1 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,480 Life flourishes on planet Earth... 2 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,520 ..thanks to powerful natural forces. 3 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,040 The weather gives us predictable patterns of rainfall. 4 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,280 Sunlight delivers energy to all parts of planet Earth's surface. 5 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,400 Ocean currents carry nutrients around the globe. 6 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:21,080 Volcanoes create and fertilise the land. 7 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:27,400 Together, these forces have helped shape our living planet. 8 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,120 But it's a fragile system. 9 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:34,960 All right, come on, let's get him in. 10 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,800 This baby elephant is dying of thirst. 11 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:46,160 Big swallow. 12 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,520 The latest casualty of our changing world. 13 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,080 ELEPHANT SCREAMS 14 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:00,960 Luckily, rescuers have found him, so he has a chance. 15 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,480 This young animal is likely a victim of a new force... 16 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:18,160 ..one so powerful, it threatens the future of life on Earth. 17 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,480 SIRENS AND FAINT CHATTER 18 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,440 For over 60 years, I've been privileged 19 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,800 to witness the natural world in all its wonder. 20 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:48,840 But the planet I saw as a young man has changed beyond recognition. 21 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:56,000 Human activity is now so dominant, it's disrupting the forces of nature 22 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,880 and the vital habitats that life needs to survive on Earth. 23 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,520 This is the most important story of our time. 24 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,480 So I've asked three world authorities from the front line 25 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:09,920 to join me in telling it. 26 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,880 Humans used to be a species, just like any other on Earth. 27 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:18,760 But we've now become so populous 28 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:20,680 and so destructive 29 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,400 that we are the single most influential creature on Earth. 30 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,200 Everything around us is collapsing. 31 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,080 This is the planet that we're handing over to future generations, 32 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,280 and the worst part, I'll tell you the worst part, to me, 33 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,760 is that they're going to turn around and be, like, 34 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,480 "Why did you not do something when you had the chance?" 35 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:43,400 We are likely to lose over half the species of life on Earth 36 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,040 over the next eight decades. 37 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,840 The last time we had an extinction event of this magnitude 38 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:51,600 was 65 million years ago. 39 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:54,360 We are asleep. 40 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,560 We are not taking a look at the enormity of this event. 41 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,000 If you want evidence of how life is struggling to cope 42 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,920 in our rapidly changing world... 43 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,840 ..you need to look no further than here in Africa. 44 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:19,560 As we warm the planet, we create more extreme droughts and floods, 45 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,160 making it increasingly difficult for many animals to survive. 46 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:30,960 One of our planet's most magnificent creatures is no exception. 47 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:36,760 ELEPHANT RUMBLES 48 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,880 Adult elephants drink around 200 litres of water a day. 49 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:52,680 When rains fail, as they did recently here in Kenya, 50 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,600 watering holes quickly run dry... 51 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:56,720 FLIES BUZZ 52 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:58,200 ..killing hundreds of them. 53 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:07,800 GRUNTING AND SQUEALING 54 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,240 You can see the scale of the problem... 55 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,520 ..by the dozens of orphaned baby elephants left behind. 56 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,680 These are the lucky survivors. 57 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,360 They owe their lives to Angela Sheldrick 58 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:31,800 and her team, 59 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:33,800 who rescue these young orphans. 60 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,360 Come on! Come on, little boy. 61 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,680 The orphans, when we find them, tend to be in a pretty sorry state. 62 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:53,080 They are not only physically damaged but psychologically, too. 63 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,120 Hey. Hello. 64 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:00,640 They have suffered such a loss, losing their elephant family, 65 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:02,320 their mothers. 66 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,920 Angela's team do their best to soothe that loss. 67 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:20,880 Come on. 68 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,200 The keepers replace a lost elephant family. 69 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,920 They provide the tender loving care and the nurturing 70 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,600 that is so important for them to heal. 71 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:49,440 The keepers are there 24/7. 72 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,680 It is a very, very special relationship 73 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,200 that actually does last a lifetime. 74 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,120 Despite the elephants becoming wild, 75 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,160 they do never forget that love and kindness. 76 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:16,680 The orphans have to be bottle-fed eight times a day. 77 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,360 We raise these orphaned elephants to ultimately 78 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:23,400 go back to their birthright... 79 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:26,760 ..a wild and happy life. 80 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:28,120 SHE LAUGHS 81 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:29,680 You're such a clown! 82 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,760 Hey! 83 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,760 LAUGHTER 84 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:42,880 Come with me. 85 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,320 Go on. Go on. 86 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,200 So far, Angela's organisation 87 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,280 has released more than 150 orphaned elephants 88 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:58,120 back into the wild. 89 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:03,920 But, to survive, they now need to live in managed reserves, 90 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,920 where people top up water supplies when droughts return. 91 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,880 Over the years, we've seen an enormous change in the weather patterns. 92 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:18,240 Greater unpredictability. 93 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,520 The drier seasons are drier and longer. 