David Attenborough’s recent documentary on Netflix shows us how humans have been affecting the planet. The documentary showcases our beautiful planet and how we are destroying it through our greed for resources and thirst for expansion. Within this witness statement, he goes into depth about what the world can become if we don’t change our ways.
With our growing population, which since 1937 has grown a staggering 5.5 billion people, it will be necessary to change our diet if we want to resolve the current issues. Farmland takes up half of the world’s fertile land. Humans demand space and demand growth and we simply take resources without caring for the consequences. Deforestation for resources and land has caused an increased amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Additionally, the amount of wildlife has decreased from 66% in 1937 to a mere 35% in 2020.
The increasing heat of our planet was not noticeable when it was only affecting the coral in the sea. When the sea could no longer absorb the heat, the ice in the Antarctic began to melt. The polar caps had an important part to play with keeping our planet cool; they would reflect sunlight away from the Earth. As they have begun melting, they are reflecting less and less sunlight, thus the temperature of our planet increasing by four degrees.
We should no longer cut down forests as we can utilise the land we have already cultivated. We can grow crops in cities and indoors with new technology. We need to allow nature and wildlife to breathe and recuperate. The only way to fix the damage we have caused is to nurture nature and live in harmony. Otherwise, we are consequently destroying ourselves.