
In the northern regions
158
00:12:54,148 --> 00:12:57,819
the temperatures would lift
in March, triggering spring...
159
00:12:59,404 --> 00:13:02,782
and stay high
until they dipped in October
160
00:13:02,865 --> 00:13:04,575
and brought about autumn.
161
00:13:04,659 --> 00:13:06,244
BIRDS CAW
162
00:13:08,621 --> 00:13:12,333
The Holocene was
our Garden of Eden.
163
00:13:12,667 --> 00:13:15,211
Its rhythm of seasons
was so reliable
164
00:13:15,295 --> 00:13:18,589
that it gave our own species
a unique opportunity.
165
00:13:19,173 --> 00:13:20,508
CATTLE MOOS
166
00:13:21,592 --> 00:13:24,262
We invented farming.
167
00:13:27,140 --> 00:13:30,101
We learnt how to exploit
the seasons
168
00:13:30,184 --> 00:13:32,145
to produce food crops.
169
00:13:33,980 --> 00:13:38,026
The history of all
human civilisation followed...
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00:13:39,944 --> 00:13:43,698
each generation able
to develop and progress
171
00:13:43,781 --> 00:13:47,243
only because the living world
could be relied upon
172
00:13:47,327 --> 00:13:49,787
to deliver us
the conditions we needed.
173
00:13:53,124 --> 00:13:54,584
The pace of progress
174
00:13:54,667 --> 00:13:56,836
was unlike anything
to be found
175
00:13:56,919 --> 00:13:58,379
in the fossil record.
176
00:14:01,591 --> 00:14:06,054
Our intelligence changed
the way in which we evolved.
177
00:14:06,888 --> 00:14:12,643
In the past, animals had to
develop some physical ability
178
00:14:13,102 --> 00:14:14,395
to change their lives.
179
00:14:15,229 --> 00:14:18,232
But for us,
an idea could do that.
180
00:14:18,608 --> 00:14:22,403
And the idea could be passed
from one generation to the next.
181
00:14:25,198 --> 00:14:28,701
We were transforming
what a species could achieve.
182
00:14:33,206 --> 00:14:35,375
A few millennia after this began
183
00:14:36,084 --> 00:14:39,212
| grew up at exactly
the right moment.
184
00:14:41,672 --> 00:14:44,425
The start of my career in my 20s
185
00:14:44,509 --> 00:14:48,429
coincided with the advent
of global air travel.
186
00:14:50,223 --> 00:14:53,684
So, | had the privilege
of being amongst the first
187
00:14:53,768 --> 00:14:56,687
to fully experience
the bounty of life
188
00:14:56,771 --> 00:14:58,898
that had come about
as a result of
189
00:14:58,981 --> 00:15:00,983
the Holocene's gentle climate.
190
00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:11,077
NUMBERS CLICK
191
00:15:20,753 --> 00:15:23,840
Wherever | went,
there was wilderness.
192
00:15:25,174 --> 00:15:27,343
Sparkling coastal seas.
193
00:15:28,428 --> 00:15:30,096
Vast forests.
194
00:15:31,722 --> 00:15:33,516
Immense grasslands.
195
00:15:34,183 --> 00:15:37,645
You could fly for hours
over the untouched wilderness.
196
00:15:40,648 --> 00:15:44,986
And there | was, actually being
asked to explore these places
197
00:15:45,069 --> 00:15:47,280
and record the wonders
of the natural world
198
00:15:47,363 --> 00:15:48,698
for people back home.
199
00:15:50,950 --> 00:15:52,410
And to begin with,
it was quite easy.
200
00:15:52,493 --> 00:15:54,954
People had never seen
pangolins before on television.
201
00:15:55,037 --> 00:15:56,747
They'd never seen sloths before.
202
00:15:56,831 --> 00:15:58,791
They'd never seen
the centre of New Guinea before.
203
00:16:04,839 --> 00:16:07,133
It was the best time of my life.
204
00:16:08,509 --> 00:16:10,928
The best time of our lives.
205
00:16:11,846 --> 00:16:13,473
The Second World War was over...
206
00:16:14,182 --> 00:16:16,601
technology was making
our lives easier.
207
00:16:18,811 --> 00:16:22,398
The pace of change
was getting faster and faster.
208
00:16:23,232 --> 00:16:24,734
INDISTINCT CHATTER
209
00:16:28,154 --> 00:16:31,282
It felt that nothing
would limit our progress.
210
00:16:32,325 --> 00:16:34,952
The future
was going to be exciting.
211
00:16:35,786 --> 00:16:38,331
It was going to bring
everything we'd ever dreamed of.
212
00:16:41,542 --> 00:16:44,337
This was before any of us
were aware
213
00:16:44,420 --> 00:16:45,796
that there were problems.
214
00:16:49,175 --> 00:16:50,801
NUMBERS CLICK
215
00:16:59,727 --> 00:17:03,814
My first visit to East Africa
was in 1960.
216
00:17:08,444 --> 00:17:10,988
Back then,
it seemed inconceivable
217
00:17:11,072 --> 00:17:13,741
that we, a single species
218
00:17:13,824 --> 00:17:15,701
might one day have the power
219
00:17:15,826 --> 00:17:19,121
to threaten the very existence
of the wilderness.
220
00:17:22,792 --> 00:17:27,296
The Maasai word "Serengeti"
means "endless plains".
221
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,424
To those who live here,
it's an apt description.
222
00:17:30,883 --> 00:17:33,094
You can be in one spot
on the Serengeti
223
00:17:33,594 --> 00:17:36,138
and the place is
totally empty of animals
224
00:17:36,222 --> 00:17:37,515
and then, the next morning...
225
00:17:37,598 --> 00:17:39,350
WILDEBEEST GRUNT
226
00:17:39,433 --> 00:17:40,935
...one million wildebeest...
227
00:17:41,269 --> 00:17:42,812
WILDEBEEST GRUNT
228
00:17:47,900 --> 00:17:50,152
...a quarter of a million
zebra...
229
00:17:50,236 --> 00:17:51,862
ANIMALS YIP
230
00:17:54,865 --> 00:17:56,450
...half a million gazelle.
231
00:17:56,534 --> 00:17:57,660
GAZELLE SNORT
232
00:17:59,704 --> 00:18:01,122
A few days after that...
233
00:18:02,707 --> 00:18:03,708
and they're gone
234
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:05,418
over the horizon.
235
00:18:06,002 --> 00:18:09,964
You can be forgiven for thinking
that these plains are endless
236
00:18:10,631 --> 00:18:12,758
when they could swallow up
such a herd.
237
00:18:14,051 --> 00:18:17,054
It took a visionary scientist,
Bernhard Grzimek
238
00:18:17,138 --> 00:18:19,432
to explain that
this wasn't true.
239
00:18:19,724 --> 00:18:21,517
PLANE ROARS
240
00:18:22,852 --> 00:18:25,104
He and his son used a plane
241
00:18:25,187 --> 00:18:27,940
to follow the herds
over the horizon.
242
00:18:28,482 --> 00:18:30,067
WILDEBEEST GRUNT
243
00:18:35,406 --> 00:18:37,325
ENGINE PURRS
244
00:18:38,409 --> 00:18:40,995
They charted them
as they moved across rivers
245
00:18:41,454 --> 00:18:44,165
through woodlands,
and over national borders.
246
00:18:46,626 --> 00:18:49,378
They discovered
that the Serengeti herds
247
00:18:49,462 --> 00:18:53,674
required an enormous area of
healthy grassland to function.
248
00:18:55,217 --> 00:18:57,553
That without such
an immense space
249
00:18:57,637 --> 00:18:59,388
the herds would diminish
250
00:18:59,930 --> 00:19:03,309
and the entire ecosystem
would come crashing down.
251
00:19:05,603 --> 00:19:06,896
The point for me was simple.
252
00:19:07,563 --> 00:19:09,774
The wild is far from unlimited.
253
00:19:09,857 --> 00:19:12,318
It's finite.
It needs protecting.
254
00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:16,572
And a few years later, that idea
became obvious to everyone.
255
00:19:17,365 --> 00:19:18,824
MAN, OVER RADIO:
Engines are on.
256
00:19:18,908 --> 00:19:23,120
Four, three, two, one, zero.
— EMISSIONS ROAR
257
00:19:25,081 --> 00:19:27,333
SIR DAVID:
| was in a television studio
258
00:19:27,792 --> 00:19:29,710
when the Apollo mission
launched.
259
00:19:33,881 --> 00:19:35,299
It was the first time
260
00:19:35,383 --> 00:19:38,761
that any human had moved away
far enough from the Earth
261
00:19:39,261 --> 00:19:40,888
to see the whole planet.
262
00:19:42,431 --> 00:19:44,308
And this is what they saw.
263
00:19:47,186 --> 00:19:48,938
What we all saw.
264
00:19:50,648 --> 00:19:51,941
Our planet...
265
00:19:52,942 --> 00:19:55,277
vulnerable and isolated.
