David Attenborough's A Life On Our Planet, Wishful Thinking Or Actionable?

 Nature gave David Attenborough an exceptional career. Wild places brought him fortune and fame. Wild places presented by Attenborough have captivated millions of people with wonderful scenes of nature and wildlife. 

In the course of his long life and distinguished career, he has seen first hand biodiversity and wild places rapidly disappear. 

David Attenborough offers advice for saving biodiversity, nature and humanity. He asks that one third of the world be set aside as protected reserves and national parks. One third of protected oceans and lands set aside for nature will go a long way in saving the planet. Can this be achieved when the complete opposite is occurring? For example, every second, every minute, rain forests across the world, in the Congo, in the Amazon, in Borneo, across Southeast Asia and elsewhere are destroyed. Small amounts of conservation here and there in the face of the massive onslaught against nature will accomplish nothing if the onslaught is not addressed, vigorously opposed and stopped. 

David Attenborough asks for people to eat less meat. Some vegans are upset because they believe Attenborough, as a man that has gained so much from animals, should advocate for an end to the consumption of animals. There is no doubt that if people eat less meat, many wild places would face less pressure, adverse climate change would improve, people would be healthier, there would be a whole lot less pain and suffering in the world, and more. But this is not the direction in which mankind is moving. The meat industry, including the multi billion dollar burger joints, are not going away. As the world becomes more and more populated, as more people join the middle class, the demand for meat only increases. Few are willing to take on the fight for this to significantly change. 

Attenborough makes an argument for reduced population growth. In Africa, the human population is exploding, ensuring a dismal future for African wildlife. Heavily settled North America no longer has large game running free across the continent. The slums of developing countries grow larger and more desperate. Women the world over should have access to safe birth control so that they can decide how many children they want. Is this happening?  Is there anyone willing to take on the powerful religious clerics, institutions and others that vigorously oppose safe forms of family planning and disease prevention such as condoms?

Attenborough is hopeful that there is a new generation that views the world as a finite place with limited resources, unlike older generations that viewed the world as endlessly exploitable. Unfortunately, there are countless people of all ages that do not see the world as a finite place. Countless people believe there is infinite life, and that even if earth is destroyed, there is an afterlife paradise that awaits. Religion and securing a place in paradise is more important than saving this planet for many. Religion should teach humanity to be stewards, not destroyers of the planet and of each other. Is anyone willing to take on those entrenched religious beliefs, religious institutions and others that could care less about protecting nature, biodiversity, and the future of mankind on earth? 

Conservation and human survival go hand in hand. What should be done to save the planet and what is being done are completely different. Less greed, less selfishness, less hate, less war, less violence, far more sacrifice and struggle are needed. This means everything has to be on the table and subject to scrutiny and change. Conservation itself must stop being a mostly elitist, ineffective business that enriches a few people and organizations. The fact that countless people would rather expend their energy on hatred or violence towards those different than themselves instead of on working together to save the planet does not bode well for the future, especially if this hatred continues to be ignored or downplayed.

Human prosperity will collapse if biodiversity collapses. David Attenborough has the conversation about what is lost, what is the consequence, and what needs to be done. Unfortunately, a lot more than conversation is needed, and this is not happening.