94 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:24,920 It is the 11th hour now. 95 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,240 We have just one home, 96 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,040 and we, as the dominant species, should take care of it... 97 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:34,480 ..must take care of it. 98 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:36,000 It is our responsibility. 99 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,200 What I need to say to people is, this is not going to get better. 100 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,720 We are on a curve that's moving us with a series of events 101 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,240 that's taking us into a new geological era in history. 102 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:59,960 To understand how humans are destabilising our perfect planet, 103 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:02,680 we need to look into the deep past. 104 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:10,960 In Earth's long history, it's been through at least five mass extinction events. 105 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,360 Most were caused by cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. 106 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,440 It's not the lava or ash that wiped out life... 107 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:33,360 ..but an invisible gas released by volcanoes 108 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,040 called carbon dioxide... 109 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:37,240 ..CO2. 110 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,400 The single greatest extinction event on the planet so far was caused 111 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,280 by the superheating of the world. 112 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,520 Masses of volcanic activity pumped huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, 113 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:54,880 massively raised the global temperature, 114 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:59,880 and saw the destruction of around 90% of all life on Earth. 115 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,840 Humanity is now acting like a super-volcano. 116 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,720 We're releasing carbon dioxide at an even greater rate 117 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,760 than the prehistoric mega-eruptions that extinguished life in the past. 118 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:25,480 Here's the problem. 119 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,160 Over the last two centuries, 120 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:32,320 we dug up the burial grounds of a previous geological era in history... 121 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:35,440 ..the Carboniferous era. 122 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,080 And we took those dead remains, in the form of oil, 123 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,880 gas and coal, and we made 124 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,920 the entire industrial civilisation based on these fossil fuels. 125 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:57,440 Almost every part of modern life depends on energy generated 126 00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,720 by burning these fossil fuels. 127 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,640 And that produces CO2 in huge amounts. 128 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:13,600 Globally, we now release 100 times more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere 129 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,520 than all Earth's volcanoes combined. 130 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:21,120 And by burning more fossil fuels, releasing more carbon dioxide, 131 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:22,960 heating up the world around us, 132 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:27,520 we have become one of the most powerful, destructive forces on the planet. 133 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,880 Carbon dioxide acts like a blanket, 134 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,120 trapping the sun's heat. 135 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:37,440 This raises the temperature 136 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:42,160 and so destabilises one of the most important forces on Earth - 137 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:43,200 the weather. 138 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,360 Many animals rely on predictable patterns of rainfall. 139 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:03,960 But, as our world warms, our weather is changing. 140 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,320 For every one degree that the temperature 141 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:13,520 goes up on this planet because of CO2 emissions... 142 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,360 ..the atmosphere is sucking up 7% more water. 143 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,280 So we're getting more concentrated precipitation in the clouds... 144 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,240 THUNDER RUMBLES 145 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:29,520 ..and more radical, 146 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:33,120 extreme, unpredictable, out-of-control weather events. 147 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,360 NEWSREADER: Millions are bracing 148 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,360 for a hurricane the likes of 149 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,360 which we've never seen. 150 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:41,560 We're getting hurricanes 151 00:12:41,560 --> 00:12:45,920 that are devastating our ecosystems and killing human beings every year. 152 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,160 They're now over and over and over again every season. 153 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,680 This planet is more powerful 154 00:12:57,680 --> 00:12:58,720 than we thought. 155 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:04,800 More fires, more droughts, more floods. 156 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,320 And so this perfect planet of ours is now 157 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,200 being thrown into a system of flux. 158 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:23,800 These extreme conditions are making it 159 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,160 increasingly difficult for animals to survive. 160 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,880 And that is not just affecting wildlife. 161 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,040 WIND GUSTS 162 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,400 New research suggests that, 163 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,560 for every one-degree rise in global temperatures, 164 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:50,600 a billion people will be pushed into near unliveable extremes. 165 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:57,280 And this could trigger one of the greatest human migrations in history. 166 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:01,680 We're about to have climate refugees, 167 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,920 forced out of uninhabitable areas of the world, 168 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,200 pushed up into Europe. 169 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:11,800 We are on the cusp 170 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,480 of the biggest migratory pattern 171 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:16,520 in human history. 172 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,080 We're going to see millions, tens of millions 173 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,560 and, unfortunately, hundreds of millions of people 174 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,760 migrating from areas that are no longer liveable 175 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,280 in the next 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 years. 176 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:33,920 And people are frightened 177 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,080 because this is outside of our frame of reference. 178 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:43,720 But there is hope. 179 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:51,160 In Africa, the Sahara Desert is advancing southwards. 180 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:57,120 But a remarkable project is aiming to stop it in its tracks. 181 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:01,440 PEOPLE CHATTER 182 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:05,520 The ambitious goal 183 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:09,800 is to plant over one billion drought-resistant trees, 184 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:11,720 like acacias. 185 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,120 Known as the Great Green Wall, 186 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:18,920 once complete, a band of trees will stretch nearly 5,000 miles 187 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:21,080 right across Africa... 