266
00:20:01,534 --> 00:20:04,370
One of the extraordinary things
about it was
267
00:20:04,453 --> 00:20:08,749
that the world could actually
watch it as it happened.
268
00:20:09,667 --> 00:20:10,918
It was extraordinary
269
00:20:11,001 --> 00:20:12,586
that you could see
270
00:20:12,670 --> 00:20:15,589
what a man out in space
could see
271
00:20:15,673 --> 00:20:17,675
as he saw it at the same time.
272
00:20:19,176 --> 00:20:23,347
And | remember
very well that first shot.
273
00:20:24,056 --> 00:20:29,729
You saw a blue marble,
a blue sphere in the blackness
274
00:20:29,812 --> 00:20:33,566
and you realised that
that was the Earth.
275
00:20:33,649 --> 00:20:35,359
And in that one shot
276
00:20:35,443 --> 00:20:37,778
there was the whole of humanity
with nothing else
277
00:20:37,862 --> 00:20:41,031
except the person
that was in the spacecraft
278
00:20:41,115 --> 00:20:42,366
taking that picture.
279
00:20:43,451 --> 00:20:48,247
And that completely changed
the mindset of the population
280
00:20:48,330 --> 00:20:49,665
the human population
of the world.
281
00:20:53,461 --> 00:20:55,421
Our home was not limitless.
282
00:20:57,256 --> 00:20:59,759
There was an edge
tO our existence.
283
00:21:01,594 --> 00:21:05,306
It was a rediscovery
of a fundamental truth.
284
00:21:06,891 --> 00:21:10,519
We are ultimately bound by
and reliant upon
285
00:21:11,061 --> 00:21:14,106
the finite natural world
about us.
286
00:21:16,192 --> 00:21:20,112
This truth defined the life
we led in our pre-history
287
00:21:20,196 --> 00:21:23,532
the time before farming
and civilisation.
288
00:21:24,325 --> 00:21:27,328
Even as some of us
were setting foot on the moon
289
00:21:27,703 --> 00:21:30,289
others were still
leading such a life
290
00:21:30,372 --> 00:21:32,792
in the most remote parts
of the planet.
291
00:21:33,667 --> 00:21:35,461
BIRDSONG
292
00:21:40,674 --> 00:21:43,636
In 1971, | set out to find
293
00:21:43,719 --> 00:21:46,597
an uncontacted tribe
in New Guinea.
294
00:21:47,556 --> 00:21:50,351
MEN SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE
295
00:21:50,434 --> 00:21:52,853
These people were
hunter-gatherers...
296
00:21:53,687 --> 00:21:56,857
as all humankind
had been before farming.
297
00:21:58,108 --> 00:21:59,318
MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
298
00:22:00,611 --> 00:22:04,240
They lived in small numbers
and didn't take too much.
299
00:22:04,698 --> 00:22:07,243
MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
300
00:22:08,828 --> 00:22:10,788
They ate meat rarely.
301
00:22:11,789 --> 00:22:16,502
The resources they used
naturally renewed themselves.
302
00:22:17,503 --> 00:22:20,005
Working with their
traditional technology
303
00:22:20,089 --> 00:22:21,924
they were living sustainably...
304
00:22:22,716 --> 00:22:26,762
a lifestyle that could continue,
effectively, forever.
305
00:22:27,721 --> 00:22:29,306
MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE
306
00:22:30,140 --> 00:22:33,018
It was a stark contrast
to the world | knew...
307
00:22:34,103 --> 00:22:37,189
a world that demanded
more every day.
308
00:22:37,273 --> 00:22:38,691
NUMBERS CLICK
309
00:22:47,283 --> 00:22:51,245
| spent the latter half of
the 1970s travelling the world
310
00:22:51,745 --> 00:22:54,498
making a series
| had long dreamed of
311
00:22:54,582 --> 00:22:55,833
called Life on Earth...
312
00:22:57,167 --> 00:23:01,630
the story of the evolution
of life and its diversity.
313
00:23:03,382 --> 00:23:05,634
It was shot in 39 countries.
314
00:23:06,927 --> 00:23:09,722
We filmed 650 species
315
00:23:10,514 --> 00:23:13,684
and we travelled
1.5 million miles.
316
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,478
That's the sort
of commitment you need
317
00:23:16,812 --> 00:23:20,816
if you want to even begin making
a portrait of the living world.
318
00:23:22,610 --> 00:23:24,153
But it was noticeable
319
00:23:24,236 --> 00:23:27,615
that some of these animals
were becoming harder to find.
320
00:23:43,422 --> 00:23:45,591
When | filmed with
the mountain gorillas
321
00:23:46,258 --> 00:23:48,510
there were only 300 left
322
00:23:48,594 --> 00:23:51,180
in a remote jungle
in Central Africa.
323
00:23:52,514 --> 00:23:54,683
Baby gorillas
were at a premium
324
00:23:55,142 --> 00:23:58,395
and poachers would Kill
a dozen adults to get one.
325
00:24:00,064 --> 00:24:01,690
| got as close as | did
326
00:24:01,774 --> 00:24:04,652
only because the gorillas
were used to people.
327
00:24:04,735 --> 00:24:06,195
GORILLAS GRUNT
328
00:24:06,946 --> 00:24:09,031
The only way to keep them alive
329
00:24:09,114 --> 00:24:11,742
was for rangers to be
with them every day.
330
00:24:17,998 --> 00:24:20,960
The process of extinction
I'd seen as a boy...
331
00:24:22,127 --> 00:24:23,420
in the rocks...
332
00:24:24,338 --> 00:24:27,883
| now became aware was happening
right there around me...
333
00:24:29,176 --> 00:24:31,929
to animals
with which | was familiar.
334
00:24:33,389 --> 00:24:35,015
Our closest relatives.
335
00:24:38,727 --> 00:24:40,813
And we were responsible.
336
00:24:43,607 --> 00:24:46,110
It revealed a cold reality.
337
00:24:47,486 --> 00:24:49,655
Once a species
became our target...
338
00:24:50,239 --> 00:24:53,534
there was now nowhere on Earth
that it could hide.
339
00:24:54,994 --> 00:24:55,995
HARPOON BLASTS
340
00:25:06,380 --> 00:25:08,132
Whales were being slaughtered
341
00:25:08,215 --> 00:25:12,761
by fleets of industrial
whaling ships in the 1970s.
342
00:25:17,057 --> 00:25:19,810
The largest whales, the blues
343
00:25:20,352 --> 00:25:22,855
numbered only
a few thousand by then.
344
00:25:23,772 --> 00:25:25,357
BLOWHOLE WHOOSHES
345
00:25:27,776 --> 00:25:30,279
They were virtually
impossible to find.
346
00:25:33,407 --> 00:25:35,909
We found humpbacks off Hawaii
347
00:25:35,993 --> 00:25:38,662
only by listening out
for their calls.
348
00:25:39,246 --> 00:25:41,665
A moment ago,
we made this recording
349
00:25:41,749 --> 00:25:45,711
with an underwater microphone
here in the Pacific hear Hawali
350
00:25:45,794 --> 00:25:47,004
Just listen to this.
351
00:25:48,714 --> 00:25:50,841
WHAVLES SING ON TAPE
352
00:25:53,802 --> 00:25:55,554
WHAVLES SING
353
00:25:59,058 --> 00:26:00,476
SIR DAVID:
Recordings like these
354
00:26:00,601 --> 00:26:02,936
revealed that the songs
of the humpbacks
355
00:26:03,103 --> 00:26:05,189
are long and complex.
356
00:26:06,565 --> 00:26:08,358
Humpbacks living
in the same area
357
00:26:08,484 --> 00:26:10,360
learn their songs
from each other.
358
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,865
And the songs have distinct
themes and variations
359
00:26:14,948 --> 00:26:16,909
which evolve over time.
360
00:26:16,992 --> 00:26:19,119
WHAVLES SING
361
00:26:26,043 --> 00:26:28,629
Their mournful songs
were the key
362
00:26:28,712 --> 00:26:31,381
to transforming people's
opinions about them.
363
00:26:33,592 --> 00:26:35,052
MAN SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN
364
00:26:36,011 --> 00:26:38,680
MAN, OVER MEGAPHONE:
Hello, Boctok. We are Canadian.
365
00:26:40,224 --> 00:26:42,684
Please stop killing the whales.
366
00:26:45,104 --> 00:26:46,814
SIR DAVID:
Animals that had been viewed
367
00:26:46,897 --> 00:26:50,067
as little more than
a source of oil and meat
368
00:26:50,526 --> 00:26:52,986
became personalities.
369
00:26:55,364 --> 00:26:57,032
MAN, OVER MEGAPHONE:
We are men and women
370
00:26:57,116 --> 00:26:58,408
and we speak for children.
371
00:26:58,909 --> 00:27:00,369
And we're all saying
372
00:27:00,452 --> 00:27:02,955
"Please stop killing
the whales. "
373
00:27:05,415 --> 00:27:07,376
We have pursued animals
to extinction
374
00:27:07,459 --> 00:27:09,253
many times in our history.
