We know that the solutions
are there today.
We all have the power
to change.
So what are we waiting for?
Hallo,
eco-conscious viewers,
and welcome to
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home.
Today we present Part 1
of a three part series
featuring the acclaimed
2009 documentary
“Home” directed
by world famous
French photographer
Yann Arthus–Bertrand.
He is particularly
renowned for
his aerial photography.
Entranced by
the beauty of nature,
Mr. Arthus Bertrand
has taken scores
of photographs
of majestic landscapes
from helicopters
and hot air balloons.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
established the
GoodPlanet Foundation
in 2005.
The Foundation focuses
on raising public awareness
of global warming
and helps to implement
various innovative
programs to offset
carbon emissions.
Recognizing his
commitment to the planet,
the United Nations
Environment Programme
presented him
with the
“Champions of the Earth”
award and appointed him
as a Goodwill
Ambassador in 2009.
I think that as journalists,
we have a real power of
informing and certainly
this title of
“Goodwill Ambassador”
will allow me
to do things perhaps
I could not do before.
“Home” explores
issues impacting
our planet’s viability
such as
the environmental
devastation caused by
the livestock industry,
serious water shortages,
rapidly rising sea levels,
dependency
on fossil fuels,
and the severe depletion
of natural resources.
With high definition
aerial views of our abode,
the documentary
clearly illustrates
the extent to which
our precious Earth has been
enormously damaged
by humanity’s actions.
The film’s ultimate message
is that we have only
a few short years left
to reverse
the tremendous destruction.
Home was filmed on
location in 54 countries
over a period
of 18 months,
generating 488 hours
of footage in the process.
Filming was done
using helicopter-mounted
high definition
Cineflex cameras
that are able to record
moving images smoothly.
True to Home’s eco-ideals,
the producers mitigated
the emissions released
during the making of it
through carbon offsets.
It took approximately
three years for the
93-minute documentary
to be finally completed.
On June 5, 2009,
coinciding with
World Environment Day,
Home premiered in
over 100 countries.
The producers say
it is the first movie ever
to be released
simultaneously through
all media channels,
including theaters, TV,
DVD, and Internet and
across five continents.
Many cinemas
offered free screenings
and it was on shown
on big screens
at the Champ de Mars
in Paris, France as well as
in London, England
and New York, USA.
In France,
8 million viewers
watched Home
on France2 Television
the day it debuted.
As a gift to the world,
the work is distributed
free of charge and
is available for viewing
on the website YouTube.
We now present Part 1
of the landmark
documentary, “Home”
with narration
by award-winning
US actress Glenn Close.
Listen to me, please.
You're like me,
a homo sapiens,
a wise human.
Life, a miracle
in the Universe,
appeared around
4 billion years ago.
And we humans
only 200,000 years ago.
Yet we have succeeded
in disrupting the balance
that is so essential to life.
Listen carefully to this
extraordinary story,
which is yours,
and decide what
you want to do with it.
These are traces
of our origins.
At the beginning,
our planet was no more
than a chaos of fire,
a cloud of agglutinated
dust particles, similar to
so many similar clusters
in the Universe, yet was
where the miracle of life
occurred.
Today, life, our life,
is just a link in a chain of
innumerable living beings
that have succeeded
one another on Earth
over nearly 4 billion years.
And even today,
new volcanoes continue
to sculpt our landscapes.
They offer a glimpse
of what our Earth
was like at its birth,
molten rock surging
from the depths,
solidifying, cracking,
blistering or spreading
in a thin crust, before
falling dormant for a time.
These wreaths of smoke
curling from the bowels
of the Earth bear
witness to the Earth's
original atmosphere.
An atmosphere devoid
of oxygen.
A dense atmosphere,
thick with water vapor,
full of carbon dioxide.
A furnace.
The Earth cooled.
The water vapor
condensed and fell in
torrential downpours.
At the right distance
from the Sun, not too far,
not too near,
the Earth's perfect
balance enabled it
to conserve water
in liquid form.
The water cut channels.
They are like
the veins of a body,
the branches of a tree,
the vessels of the sap
that the water
gave to the Earth.
The rivers tore minerals
from the rocks, and
gradually added them
to the freshwater
of the oceans.
