61 pages • 2 hours read
A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future
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Part 1, Chapters 6-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Summary: “1978”
Attenborough decides “to leave the BBC once again” in order to produce and host his own series, which he would pitch to “whoever my successor might be” (54). He is impressed by the format pioneered by BBC2, in which roughly hour-long programs would detail “big and important subjects,” though he felt that the most important one—that of the story of life on the planet—was being ignored (53). Thus, he wants to tackle this enormous story himself. In due time, this occurs, and Attenborough spearheads and hosts the groundbreaking Life on Earth series, originally aired in 1979.
In the course of making the series, Attenborough meets famed biologist Dian Fossey, who brought the world’s attention to the plight of gorillas—hunted by poachers in ever-shrinking forests—in Rwanda (see Further Reading & Resources for more on her legacy). Though she was ill, she was able to procure guides to assist Attenborough and his crew in looking for and interacting with the great apes. After watching from a respectful distance for a time, Attenborough was amazed when a mother and her infants approached him. The mother tapped him on the head, inspected his mouth, and let her infants play with his shoes. As Attenborough describes the experience, “I was in a delirium of happiness,” leaving the scene “with a feeling of extraordinary privilege” (60). He quickly commits to helping Fossey raise money to help these endangered creatures.
After the jungles of Rwanda, Attenborough embarks out onto the open ocean to study whales. He discusses the rise of industrialized whaling, which had led to an alarming decrease in whale populations across the world. He notes that whales are an invaluable part of the oceanic ecosystem; without them, the entire ocean suffers. Their deep dives stir up nutrients for other creatures to feed on, while their effluvia nourish new growth: “This ‘whale pump,’ as it is often termed, is now recognised as a significant process in maintaining the fertility of the open ocean” (63). Attenborough and his crew wanted to film the elusive blue whale but instead focused on the more accessible humpback whales.
The series is finally aired, and Attenborough points out that television is a medium through which to incite humans to care about other animals—to protect habitats and to prevent extinctions. He also emphasizes the fact that humans are just another animal, albeit one with brains capable of creating large-scale societies and advanced technology. These developments could both bring about positive change—as in Fossey’s work, among many other examples—and engender great destruction if left unchecked. It is around this time, Attenborough notes, that “[w]hole habitats would soon start to disappear” (67).
Summary: “1989”
Attenborough talks about the unique ecosystem of the rainforest, where there are “virtually no seasons” and the forest itself “circulates its own water” (70). They are also places that absorb large amounts of carbon, making them crucial environments in the fight against climate change and global warming. Attenborough highlights the ways in which all species within the rainforest are interdependent on one another.
He uses the orangutan as an example of that interdependence, and of what happens when any one element of the ecosystem is disturbed. Without the vastness of the rainforest, and particularly the variety of its species, the orangutan’s existence is threatened (as is that of many other species). He observes, with melancholy, that orangutans are regularly filmed—but only because “so many of them now live in sanctuaries” rather than in the wild (74).
Summary: “1997”
Attenborough returns to the ocean—“[t]he largest habitat of all” (78)—to discuss the making of another groundbreaking series, The Blue Planet, which he narrates. He recalls the technological breakthroughs that were required to make the series, as well as the intricacy of the filming itself. In particular, he discusses the famous “baitball” scene, wherein a school of smaller fish groups together to feed on an abundance of plankton, which in turn attracts larger fish—eventually even whales—to feed on them. It is a frenzy of epic proportions, “yet no one had ever seen them before from underwater” (81). This memory leads Attenborough to a discussion on the impacts of overfishing and how technology has played a role in the depletion of fish stocks. He notes that the ecosystem of the ocean is even more intertwined than that of most land habitats: “Ocean food chains operate very differently from those on land. Chains there may be only three links long—grass to wildebeest to lion. The ocean routinely has chains with four, five, and more links” (84). Thus, overfishing of any one species—not to mention many—has dire impacts for the ocean food chain overall.
