"Life on Our Planet" is a project composed of this book and a film of the same name produced together. It comes from Sir David Attenborough’s lifelong witness and reflection on nature, as well as warnings and hopes for the future of mankind.
I was 94 years old when I wrote this book. My life is extraordinary, and now I really realize how extraordinary it is. I am lucky to have spent my whole life exploring the wilds of our planet and shooting videos to record the wild animals there. I have traveled all over the world, seeing the colorful, amazing and vibrant world with my own eyes, witnessing the most magnificent spectacles and most exciting moments in the natural world. When I was a child, like many other boys, I dreamed of traveling to far-away wild places, seeing the most primitive sights of the natural world, and even finding new animals that have not yet been discovered by science. Now, I myself can hardly believe that this is what I have done most of my life.
In the documentary, David Attenborough stood on the ruins of Chernobyl and warned the world. Human behavior on the earth is replicating the risk conditions that led to mass extinction in the Permian. If the environment continues to deteriorate in this way, in the next 100 years, the earth will experience mass extinction again, and this time the spearhead is directed at humans.
In general, the number of wild animals has been reduced by more than half since the 1950s. Now when I look back at the film I made in my early years, I realize that although I was consciously in the wilderness and wandering in a primitive natural world, it was actually my illusion. Even then, many large animals were very scarce. The constantly moving baseline distorts our perception of all life on earth. We have forgotten that at a certain time in the past, the temperate forest could not be reached for a few days, the size of the bison herd was so large that it took 4 hours to pass through, and the flocks of birds flew up densely to obscure the sky. Such scenarios were normal only a few generations ago, and they are now a thing of the past. We are used to a poor planet.
How should I save myself? Hope is not slim. David Attenborough embraces awe and love for the world of life, and calls on mankind to abandon differences and join hands to deal with the common destiny.
Homo sapiens must now take precautions and be worthy of the name. We who live today have to make sure that our species acts wisely. This is a daunting task. We must not give up hope. We have all the tools we need, the ideas that billions of brilliant minds come up with, and the endless energy of nature to help us. In addition, we have another ability, which may be unique among all living things on the earth, which is the ability to envision a future and then work hard to make it true. It is still too late to correct the mistakes of the past, manage the damage caused, change the direction of development, and once again realize a harmonious symbiosis with nature. We just need to show our will. The next few decades are our last chance to create a stable home for ourselves and restore the rich, healthy and wonderful world inherited from our distant ancestors. It is related to our future on this planet, and as far as we know, this is the only place where life exists.
This is a self-help proposal written to all mankind. It may be difficult for us to find another person who loves nature like Attenborough. "Attenborough has witnessed the magic of this planet with his life experience. He used plain language, hard-core data, and the charm of personality to show that human beings are fatally conceited due to technological capabilities, and dangers are accumulating rapidly; life in the Anthropocene The future of the world depends on whether human beings can let go of growth obsession and return to the path of nature. "Rewilding nature" actually allows humans to transcend the limitations of Homo sapiens and liberate their souls again."-Every "human on earth" It is worth paying attention to this book!
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