How to Save Our Planet

[Music] how do we create a future in which both people and nature can thrive this is the biggest question of our times in the next few decades we need to do something unprecedented achieve a sustainable existence on earth but how do we do it we can start by understanding how he got to this point 20,000 years ago humankind consisted of less than a million hunter-gatherers across the globe we lived within the resources on offer in balance with nature the strategy that could theoretically last forever but it wasn't an easy life nature determined our survival we used our unique minds to challenge that reality we learnt how to tame the wild get more from the environment our population boomed as did our demands every time a new problem arose we solved it altering Earth's entire surface in the process and now we have changed the world so profoundly scientists have decided that Earth has entered a new phase of its existence welcome to the Anthropocene the age of humans the tables have turned we now determine nature's survival the planet is ours there's just one problem we're now totally out of balance with nature and unless we get our balance back this age of humans is due to be short-lived so how do we deal with this problem when you boil it down there is one underlying big issue our planet is becoming less wild our species has cleared 3 trillion trees cultivated half its fertile land and now fishes across most of the ocean in the last 50 years the populations of wild animals have reduced by 60 percent we've replaced them with ourselves our now domesticated animals and plants today we and the animals we raise account for 96 percent of the mass of mammals and 70 percent of the birds on earth [Music] there's very little wild left this biodiversity loss is not just a tragedy it's the single biggest problem we face without biodiversity the world as we know it doesn't work our planet needs its wild spaces everyone is a component in the global machine only if they are all healthy can the planet run smoothly a less wild world is less able to provide for our needs less able to maintain dependable weather and seasons less able to absorb our impact biodiversity equals stability and stability is what we need most of all can we turn this situation around can we rewire the world well maybe due to one key change as societies developed something is happening that has never happened before people are having fewer children globally since the year 2000 the number of people under 16 years old has hardly changed the main reason our population is still rising is because people are living longer if this continues our population may finally stop growing by the turn of the century by investing in education and women's rights and raising people out of poverty we could bring about peak human even sooner this changes everything it gives us the opportunity we need to regain our balance the plan for our planet is remarkably simple reduce our impact by making sure that everything we do we can do forever for the biggest gains we could concentrate our efforts on four goals phasing out fossil fuels and replacing them with renewables this will not only slow the warming of the planet and the acidification of the ocean but it will lead to clean air for all of us upgrading to efficient food production and reducing our consumption of meat will require far less space to provide for ourselves leaving more for grasslands reducing deforestation and our demand for fresh water and feeding more people with healthier more affordable food working together to properly manage our ocean a global network of no fish stones and a treaty on the use of international waters would restore the health of the ocean so it actually produces more fish for us all to eat working hard to keep hold of the wild populations we still have encouraging nature wherever we can in the ocean on land we no longer need and even in our cities if we make these changes will be a long way to becoming a species in balance with nature once again we will have taken a remarkable journey from a million people struggling to survive to several billion living long healthy lives on a stable planet able to provide for all our needs only at that point will the Anthropocene the age of humans be truly underway at that point we will be proud to call it our planet how do we create a future in which both people and nature can thrive we open our eyes to this moment in history think on a palaces scale embrace the challenge we face and do something we humans are very good at changed the world [Music] you [Music] you

Channel: WWF International

Views: 1,784,985

Rating: 4.969038 out of 5

Keywords: wwf, conservation, environment, sustainability, our, planet, netflix, original, documentary, nature, wildlife, david, attenborough, op, streaming, now, forests, jungles, coastal seas, high seas, oceans, freshwater, fresh water, frozen, frozen worlds, our planet, save, our world

Id: 0Puv0Pss33M

Length: 8min 27sec (507 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 05 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Elbonio]

Wild animal populations dropped globally by 60% in the last 50 years

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Jesus fucking Christ.

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Humans and domestic animals are 96% of the mass of all mammals. 70% of birds.

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This is scary stuff

[u/theobviousq]

OK, the FOUR THINGS he says we can do to turn it around are:

1. Phase out fossil fuels
2. Upgrade to efficient food production and reduce consumption of meat
3. Manage the ocean - create no fish zones and a treaty on the use of international waters
4. Rewild the world - work to keep the wild populations we still have

So... HELP ME HERE... How can I, as a single individual, influence these four in my daily life. Here are my immediate thoughts (or the ones I found after a super quick search) - What else can I (we) do?

1. Phase out fossil fuels - I can help by buying food that is locally produced; avoid buying processed foods; install solar panels on my roof; if I don't have to drive, then don't drive; get an electric car; reduce the temperature on my heating system (source)
2. Upgrade to efficient food production and reduce consumption of meat - I can reduce the amount of meat I eat (seems easy enough! - I'll cut it in half.)
3. Manage the ocean - Voting and supporting legislation notwithstanding, but related to number 2, I can be conscious of the seafood that I eat (being as sure as I can that it is sustainably caught, and if I can't, then I choose something else). I can also (fairly easily) support ocean clean-up efforts via donations (like 4ocean, for instance).
4. Rewild the world - I can support local conservation and open space efforts where I live (and by donations). I can avoid pesticides and herbicides in my own backyard. I can lobby my township to, again, support open spaces. When I buy a home, I can look for one that already exists.

So what else? I'm all ears. Lists like these bother me because they often leave making a difference in someone else's hands, but I'm sure that there are many totally reasonable pragmatic things I can do right now to contribute - I just don't know them.

[u/AustinJG]

My fear of the collapse of the environment and acidification of the ocean is only matched by my aching fear of US politics and the erosion of our norms and consolidation of powers. I have a bad feeling about all of it. I feel like the world is going mad.

The last few weeks I've been thinking about these things a lot and it leaves me really depressed and frightened.

[u/Intrinsically1]

It's sad that he had to, but I couldn't help but appreciate how he didn't frame this in terms "global warming" and "emissions" instead using less political terms (at least in terms of US politics). The message is still the same but at least it has a chance to break out of the current political deadlock and be seen by more people of all sorts of persuasions who simply appreciate nature based on the undeniable fact that we have simply transformed the face of this planet and as a result its resulting biodiversity.

On a side note, David Attenborough will be turning 93 next month. I hope we are lucky enough to get many more good years of him doing what loves.

[u/MinnesotaMadMan86]

I think I would start with trying to get Asia's plastic waste contribution down...China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are dumping more plastic into oceans than the rest of the world combined

[u/GasTheBlues]

Did no one else find the completely out of place mention of women's rights very strange?

[u/swizzler]

Guessing mods are going to remove this one too for "politics" just like they did this post

assholes.

[u/AN_HONEST_COMMENT]

I liked everything except the lack of mentioning systemic failures of capitalism. Our current system operates on perpetual growth, more, more more.

We need to transition into a different system to make it through this era.

[u/PurpEL]

Having more than 2 children is irresponsible and selfish