375
00:27:10,379 --> 00:27:14,800
But now that it was visible,
it was no longer acceptable.
376
00:27:17,427 --> 00:27:19,263
WHAVLE SINGS
377
00:27:22,808 --> 00:27:27,521
The killing of whales turned
from a harvest to a crime.
378
00:27:29,231 --> 00:27:33,152
A powerful shared conscience
had suddenly appeared.
379
00:27:33,986 --> 00:27:37,197
Nobody wanted animals
to become extinct.
380
00:27:38,782 --> 00:27:41,660
People were coming to care
for the natural world...
381
00:27:42,452 --> 00:27:45,789
as they were made aware
of the natural world.
382
00:27:49,209 --> 00:27:50,836
And we now had the means
383
00:27:50,919 --> 00:27:53,797
to make people across the world
aware.
384
00:27:55,090 --> 00:27:58,260
"LIFE ON EARTH" TV THEME PLAYS
385
00:28:01,471 --> 00:28:05,475
SIR DAVID: By the time
Life on Earth aired in 1979
386
00:28:05,559 --> 00:28:07,186
| had entered my 50s.
387
00:28:08,228 --> 00:28:11,106
There were twice the number
of people on the planet
388
00:28:11,190 --> 00:28:13,108
as there were when | was born.
389
00:28:14,985 --> 00:28:18,071
You and | belong
to the most widespread
390
00:28:18,155 --> 00:28:21,116
and dominant species
of animal on Earth.
391
00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:24,494
We're certainly the most
numerous large animal.
392
00:28:24,578 --> 00:28:28,415
There are something like
4,000 million of us today
393
00:28:29,041 --> 00:28:32,461
and we've reached this position
with meteoric speed.
394
00:28:33,337 --> 00:28:37,216
It's all happened within
the last 2,000 years or so.
395
00:28:37,299 --> 00:28:41,511
We seem to have broken loose
from the restrictions
396
00:28:41,678 --> 00:28:43,222
that have governed
the activities
397
00:28:43,305 --> 00:28:45,557
andad nhumbers of other animals.
398
00:28:53,482 --> 00:28:55,025
SIR DAVID:
We had broken loose.
399
00:28:56,193 --> 00:28:59,571
We were apart from
the rest of life on Earth...
400
00:29:01,323 --> 00:29:03,742
living a different kind of life.
401
00:29:07,913 --> 00:29:10,374
Our predators
had been eliminated.
402
00:29:13,168 --> 00:29:15,837
Most of our diseases
were under control.
403
00:29:18,131 --> 00:29:21,260
We had worked out
how to produce food to order.
404
00:29:24,012 --> 00:29:26,807
There was nothing left
to restrict us...
405
00:29:27,724 --> 00:29:29,685
nothing to stop us...
406
00:29:30,936 --> 00:29:32,896
unless we stopped ourselves.
407
00:29:34,273 --> 00:29:36,275
We would keep
consuming the Earth
408
00:29:37,150 --> 00:29:38,652
until we had used it up.
409
00:29:41,989 --> 00:29:45,367
Saving individual species
or even groups of species
410
00:29:45,450 --> 00:29:46,702
would not be enough.
411
00:29:47,452 --> 00:29:50,455
Whole habitats would
soon start to disappear.
412
00:30:18,567 --> 00:30:21,069
| first withessed
the destruction
413
00:30:21,153 --> 00:30:23,030
of an entire habitat
414
00:30:23,113 --> 00:30:24,573
in Southeast Asia.
415
00:30:25,699 --> 00:30:27,451
In the 1950s
416
00:30:27,534 --> 00:30:30,787
Borneo was three-quarters
covered with rainforest.
417
00:30:30,871 --> 00:30:32,414
SIR DAVID, ON TV:
We heard a crashing
418
00:30:32,497 --> 00:30:33,749
n the branches ahead.
419
00:30:34,875 --> 00:30:36,877
And there,
only a few yards away
420
00:30:37,627 --> 00:30:40,922
we spotted
a great furry red form
421
00:30:41,006 --> 00:30:42,299
swaying in the trees.
422
00:30:43,884 --> 00:30:45,260
The orangutan.
423
00:30:48,347 --> 00:30:50,098
SIR DAVID:
By the end of the century
424
00:30:50,182 --> 00:30:54,102
Borneo's rainforest
had been reduced by half.
425
00:30:56,938 --> 00:30:58,482
BIRDS TRILL
426
00:31:00,317 --> 00:31:03,653
Rainforests are
particularly precious habitats.
427
00:31:06,239 --> 00:31:09,659
More than half of
the species on land live here.
428
00:31:13,163 --> 00:31:14,331
BIRD WHOOPS
429
00:31:14,414 --> 00:31:15,791
They're places in which
430
00:31:15,874 --> 00:31:19,169
evolution's talent
for design soars.
431
00:31:20,504 --> 00:31:22,172
BIRD TRILLS
432
00:31:33,934 --> 00:31:35,143
BIRD CAWS
433
00:31:37,354 --> 00:31:38,313
BIRD SQUAWKS
434
00:31:43,819 --> 00:31:46,238
BIRD CLICKS
435
00:31:53,412 --> 00:31:55,080
BIRD CLICKS
436
00:32:03,130 --> 00:32:04,464
LEAVES RUSTLE
437
00:32:04,548 --> 00:32:07,342
Many of the millions
of species in the forest
438
00:32:07,717 --> 00:32:09,719
exist in small numbers.
439
00:32:12,597 --> 00:32:15,642
Every one has
a critical role to play.
440
00:32:21,314 --> 00:32:25,152
Orangutan mothers have to spend
ten years with their young
441
00:32:25,235 --> 00:32:28,321
teaching them
which fruits are worth eating.
442
00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:33,535
Without this training
443
00:32:33,952 --> 00:32:37,038
they would not complete
their role in dispersing seeds.
444
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:43,378
The future generations of many
tree species would be at risk.
445
00:32:44,463 --> 00:32:48,800
And tree diversity
is the key to a rainforest.
446
00:32:48,884 --> 00:32:51,344
BIRDS WHOOP AND TWITTER
447
00:32:52,679 --> 00:32:55,682
In a single small patch
of tropical rainforest
448
00:32:55,765 --> 00:32:59,019
there could be
700 different species of tree
449
00:32:59,102 --> 00:33:02,481
as many as there are
in the whole of North America.
450
00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:04,316
And yet...
451
00:33:05,525 --> 00:33:10,155
this is what we've been turning
this dizzying diversity into...
452
00:33:11,573 --> 00:33:14,618
a monoculture of oil paim.
453
00:33:18,288 --> 00:33:22,334
A habitat that is dead
in comparison.
454
00:33:25,921 --> 00:33:28,924
And you see
this curtain of green
455
00:33:29,007 --> 00:33:30,509
with occasionally birds in it
456
00:33:32,010 --> 00:33:34,304
and you think it's perhaps OK.
457
00:33:34,513 --> 00:33:35,805
But if you get in a helicopter
458
00:33:35,889 --> 00:33:39,351
you see that that is a strip
about half-a-mile wide.
459
00:33:40,143 --> 00:33:41,686
And beyond that strip
460
00:33:42,187 --> 00:33:47,192
out there is nothing but
regimented rows of oil palms.
461
00:33:49,528 --> 00:33:52,155
CHAINSAWS BUZZ
462
00:33:56,535 --> 00:33:59,955
There is a double incentive
to cut down forests.
463
00:34:00,038 --> 00:34:01,790
CHAINSAW BUZZES
464
00:34:01,915 --> 00:34:03,625
People benefit from the timber
465
00:34:04,167 --> 00:34:05,377
and then benefit again
466
00:34:05,961 --> 00:34:08,380
from farming the land
that's left behind.
467
00:34:08,463 --> 00:34:09,631
CHAINSAW BUZZES
468
00:34:09,714 --> 00:34:10,840
TIMBER CREAKS
469
00:34:13,343 --> 00:34:15,178
TIMBER CRASHES
470
00:34:18,431 --> 00:34:20,141
TIMBER CREAKS
471
00:34:22,477 --> 00:34:24,229
Which is why we've cut down
472
00:34:24,312 --> 00:34:27,732
three trillion trees
across the world.
473
00:34:28,316 --> 00:34:32,362
Half of the world's rainforests
have already been cleared.
474
00:34:42,289 --> 00:34:45,875
What we see happening today
is just the latest chapter
475
00:34:45,959 --> 00:34:48,753
in a global process
spanning millennia.
476
00:34:55,302 --> 00:34:57,012
The deforestation of Borneo
477
00:34:57,470 --> 00:35:00,098
has reduced
the population of orangutan
478
00:35:00,557 --> 00:35:05,478
by two-thirds since | first
saw one just over 60 years ago.
479
00:35:13,194 --> 00:35:15,780
We can't cut down
rainforests forever
480
00:35:15,864 --> 00:35:17,782
and anything that
we can't do forever
481
00:35:17,866 --> 00:35:20,452
is, by definition,
unsustainable.