And the oceans
became heavy with salt.
Where do we come from?
Where did life
first spark into being?
A miracle of time,
primitive life forms
still exist in the globe's
hot springs.
They give them their colors.
They're called
archeobacteria.
They all feed off
the Earth's heat.
All except
the cyanobacteria,
or blue-green algae.
They alone have the
capacity to turn to the Sun
to capture its energy.
They are a vital ancestor
of all yesterday's
and today's plant species.
These tiny bacteria
and their billions
of descendants
changed the destiny
of our planet.
They transformed
its atmosphere.
What happened
to the carbon that
poisoned the atmosphere?
It's still here, imprisoned
in the Earth's crust.
Here, there once was a sea,
inhabited by
micro-organisms.
They grew their shells
by tapping into carbon
from the atmosphere
dissolved in the ocean.
These strata are
the accumulated shells of
those billions and billions
of micro-organisms.
Thanks to them,
the carbon drained
from the atmosphere
and other life forms
could develop.
It is life that
altered the atmosphere.
Plant life fed off
the Sun's energy, which
enabled it to break apart
the water molecule
and take the oxygen.
And oxygen filled the air.
The Earth's water cycle
is a process
of constant renewal.
Waterfalls, water vapor,
clouds, rain,
springs, rivers,
seas, oceans, glaciers...
The cycle is never broken.
There's always
the same quantity of water
on Earth.
All the successive species
on Earth have drunk
the same water.
The astonishing matter
that is water; one of
the most unstable of all.
It takes a liquid form
as running water,
gaseous as vapor,
or solid as ice.
In Siberia,
the frozen surfaces
of the lakes in winter
contain the trace of the
forces that water deploys
when it freezes.
Lighter than water,
the ice floats.
It forms a protective mantle
against the cold,
under which life can go on.
The engine of life
is linkage.
Everything is linked.
Nothing is self-sufficient.
Water and air
are inseparable,
united in life and
for our life on Earth.
Sharing is everything.
The green expanse
peeking through the clouds
is the source of oxygen
in the air.
Seventy percent of this gas,
without which
our lungs cannot function,
comes from the algae
that tint the surface
of the oceans.
Our Earth relies on
a balance, in which
every being has a role
to play and exists only
through the existence
of another being.
A subtle, fragile harmony
that is easily shattered.
Thus, corals are born
from the marriage
of algae and shells.
Coral reefs cover less than
1% of the ocean floor,
but they provide a habitat
for thousands of species
of fish, mollusks
and algae.
The equilibrium
of every ocean
depends on them.
The Earth counts time
in billions of years.
It took more than
four billion years
for it to make trees.
In the chain of species,
trees are a pinnacle,
a perfect, living sculpture.
Trees defy gravity.
They are
the only natural element
in perpetual movement
toward the sky.
They grow unhurriedly
toward the Sun that
nourishes their foliage.
They have inherited
from those miniscule
cyanobacteria the power
to capture light's energy.
They store it and feed off it,
turning it into wood
and leaves, which then
decompose into a mixture
of water, mineral,
vegetable and living matter.
And so, gradually,
soils are formed.
Soils teem with
the incessant activity
of micro-organisms,
feeding, digging,
aerating and transforming.
They make the humus,
the fertile layer to which
all life on land is linked.
What do we know
about life on Earth?
How many species
are we aware of?
A tenth of them?
A hundredth perhaps?
What do we know about
the bonds that link them?
The Earth is a miracle.
Life remains a mystery.
Families of animals form,
united by customs
and rituals
that are handed down
through the generations.
Some adapt to the nature
of their pasture and their
pasture adapts to them.
And both gain.
The animal sates its hunger
and the tree can
blossom again.
In the great adventure
of life on Earth,
every species
has a role to play,
every species has its place.
None is futile or harmful.
They all balance out.
And that's where you,
homo sapiens, wise human,
enter the story.
You benefit from a fabulous
4-billion-year-old legacy
bequeathed by the Earth.
You are only
200,000 years old,
but you have changed
the face of the world.
Despite your vulnerability,
you have taken possession
of every habitat
and conquered swathes
of territory, like
no other species before you.
After 180,000 nomadic
years, and thanks to
a more clement climate,
humans settled down.
