Sir David Attenborough bared his heart in a recently released Netflix documentary, ‘A Life on our Planet’. Attenborough sought to educate and inform viewers across the globe the impacts of our actions so far, and where they will inevitably lead to. This documentary is nothing short of shell shocking and should be compulsory viewing.
The film covers a variety of themes and issues, all centred around the impact humanity has had on nature, and natures response to such disregard. In a heavily dramatic metaphorical form, Attenborough calls this his ‘witness statement’.
In 2020, with a staggering world population of 7.8 billion people, we only have 35% of the wilderness remaining – almost entirely down to our societal actions.
Below are the key warnings taken from the documentary should changes not be made. Reading these predictions, many of which set to come about in my lifetime, is hideously distressing.
2030’s – The Amazon Rainforest will be culled too far and cannot produce enough moisture, becoming a dry savannah, resulting in a ‘catastrophic’ loss of species. The Arctic is anticipated to lose all its remaining ice in summer months, leaving several animals homeless, less sun reflection back to space resulting in a faster tide of global warming.
2040’s – Frozen soils across the North are projected to thaw and release methane into the atmosphere, further increasing the rate of climate change.
2050’s – Increased heat and acidity in the ocean will kill off coral reefs, with the number of fish stocks in the seas plummeting.
2080’s – Farmed soils become overused and ‘exhausted’, therefore unable to produce good enough yield to sustain mankind. Extinction will come for pollinating insects causing countless catastrophic effects. The weather is expected to become unstable and frankly terrifying.
2100’s – The planet will be 4°C warmer rendering large parts of the world uninhabitable for animals and humans alike.
Sadly, we cannot rely on nature to get us out of this rut alone and as a species, we need to work together if we wish to survive and prosper. But this isn’t really news. Stories and predictions like these have been in the public attentions for years now, yet we still aren’t doing enough. Consequentialism ethics appears to not burden enough of the human race to warrant big enough changes in our actions, so what ethics will?
Kant’s ‘Universalizability Principle’ outlines that what is deemed wrong should be deemed as so universally in all situations. Now I doubt anyone can argue the impacts of climate change have any utilisable benefits, but we could all argue several reasons why it is detrimental. This should class preventing climate change for the benefit of humanity as a ‘Categorical Imperative’, meaning our maxim should be to stop all climate polluting bodies.
If such absolutist approaches don’t work for some, then perhaps taking a more utilitarianism approach and considering the impact of these factors on the majority of our population may help these lessons hit home. If you do not act now, the many shall suffer from your lack of actions.
Aristotle was a fan of ‘Practical Reasoning’, so perhaps looking at things from his perspective may help convert a few:
If we do not make changes, we will be able to carry on with society remaining as it is for a while longer before the changes begin to force themselves upon us. This offers a short-term solution, but with long term impacts.
If we begin to make our own self-selected changes, we can avoid those mentioned before from being forced upon us but with the drawback of having to compromise in areas. Many plans (such as alternative energy sources) have already been made to make such compromises, so perhaps these plans could be rushed and implemented on a far larger scale (industrial and residential). This solution will hold out longer term.
Which option do you think sounds more reasonable?
I hope I have been able to reach at least a few more people from exploring these ethical avenues and you realise that the change has to start with you. If these predictions have struck fear into you as they have me, do yourself a favour and stream ‘A Life on our Planet’ as soon as you can where Sir David Attenborough can inform you of the simple steps we as a society need to make in order to see a change.