482
00:35:21,620 --> 00:35:24,831
If we do things
that are unsustainable
483
00:35:24,914 --> 00:35:26,499
the damage accumulates...
484
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,795
ultimately, to a point where
the whole system collapses.
485
00:35:32,422 --> 00:35:36,134
No ecosystem,
Nno matter how big, is secure.
486
00:35:38,678 --> 00:35:41,598
Even one as vast as the ocean.
487
00:35:46,686 --> 00:35:51,274
This habitat was the subject
of the series 7he Blue Planet
488
00:35:51,358 --> 00:35:53,693
which we were filming
in the late '90s.
489
00:35:58,156 --> 00:35:59,616
NUMBERS CLICK
490
00:36:07,832 --> 00:36:13,088
It was an astonishing vision
of a completely unknown world
491
00:36:13,171 --> 00:36:17,342
a world that had existed
since the beginning of time.
492
00:36:25,684 --> 00:36:28,770
All sorts of things that
you'd no idea had ever existed
493
00:36:29,270 --> 00:36:33,358
all in a multitude of colours,
all unbelievably beautiful.
494
00:36:37,404 --> 00:36:42,075
And all of them completely
undisturbed by your presence.
495
00:36:50,625 --> 00:36:54,504
For much of its expanse,
the ocean is largely empty.
496
00:36:56,506 --> 00:36:59,509
But in certain places,
there are hotspots
497
00:36:59,968 --> 00:37:02,470
where currents bring
nutrients to the surface
498
00:37:02,846 --> 00:37:05,724
and trigger
an explosion of life.
499
00:37:11,730 --> 00:37:15,608
In such places,
huge shoals of fish gather.
500
00:37:23,825 --> 00:37:26,411
The problem is
that our fishing fleets
501
00:37:26,494 --> 00:37:29,372
are just as good at finding
those hotspots
502
00:37:29,456 --> 00:37:30,540
as are the fish.
503
00:37:32,667 --> 00:37:34,836
When they do,
they're able to gather
504
00:37:34,919 --> 00:37:37,839
the concentrated shoals
with ease.
505
00:37:42,010 --> 00:37:45,430
It was only in the '50s
that large fleets
506
00:37:45,513 --> 00:37:48,516
first ventured out
into international waters...
507
00:37:49,768 --> 00:37:53,271
to reap the open-ocean harvest
across the globe.
508
00:37:55,940 --> 00:38:00,069
Yet they've removed 90 per cent
of the large fish in the sea.
509
00:38:08,328 --> 00:38:11,539
At first, they caught
o1l YA S g Wig W gl Qg S1 4
510
00:38:13,166 --> 00:38:15,293
But within only a few years
511
00:38:15,919 --> 00:38:19,964
the nets across the globe
were coming in empty.
512
00:38:21,966 --> 00:38:24,344
The fishing quickly
became so poor...
513
00:38:25,178 --> 00:38:27,722
that countries began
to subsidise the fleets
514
00:38:27,806 --> 00:38:29,474
to maintain the industry.
515
00:38:34,854 --> 00:38:38,107
Without large fish
and other marine predators
516
00:38:38,733 --> 00:38:41,569
the oceanic
nutrient cycle stutters.
517
00:38:48,493 --> 00:38:50,829
The predators help
to keep nutrients
518
00:38:50,912 --> 00:38:53,206
in the ocean's sunlit waters
519
00:38:53,289 --> 00:38:54,374
recycling them
520
00:38:54,457 --> 00:38:57,836
so they can be used
again and again by plankton.
521
00:39:02,715 --> 00:39:04,175
Without predators
522
00:39:04,259 --> 00:39:07,470
nutrients are lost
for centuries to the depths
523
00:39:07,554 --> 00:39:10,181
and the hotspots
start to diminish.
524
00:39:11,724 --> 00:39:14,060
The ocean starts to die.
525
00:39:19,649 --> 00:39:24,028
Ocean life was also
unravelling in the shallows.
526
00:39:29,701 --> 00:39:33,079
In 1998, a Blue Planet fiim crew
527
00:39:33,162 --> 00:39:36,124
stumbled on an event
little known at the time.
528
00:39:40,169 --> 00:39:43,256
Coral reefs were turning white.
529
00:39:47,886 --> 00:39:52,015
The white colour is caused
by corals expelling algae
530
00:39:52,098 --> 00:39:54,893
that lives symbiotically
within their body.
531
00:40:02,233 --> 00:40:03,610
When you first see it
532
00:40:03,693 --> 00:40:06,070
you think perhaps
that it's beautiful
533
00:40:06,154 --> 00:40:08,114
and suddenly
you realise it's tragic.
534
00:40:08,656 --> 00:40:11,034
Because what you're looking at
is skeletons.
535
00:40:11,576 --> 00:40:13,745
Skeletons of dead creatures.
536
00:40:21,753 --> 00:40:25,548
The white corals are
ultimately smothered by seaweed.
537
00:40:26,466 --> 00:40:29,177
And the reef turns
from wonderland...
538
00:40:30,511 --> 00:40:31,930
to wasteland.
539
00:40:36,809 --> 00:40:40,146
At first, the cause of
the bleaching was a mystery.
540
00:40:40,229 --> 00:40:42,732
But scientists
started to discover
541
00:40:42,815 --> 00:40:44,984
that in many cases
where bleaching occurred
542
00:40:45,944 --> 00:40:47,820
the ocean was warming.
543
00:40:48,780 --> 00:40:51,950
For some time,
climate scientists had warned
544
00:40:52,033 --> 00:40:55,328
that the planet would get warmer
as we burned fossil fuels
545
00:40:55,411 --> 00:40:59,040
and released carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases
546
00:40:59,123 --> 00:41:00,333
into the atmosphere.
547
00:41:03,127 --> 00:41:04,462
LAVA ROARS
548
00:41:04,545 --> 00:41:06,839
A marked change
in atmospheric carbon
549
00:41:06,923 --> 00:41:10,218
has always been incompatible
with a stable Earth.
550
00:41:11,177 --> 00:41:14,764
It was a feature of
all five mass extinctions.
551
00:41:15,223 --> 00:41:16,766
LAVA ROARS
552
00:41:20,103 --> 00:41:21,479
In previous events
553
00:41:21,562 --> 00:41:25,733
it had taken volcanic activity
up to one million years
554
00:41:25,817 --> 00:41:28,653
to dredge up enough carbon
from within the earth
555
00:41:28,736 --> 00:41:30,238
to trigger a catastrophe.
556
00:41:33,074 --> 00:41:35,159
By burning millions of
years' worth
557
00:41:35,243 --> 00:41:37,578
of living organisms
all at once
558
00:41:37,662 --> 00:41:39,372
as coal and oil...
559
00:41:39,998 --> 00:41:43,751
we have managed to do so
in less than 200.
560
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:47,505
The global air temperature
561
00:41:47,588 --> 00:41:50,383
had been relatively stable
till the '90s
562
00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:53,970
but it now appeared
this was only because the ocean
563
00:41:54,053 --> 00:41:56,180
was absorbing much of
the excess heat
564
00:41:56,848 --> 00:41:58,599
masking our impact.
565
00:42:01,978 --> 00:42:04,147
It was the first
indication to me
566
00:42:04,230 --> 00:42:07,650
that the Earth was beginning
to lose its balance.
567
00:42:08,317 --> 00:42:10,528
WIND WHOOSHES
- |ICE CREAKS
568
00:42:16,034 --> 00:42:18,536
The most remote habitat of all
569
00:42:18,619 --> 00:42:22,707
exists at the extreme north
and south of the planet.
570
00:42:27,045 --> 00:42:30,590
I've visited the polar regions
over many decades.
571
00:42:35,386 --> 00:42:38,765
They've always been a place
beyond imagination...
572
00:42:39,599 --> 00:42:42,310
with scenery unlike
anything else on Earth...
573
00:42:44,353 --> 00:42:49,317
and unique species adapted
to a life in the extreme.
574
00:42:53,279 --> 00:42:55,448
But that distant world
is changing.
575
00:42:58,659 --> 00:43:03,498
In my time, I've experienced
the warming of Arctic summers.
576
00:43:06,584 --> 00:43:08,294
We have arrived at locations
577
00:43:08,377 --> 00:43:11,047
expecting to find
expanses of sea ice
578
00:43:11,464 --> 00:43:12,924
and found none.
579
00:43:15,843 --> 00:43:17,720
We've managed to travel by boat
580
00:43:17,804 --> 00:43:21,307
to islands that were impossible
to get to historically
581
00:43:21,390 --> 00:43:24,102
because they were
permanently locked in the ice.
582
00:43:27,355 --> 00:43:32,235
By the time Frozen Planet
aired in 2011
583
00:43:32,568 --> 00:43:35,530
the reasons for these changes
was well established.
584
00:43:40,493 --> 00:43:44,122
The ocean has long since
become unable to absorb
585
00:43:44,205 --> 00:43:48,209
all the excess heat
caused by our activities.