188 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,760 ..one of the largest living structures on the planet. 189 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:31,160 These trees stop topsoil blowing away, 190 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:33,880 and their roots penetrate the ground, 191 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:36,240 creating a network of channels 192 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,880 that store water whenever rain falls. 193 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:47,480 Ten-year-old Korka is one of the first children to benefit. 194 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:04,480 12 million trees have already been planted here in Senegal, 195 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,800 and with dramatic results. 196 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,720 Wells are filling again, allowing crops to grow. 197 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:46,440 So far, only 15% of the Green Wall is complete, 198 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,840 but it's already breathing life back into the land, 199 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:51,800 stemming the exodus of people 200 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,520 and keeping communities together. 201 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,680 And the trees do something else for our children's future. 202 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:08,280 As they grow, 203 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:12,280 they remove carbon dioxide from the air. 204 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:16,480 ANIMALS CALL 205 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,600 Carbon is the very foundation of life. 206 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,400 Every plant absorbs it from the air... 207 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,280 ..using it to grow. 208 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:33,160 When animals eat these plants, 209 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,840 some of this carbon is locked away in the fabric of their bodies. 210 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,680 Together, these wild places, 211 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,920 and the animals that allow them to thrive, 212 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,760 take up over a third of the carbon dioxide we release. 213 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,520 All of these systems, and the life within it, 214 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:00,720 are so important to protect us 215 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:02,120 from a warming planet. 216 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,360 Some of the Earth's most important carbon stores 217 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:14,840 are those rich in plant and animal species - 218 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,320 the tropical jungles. 219 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:21,400 Forests are sponges. 220 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,200 They absorb enormous amounts of CO2 221 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,480 from the atmosphere, and they trap that inside. 222 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:32,880 Forests are about much more than just trees. 223 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,920 In order to thrive, a jungle needs bustling animal communities. 224 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:40,400 It needs insects to pollinate. 225 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:42,720 It needs mammals to spread the seeds 226 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:44,480 from one part of the forest to another. 227 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:48,520 It needs this massive, tangled web of species interactions. 228 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:51,080 A jungle rich in animals 229 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:54,480 stores so much more carbon than a forest with little life. 230 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:59,800 WHOOPING 231 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,400 But many of the world's tropical jungles are under threat. 232 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:09,840 And none more so than the greatest of them all - the Amazon rainforest. 233 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,040 It's essential for the health of our planet, storing as much carbon 234 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:23,720 as 25 years' worth of current emissions from all the cars in the world. 235 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,120 The Amazon rainforest is one of the keystones of our climate. 236 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:32,880 If we lose enough of the Amazon that it stops to function like that, 237 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:37,120 then it's going to be an absolute disaster for civilisation, it really will. 238 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,080 But urban expansion, cattle ranching 239 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:49,000 and mining means that the forests of the Amazon 240 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,800 are being lost at a frightening rate. 241 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:00,720 It's not beyond the realms of possibility that we could 242 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,920 deforest a rainforest, like the Amazon, 243 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,160 so that trees cannot grow there 244 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:06,600 and it turns into a savanna. 245 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:17,000 Every minute, an area the size of about two football pitches 246 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,240 is destroyed by humans. 247 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,920 These amazing ecosystems around us - the oceans, the jungles, the forests, 248 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,800 the mangroves - these are our greatest hope 249 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,640 and our greatest buffers against a warming planet. 250 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:36,360 On the front line in the heart of the Amazon 251 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:38,720 stands of the city of Manaus. 252 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:44,200 Here, urban expansion is eating into the jungle. 253 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:02,560 Celina Pinage works for IPAAM, 254 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,720 the Amazonas Environmental Protection Unit. 255 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,040 Their mission is to save animals trapped in the city 256 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,000 and to return them to the wild. 257 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,760 Today, Celina is rescuing a sloth. 258 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,720 It's the world's slowest mammal. 259 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,280 Many become trapped as trees are cut down 260 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:48,600 to make way for houses. 261 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:53,640 SHOUTED WARNINGS 262 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:25,960 Over 3,000 animals have been rescued in the past five years. 263 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:33,200 Each one of these creatures is needed by the forest - 264 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,560 to disperse seeds, pollinate plants 265 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:40,520 or, like this jaguar, to keep herbivores in check. 266 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,560 Whenever possible, Celina releases animals 267 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,600 back into the protected areas of jungle. 268 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,480 We don't just want to protect animals because they're interesting 269 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:28,840 and they're beautiful. 270 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:33,120 They're an integral part of a functioning planet, and we need to keep them around. 271 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:41,040 So, how do we protect our remaining forests? 272 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:45,480 Calculating their true environmental value could hold the key. 273 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:51,920 And a new cutting-edge technology is beginning to do just that. 274 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:59,120 It's led by a team from the Global Airborne Observatory. 275 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:01,880 They've developed a way to quantify 276 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,200 exactly how much carbon the forest stores. 