They chose to
live in wet environments.
Even today, the majority
of humankind lives on
the continents' coastlines
or the banks of rivers
and lakes.
Across the planet,
one person in four lives
as humankind
did 6,000 years ago,
their only energy that
which nature provides
season after season.
It's the way of life
of 1.5 billion people,
more than
the combined population
of all the wealthy nations.
But life expectancy is short
and hard labor
takes its toll.
The uncertainties of nature
weigh on daily life.
Education is
a rare privilege.
Children are a family's
only asset as long as
every extra pair of hands
is a necessary contribution
to its subsistence.
Humanity's genius is to
have always had a sense
of its weakness.
The physical energy
and strength, with which
nature insufficiently
endowed humans,
is found in animals
that help them to
discover new territories.
But how can you
conquer the world
on an empty stomach?
The invention
of agriculture turned
our history on end.
It was less than
10,000 years ago.
Agriculture was
our first great revolution.
It resulted in the first
surpluses and gave birth
to cities and civilizations.
The memory
of thousands of years
scrabbling for food faded.
Having made grain
the yeast of life,
we multiplied the number
of varieties and
learned to adapt them
to our soils and climates.
We are like every species
on Earth.
Our principal daily concern
is to feed ourselves.
When the soil is
less than generous and
the water becomes scarce,
we are able to deploy
prodigious efforts
to extract from the land
enough to live on.
Humans shaped the land
with the patience
and devotion
that the Earth demands
in an almost
sacrificial ritual
performed over and over.
Agriculture is still
the world's most
widespread occupation.
Half of humankind
tills the soil,
over three-quarters of them
by hand.
Agriculture is like
a tradition handed down
from generation
to generation in sweat,
graft and toil,
because for humanity it is
a prerequisite of survival.
But after relying on
muscle-power for so long,
humankind found a way
to tap into the energy
buried deep in the Earth.
After these brief messages,
we will continue
our presentation of the
powerful documentary
“Home.”
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
Welcome back to
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
on Supreme Master
Television.
We now continue
with our presentation
of the eco-documentary
“Home.”
These flames are also
from plants.
A pocket of sunlight.
Pure energy.
The energy of the Sun,
captured over
millions of years
by millions of plants
more than
100 million years ago.
It's coal. It's gas.
And, above all, it's oil.
And this pocket of sunlight
freed humans from
their toil on the land.
With oil began
the era of humans
who break free
of the shackles of time.
With oil,
some of us acquired
unprecedented comforts.
And in 50 years,
in a single lifetime,
the Earth has been
more radically changed
than by all previous
generations of humanity.
Faster and faster.
In the last 60 years,
the Earth's population
has almost tripled.
And over 2 billion people
have moved to the cities.
Faster and faster.
Shenzhen, in China,
with its hundreds
of skyscrapers and
millions of inhabitants,
was just
a small fishing village
barely 40 years ago.
Faster and faster.
In Shanghai, 3,000
towers and skyscrapers
have been built in 20 years.
Hundreds more
are under construction.
Today, over half of
the world's seven billion
inhabitants live in cities.
New York.
The world's
first megalopolis is the
symbol of the exploitation
of the energy
the Earth supplies
to human genius.
The manpower of
millions of immigrants,
the energy of coal,
the unbridled power of oil.
America was the first to
harness the phenomenal,
revolutionary power
of “black gold.”
In the fields,
machines replaced men.
A liter of oil generates
as much energy
as 100 pairs of hands
in 24 hours.
In the United States, only
3 million farmers are left.
They produce
enough grain to feed
2 billion people.
But most of that grain
is not used to feed people.
Here, and in all other
industrialized nations,
it is transformed into
livestock feed or biofuels.
The pocket
of sunshine's energy
chased away
the specter of drought
that stalked farmland.
No spring escapes
the demands of agriculture,
which accounts for
70% of humanity's
water consumption.
Bad harvests and famine
became a distant memory.
The biggest headache now
was what to do with
the surpluses engendered
by modern agriculture.
But toxic pesticides
seeped into the air, soil,
plants, animals, rivers
and oceans.
They penetrated
the heart of cells
similar to the mother cell
that is shared
by all forms of life.
