A Life On Our Planet: The Facts
Climate Change is inevitable; permanent damage is not (provided each of us acts)
This is the first part of a two-part article that discusses the background and rationale behind some of the most impactful quotes and statements by Sir David Attenborough, an English broadcaster and natural historian. He is one of the most passionate and respected advocates for nature conservation. His documentary, A Life On Our Planet, is about shaping a better future living in balance with nature.
“In the end, after a lifetime’s exploration of the living world, I’m certain of one thing — this is not about saving our planet. It’s about saving ourselves.”
David Attenborough, A Life On Our Planet
Coming to terms with the reality
(And doing something about it)
In 2010, prominent Australian virologist Frank Fenner claimed that humans would probably be extinct in the next century, thanks to overpopulation, environmental destruction, and climate change. It will all be over, just like that. (That is not a cliche, but something to think about, I think.)
The Earth will, obviously, outlive us. Life will persist, and our marks will fade faster than we would like. Our cities will crumble, our fields will be overgrown, and our bridges will fall. It will all be a blip on the radar.
The World Health Organization estimates that between 2030 and 2050, 5 million people will perish due to the consequences of climate change. In the end, it is all to save ourselves for the survival of our species (more selfishly yet, our people and our families). It is a climate “emergency,” not just a subtle “change,” and we need to take charge of the situation — not turn a blind eye, and take responsibility for our actions and their impact on the environment.
“In previous events, it had taken volcanic activity up to one million years to dredge up enough carbon from within the earth to trigger a catastrophe. By burning millions of years worth of living organisms all at once as coal and oil, we have managed to do so in less than 200.”
David Attenborough, A Life On Our Planet
Nature is in flux, not balance
Many of us believe in the ‘Balance of Nature,’ that nature always reattains its equilibrium. I used to, too, before I read an article on this topic by National Geographic, which was eye-opening. It says that the balance of nature as a claim helps create a wrong notion about the climate crisis and our role in reversing it.
In the 1980s, ecologist Steward Pickett proposed replacing this popular yet incorrect belief with a more accurate one: the “Flux of Nature.” Matt Palmer, an ecologist at Columbia University, reiterated that the updated view is that “change is constant.” This statement is at the root of this new belief in the flux of nature.¹ The bottom line, as best said by him, is, “We have to accept responsibility for what we’re doing, and not just say that nature (or someone else) will take care of it.”
Palmer further pointed to assisted migration — in which people help animals move across obstacles such as roads — as one common conservation technique that bucks the notion of a natural balance. Rewilding, or the reintroduction of animals in places like national parks, is another example. Others noted controlled-burn fires in forest management.
“We can’t cut down rainforests forever. And anything that we can’t do forever is by definition, unsustainable. If we do things that are unsustainable, the damage accumulates, ultimately, to a point where the whole system collapses.
David Attenborough, A Life On Our Planet
Rainforests are dwindling by the minute. According to Global Forest Watch, our planet loses tropical forestland equivalent to Bangladesh's size (148,460 km²) every year. Unbelievably, more than 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned every day. This translates to about 40 football fields lost every minute of every day!² If nothing is done to curb this trend, the entire Amazon could well be gone within fifty years.³
How rainforests affect climate change⁴:
- Photosynthesis is THE best carbon-capture technology — highly efficient and free.
- Tropical rainforests are the Earth’s air conditioner (and they do it better than any artificial contraption).
- Transpiration from tropical forests leads to the creation of clouds, which then release rain and warm the atmosphere, causing air to rise — triggering circulation. This circulation is what changes wind patterns to bring in more moisture from the ocean. Thus, protecting tropical forests helps fight climate change and prevents drought as well.
How climate change affects rainforests⁵:
1. Forests get degraded.
Deforestation is pushing the Amazon biome to an ecological tipping point⁶ (a point of no return) at which the forests die and gradually turn into dry savanna. Once extensively degraded, the forest will lose its ability to generate its own rainfall, bringing it to a climatic tipping point⁶, preventing the rainforest ecosystem from being able to survive at all. (Studies predict that a rise in temperature (due to climate change) corresponds to a 10–20 percent reduction in rainfall. With increasing temperatures, there are more forest fires. It’s all downhill from there.)
2. Less trees, less food.
Since 1980, a decrease in annual rainfall due to the changing climate has led to a steady decline in the number of crops grown, especially water-intensive ones, like wheat and rice. Additionally, a rise in global temperatures is changing fruiting patterns — risking species that rely on them for survival.
3. Degraded forests and food shortages result in an increased number of threatened species.
Tropical rainforests are home to nearly 30 million species of plants and animals, highly interdependent for survival. As the number of trees decreases, these animals become vulnerable.
In 2019, a landmark UN report revealed that almost 1 million species face extinction due to human activities and climate change. Senior Climate Change Scientist Lee Hannah said, “When human activities accelerate climate change, many species try to follow suitable climates rather than adapting to new ones. This generally requires moving upslope — but at a certain point, there will be nowhere left to go, which is what we call the ‘escalator to extinction.’”⁵
In conclusion, the climate emergency is real, and so is climate change. Whatever we are not doing to save the environment is something we are doing to harm it. Our collective decisions, especially regarding daily consumption and long-term investments, do have an impact on the planet’s health. The climate emergency is not a conspiracy theory or a hoax, and there are facts to back it up — to show it is as real as the world we live in. This is our planet we are talking about — our cradle and our grave — our home.
“We have to accept responsibility for what we’re doing, and not just say that nature (or someone else) will take care of it.”
Steward Pickett
David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet is produced by Silverback Films and WWF. It was released on Netflix on October 4, 2020. You can watch it here. Read more about the tremendous impact it has had on viewers here and here.
References:
¹ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/balance-of-nature-explained
² https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/articles/9-rainforest-facts-everyone-should-know
⁴ https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/articles/how-forests-fight-climate-change