277 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,440 By firing high-powered lasers across the canopy, 278 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,200 they can map the amount of carbon within each tree. 279 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,720 The trees showing up as red and yellow are the most carbon-rich. 280 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:35,000 These maps allow countries to see how valuable their forests are. 281 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,840 I truly hope that we aren't too far away 282 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,800 from realising the intrinsic value of wildlife, of forests, 283 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,880 but we're not there yet and, for the time being, 284 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,760 governments need to be financially incentivised to keep forests standing 285 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:54,440 and to not cut them down. 286 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:02,800 But what about areas of forest that have already been destroyed? 287 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:09,320 In the Amazon, a revolutionary project is under way. 288 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,800 The aim is to plant a new jungle 289 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:19,320 of 73 million trees. 290 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:24,000 PEOPLE CHATTER 291 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:29,120 But regrowing a species-rich forest has always proved difficult. 292 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:38,000 So the project has turned to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, 293 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,960 and young women like Milene Alves. 294 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,960 Milene's community has a unique knowledge of seeds. 295 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,480 It's enabled them to collect over 200 296 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:14,800 of the most important tree species 297 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:16,360 from across the Amazon. 298 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:51,360 By mixing the seeds together, 299 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:55,640 it allows them to create a super-recipe known as a muvuca. 300 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,280 In this mixture, there is enough tree variety 301 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:04,080 to jump-start a new jungle. 302 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,600 Every year, around 20 tonnes of seeds 303 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:13,240 are scattered over acres of burnt and degraded land. 304 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:16,680 After six years, 305 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,160 they will have restored an area of forest 306 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,720 the size of 30,000 football fields... 307 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:28,160 ..the largest tropical restoration project in the world. 308 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:35,200 The best thing we can possibly do 309 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,560 to mitigate the effects of a warming planet is to plant more trees 310 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:40,840 and protect those trees that we have. 311 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:42,000 We can do this. 312 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,840 If we put them back, we are creating 313 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:47,200 that stable climate that we need to survive, 314 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:48,760 and it's such an easy thing to do. 315 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:53,720 Planting trees and saving wildlife is a vital solution on land, 316 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,240 but it's only part of the story. 317 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,440 The carbon dioxide we produce 318 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,160 is damaging another crucial part of our planet - 319 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:02,480 the oceans. 320 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,680 Life cannot survive without them. 321 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:19,640 The reason we can walk out and live 322 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:23,480 and breathe oxygen is because it's generated in the oceans. 323 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:32,000 The oceans produce up to 70% of the oxygen we breathe 324 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,440 and feed over three billion people. 325 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,960 Just like our forests, 326 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:43,760 the plants and animals here 327 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,040 absorb vast amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. 328 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,440 And, when they die, it sinks down to the ocean floor. 329 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,720 The ocean is what we call a carbon sink. 330 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:00,920 Basically, it's a giant sponge 331 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,480 that has forever been absorbing 332 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,800 all the excess carbon from the atmosphere, 333 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,200 taking it down to the depths and keeping it there. 334 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:14,280 The most vital life forms that allow the ocean to do this 335 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:16,280 are some of the tiniest, 336 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,360 microscopic plant-like organisms - 337 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,640 phytoplankton. 338 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,880 Now, we don't pay much attention to the little teeny plankton, 339 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:31,560 but plankton are the most important organisms for taking carbon dioxide 340 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,080 and transforming it into oxygen for the planet. 341 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,200 Phytoplankton are the base of the food chain 342 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:40,240 on top of which everything else survives. 343 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,160 The krill eats the phytoplankton, 344 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,440 whales eat the krill, 345 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,280 sharks eat the fish, and so on and so forth. 346 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:51,160 We need phytoplankton for everything else in the oceans to survive, 347 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,520 to trap that carbon and keep our climate cool. 348 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,800 But some of these crucial phytoplankton are under attack. 349 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,240 Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, 350 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:13,400 the oceans have absorbed almost half of all our CO2 emissions. 351 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:16,520 But that has come at a cost. 352 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:27,280 When water absorbs carbon dioxide, it becomes more acidic. 353 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,600 But the problem when you have this acidification 354 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,320 is that shells are made of calcium carbonate, 355 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,000 and, as you have this increased acidity in the oceans, 356 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,040 it starts to dissolve these structures. 357 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,160 That threatens anything with a shell. 358 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,480 Our increasingly warm, acidic waters 359 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,640 are not only destroying coral reefs 360 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,480 but decimating some phytoplankton, 361 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:58,960 the amount of which has fallen by as much as 40% in recent years. 362 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:07,200 250 million years ago, the ocean also warmed and became more acidic, 363 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:13,080 contributing to the mass extinction of around 96% of all marine life. 364 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,720 If we have less phytoplankton, the base of every food web, 365 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,200 you lose so much more of everything else. 366 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:26,120 It is serious. If we have less phytoplankton, 367 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:30,360 we have less oxygen, which is what we need to survive. 