586
00:43:49,377 --> 00:43:52,505
As a result, the average
global temperature today
587
00:43:52,588 --> 00:43:56,968
is one degree Celsius warmer
than it was when | was born.
588
00:43:57,426 --> 00:43:58,970
ICE RUMBLES AND CRASHES
589
00:44:02,557 --> 00:44:07,520
A speed of change that exceeds
any in the last 10,000 years.
590
00:44:07,603 --> 00:44:09,522
ICE CRASHES AND RUMBLES
591
00:44:15,278 --> 00:44:17,280
Summer sea ice in the Arctic
592
00:44:17,363 --> 00:44:20,950
has reduced by
40 per cent in 40 years.
593
00:44:23,077 --> 00:44:25,872
Our planet is losing its ice.
594
00:44:26,539 --> 00:44:28,249
ICE CRASHES
595
00:44:31,836 --> 00:44:35,339
This most pristine
and distant of ecosystems
596
00:44:35,923 --> 00:44:37,550
is headed for disaster.
597
00:44:55,693 --> 00:44:58,946
Our imprint is now
truly global...
598
00:44:59,906 --> 00:45:02,825
our impact now truly profound.
599
00:45:03,451 --> 00:45:06,579
Our blind assault on the planet
has finally come
600
00:45:06,662 --> 00:45:09,999
to alter the very fundamentals
of the living world.
601
00:45:18,758 --> 00:45:22,386
We have overfished
30 per cent of fish stocks
602
00:45:22,470 --> 00:45:23,596
to critical levels.
603
00:45:26,349 --> 00:45:30,436
We cut down over
15 billion trees each year.
604
00:45:30,561 --> 00:45:32,021
BIRDS TRILL
605
00:45:33,231 --> 00:45:35,066
By damming, polluting
606
00:45:35,149 --> 00:45:37,777
and over-extracting
rivers and lakes
607
00:45:37,860 --> 00:45:40,696
we've reduced the size
of freshwater populations
608
00:45:41,239 --> 00:45:43,157
by over 80 per cent.
609
00:45:44,575 --> 00:45:48,079
We're replacing
the wild with the tame.
610
00:45:52,250 --> 00:45:57,255
Half of the fertile land
on Earth is now farmland.
611
00:46:04,262 --> 00:46:07,974
Seventy per cent of the mass
of birds on this planet
612
00:46:08,057 --> 00:46:09,725
are domestic birds.
613
00:46:10,309 --> 00:46:13,104
The vast majority, chickens.
614
00:46:17,441 --> 00:46:22,530
We account for over one third of
the weight of mammals on Earth.
615
00:46:23,531 --> 00:46:27,576
A further 60 per cent are
the animals we raise to eat.
616
00:46:32,873 --> 00:46:38,087
The rest, from mice to whales,
make up just four per cent.
617
00:46:41,549 --> 00:46:44,260
This is now our planet
618
00:46:44,343 --> 00:46:47,513
run by humankind for humankind.
619
00:46:48,014 --> 00:46:51,392
There is little left for
the rest of the living world.
620
00:46:57,857 --> 00:47:00,568
Since | started filming
in the 1950s
621
00:47:01,152 --> 00:47:04,280
on average,
wild animal populations
622
00:47:04,697 --> 00:47:06,532
have more than halved.
623
00:47:09,368 --> 00:47:12,955
| look at these images now,
and | realise that
624
00:47:13,039 --> 00:47:14,165
although as a young man
625
00:47:14,248 --> 00:47:16,250
| felt | was out there
in the wild
626
00:47:16,334 --> 00:47:19,587
experiencing
the untouched natural world...
627
00:47:20,546 --> 00:47:22,089
it was an illusion.
628
00:47:24,008 --> 00:47:28,679
Those forests and plains
and seas were already emptying.
629
00:47:33,893 --> 00:47:36,687
Um, so, the world
is not as wild as it was.
630
00:47:38,314 --> 00:47:39,523
Well, we've destroyed it...
631
00:47:40,274 --> 00:47:41,692
not just ruined it.
632
00:47:41,776 --> 00:47:43,361
| mean, we have completely...
633
00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:46,238
well, destroyed that world.
634
00:47:46,322 --> 00:47:49,075
That non-human world is...
is gone.
635
00:47:50,034 --> 00:47:51,243
Uh...
HE STAMMERS
636
00:47:51,702 --> 00:47:53,788
Human beings
have overrun the world.
637
00:48:35,955 --> 00:48:39,333
That is my witness statement.
638
00:48:40,167 --> 00:48:44,755
A story of global decline
during a single lifetime.
639
00:48:49,927 --> 00:48:52,138
But it doesn't end there.
640
00:48:53,806 --> 00:48:56,225
If we continue
OonNn our current course
641
00:48:56,308 --> 00:48:58,978
the damage that has been
the defining feature
642
00:48:59,061 --> 00:49:00,396
of my lifetime
643
00:49:00,479 --> 00:49:04,733
will be eclipsed by the damage
coming in the next.
644
00:49:06,652 --> 00:49:08,279
NUMBERS CLICK
645
00:49:16,579 --> 00:49:21,167
Science predicts
that were | born today
646
00:49:21,750 --> 00:49:24,420
| would be withess
to the following.
647
00:49:24,962 --> 00:49:26,297
FIRE CRACKLES
648
00:49:29,675 --> 00:49:31,093
The Amazon Rainforest...
649
00:49:31,760 --> 00:49:35,556
cut down until it can no longer
produce enough moisture...
650
00:49:36,599 --> 00:49:38,767
degrades into a dry savannah
651
00:49:39,685 --> 00:49:42,146
bringing
catastrophic species loss...
652
00:49:43,689 --> 00:49:46,817
and altering
the global water cycle.
653
00:49:53,866 --> 00:49:58,204
At the same time, the Arctic
becomes ice-free in the summer.
654
00:50:01,332 --> 00:50:03,167
Without the white icecap
655
00:50:03,667 --> 00:50:06,921
less of the sun's energy
is reflected back out to Space.
656
00:50:08,506 --> 00:50:11,926
And the speed
of global warming increases.
657
00:50:12,343 --> 00:50:13,677
MUD CRASHES
658
00:50:18,516 --> 00:50:22,436
Throughout the north,
frozen soils thaw
659
00:50:22,895 --> 00:50:24,230
releasing methane
660
00:50:24,980 --> 00:50:29,318
a greenhouse gas many times
more potent than carbon dioxide
661
00:50:30,694 --> 00:50:34,657
accelerating the rate
of climate change, dramatically.
662
00:50:42,706 --> 00:50:45,960
As the ocean continues to heat
and becomes more acidic
663
00:50:46,544 --> 00:50:49,171
coral reefs
around the world die.
664
00:50:53,300 --> 00:50:55,886
Fish populations crash.
665
00:51:04,770 --> 00:51:07,773
Global food production
enters a crisis
666
00:51:08,190 --> 00:51:10,943
as soils become
exhausted by overuse.
667
00:51:19,952 --> 00:51:22,288
Pollinating insects disappear.
668
00:51:22,871 --> 00:51:24,665
THUNDER CRACKS
669
00:51:24,748 --> 00:51:27,960
And the weather is
more and more unpredictable.
670
00:51:33,841 --> 00:51:37,595
Our planet becomes
four degrees Celsius warmer.
671
00:51:39,722 --> 00:51:43,684
Large parts of the Earth
are uninhabitable.
672
00:51:44,602 --> 00:51:45,853
HIPPOS SNUFFLE
673
00:51:47,187 --> 00:51:50,149
Millions of people,
rendered homeless.
674
00:51:53,611 --> 00:51:56,280
A sixth mass extinction event...
675
00:51:57,406 --> 00:51:58,991
is well underway.
676
00:51:59,074 --> 00:52:00,326
WIND WHIPS
677
00:52:05,623 --> 00:52:09,460
This is a series
of one-way doors...
678
00:52:10,836 --> 00:52:13,047
bringing irreversible change.
679
00:52:15,507 --> 00:52:17,718
Within the span
of the next lifetime...
680
00:52:18,886 --> 00:52:21,889
the security and stability
of the Holocene...
681
00:52:23,599 --> 00:52:25,601
our Garden of Eden...
682
00:52:27,353 --> 00:52:28,520
will be lost.
683
00:52:28,604 --> 00:52:30,189
WIND WHIPS
684
00:52:34,777 --> 00:52:36,403
APPLAUSE
685
00:52:37,863 --> 00:52:40,949
Right now, we're facing
a manmade disaster...
686
00:52:41,867 --> 00:52:43,619
of global scale.
687
00:52:44,912 --> 00:52:47,289
Our greatest threat
in thousands of years.
688
00:52:48,374 --> 00:52:49,958
If we don't take action
689
00:52:50,584 --> 00:52:52,961
the collapse
of our civilisations
690
00:52:53,962 --> 00:52:57,257
and the extinction
of much of the natural world
691
00:52:58,300 --> 00:52:59,510
is on the horizon.
