Are We Changing Planet Earth? Are We Changing Planet Earth? Programme title card. Also known as. The Truth About Climate Change. Genre. Nature documentary. Subscribe and SAVE, give a gift subscription or get help with an existing subscription by clicking the links below each cover image. You can browse and even save your cart, but you'll need to use another browser or a different device to place your order. Sorry for the inconvenience. The world's human population is growing too fast for the planet to sustain it. But just how many more people can exist on Earth until it reaches its breaking point? Directed by. Nicholas Brown. Presented by. David Attenborough. Composer(s)Samuel Sim. Country of origin. United Kingdom. Original language(s)English. No. They were first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 2. May and 1 June 2. Part of a themed season by the BBC entitled . They were directed by Nicolas Brown and produced by Jeremy Bristow. The music was composed by Samuel Sim. Attenborough undertook the assignment in between his 'Life' series Life in the Undergrowth and Life in Cold Blood. Around the same time, the naturalist also narrated Planet Earth. Background. But now, he argued, the evidence of it was too overwhelming to ignore. Greenpeace and people like you are a people-powered movement fighting for a green and peaceful future for our oceans, forests, food, climate and democracy. Get the latest technology news, articles and op-eds. A look at the innovations and technologies that are shaping the future and changing the world. Latest environmental news, features and updates. Pictures, video and more. He became sure of it when he saw graphs provided by climatologists that demonstrated the link between increasing temperatures and the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, with the growth in population and industrialisation: I was absolutely convinced this was no part of a normal climatic oscillation which the Earth has been going through and that it was something else. He saw his role simply as a presenter of programmes on natural history. However, the final episode of The Living Planet (1. Attenborough started to become more outspoken about the subject. The three- part State of the Planet in 2. The Life of Mammals (2. The latest travel information, deals, guides and reviews from USA TODAY Travel. Sections; Top Stories; Video; Election; U.S. World; Entertainment; Health; Tech; Lifestyle; Money; Investigative; Sports; Good News; Weather; Photos; Shows. Homo sapiens and subsequent overpopulation, were explicit in this regard. Attenborough acknowledged that the tone of the . The first is about the fact that there is climate change and that it is human- induced. So I'm glad that the BBC wanted some clear statement of the evidence as to why these two things are the case. The first instalment investigates the effects and probable causes of the phenomenon, and the likely outcome if things remain unchecked. The second looks at the future in more detail and discusses mitigating actions that can be taken. Computer graphics are used to demonstrate how the atmosphere is polluted by day- to- day activities that human beings take for granted. Are We Changing Planet Earth? It contains an astonishing variety of landscapes and climates. Since life began, around 4,0. But now it seems that our planet is being transformed . And so, whether he likes it or not, what happens next is very largely up to him. The naturalist highlights several meteorological and climatological catastrophes: Hurricane Katrina, the collapse of glaciers in Greenland, drought in the Amazon River, forest fires in Australia, and one of Europe's hottest summers (that caused 2. He wonders if, somehow, there is a connection between these events. Scientists all over the world are linking the changes in the Earth's weather to a global rise in temperatures. The actual figure is just 0. For example, the Arctic has warmed by up to 3 . A team has been surveying polar bears in the region for the last 2. Each year the Arctic ice is also now melting three weeks earlier. The overall rate of glacier melt is accelerating: in southern Greenland, the amount of ice flowing into the sea has doubled in a decade, resulting in a rise of sea levels. This is exacerbated by the increase in temperatures, which causes oceans to expand. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the sea temperatures of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean were the highest ever recorded. In addition, the 2. Scientists who have studied such severe weather warn that from now on hurricanes in the area will be more intense, more destructive and possibly more frequent. Also in 2. 00. 