He also talks about the disappearing coral reefs and the impact that their destruction will have on the ocean ecosystem. When divers and scientists first started witnessing the “bleaching” of coral reefs—wherein the coral loses its color and life, turning into skeletal white structures—they were not certain as to the cause. However, they shortly discovered that this bleaching was occurring “where the ocean was rapidly warming” (88). Thus, the bleaching (dying) of the coral reefs is the direct result of human activity driven by the use of fossil fuels: “It was an appalling demonstration that we now had the capacity to exterminate living creatures on a vast scale” (89). Attenborough bears witness to an Earth being knocked out of balance.
Summary: “2011”
Attenborough now turns his attention toward the arctic and Antarctic for his series Frozen Planet. Yet another delicate ecosystem wherein all creatures and habitats are interconnected. The melting of the ice brought about by human-generated carbon emissions has impacted species from polar bears (who are often starved because of longer ice-free summers) to walruses. The walruses’ habitats have shrunk so dramatically that they are crammed together in large colonies on precarious rocks, competing for smaller reserves of food. This leads to inevitable confrontations and disasters: “The vision of a three-tonne walrus tumbling to its death is not easily forgotten. You don’t have to be a naturalist to know that something has gone catastrophically wrong” (93). The smell of food that cannot be reached lures the poorly seeing walrus to its doom.
Summary: “2020”
Attenborough sums up his witness statement with bluntness: “Our impact is now truly global,” he says of humanity (95). He delineates a litany of the destructive results of human innovation: plastic clogs the oceans, as pesticides and other industrial chemicals pollute groundwater and, eventually, the ocean itself; the destruction of freshwater has diminished land animal populations by “over 80 per cent” (97); the deforestation of the rainforests has led to an ecosystem crisis, as well as damaging the ability to address global warming. The decline in insect populations, the foundation of healthy ecosystems (as pollinators, in particular), has been precipitous and, according to Attenborough, potentially calamitous. Wild lands continue to shrink dramatically, mostly due to “industrial farming” (98). The consequences wrought by the so-called Anthropocene are alarming, at best, with the destruction of habitats and the encroachment on the last remaining wildlands. To end Part 1, Attenborough commits to confronting this crisis and providing potential solutions.
Chapters 6-10 Analysis
At the beginning of each section in Part 1, Attenborough provides three striking statistics: the world population at the time about which he is writing; how much carbon has been released into the atmosphere; and how much wilderness remains undeveloped. Certainly, his implicit point is that these three factors are interrelated; the greater the human population, the more carbon enters the atmosphere while smaller and smaller areas of wilderness remain. The Anthropocene era (see Index of Terms) has truly arrived, with all its attendant (if originally unintended) devastation. Attenborough’s larger point here is two-fold. First, the interconnection between species living within ecosystems is echoed in the intertwined forces that threaten these species and systems (human activity, carbon emissions, dwindling wilderness). Second, while humankind may not have initially recognized the impact of their growing civilizations, dependence on fossil fuels, and technological innovations, there is no defense in continuing to ignore these impacts today. Attenborough includes himself in this realization—hence, this book.
He then uses his professional experiences—traveling, interacting with various species of animal, meeting renowned scientists and conservationists—to provide examples of how human activity has impeded on the wild places of the Earth. He begins by talking about his time in Rwanda, encountering the great mountain gorillas that were so painstakingly documented by biologist Dian Fossey. He wants to demonstrate, for his program Life on Earth, the development of opposable thumbs in apes and monkeys. This is precisely because he wants to situate humans on the spectrum of species alongside apes, not separate from them: “This [the opposable thumb] is the anatomical characteristic that enables a monkey to grasp a branch—or a human being to wield a tool and eventually hold a pen—an ability that played a crucial part in the rise of our own species and our civilisations” (56). As he says in a later chapter, human beings “do not have a special place. We are not the preordained and final pinnacle of evolution. We are just another species in the tree of life” (65). As such, humans should endeavor to live in harmony with the rest of the species, humble among them (see Themes: Biodiversity).