692
00:53:00,219 --> 00:53:01,595
But the longer we leave it
693
00:53:02,012 --> 00:53:05,557
the more difficult it'll be
to do something about it.
694
00:53:06,433 --> 00:53:08,102
And you could happily retire.
695
00:53:09,770 --> 00:53:13,982
But you now want to explain
to us what peril...
696
00:53:14,983 --> 00:53:15,984
we are in.
697
00:53:18,570 --> 00:53:24,368
And, in a way, |-l wish | wasn't
involved in this struggle.
698
00:53:24,451 --> 00:53:25,411
HE CHUCKLES
699
00:53:25,494 --> 00:53:27,913
Because | wish the struggle
wasn't there or necessary.
700
00:53:28,414 --> 00:53:32,626
But I've had unbelievable luck
and good fortune...
701
00:53:33,544 --> 00:53:38,215
um, and | certainly
would feel very guilty...
702
00:53:39,341 --> 00:53:44,471
if | saw what the problems are
and decided to ignore them.
703
00:53:44,555 --> 00:53:46,014
APPLAUSE
704
00:53:47,558 --> 00:53:50,060
SIR DAVID, ON VIDEOQO: Climbing
over the tightly-packed bodies
705
00:53:50,144 --> 00:53:52,312
/s the only way
across the crowd.
706
00:53:52,396 --> 00:53:54,064
WALRUSES GROWL
707
00:53:54,148 --> 00:53:56,442
Those beneath
can get crushed to death.
708
00:53:57,901 --> 00:53:59,528
WALRUSES GROWL
709
00:54:00,446 --> 00:54:01,989
VIDEO CONTINUES PLAYING
710
00:54:14,376 --> 00:54:16,837
SIR DAVID:
We are facing nothing less
711
00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:19,131
than the collapse
of the living world.
712
00:54:21,300 --> 00:54:24,595
The very thing that gave birth
to our civilisation.
713
00:54:26,096 --> 00:54:30,309
The thing we rely upon for every
element of the lives we lead.
714
00:54:33,771 --> 00:54:35,689
No one wants this to happen.
715
00:54:36,648 --> 00:54:39,485
None of us can afford
for it to happen.
716
00:54:43,322 --> 00:54:45,282
So, what do we do?
717
00:54:47,284 --> 00:54:48,911
It's quite straightforward.
718
00:54:50,287 --> 00:54:52,873
It's been staring us
in the face all along.
719
00:54:55,167 --> 00:54:57,294
To restore stability
to our planet...
720
00:54:58,462 --> 00:55:01,507
we must restore
its biodiversity...
721
00:55:03,425 --> 00:55:05,719
the very thing
that we've removed.
722
00:55:10,098 --> 00:55:13,852
It's the only way out of
this crisis we have created.
723
00:55:16,939 --> 00:55:19,983
We must rewild the world.
724
00:55:23,111 --> 00:55:24,571
REINDEER GRUNT
725
00:55:26,657 --> 00:55:28,659
BIRDS WHOOP
726
00:55:30,410 --> 00:55:31,995
BIRDS CAW
727
00:55:40,003 --> 00:55:41,588
BUFFALO GRUNT
728
00:55:47,094 --> 00:55:48,637
BIRDS CAW
729
00:55:51,640 --> 00:55:53,725
ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
730
00:56:00,148 --> 00:56:04,194
Rewilding the world
is simpler than you might think.
731
00:56:04,778 --> 00:56:06,572
And the changes we have to make
732
00:56:06,655 --> 00:56:10,492
will only benefit ourselves
and the generations that follow.
733
00:56:11,785 --> 00:56:15,956
A century from now, our planet
could be a wild place again.
734
00:56:16,874 --> 00:56:18,667
And I'm going to tell you how.
735
00:56:19,918 --> 00:56:21,545
BIRDS TWITTER AND SQUAWK
736
00:56:26,466 --> 00:56:28,552
Every other species on Earth
737
00:56:28,635 --> 00:56:32,180
reaches a maximum population
after a time.
738
00:56:33,765 --> 00:56:35,475
The number that can be sustained
739
00:56:35,559 --> 00:56:38,061
on the natural resources
available.
740
00:56:40,939 --> 00:56:42,149
With nothing to restrict us
741
00:56:42,232 --> 00:56:45,527
our population has
been growing dramatically
742
00:56:45,611 --> 00:56:46,987
throughout my lifetime.
743
00:56:47,070 --> 00:56:48,030
CROWD CHANTS
744
00:56:48,113 --> 00:56:49,907
On current projections
745
00:56:49,948 --> 00:56:55,412
there will be 11 billion people
on Earth by 2100.
746
00:56:56,455 --> 00:57:00,751
But it's possible to slow,
even to stop, population growth
747
00:57:00,834 --> 00:57:03,462
well before it reaches
that point.
748
00:57:08,425 --> 00:57:11,553
Japan's standard of living
climbed rapidly
749
00:57:11,637 --> 00:57:14,306
in the latter half
of the 20th century.
750
00:57:15,349 --> 00:57:17,935
As healthcare
and education improved
751
00:57:18,268 --> 00:57:21,480
people's expectations
and opportunities grew
752
00:57:21,939 --> 00:57:23,982
and the birthrate fell.
753
00:57:25,817 --> 00:57:29,488
In 1950, a Japanese family
was likely to have
754
00:57:29,571 --> 00:57:31,281
three or more children.
755
00:57:32,658 --> 00:57:36,870
By 1975, the average was two.
756
00:57:39,790 --> 00:57:43,502
The result is that the
population has now stabilised
757
00:57:43,585 --> 00:57:46,338
and has hardly changed
since the millennium.
758
00:57:48,507 --> 00:57:50,926
There are signs that
this has started to happen
759
00:57:51,009 --> 00:57:52,344
across the globe.
760
00:57:55,180 --> 00:57:57,015
As nations develop everywhere
761
00:57:57,099 --> 00:57:59,768
people choose
to have fewer children.
762
00:58:04,064 --> 00:58:07,401
The number of children
being born worldwide every year
763
00:58:08,068 --> 00:58:09,945
is about to level off.
764
00:58:12,322 --> 00:58:14,700
A key reason the population
is still growing
765
00:58:15,867 --> 00:58:17,744
is because many of us
are living longer.
766
00:58:20,163 --> 00:58:21,790
At some point in the future
767
00:58:22,457 --> 00:58:26,336
the human population will peak
for the very first time.
768
00:58:26,420 --> 00:58:27,796
LOW HUBBUB
769
00:58:27,879 --> 00:58:29,381
The sooner it happens
770
00:58:29,464 --> 00:58:32,843
the easier it makes
everything else we have to do.
771
00:58:33,093 --> 00:58:34,803
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
772
00:58:37,347 --> 00:58:40,142
By working hard to raise
people out of poverty...
773
00:58:41,143 --> 00:58:43,520
giving all
access to healthcare...
774
00:58:44,396 --> 00:58:46,481
and enabling girls,
in particular
775
00:58:46,565 --> 00:58:49,026
to stay in school
as long as possible
776
00:58:49,443 --> 00:58:53,196
we can make it peak sooner
and at a lower level.
777
00:58:55,198 --> 00:58:57,159
Why wouldn't we want
to do these things?
778
00:58:57,826 --> 00:58:59,911
Giving people
a greater opportunity of life
779
00:58:59,995 --> 00:59:01,913
is what we would
want to do anyway.
780
00:59:02,831 --> 00:59:05,500
The trick is to raise
the standard of living
781
00:59:05,584 --> 00:59:06,668
around the world
782
00:59:07,085 --> 00:59:10,297
without increasing
our impact on that world.
783
00:59:10,672 --> 00:59:12,132
That may sound impossible
784
00:59:12,215 --> 00:59:14,801
but there are ways
in which we can do this.
785
00:59:24,436 --> 00:59:27,939
The living world is,
essentially, solar-powered.
786
00:59:31,068 --> 00:59:32,944
The Earth's plants capture
787
00:59:33,028 --> 00:59:37,699
three trillion kilowatt-hours
of solar energy each day.
788
00:59:38,867 --> 00:59:42,496
That's almost 20 times
the energy we need...
789
00:59:43,413 --> 00:59:44,748
just from sunlight.
790
00:59:49,377 --> 00:59:53,215
Imagine if we
phased out fossil fuels
791
00:59:53,298 --> 00:59:54,841
and ran our world
792
00:59:54,925 --> 00:59:58,011
on the eternal energies
of Nature, too.
793
00:59:59,179 --> 01:00:04,101
Sunlight, wind,
water and geothermal.
794
01:00:10,690 --> 01:00:12,192
At the turn of the century
795
01:00:12,651 --> 01:00:16,238
Morocco relied on
imported oil and gas
796
01:00:16,321 --> 01:00:18,824
for almost all of its energy.
797
01:00:19,324 --> 01:00:24,079
Today, it generates
40 per cent of its needs at home
798
01:00:24,162 --> 01:00:27,165
from a network
of renewable power plants...
