Sir David Attenborough, the world’s most beloved naturalist, is turning 100 on May 8. To mark the occasion, many events are taking place to celebrate him and his legacy. These range from a week of special programming on the BBC to a star-studded concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Besides these big, publicized gestures of appreciation, there’s one thing we all can do to honor him in our own time: listen to his pleas and warnings about the state of the environment, and share it far and wide.
Attenborough has devoted his life to sharing the beauty and fragility of our planet through documentaries with breathtaking footage. One such piece of media is A Life On Our Planet, which was released in 2020. In this program, he made some concerning predictions about what our planet would look like in 2030 and onwards if we don’t take any immediate action.
For starters, he discusses the Amazon Rainforest. Given its importance to the world’s climate as one of our planet’s lungs, any disruption to this ecosystem has a rippling effect across the planet. If destruction continues at the same pace as the last few years, there may not be enough trees to keep the moisture and humidity in this ecosystem, slowly turning it from a lush rainforest into a dry savannah. And with it, the thousands of species that call this area home would also become endangered.
On another side of the climate crisis, there’s the Arctic Ocean, which is on a melting trajectory leading to ice-free summers. Without these thick, white blocks, less of the sun’s energy will be reflected back into space, accelerating the already worrying effects of global warming. If nothing is done by the 2040s, the frozen permafrost soils may thaw, releasing dangerous methane into the atmosphere. A decade later, the ocean temperature will continue to rise, making them more acidic, leading to bleaching and dying coral reefs, resulting in several populations of fish dying.
Given how worrying it all sounds, what can we do to prevent it? Among the proposed solutions is trying to slow the rate that the population is growing, which can be aided by improving healthcare and reproductive healthcare globally, as well as helping children stay in school for as long as possible. Another key change would be reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and switching to renewable energy sources.
There are also more personal choices we can take, like eating more plant-based food, which would require half the land we devote to livestock now, as well as using fewer pesticides and fertilizers. Ultimately, for Attenborough, rewilding our planet and increasing biodiversity is crucial.
While scary, Attenborough has always led by example and with a sense of hope. So while this may all sound daunting, think of it as a call to action rather than a fatalist outlook. Listening and paying attention is the least we can do. Besides, it would surely be a great birthday gift to Attenborough. You don’t turn 100 every day.
Sources: David Attenborough has worrying 2030 global prediction that could devastate the world
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