If you haven’t seen David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet yet, then grab a cup of tea and settle in for heart-wrenching story- our story.
Starting with shots from Chernobyl, David Attenborough opens A life on Our Planet with one concept in mind. Human civilization’s demise.
Humans Are Unsustainable
There have been 5 mass extinctions since the earth began and the most recent one was the end of the dinosaurs.
Through deforestation, overpopulation and the burning of fossil fuels, the human race has pillaged the place we call home.
As explained by David Attenborough, “we have pursued animals to their own extinction” and now we are pursuing our own extinction. We are our own meteor.
Since the start of the century, our actions have led to the decline of our planet’s health. So far, we have:
- Cut down 3 trillion trees, that’s half the world’s rainforests.
- Bleached our coral.
- Increased our climates temperature by 1 degree warmer.
- Reduced our ice caps by 40%.
- Reduced our freshwater by 80%.
- Pumped over 415 parts per million of Co2 into our atmosphere.
“Our blind assault on the planet has altered the very fundamentals of the natural world.”- David Attenborough 2020.
The 5 Simple Steps To Saving Our Planet
As per usual, David Attenborough has the answers.
In a heartfelt plea, David Attenborough offers 5 very achievable steps to help us get our wild planet back.
1. Reduce our human population.
Over the last 94 years, the human population has expanded by 5.7 billion people. In just under a century we have almost tripled our population- meaning more waste dumped, more food consumed, and more houses built. By reducing to only one or two children per family we can start to plateau our population growth.
2. Increase no fish zones.
By closing off only one-third of our oceans to no fish zones we stop over-fishing all together. These no fish zones are designed to allow fish stocks a safe place to breed and repopulate. When fish stocks become strong, they naturally will spill into our fishing zones in search or more food- making it one of the most sustainable wild harvests.
“The ocean is a critical ally to helping reduce carbon in our atmosphere. The better diverse it is the better it does that job.” – David Attenborough.
3. Change our diet.
Simply put, farming large animals for meat just simply isn’t sustainable as it requires huge amounts of cleared land, water and resources. If our population reduces the amount of meat we eat per week and switches it for a plant-based diet we have the ability to return farmland to our wildlife.
Another key point made by Attenborough is that farming practices can be made sustainable if we develop new methods addressing space. If we learn to build agricultural industries up (farming sky rises) rather than out (farming land) we can create a more stable food production service.
“We are replacing the wild with the tame.” – David Attenborough
4. Allow our trees to regrow.
Two-thirds of our carbon problems can be solved by re-growing our forests. Trees have an incredible ability to absorb carbon and turn it back into fresh oxygen. By giving land back to the wild we can improve biodiversity and re-stabilise out climate.
5. Install solar and turn to renewable energy.
Three trillion kWh of sunlight each hour a day is captured by flowers all over the world. That is 20 times the amount of energy we would need to sustain modern civilisations energy needs.
By transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as wind, solar and thermal, we will have set up an energy system that can sustain our needs essentially for forever.
Solar Market connects you with 3 accredited solar installers in your area. By requesting a free no-obligation quote you can get the best deal, recommendations and advice on how solar can improve your world.
“If we cannot use it forever it isn’t sustainable”- David Attenborough
What Happens If We Do Nothing?
If like me you actually like it a bit warmer, the planets 1-2-degree temperature rise might sound like a dream. Here is 4 reasons why that isn’t the reality and climate change is actually a bit of a bummer.
- The Amazon rainforest is connected to our global water cycle. If the entire rainforest is cut down the land will dry out and alter our access to freshwater.
- Dying reefs mean dying fish populations. This impacts our own source of food.
- Our polar ice caps reflect a huge amount of solar heat back into space, keeping our planet cool. With the ice caps gone, climate change will drastically speed up.
- Over exhausted soil from unsustainable farming practices can lead to severe cracking in the land which releases methane. Methane is 84 times more potent than CO2- meaning it will excel climate change as well.
Why Wouldn’t We Fight?
Improving our environment means improving the human population’s quality of life.
We need to “work with nature rather than against it” as “this is not about saving our planet, it’s about saving ourselves.”
It is then our responsibility to improve the future for our wildlife and our human communities. “But to continue we require more than intelligence we require wisdom.”
Solar Power Is Our Future
If you are ready to fight for our planet, our animals and our species then why not install solar panels?
Solar power is natures free electricity. Solar power reduces your carbon footprint and saves you money on your power bills at the same time!
Solar Market connects you with 3 free no obligation quotes from accredited solar installers in your areas so that you can get started helping to save the planet sooner.
“If we take care of nature, nature will take care of us.” – David Attenborough