Just as Attenborough is keen to emphasize that human beings are animals just as gorillas (and any other animal species) are, he is also eager to point out the human qualities in animal species, that is, we are all like one another. He wants to restore the reputation of misunderstood animals, like gorillas. The legacy of such films as King Kong (though Attenborough never acknowledges the film by name) has harmed the status of gorillas, making them mere beasts to be considered with little compassion: “I wished people to know that these animals were not the brutal beasts of legend” (59). In fact, in relating the story of the mother and her infants playfully interacting with Attenborough, he succeeds in rehabilitating their reputations. This is crucial in changing attitudes toward conservation of habitats and of species.
His next example concerns humpback whales, whose songs were famously recorded by biologist Roger Payne—these songs actually became a bestselling album in the 1970s, a time period marked by an increased concern for conservation and ecological preservation. The effect of recording these songs cannot be understated: “Creatures that had been viewed as little more than a source of animal oil now became personalities. Their mournful songs were interpreted as cries for help” (64). Whether this anthropomorphizing of whales is accurate or not, the impact is undeniable: in turning a commodity into a community of individuals, Payne (and others, including Attenborough) succeeded in halting much industrial whaling, making whales into dynamic personalities to be treasured rather than hunted (see Themes: Clash of Competing Interests). As Attenborough puts it, “the killing of whales turned from a harvest into a crime” (65). Thus, Attenborough justifies the use of media—television, in particular (65)—in abetting the burgeoning environmental movement. While some might argue that a simple broadcast does not an environmental crusade make, it is clear that drawing attention to atrocities, as well as showing animals behaving in curiously human-like ways, changes attitudes toward what can be done to ensure their survival.
Attenborough then turns his attention to the rainforest to make a point about the interconnectivity of ecosystems and animal species. The rainforest, “a truly three-dimensional habitat” (70), depends upon all its parts to continue to sustain life. The insects pollinate and carry seeds; the smaller trees depend on the larger ones for protections; the canopy keeps in moisture and the forest itself absorbs carbon. Attenborough argues that “every species [in the rainforest is] a critical component of the whole” (71)—which is why the orangutan is now threatened. As rainforests are cleared and planted with commodity crops (mainly soy) or with single species of trees, the orangutan’s specialized diet becomes threatened, not to mention the range of its habitat. This is the same problem that plagues polar bears and walruses within the arctic regions: habitat is shrinking; food is becoming scarcer; and the animal species are suffering for it. Attenborough argues: “Tipping points like this abound in the complex systems of nature” (93). These species—and their unique habitats—are on the brink of extinction.
Attenborough also points out that coral reefs mirror rainforests in their ability to harbor multiple species: “Coral reefs rival rainforests in terms of their biodiversity. They too exist in three dimensions, and that brings the same abundance of opportunities for life as you find in the jungle” (86). The note of alarm in this section is that the coral reefs are dying off, impacted by rising ocean temperatures (caused by human-generated carbon emissions) as well as human encroachment on their habitats. Attenborough notes that the 1990s were a time of dawning realization about the endangered reefs, and a not-so-subtle indication of events to come: “The bleaching corals were like canaries in a coal mine, warning us of a coming explosion” (89). Alas, this early warning system has largely gone unheeded, at least at the highest echelons of power.
Still, Attenborough struggles against pessimism: “I have to remind myself of the dreadful things that humanity has done to the planet in my lifetime. After all, the Sun still comes up each morning, and the newspaper drops through the letterbox” (101). Attenborough’s reference to daily newspaper deliveries strikes a quaint, almost anachronistic, note, yet he pinpoints a conundrum of the environmental cause: It appears to be happening far away from home, at least for those people in the richest and least affected nations. These are also the people and places who have contributed the most to the problem. Attenborough will spend the next part of his book describing in mordant detail what might happen should his readers in said industrialized nations not heed his warnings.
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