Yesterday, I watched Breaking Boundaries. Created by David Attenborough, and similarly to A Life on Our Planet – it’s a stark warning to us, that we need to take drastic action now to protect and save our planet.
When David Attenborough speaks.. suddenly he listens…(my dad that is)
I’d had a bit of a television hiatus and it was my dad who suggested that I watch it. He sold it to me by saying ‘it was my kind of show’. He then proceeded to tell me all about it and that is when I knew I needed to watch it. He was so animated when describing it to me; my dad is not particularly environmentally focused, yet he was sharing his fears about the state of our planet’s future and telling me what changes he wanted to make in his life and his business to ensure that it was more sustainable. One thing that is great about my dad, once he gets on board – he goes all in.
What is about David Attenborough that encourages us to sit up and listen. He seems to be the voice of reason, the voice that appeals because we trust his experience. Well, that’s at least what I feel when it comes to the view of my dad.
Breaking Boundaries refers to nine planetary boundaries that have the ability to destabilise the Earth and endanger us and the ability of our planet. The boundaries were identified by Johan Rockström and his team. Rockström identified these boundaries in 2009 and through this documentary, we learn that our severe disregard of the planet is impacting us now and if we don’t make changes sooner rather than later, we’re going to destroy the planet for future generations. It’s scared my dad into action – he doesn’t want to ruin the world for his grandchildren. He wants to protect them and keep it safe.
I value this documentary because it acts as a bridge between science and the mainstream – it’s been done so well. It makes it hard not to listen. How can you not take notice of the bush fires raging in Australia, the burned carcasses of wildlife, the bleaching of the coral reefs, the polluted Baltic sea and all the other countless examples given?
The solution for us as individuals and our ability to action change is so simple: eat healthy plant based food, reduce our waste and choose renewable energy sources. Simple right? Can you do it?
COVID-19 is a sobering realisation that when we invade and damage the natural world; we can cause global scale changes that impact us all. Zoonotic diseases don’t come out of thin air, they come out of imbalance in the natural order.
The alarms been sounded, but is it ringing loudly enough for you to hear?
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