Are they harmful
to the humans that
they released from hunger?
These farmers in their
yellow protective suits
probably have a good idea.
Then came fertilizers,
another
petrochemical discovery.
They produced
unprecedented results
on plots of land
thus far ignored.
Crops adapted
to soils and climates
gave way to the most
productive varieties and
the easiest to transport.
And so, in the last century,
three-quarters
of the varieties
developed by farmers
over thousands of years
have been wiped out.
As far as the eye can see,
fertilizer below,
plastic on top.
The greenhouses
of Almeria in Spain, are
Europe's vegetable garden.
A city of uniformly
sized vegetables
waits every day
for the hundreds of trucks
that will take them to the
continent's supermarkets.
The more
a country develops,
the more meat
its inhabitants consume.
How can growing
worldwide demand
be satisfied without
recourse to concentration
camp-style cattle farms?
Faster and faster.
Like the life cycle
of livestock, which may
never see a meadow,
manufacturing meat
faster than the animal
has become a daily routine.
In these vast foodlots,
trampled by
millions of cattle,
not a blade of grass grows.
A fleet of trucks
from every corner
of the country
brings in tons of grain,
soy meal and
protein-rich granules that
will become tons of meat.
The result is that
it takes 100 liters of water
to produce
one kilogram of potatoes,
4,000 liters
for one kilogram of rice
and 13,000 liters
for one kilogram of beef.
Not to mention the oil
guzzled in the production
process and transport.
Our agriculture
has become oil-powered.
It feeds twice as many
humans on Earth, but
has replaced diversity
with standardization.
It has offered
many of us comforts
we could only dream of,
but it makes our way of life
totally dependent on oil.
This is the new measure
of time.
Our world's clock now
beats to the rhythm
of these indefatigable
machines tapping into
the pocket of sunlight.
The whole planet
is attentive
to these metronomes of
our hopes and illusions.
The same hopes and
illusions that proliferate
along with our needs,
increasingly insatiable
desires and profligacy.
We know that the end
of cheap oil is imminent,
but we refuse to believe it.
For many of us,
the American dream
is embodied by
a legendary name –
Los Angeles.
In this city that stretches
over 100 kilometers,
the number of cars
is almost equal to the
number of inhabitants.
Here, energy puts on
a fantastic show
every night.
The days seem to be
no more than
the pale reflection of nights
that turn the city
into a starry sky.
Faster and faster.
Distances are no longer
counted in miles,
but in minutes.
The automobile shapes
new suburbs, where
every home is a castle,
a safe distance from the
asphyxiated city centers,
and where neat rows
of houses huddle around
dead-end streets.
The model
of a lucky-few countries
has become
a universal dream
preached by televisions
all over the world.
Even here in Beijing,
it is cloned, copied
and reproduced
in these formatted houses
that have wiped pagodas
off the map.
The automobile
has become the symbol
of comfort and progress.
If this model were
followed by every society,
the planet wouldn't have
900 million vehicles,
as it does today,
but 5 billion.
Faster and faster.
The more the world develops,
the greater
its thirst for energy.
Everywhere,
machines dig, bore and rip
from the Earth
the pieces of stars
buried in its depths since
its creation... minerals.
As a privilege of power,
80% of this
mineral wealth
is consumed by 20%
of the world's population.
Before the end
of this century,
excessive mining will
have exhausted nearly
all the planet's reserves.
Faster and faster.
Shipyards churn out
oil tankers, container ships
and gas tankers
to cater for the demands
of globalized
industrial production.
Most consumer goods
travel thousands
of kilometers from
the country of production
to the country
of consumption.
Since 1950, the volume
of international trade has
increased 20 times over.
90% of trade goes by sea.
500 million containers
are transported every year,
headed for the world's
major hubs of consumption,
such as Dubai.
Dubai is
a sort of culmination
of the Western model,
a country
where the impossible
becomes possible.
Building artificial islands
in the sea, for example.
Dubai has
few natural resources,
but with the oil money it
can bring millions of tons
of material and workers
from all over the planet.
Dubai has no farmland,
but it can import food.
Dubai has no water, but
it can afford to expend
immense amounts of energy
to desalinate seawater
and build the highest
skyscrapers in the world.
