Human Population

David Attenborough has been more vocal about the impact of a rapidly expanding human population on the environment and Earth’s limited resources. He has expressed pessimism when asked about the future of the natural world because of climate change during an interview with Time.

“Are you optimistic about the future of the natural world?”

No, I’m not. There are three times as many people living on this world as when I started making television programs. They’ve all got to live somewhere. They’ve all got to find food. They all want to drive motorcars. All those things require land and space. The only place it can come from is the natural world. So the natural world is under increasing pressure.”

In his show, State of the Planet (2000), Attenborough assessed the impact of humans on the natural world.

He introduced the series by first examining the Earth’s current state together with leading experts and what is the difference between the past where species could adapt and survive as compared to now. In the later parts of the series, he goes on to talk about the future of the Earth, concluding the series with this:

“The future of life on earth depends on our ability to take action. Many individuals are doing what they can, but real success can only come if there’s a change in our societies and our economics and in our politics. I’ve been lucky in my lifetime to see some of the greatest spectacles that the natural world has to offer. Surely we have a responsibility to leave for future generations a planet that is healthy, inhabitable by all species.”