368 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:36,800 And the oceans are being damaged 369 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:37,840 in another way. 370 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,280 Research suggests that overfishing 371 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:47,400 has removed as much as 90% of all large predatory fish. 372 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:52,000 And fewer fish means a marine system that stores 373 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:53,040 less carbon. 374 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:58,240 Ocean species are dying at a rate that's so fast 375 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,400 that, if it were human beings, we would absolutely be terrified. 376 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,200 But there is hope here, too. 377 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,440 MUFFLED RADIO MESSAGES 378 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,800 When areas of ocean are protected, 379 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,560 marine life can recover. 380 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:23,200 Here, off the coast of Gabon, 381 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,320 they've created one of Earth's most ambitious networks 382 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:28,600 of marine protected areas. 383 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,880 It's a hot spot for breeding whales and dolphins... 384 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,760 ..and one of the most important of all marine predators... 385 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:44,880 ..sharks. 386 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:51,600 Sharks prevent the species they feed on from becoming overabundant - 387 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:55,840 an essential factor in maintaining our oceans' rich diversity. 388 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:00,400 When people think about poaching in Africa, 389 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,680 they think about elephants and rhinos and hippos 390 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,480 and these great, majestic creatures on land. 391 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:10,080 But there is poaching that's taking place at sea. 392 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:14,120 The reason that I call these fishermen poachers 393 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:18,280 is that they are taking wildlife without licence. 394 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:19,960 Captain Peter Hammarstedt, 395 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:22,960 who works for the conservation group Sea Shepherd, 396 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:27,240 is patrolling the 20,000-square-mile marine park. 397 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:28,400 HORN BLARES 398 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:31,960 Prepare boats for launch, prepare boats for launch. Thank you. 399 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:36,640 They've spotted a commercial fishing boat on the edge of the park 400 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:38,120 which needs investigating. 401 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,120 The Gabonese government has joined forces with Peter's team 402 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:45,960 to carry out boat inspections. 403 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,800 The vessel may have a licence to fish here, 404 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,120 but it could be taking more than its quota 405 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:57,440 and catching protected species, 406 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:00,160 like dolphins and sharks. 407 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,040 MUFFLED RADIO MESSAGES 408 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:09,840 When fighting a war to stop illegal fishing, 409 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:13,120 the odds can seem insurmountable. 410 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:39,240 This boat's fishing nets have pulled up 411 00:34:39,240 --> 00:34:41,560 threatened silky and blue sharks. 412 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,680 Catching and keeping these creatures is illegal, 413 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:52,360 so the fishermen must throw them back. 414 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,880 But many are already so badly injured, 415 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:57,120 they will not survive the ordeal. 416 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:02,200 It saddens me greatly to see these incredible creatures 417 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:06,920 being brutally manhandled as they're dragged across the deck, 418 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:10,040 their fingers in their gills as they pull them. 419 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,480 Globally, each year, millions of sharks 420 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,160 and over 300,000 whales and dolphins 421 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:24,200 are accidentally killed by fishing nets, 422 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,400 seriously injuring the health of the oceans. 423 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:31,160 It's the efficiency of these vessels that shocks me to the core... 424 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,200 ..this sheer killing power of them. 425 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:39,240 And you can really see 426 00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:42,640 why the oceans are being sucked dry of life. 427 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,240 But the patrols are working. 428 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:04,680 In the past three years, they have arrested 50 vessels 429 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:06,200 and inspected hundreds more. 430 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:10,200 Last year, we assisted the coastguard 431 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:13,120 to arrest a vessel that was poaching sharks. 432 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,640 And, by arresting this one single ship, 433 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:19,640 we were able to save the lives of 250,000 sharks. 434 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,600 Marine life here now has a chance. 435 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:32,320 Currently, around 5% of the oceans are protected, 436 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:36,800 but there's a global campaign to raise that to 30%. 437 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:42,480 If we can do that, many of the planet's most vulnerable species 438 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:44,520 could recover. 439 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:49,640 And a healthier ocean has the power to absorb more CO2. 440 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,040 We thought the ocean is 441 00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:58,360 this infinite space that is full of infinite resources... 442 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:03,280 ..and this infinite capacity to 443 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:06,280 withstand and tolerate everything that we throw at it. 444 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:10,320 And I think we do need to... 445 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:15,400 ..stop and reconsider our strategies if we want to move forward. 446 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:24,520 Humans aren't just damaging life in the sea. 447 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:29,120 We're also disturbing one of its most important forces... 448 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:35,360 ..ocean currents. 449 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:45,800 These transport essential nutrients to almost all marine creatures. 450 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:47,400 We're dependent on 451 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:50,080 these large circulation patterns that go on in our oceans. 452 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:53,560 There's this continuous movement 453 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:55,720 of beautiful cold water coming from the depths. 454 00:37:57,080 --> 00:37:58,400 It's chock-full of nutrients, 455 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:00,160 it's chock-full of productivity. 456 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:04,560 These currents begin at the poles. 457 00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:07,880 Here, cold, salty water, 458 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:11,360 which is more dense, sinks to the depths... 459 00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:15,000 ..and flows towards the tropics 460 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:16,160 and beyond. 461 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:24,000 In the hotter parts of the Earth, warmer water rises and flows 462 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,400 back towards the poles. 