Dubai has endless sun,
but no solar panels.
It is the totem
to total modernity
that never fails
to amaze the world.
Dubai is like the new beacon
for all the world's money.
Nothing seems further
removed from nature
than Dubai, although
nothing depends on nature
more than Dubai.
Dubai is
a sort of culmination
of the Western model.
We sincerely thank
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
for producing
this significant film that
serves as a wake-up call
to aid our planet.
Let us all now
take immediate action
to save our fragile abode.
For more details
on “Home,”
please visit
www.Home-2009.com
Treasured viewers, please
join us next Wednesday
on Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
for the presentation of
Part 2 of our three-part
series featuring
the eco-documentary
“Home.”
May your life be filled
with peace and grace
from Heaven.
Auntie Jia-Jia is the
founder of the non-profit
organization Homeless
& Orphan Pets Exist
(HOPE) which provides
a haven for stray
and abandoned dogs
in the small town
of Lima Kedai in
Johor state, Malaysia.
Seeing the dogs
living happily every day
is my biggest motivation.
Seeing them healthy,
happy and running
around freely is my
biggest motivation.
Join us for
the presentation
of the Shining World
Compassion Award
to the deserving
Auntie Jia -Jia,
Thursday, March 18,
on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
People told me
that “Home” is
an impossible initiative.
So I would like to tell you,
“Let’s believe together
in impossible initiatives.
Let’s believe in it.”
We can all change
many things.
We need actions;
it’s too late
to be pessimistic.
Hallo,
eco-conscious viewers,
and welcome to
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home.
Today we present Part 2
of a three part series
featuring the acclaimed
2009 documentary
“Home” directed
by world famous
French photographer
Yann Arthus–Bertrand.
He is particularly
renowned for
his aerial photography.
Entranced by
the beauty of nature,
Mr. Arthus Bertrand
has taken scores
of photographs
of majestic landscapes
from helicopters
and hot air balloons.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
established the
GoodPlanet Foundation
in 2005.
The Foundation focuses
on raising public awareness
of global warming
and helps to implement
various innovative
programs to offset
carbon emissions.
Recognizing his
commitment to the planet,
the United Nations
Environment Programme
presented him
with the
“Champions of the Earth”
award and appointed him
as a Goodwill
Ambassador in 2009.
I think that as journalists,
we have a real power of
informing and certainly
this title of
“Goodwill Ambassador”
will allow me
to do things perhaps
I could not do before.
“Home” explores
issues impacting
our planet’s viability
such as
the environmental
devastation caused by
the livestock industry,
serious water shortages,
rapidly rising sea levels,
dependency
on fossil fuels,
and the severe depletion
of natural resources.
With high definition
aerial views of our abode,
the documentary
clearly illustrates
the extent to which
our precious Earth has been
enormously damaged
by humanity’s actions.
The film’s ultimate message
is that we have only
a few short years left
to reverse
the tremendous destruction.
“Home” was filmed on
location in 54 countries
over a period
of 18 months,
generating 488 hours
of footage in the process.
Filming was done
using helicopter-mounted
high definition
Cineflex cameras
that are able to record
moving images smoothly.
True to “Home’s” eco-ideals,
the producers mitigated
the emissions released
during the making of it
through carbon offsets.
It took approximately
three years for the
93-minute documentary
to be finally completed.
On June 5, 2009,
coinciding with
World Environment Day,
“Home” premiered in
over 100 countries.
The producers say
it is the first movie ever
to be released
simultaneously through
all media channels,
including theaters, TV,
DVD, and Internet and
across five continents.
Many cinemas
offered free screenings
and it was on shown
on big screens
at the Champ de Mars
in Paris, France as well as
in London, England
and New York, USA.
In France,
8 million viewers
watched “Home”
on France2 Television
the day it debuted.
As a gift to the world,
the work is distributed
free of charge and
is available for viewing
on the website YouTube.
We now present Part 2
of the landmark
documentary, “Home”
with narration
by award-winning
US actress Glenn Close.
We haven't understood
that we're depleting
what nature provides.
Since 1950, fishing catches
have increased fivefold
from 18 to 100 million
metric tons a year.