5, the Amazon region suffered its worse drought in 6. Six months later, trees have still not recovered. The abnormally warm seas in the Atlantic had disrupted the rainfall in the forest and for similar reasons, coral reefs are also at risk, leading to the phenomenon of coral bleaching. Attenborough points out that because of natural forces, the Earth's temperature has been fluctuating for millions of years, long before humans arrived. However, it is the additional carbon dioxide, leading to an increase in the greenhouse effect, which must also be taken into account. When fossil fuels are burnt, such as coal, fuel oil or natural gas, the carbon emissions combine with oxygen to further thicken the Earth's atmospheric 'blanket' and thus warm the planet. An analysis of ice cores can provide information from thousands of years ago. Comparisons of carbon dioxide levels show that those of today are far beyond anything seen in the past. The scientists interviewed are convinced that humans are responsible. The future. Attenborough visits the Met Office in Exeter to learn their conclusions. Their findings include several factors, and allow for natural climate change as well as man- made carbon dioxide emissions. A graph shows that up until around 1. Earth's temperatures was largely due to inherent anomalies, but from then on there is a marked escalation, which can only be explained by human activity. A computer model reveals that, for example, the 2. European heat wave . Attenborough is wholly persuaded: We're all involved in this: our whole way of life is structured around the burning of fossil fuels. I find it sobering to think that while I've been travelling the world, trying to record the complexity and beauty of our planet, that I too have been making my own contribution to global warming. As I recognised when I presented Life on Earth all those years ago, we are a flexible and innovative species and we have the capacity to adapt and modify our behaviour. Now we most certainly have to do so if we're to deal with climate change. It's the biggest challenge we have yet faced. Can We Save Planet Earth? A BBC weather forecast for the year 2. The probable range by which the planet will warm over the next century is between 1. Or, says Attenborough, . Rainfall is also predicted to be more intense and storms could be five times more frequent than they are at the moment. This makes extreme events, such as the 2. Boscastle flood, much more likely. Current defences for severe wind or rain will shortly become inadequate. Even Hurricane Katrina, with the devastation it caused, is described as . In Australia, a new approach is needed to combat brush fires after the hottest year on record. If the Amazon tropical rainforest were to disappear, not only would an entire ecosystem vanish, but a valuable way of cooling the planet would go as well. Meanwhile, the glaciers continue to melt: one scientist reveals that an area the size of Texas has been lost over the last 2. Attenborough is told that a warming of 2 . Attenborough introduces the Carbons, a fictional family occupying an average Western suburban house near a city. Their electrical requirements are supplied via fossil fuels. As Attenborough points out, the Carbons are not bad people, but as Westerners, they have one of the most energy- hungry lifestyles on the planet. They are a two- car household, and each vehicle emits 1. CO2 over the course of a year. The power used to run the Carbons' home and all its comforts translates into a similar amount. Much of the family's plentiful food supply will have crossed continents by the time it reaches their kitchen, and will have added a tenth to their annual emissions. Yet more are produced by their refuse: buried in a landfill, it heats up as it decomposes and releases greenhouse gases. Mr Carbon's business trips by air contribute to the fastest growing source of CO2. The combined total of the Carbons' yearly air pollution is 4. Also shown are Mr and Mrs Tan, a fictional couple who live in an average Chinese suburb. At present, their energy usage is one seventh of that of the Carbons. However, this is set to change. As China becomes more industrialised, its emissions are set to overtake those in the West. As of 2. 00. 6, the country is planning to build a large, coal- fired power plant every week for the next seven years. Reducing emissions. If the Greenland ice cap were to melt, the sea would flood much of south- east Britain, including central London. It would take just a 5- metre rise to drown most of Florida and leave Miami 5. A similar deluge would wipe Bangladesh off the map. Worldwide, 1. 50 million people could be displaced within 5. In the past, we didn't understand the effect of our actions. Unknowingly, we sowed the wind and now, literally, we are reaping the whirlwind. But we no longer have that excuse: now we do recognise the consequences of our behaviour. Now surely, we must act to reform it: individually and collectively; nationally and internationally.
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