799
01:00:27,249 --> 01:00:30,460
including the world's
largest solar farm.
800
01:00:34,798 --> 01:00:36,716
Sitting on the edge
of the Sahara...
801
01:00:37,467 --> 01:00:39,970
and cabled directly
into southern Europe...
802
01:00:40,887 --> 01:00:46,518
Morocco could be an exporter
of solar energy by 2050.
803
01:00:53,733 --> 01:00:57,154
Within 20 years,
renewables are predicted
804
01:00:57,279 --> 01:01:00,031
to be the world's
main source of power.
805
01:01:01,867 --> 01:01:04,536
But we can make them
the only source.
806
01:01:05,704 --> 01:01:09,291
It's crazy that our banks
and our pensions
807
01:01:09,791 --> 01:01:11,960
are investing in fossil fuel...
808
01:01:13,044 --> 01:01:14,921
when these are the very things
809
01:01:15,005 --> 01:01:18,425
that are jeopardising the future
that we are saving for.
810
01:01:18,800 --> 01:01:21,219
SIRENS WAIL
811
01:01:21,303 --> 01:01:24,556
A renewable future
will be full of benefits.
812
01:01:25,473 --> 01:01:28,393
Energy everywhere
will be more affordable.
813
01:01:30,145 --> 01:01:32,731
Our cities will be
cleaner and quieter.
814
01:01:34,274 --> 01:01:37,360
And renewable energy
will never run out.
815
01:01:41,990 --> 01:01:43,950
TWINKLING NOISE
816
01:01:52,959 --> 01:01:56,713
The living world can't operate
without a healthy ocean.
817
01:01:57,172 --> 01:01:58,381
And neither can we.
818
01:02:05,222 --> 01:02:07,015
The ocean is a critical ally
819
01:02:07,098 --> 01:02:09,976
in our battle to reduce carbon
in the atmosphere.
820
01:02:13,313 --> 01:02:17,359
The more diverse it is,
the better it does that job.
821
01:02:21,279 --> 01:02:23,073
WHAVLES SING
822
01:02:35,043 --> 01:02:38,630
And, of course, the ocean
is important to all of us
823
01:02:39,089 --> 01:02:40,423
as a source of food.
824
01:02:43,301 --> 01:02:46,554
Fishing is the world's
greatest wild harvest.
825
01:02:47,222 --> 01:02:50,058
And if we do it right,
it can continue...
826
01:02:51,518 --> 01:02:54,479
because there's
a win-win at play.
827
01:02:55,855 --> 01:02:57,899
The healthier
the marine habitat
828
01:02:57,983 --> 01:02:59,526
the more fish there will be
829
01:03:00,110 --> 01:03:01,861
and the more
there will be to eat.
830
01:03:09,369 --> 01:03:12,664
Palau is a Pacific Island nation
831
01:03:13,290 --> 01:03:17,502
reliant on its coral reefs
for fish and tourism.
832
01:03:22,173 --> 01:03:24,592
When fish stocks
began to reduce
833
01:03:24,676 --> 01:03:28,805
the Palauans responded
by restricting fishing practices
834
01:03:28,888 --> 01:03:32,225
and banning fishing entirely
from many areas.
835
01:03:36,021 --> 01:03:39,858
Protected fish populations
soon became so healthy
836
01:03:39,941 --> 01:03:43,278
they spilt over
into the areas open to fishing.
837
01:03:48,950 --> 01:03:51,745
As a result, the "no fish" zones
838
01:03:51,828 --> 01:03:54,372
have increased the catch
of the local fishermen
839
01:03:54,456 --> 01:03:58,293
while at the same time
allowing the reefs to recover.
840
01:04:03,590 --> 01:04:06,593
Imagine if we committed
to a similar approach
841
01:04:06,676 --> 01:04:07,927
across the world.
842
01:04:09,262 --> 01:04:11,931
Estimates suggest
that "no fish" zones
843
01:04:12,015 --> 01:04:14,351
over a third of our coastal seas
844
01:04:14,434 --> 01:04:16,311
would be sufficient
to provide us
845
01:04:16,394 --> 01:04:18,688
with all the fish
we will ever need.
846
01:04:24,986 --> 01:04:29,115
In international waters,
the UN is attempting to create
847
01:04:29,199 --> 01:04:32,160
the biggest
"no fish" zone of all.
848
01:04:34,954 --> 01:04:38,416
In one act, this would
transform the open ocean
849
01:04:38,500 --> 01:04:42,087
from a place exhausted
by subsidised fishing fleets
850
01:04:42,670 --> 01:04:45,882
to a wilderness that
will help us all in our efforts
851
01:04:45,965 --> 01:04:47,884
to combat climate change.
852
01:04:49,719 --> 01:04:52,430
The world's
greatest wildlife reserve.
853
01:05:09,239 --> 01:05:10,615
When it comes to the land...
854
01:05:11,533 --> 01:05:14,619
we must radically reduce
the area we use to farm
855
01:05:15,120 --> 01:05:17,664
so that we can make space
for returning wilderness.
856
01:05:18,039 --> 01:05:20,708
And the quickest and most
effective way to do that
857
01:05:20,792 --> 01:05:23,002
is for us to change our diet.
858
01:05:28,633 --> 01:05:31,052
Large carnivores
are rare in Nature
859
01:05:31,511 --> 01:05:34,764
because it takes a lot of prey
to support each of them.
860
01:05:41,729 --> 01:05:44,649
For every single predator
on the Serengeti
861
01:05:44,732 --> 01:05:47,694
there are more than
100 prey animals.
862
01:05:47,819 --> 01:05:49,279
WILDEBEEST GRUNT
863
01:05:52,198 --> 01:05:54,409
Whenever we choose
a piece of meat
864
01:05:54,492 --> 01:05:56,744
we, too, are
unwittingly demanding
865
01:05:57,162 --> 01:05:59,205
a huge expanse of space.
866
01:06:01,249 --> 01:06:02,834
HERD LOWS IN DISTANCE
867
01:06:04,669 --> 01:06:09,257
The planet can't support
billions of large meat-eaters.
868
01:06:10,091 --> 01:06:11,593
There just isn't the space.
869
01:06:12,135 --> 01:06:13,052
BELL DINGS
870
01:06:14,387 --> 01:06:15,555
ASPARAGUS SIZZLES
871
01:06:16,264 --> 01:06:19,225
If we all had a largely
plant-based diet...
872
01:06:20,268 --> 01:06:23,813
we would need only half the land
we use at the moment.
873
01:06:25,857 --> 01:06:29,360
And because we would be
then dedicated to raising plants
874
01:06:29,777 --> 01:06:33,448
we could increase the yield
of this land substantially.
875
01:06:39,496 --> 01:06:41,748
The Netherlands
is one of the world's
876
01:06:41,831 --> 01:06:44,417
most densely
populated countries.
877
01:06:45,877 --> 01:06:48,838
It's covered with
small family-run farms
878
01:06:49,339 --> 01:06:51,132
with no room for expansion.
879
01:06:54,010 --> 01:06:56,804
So, Dutch farmers
have become expert
880
01:06:56,888 --> 01:06:59,724
at getting the most
out of every hectare.
881
01:07:02,352 --> 01:07:05,313
Increasingly, they're
doing so, sustainably...
882
01:07:08,775 --> 01:07:12,237
raising yields tenfold
in two generations
883
01:07:12,320 --> 01:07:14,906
while at the same time
using less water
884
01:07:15,865 --> 01:07:18,826
fewer pesticides,
less fertiliser
885
01:07:19,369 --> 01:07:21,120
and emitting less carbon.
886
01:07:26,209 --> 01:07:28,878
Despite its size,
the Netherlands is now
887
01:07:28,962 --> 01:07:32,715
the world's second largest
exporter of food.
888
01:07:37,679 --> 01:07:40,515
It's entirely possible
for us to apply
889
01:07:40,598 --> 01:07:43,434
both low-tech
and hi-tech solutions
890
01:07:43,518 --> 01:07:46,980
to produce much more food
from much less land.
891
01:07:49,440 --> 01:07:52,777
We can start to produce food
in new spaces...
892
01:07:55,488 --> 01:07:58,157
indoors, within cities.
893
01:08:01,661 --> 01:08:04,831
Even in places
where there's no land at all.
894
01:08:18,720 --> 01:08:21,014
As we improve
our approach to farming
895
01:08:21,389 --> 01:08:24,017
we'll start to reverse
the land-grab
896
01:08:24,100 --> 01:08:27,395
that we've been pursuing
ever since we began to farm
897
01:08:28,271 --> 01:08:29,772
which is essential
898
01:08:29,856 --> 01:08:34,319
because we have an urgent need
for all that free land.
899
01:08:41,659 --> 01:08:44,829
Forests are
a fundamental component
900
01:08:44,912 --> 01:08:46,456
of our planet's recovery.
901
01:08:48,374 --> 01:08:51,127
They are the best technology
Nature has
902
01:08:51,210 --> 01:08:52,795
for locking away carbon.