463 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,800 This creates a global conveyor belt 464 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:33,880 that circulates nutrients, oxygen and heat around our planet, 465 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:36,600 regulating Earth's climate and weather. 466 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:43,880 But it's now feared that our warming planet is destabilising the system. 467 00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:48,600 As you have an increase in ocean temperatures, 468 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:50,360 it has impacts on everything. 469 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:52,680 We have glaciers across the world and, as they melt, 470 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:56,120 you have more of this fresh water just pushing into the oceans. 471 00:38:56,120 --> 00:39:00,200 And this fresh water is less saline, it's less salty, 472 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:03,280 and that tends to float at the surface. 473 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:07,920 And it's not moving. You don't have this circulation. 474 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:09,280 It's causing a breakdown. 475 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:15,000 Many animals depend on reliable ocean currents, 476 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:16,920 so, as they change, 477 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:18,960 the effect can be disastrous. 478 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:23,160 This can be witnessed 479 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,360 off the north-east coast of the United States, 480 00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:28,160 where it's thought to be triggering 481 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:31,920 mass casualties of a critically endangered species. 482 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:37,000 The fact that they're even here just stuns so many people. 483 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:41,120 Bob Prescott heads up the emergency response team. 484 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:50,200 We have about 250 people that walk beaches. 485 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:52,440 They're looking for turtles in trouble. 486 00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:56,040 NEWSREADER: This week's frigid conditions 487 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:58,160 have stunned sea turtles and left them 488 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:00,400 stranded on beaches throughout the north-east. 489 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:03,880 If you spot one, move the turtle above the high-tide line 490 00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:06,920 until a trained responder arrives. 491 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:08,400 Timing is everything. 492 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:10,760 If we can get to them within an hour 493 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:12,720 of them washing up onto the beach, 494 00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:14,840 then we're going to be able to save 495 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:16,760 90-95% of them. 496 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,880 Here, off the coast of Boston, 497 00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:24,200 waters are warming faster than almost anywhere on Earth. 498 00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:28,720 It's thought to be causing turtles from the tropics to swim 499 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:32,160 further north than ever before for summer feeding. 500 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:36,440 But, when the cold autumn waters suddenly close in, 501 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:38,440 the turtles go into shock. 502 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:43,640 These are very young turtles. 503 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:46,840 They're anywhere from one-and-a-half to six years old. 504 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:50,320 When we find them, they're hypothermic, 505 00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:53,880 their heart is beating at one to five beats a minute. 506 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,240 The blood is barely circulating. 507 00:40:56,240 --> 00:40:59,000 For all intents and purposes, look dead. 508 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:00,520 The critically ill animals 509 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:03,880 are rushed to the New England Aquarium near Boston. 510 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:08,560 It has a state-of-the-art ER unit for turtles. 511 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:12,320 We don't want to stress them any further, 512 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:15,000 so we now treat the whole episode 513 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,400 as sort of entering an ICU unit of a hospital. 514 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:21,320 This is critical care for some turtles. 515 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:25,160 He's pretty stiff. I can't get his mouth open much more. 516 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:26,960 See, it's right there. 517 00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:28,480 Oh, there we are, there we are. 518 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,400 When a turtle arrives, its condition is rapidly assessed. 519 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:36,560 How are you doing? 520 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:36,560 The animals are given 521 00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:38,920 stabilising drugs and fluids, 522 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:41,320 their lungs are cleared of water 523 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:43,640 and sand washed out of their scratched eyes. 524 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:48,680 Got emergency meds. 525 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:50,320 The veterinary team 526 00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:51,800 must ventilate turtles 527 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:53,760 that are close to death 528 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:55,720 to help them breathe. No response at all. 529 00:41:55,720 --> 00:42:00,800 But it's worth it for an animal that might live another 50 years. 530 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:04,520 You want to save as many as you can. 531 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,000 And it is depressing at times, 532 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:08,560 cos a lot of them don't make it. 533 00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:16,720 You know, last year at Thanksgiving, we had 200 dead turtles. 534 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:24,400 When you're looking into its eyes, it's looking back at you. 535 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:26,040 There is a connection there. 536 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:30,240 And it gets stronger and stronger as they start to recover. 537 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:36,600 It can take months for the turtles to recuperate. 538 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:38,000 But, once they do, 539 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:41,640 they'll make the first plane flight of their lives. 540 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:44,360 We have a big transport this morning - 541 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:46,560 44 ridleys and one loggerhead. 542 00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:48,680 So we're going to start in 15B. 543 00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:50,600 All right, let's get to work! 544 00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:54,120 They are part of the planet. 545 00:42:55,160 --> 00:42:59,600 They're part of our very delicate web of life, if you will. 546 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:02,760 38, 41, 44... 547 00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:05,520 The bottom line for all of these turtles 548 00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:07,920 is to get them back out into the water. 549 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:12,240 We're doing great on timing, everybody. 550 00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:19,280 A very exciting day, cos it just brings that turtle 551 00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:22,400 one step closer to being released back into the wild. 552 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:27,160 These mass casualties of our changing oceans 553 00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:31,160 are to be flown south to Florida and beyond. 554 00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:35,520 The future of this species depends on these young turtles... 555 00:43:35,520 --> 00:43:36,960 Ready. All right! 556 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:38,080 ..which will be released 557 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,520 into the warmer-water currents that they need to survive. 558 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:47,440 It's a very emotional day for everybody. 559 00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:50,240 These are turtles that staff and volunteers at the aquarium 560 00:43:50,240 --> 00:43:52,640 have worked so hard to get them to that point. 561 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:16,760 Changes in the ocean currents won't just harm turtles. 562 00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:21,600 With heat, oxygen and nutrients moving more slowly around the globe, 563 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:24,840 the impact on all life could be dramatic. 564 00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:26,560 I mean, we live in a world where 565 00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:29,880 just one domino in a large game of dominoes... 566 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:31,920 So you flick one piece, and you know what happens - 567 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:33,520 everything starts to collapse. 568 00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:36,240 And that's exactly what we start to see over time 569 00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:37,840 as these conveyor belts slow down. 570 00:44:41,920 --> 00:44:46,960 Human activity is destroying the balance of our perfect planet... 571 00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:52,080 ..disturbing our oceans and disrupting our weather. 572 00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:56,760 But can we prevent the damage we're doing? 573 00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:00,600 Now the human population's at 7 billion. 574 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:02,560 It's moving to 9 billion. 575 00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:04,600 And the problem is we're already using 576 00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:06,600 the equivalent of one-and-a-half Earths. 577 00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:10,480 It's not sustainable. 578 00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:16,360 Around 80% of the energy we use 579 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:20,560 still comes from burning fossil fuels. 580 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:23,840 It's what makes us so dangerous. 581 00:45:25,080 --> 00:45:29,440 We can reduce CO2 emissions by consuming less 582 00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:33,280 or reusing some of our resources. 583 00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:35,800 But the biggest saving we could make 584 00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:39,280 would be to stop using fossil fuels for our energy. 585 00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:42,440 And there are many people who think 586 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:46,560 that we could exploit the natural forces of the planet 587 00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:48,120 to enable us to do that. 588 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:56,040 The sun has not sent us a bill. 589 00:45:56,040 --> 00:45:58,160 The wind has not invoiced us. 590 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:06,160 Coal, oil, gas, uranium - they're expensive. 591 00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:07,560 The sun and the wind is free. 592 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:15,960 We live in a planet that's incredibly dynamic. 593 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:22,720 We all live in environments 594 00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:25,640 where there is some source of energy that we can tap into. 595 00:46:25,640 --> 00:46:28,320 There's energy, there's power all around us. 596 00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:36,840 And we need to start looking at 597 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:38,960 these natural sources of energy 598 00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:41,480 that don't have that negative impact. 599 00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:51,520 We have more energy than we'll ever know what to do with. 600 00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:53,040 We can power the whole world 601 00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:57,360 with just a fraction of the solar and wind that we get every year - 602 00:46:57,360 --> 00:46:58,400 a fraction of it! 603 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,200 We're not going to start needing less power any time soon. 604 00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:11,360 We're just going to have to shift how we generate that power 605 00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:14,400 from non-renewables to renewables. 606 00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:22,000 Volcanic heat. 607 00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:25,400 So far, we've only tapped 608 00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:27,720 some 7% of its global potential. 609 00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:32,600 Or the wind in our skies. 610 00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:36,000 That could provide 611 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:38,840 30% of our energy by 2050. 612 00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:44,680 And the power of the sun, 613 00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:47,200 which is virtually unlimited. 614 00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:53,040 In areas where most life struggles to survive... 615 00:47:55,760 --> 00:48:00,160 ..there is plenty of space to gather the maximum solar energy. 616 00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:05,840 The northern Sahara, home to the world's largest 617 00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:08,400 concentrated solar power plant. 618 00:48:12,800 --> 00:48:15,200 Here, innovative technology 619 00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:18,440 is using mirrors to superheat a special liquid 620 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:21,320 to around 400 degrees Celsius. 621 00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:25,320 This heat is then stored in molten salt, 622 00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:30,320 allowing something not possible before - 623 00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:32,760 the ability to power steam turbines 624 00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:35,440 with the sun's energy during the night. 625 00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:40,120 It creates green electricity 24 hours a day, 626 00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:43,760 feeding Morocco's growing energy needs. 627 00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:47,760 And it has plans to supply Europe. 628 00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:51,920 We need to make enormous shifts in our society. 629 00:48:51,920 --> 00:48:53,840 This is starting, 630 00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:55,960 but it's happening just in small places. 631 00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:57,640 It needs to happen everywhere, 632 00:48:57,640 --> 00:48:59,880 and it needs to happen much, much faster. 633 00:48:59,880 --> 00:49:02,040 There's really no excuse. 634 00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:04,080 The Earth has all of the power we need. 635 00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:05,640 BIRDSONG 636 00:49:05,640 --> 00:49:08,040 Our mission is not growth, growth, growth, 637 00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:09,920 but sustainability, 638 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:15,040 and that our responsibility is to steward this planet. 639 00:49:15,040 --> 00:49:16,440 That's the mission at hand. 640 00:49:18,520 --> 00:49:21,560 But is this transition to a low-carbon society 641 00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:23,760 happening fast enough? 642 00:49:29,160 --> 00:49:33,120 In 2015, 195 of the world's nations 643 00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:37,520 pledged to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. 644 00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:43,120 To avoid planetary disaster, 645 00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:46,400 the goal was to limit the warming of the Earth 646 00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:48,400 to well below two degrees. 647 00:49:48,400 --> 00:49:50,240 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 648 00:49:50,240 --> 00:49:52,320 JOHN KERRY: Together, citizens of the world, 649 00:49:52,320 --> 00:49:55,920 we will work to save our planet from ourselves. 650 00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:03,120 BARACK OBAMA: Today's a historic day 651 00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:03,120 in the fight to protect our planet. 652 00:50:03,120 --> 00:50:06,040 LEONARDO DICAPRIO: You'll either be lauded by future generations... 