903
01:08:54,839 --> 01:08:57,425
And they are centres
of biodiversity.
904
01:09:01,888 --> 01:09:04,724
Again, the two features
work together.
905
01:09:05,516 --> 01:09:08,394
The wilder and more diverse
forests are
906
01:09:08,478 --> 01:09:10,063
the more effective they are
907
01:09:10,146 --> 01:09:12,649
at absorbing carbon
from the atmosphere.
908
01:09:14,859 --> 01:09:19,238
We must immediately halt
deforestation everywhere...
909
01:09:20,323 --> 01:09:22,909
and grow crops
like oil palm and soya
910
01:09:23,201 --> 01:09:26,704
only on land that was
deforested long ago.
911
01:09:28,164 --> 01:09:30,541
After all, there's plenty of it.
912
01:09:32,752 --> 01:09:34,420
But we can do better than that.
913
01:09:38,633 --> 01:09:42,595
A century ago, more than
three quarters of Costa Rica
914
01:09:42,679 --> 01:09:44,347
was covered with forest.
915
01:09:52,480 --> 01:09:56,275
By the 1980s, uncontrolled
logging had reduced this
916
01:09:56,359 --> 01:09:58,027
to just one quarter.
917
01:10:01,280 --> 01:10:03,032
The government decided to act
918
01:10:03,408 --> 01:10:08,037
offering grants to land owners
to replant native trees.
919
01:10:12,792 --> 01:10:14,877
In just 25 years
920
01:10:14,961 --> 01:10:19,841
the forest has returned to cover
half of Costa Rica once again.
921
01:10:20,842 --> 01:10:22,301
BIRDS CHIRP
922
01:10:25,680 --> 01:10:29,600
Just imagine if we achieve this
on a global scale.
923
01:10:32,729 --> 01:10:34,772
The return of the trees
would absorb
924
01:10:34,856 --> 01:10:37,942
as much as two thirds
of the carbon emissions
925
01:10:38,025 --> 01:10:40,069
that have been pumped
into the atmosphere
926
01:10:40,153 --> 01:10:41,988
by our activities to date.
927
01:10:49,787 --> 01:10:51,289
With all these things
928
01:10:51,956 --> 01:10:54,542
there is one
overriding principle.
929
01:10:57,628 --> 01:11:02,800
Nature is our biggest ally
and our greatest inspiration.
930
01:11:05,386 --> 01:11:08,931
We just have to do
what Nature has always done.
931
01:11:10,933 --> 01:11:15,062
It worked out
the secret of life long ago.
932
01:11:21,152 --> 01:11:24,906
In this world,
a species can only thrive...
933
01:11:26,574 --> 01:11:30,077
when everything else
around it thrives too.
934
01:11:36,542 --> 01:11:39,378
We can solve
the problems we now face
935
01:11:39,462 --> 01:11:42,006
by embracing this reality.
936
01:11:45,051 --> 01:11:47,261
If we take care of Nature...
937
01:11:49,138 --> 01:11:51,682
Nature will take care of us.
938
01:11:54,560 --> 01:11:59,774
It's now time for our species
to stop simply growing...
939
01:12:02,151 --> 01:12:05,029
to establish
a life on our planet
940
01:12:05,613 --> 01:12:07,490
in balance with Nature...
941
01:12:10,201 --> 01:12:12,703
to start to thrive.
942
01:12:16,207 --> 01:12:17,583
When you think about it
943
01:12:18,501 --> 01:12:20,044
we're completing a journey.
944
01:12:21,504 --> 01:12:24,507
Ten thousand years ago,
as hunter-gatherers...
945
01:12:25,424 --> 01:12:27,802
we lived a sustainable life
946
01:12:27,885 --> 01:12:29,387
because that was
the only option.
947
01:12:30,721 --> 01:12:32,223
All these years later
948
01:12:33,224 --> 01:12:35,935
it's once again the only option.
949
01:12:36,394 --> 01:12:38,229
We need to rediscover...
950
01:12:39,730 --> 01:12:41,399
how to be sustainable.
951
01:12:41,482 --> 01:12:44,777
To move from being
apart from Nature
952
01:12:45,528 --> 01:12:49,740
to becoming a part
of Nature once again.
953
01:12:50,533 --> 01:12:52,076
FILM PROJECTOR WHIRRS
954
01:12:52,159 --> 01:12:53,160
SINGLE BEEP
955
01:12:55,329 --> 01:12:57,748
Tonight, we've got rather
a different programme for you.
956
01:13:00,877 --> 01:13:03,921
SIR DAVID: If we can change
the way we live on Earth...
957
01:13:05,131 --> 01:13:07,550
an alternative future
comes into view.
958
01:13:11,679 --> 01:13:12,889
In this future...
959
01:13:13,639 --> 01:13:16,642
we discover ways
to benefit from our land
960
01:13:16,726 --> 01:13:19,896
that help, rather than hinder,
wilderness...
961
01:13:21,898 --> 01:13:23,900
ways to fish our seas
962
01:13:23,983 --> 01:13:27,445
that enable them
to come quickly back to life.
963
01:13:27,528 --> 01:13:29,447
WHAVLES SPOUT AND SPLASH
964
01:13:32,742 --> 01:13:34,368
FOREST ANIMALS CALL
965
01:13:34,452 --> 01:13:38,915
And ways to harvest
our forests sustainably.
966
01:13:42,501 --> 01:13:46,339
We will finally learn
how to work wi/ith Nature
967
01:13:46,797 --> 01:13:49,133
rather than against it.
968
01:13:51,802 --> 01:13:52,887
In the end
969
01:13:53,262 --> 01:13:56,390
after a lifetime's exploration
of the living world
970
01:13:56,474 --> 01:13:58,267
I'm certain of one thing.
971
01:13:59,560 --> 01:14:02,355
This is not about
saving our planet...
972
01:14:03,564 --> 01:14:05,816
it's about saving ourselves.
973
01:14:10,905 --> 01:14:13,824
The truth is,
with or without us
974
01:14:14,450 --> 01:14:17,119
the natural world will rebuild.
975
01:14:27,046 --> 01:14:31,217
In the 30 years since
the evacuation of Chernobyil...
976
01:14:32,051 --> 01:14:35,221
...the wild has
reclaimed the space.
977
01:14:35,304 --> 01:14:36,639
BIRDS CHIRP
978
01:14:46,983 --> 01:14:50,861
Today, the forest
has taken over the city.
979
01:15:04,917 --> 01:15:07,086
It's a sanctuary
for wild animals
980
01:15:07,545 --> 01:15:09,422
that are very rare elsewhere.
981
01:15:11,590 --> 01:15:12,842
HORSES SNORT
982
01:15:16,345 --> 01:15:18,472
And powerful evidence
983
01:15:18,973 --> 01:15:21,017
that however grave our mistakes
984
01:15:21,684 --> 01:15:24,562
Nature will, ultimately,
overcome them.
985
01:15:29,400 --> 01:15:32,069
The living world will endure.
986
01:15:34,405 --> 01:15:37,908
We humans cannot
presume the same.
987
01:15:40,870 --> 01:15:42,163
We've come this far
988
01:15:42,705 --> 01:15:45,166
because we are
the smartest creatures
989
01:15:45,249 --> 01:15:46,584
that have ever lived.
990
01:15:51,172 --> 01:15:52,757
But to continue
991
01:15:53,132 --> 01:15:55,801
we require
more than intelligence...
992
01:15:57,803 --> 01:16:00,681
we require... wisdom.
993
01:16:14,070 --> 01:16:16,655
There are many differences
between humans
994
01:16:16,739 --> 01:16:18,616
and the rest of the species
on Earth
995
01:16:19,158 --> 01:16:20,910
but one that has been expressed
996
01:16:20,993 --> 01:16:24,080
is that we alone are able
to imagine the future.
997
01:16:25,790 --> 01:16:29,710
For a long time, |, and perhaps
you, have dreaded that future.
998
01:16:30,795 --> 01:16:32,254
But it's now becoming apparent
999
01:16:32,797 --> 01:16:35,132
that it's not
all doom and gloom.
1000
01:16:36,342 --> 01:16:38,636
There's a chance
for us to make amends...
1001
01:16:39,595 --> 01:16:41,639
to complete our journey
of development
1002
01:16:42,056 --> 01:16:43,390
manage our impact
1003
01:16:43,474 --> 01:16:47,895
and once again become a species
in balance with Nature.
1004
01:16:49,021 --> 01:16:51,732
All we need
is the will to do so.
1005
01:16:52,316 --> 01:16:54,860
We now have
the opportunity to create
1006
01:16:54,944 --> 01:16:57,071
the perfect home
for ourselves...
1007
01:16:57,780 --> 01:17:01,951
and restore the rich,
healthy and wonderful world
1008
01:17:02,701 --> 01:17:03,953
that we inherited.
1009
01:17:05,204 --> 01:17:06,622
Just imagine that.
76542
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