653 00:50:07,360 --> 00:50:09,160 ..or vilified by them. 654 00:50:12,360 --> 00:50:14,600 To get an accurate reading 655 00:50:14,600 --> 00:50:16,680 of CO2 levels in the Earth's atmosphere, 656 00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:20,760 you must be far away from the pollution of the cities. 657 00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:23,120 So, in the heart of the Amazon, 658 00:50:23,120 --> 00:50:28,960 they built a 325-metre tower to do just that. 659 00:50:28,960 --> 00:50:32,600 It's one of a number of towers around the planet 660 00:50:32,600 --> 00:50:34,520 collecting vital data, 661 00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:37,080 and the news is not good. 662 00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:39,920 This year, CO2 levels in the atmosphere 663 00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:43,440 went up yet again, hitting another record high. 664 00:50:49,040 --> 00:50:51,920 I think we are in a crisis. I'm not going to mince my words. 665 00:50:51,920 --> 00:50:53,800 We are in a crisis right now. 666 00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:57,440 We are pushing the equilibrium that the planet used to be in 667 00:50:57,440 --> 00:50:59,680 in a way that may be unrecoverable. 668 00:51:02,440 --> 00:51:04,360 And what the scientists are telling us is 669 00:51:04,360 --> 00:51:08,640 we will face a runaway cascade of environmental events 670 00:51:08,640 --> 00:51:13,360 feeding off each other, taking us into an unknown abyss 671 00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:15,840 that could lead to a very quick mass extinction 672 00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:17,320 of much of life on this Earth 673 00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:19,560 in a very, very short period of time. 674 00:51:21,600 --> 00:51:24,000 Species are becoming extinct 675 00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:27,600 around 100 times faster than the normal rate. 676 00:51:28,840 --> 00:51:30,520 So rapid is the loss 677 00:51:30,520 --> 00:51:33,560 that zoos around the world are taking drastic action. 678 00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:38,840 They're collecting DNA from endangered species 679 00:51:38,840 --> 00:51:42,520 to build a genetic store of life before they go extinct. 680 00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:48,520 At Edinburgh Zoo, a health check on a Diana monkey 681 00:51:48,520 --> 00:51:51,000 presents a valuable opportunity 682 00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:55,560 to collect a sample for the European network of biobanks. 683 00:52:00,040 --> 00:52:05,360 We really feel the pressure to bank as many species as we can 684 00:52:05,360 --> 00:52:09,560 as fast as we can before it's too late. 685 00:52:09,560 --> 00:52:12,400 Marlys Houck at San Diego Zoo 686 00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:16,360 receives DNA samples from all over the world. 687 00:52:17,800 --> 00:52:20,400 She's taking them to a secure vault. 688 00:52:24,480 --> 00:52:27,000 It's known as the Frozen Zoo. 689 00:52:28,240 --> 00:52:30,160 It's hard to imagine, 690 00:52:30,160 --> 00:52:33,120 but there's probably more vertebrate life in that room 691 00:52:33,120 --> 00:52:35,000 than anywhere else on the planet. 692 00:52:38,960 --> 00:52:42,320 We get samples every day. It might be a tiger, 693 00:52:42,320 --> 00:52:45,760 it might be a bear, it might be a rare reptile. 694 00:52:47,320 --> 00:52:52,080 Right now, we have over 10,000 individuals represented. 695 00:52:57,120 --> 00:53:00,000 The living cells of our world's rarest animals 696 00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:04,360 are being stored here at minus-200 degrees Celsius... 697 00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:10,720 ..keeping their DNA viable indefinitely, 698 00:53:10,720 --> 00:53:12,360 just in case the worst happens. 699 00:53:14,720 --> 00:53:18,480 There are multiple frozen zoos like this around the world 700 00:53:18,480 --> 00:53:20,800 and, with extinction rates so high, 701 00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:23,840 they might be needed sooner than we thought. 702 00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:30,840 I hope that we never have to see 703 00:53:30,840 --> 00:53:33,600 extinction of some of these amazing species. 704 00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:40,200 But, if we do, the samples in the Frozen Zoo 705 00:53:40,200 --> 00:53:44,120 might be the hope for bringing them back, so that... 706 00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:46,920 ..our children and grandchildren 707 00:53:46,920 --> 00:53:49,280 could once again 708 00:53:49,280 --> 00:53:51,880 see the actual animals. 709 00:53:51,880 --> 00:53:56,360 Not knowing what the planet will be like when I'm an adult, 710 00:53:56,360 --> 00:53:58,800 not knowing whether it will be capable of sustaining life - 711 00:53:58,800 --> 00:54:01,800 that is a terrifying thing to face. 712 00:54:05,760 --> 00:54:07,800 I think the planet that I've been born into 713 00:54:07,800 --> 00:54:10,160 is the most beautiful place that I could ever imagine. 714 00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:13,280 It's full of amazing wildlife... 715 00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:16,000 ..and us - humans are incredible. 716 00:54:19,080 --> 00:54:22,880 But we seem to forget that the place that we live in is finite 717 00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:27,400 and very vulnerable, and it seems to be dying before our eyes. 718 00:54:33,800 --> 00:54:37,680 Since the age of ten, I've been hearing about our warming world, 719 00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:39,360 but nothing was really done at that time. 720 00:54:39,360 --> 00:54:42,280 All I observed at that time was sort of mass apathy. 721 00:54:45,720 --> 00:54:47,880 But what is positive is that the youth 722 00:54:47,880 --> 00:54:49,680 are standing up and are taking leadership. 723 00:54:49,680 --> 00:54:51,400 CHANTING: Save our planet! 724 00:54:51,400 --> 00:54:53,520 Save our planet! 725 00:54:53,520 --> 00:54:55,400 Save our planet! 726 00:54:55,400 --> 00:54:56,880 We need more people to care. 727 00:54:56,880 --> 00:54:59,560 We need more people to look at the facts and say, 728 00:54:59,560 --> 00:55:01,400 "I will do something about this." 729 00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:05,920 Whose future? Our future! 730 00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:07,520 Whose planet? Our planet! 731 00:55:07,520 --> 00:55:08,640 Whose future? 732 00:55:08,640 --> 00:55:13,200 So we need to think about how we interact with the natural world. 733 00:55:13,200 --> 00:55:15,400 We need to view it not as a commodity 734 00:55:15,400 --> 00:55:17,600 but as a system that we are a part of... 735 00:55:27,800 --> 00:55:29,880 ..because we are inextricably linked 736 00:55:29,880 --> 00:55:32,320 to the natural world, and whatever happens 737 00:55:32,320 --> 00:55:34,120 to the oceans, 738 00:55:34,120 --> 00:55:37,000 whatever happens to the forests, 739 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:40,080 whatever happens to the deserts, that will come back 740 00:55:40,080 --> 00:55:41,880 and it will happen to us. 741 00:55:55,560 --> 00:55:58,960 Right now, we have the capacity and knowledge 742 00:55:58,960 --> 00:56:01,280 to stop the damage we are doing. 743 00:56:03,280 --> 00:56:05,200 But what we don't have 744 00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:06,600 is time. 745 00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:11,120 My inspiration and hope for the future 746 00:56:11,120 --> 00:56:15,000 lies with the next generation. 747 00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:19,640 But we all have a responsibility to reduce our carbon footprints, 748 00:56:19,640 --> 00:56:22,320 harness the forces of nature for our energy 749 00:56:22,320 --> 00:56:25,360 and protect the natural world. 750 00:56:25,360 --> 00:56:29,400 The survival of humanity and our fellow creatures on Earth 751 00:56:29,400 --> 00:56:30,960 depends upon it. 752 00:56:32,040 --> 00:56:34,000 Do you want to be the last generation 753 00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:36,880 that signed the death certificate of humanity? 754 00:56:36,880 --> 00:56:40,480 Do you want to be the generation that sees the last elephant killed? 755 00:56:40,480 --> 00:56:42,000 Do you want to be the generation 756 00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:44,240 that sees the last fish fished out of the sea? 757 00:56:44,240 --> 00:56:45,800 Or do you want to be the generation 758 00:56:45,800 --> 00:56:47,800 and the individuals that turned it around? 759 00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:51,040 This is the single most serious moment 760 00:56:51,040 --> 00:56:56,080 in the 200,000 years that our species has been on this Earth. 761 00:56:56,080 --> 00:56:58,520 I see reason to hope. 762 00:56:58,520 --> 00:57:01,200 And I think we can. 763 00:57:01,200 --> 00:57:05,640 I think we humans, we are incredibly intelligent animals, 764 00:57:05,640 --> 00:57:06,960 and we can, 765 00:57:06,960 --> 00:57:08,400 and we will, 766 00:57:08,400 --> 00:57:09,880 if we set our minds to it. 767 00:57:14,400 --> 00:57:17,640 The Open University has produced a free poster 768 00:57:17,640 --> 00:57:21,120 exploring our perfect planet. To order, please call... 769 00:57:25,120 --> 00:57:26,160 ..or go to... 770 00:57:30,280 --> 00:57:32,720 ..and follow the links to the Open University.