Thousands of factory ships
are emptying the oceans.
Three-quarters
of fishing grounds
are exhausted, depleted
or in danger of being so.
Most large fish
have been fished
out of existence
since they have no time
to reproduce.
We are destroying
the cycle of a life
that was given to us.
At the current rate, all
fish stocks are threatened
with exhaustion.
We have forgotten
that resources are scarce.
Five hundred million
humans live in
the world's desert lands,
more than the combined
population of Europe.
They know
the value of water.
They know
how to use it sparingly.
Here, they depend on wells
replenished by
fossil water, which
accumulated underground
in the days when it rained
on these deserts
25,000 years ago.
Fossil water also
enables crops to be grown
in the desert
to provide food
for local populations.
The fields' circular shape
derives from the pipes
that irrigate them
around a central pivot.
But there is a heavy price
to pay.
Fossil water is a
non-renewable resource.
In Saudi Arabia,
the dream of
industrial farming
in the desert has faded.
As if on a parchment map,
the light spots
on this patchwork
show abandoned plots.
The irrigation equipment
is still there.
The energy
to pump water also.
But the fossil water reserves
are severely depleted.
Israel turned the desert
into arable land.
Even though
these hothouses are now
irrigated drop by drop,
water consumption
continues to increase
along with exports.
The once mighty
River Jordan
is now just a trickle.
Its water has flown
to supermarkets
all over the world
in crates of fruit
and vegetables.
The Jordan's fate
is not unique.
Across the planet,
one major river in ten
no longer flows into the sea
for several months
of the year.
Deprived of
the Jordan's water,
the level of the Dead Sea
goes down by
over one meter per year.
India risks
being the country
that suffers most
from the lack of water
in the coming century.
Massive irrigation has fed
the growing population
and in the last 50 years,
21 million wells
have been dug.
In many parts
of the country,
the drill has to sink
ever deeper to hit water.
In western India,
30% of wells
have been abandoned.
The underground aquifers
are drying out.
Vast reservoirs will catch
the monsoon rains
to replenish the aquifers.
In the dry season, women
from local villages dig them
with their bare hands.
Thousands of kilometers
away, 800 to 1,000 liters
of water are consumed
per person per day.
Las Vegas was built
out of the desert.
Millions of people
live there.
Thousands more arrive
every month.
The inhabitants
of Los Vegas are among
the biggest consumers
of water in the world.
Palm Springs is
another desert city
with tropical vegetation
and lush golf courses.
How long can this mirage
continue to prosper?
The Earth cannot keep up.
The Colorado River,
which brings water
to these cities,
is one of those rivers that
no longer reaches the sea.
Water levels
in the catchment lakes
along its course
are plummeting.
Water shortages
could affect
nearly 2 billion people
before 2025.
The wetlands represent
six percent of the surface
of the planet.
Under their calm water
lies a veritable factory,
where plants and
micro-organisms
patiently filter the water
and digest all the pollution.
These marshes are
indispensable environments
for the regeneration
and purification of water.
They are sponges that
regulate the flow of water.
They absorb it
in the wet season and
release it in the dry season.
In our race
to conquer more land,
we have reclaimed them
as pasture for our livestock,
or as land for agriculture
or building.
In the last century,
half of the world's marshes
were drained.
We know
neither their richness
nor their role.
All living matter is linked.
Water, air, soil, trees.
The world's magic is right
in front of our eyes.
Trees breathe groundwater
into the atmosphere
as light mist.
They form a canopy
that alleviates the impact
of heavy rains.
The forests provide
the humidity
that is necessary for life.
They store carbon,
containing more than all
the Earth's atmosphere.
They are the cornerstone
of the climatic balance
on which we all depend.
The trees are
the primary forests
provide a habitat
for three-quarters of
the planet's biodiversity,
that's to say,
of all life on Earth.
These forests provide
the remedies that cure us.
The substances secreted
by these plants
can be recognized
by our bodies.
Our cells talk
the same language.
We are of the same family.
But in barely 40 years,
the world's largest
rainforest, the Amazon,
has been reduced by 20%.
The forest gives way
to cattle ranches
or soybean farms.
Ninety-five percent of
these soybeans are used
to feed livestock and
poultry in Europe and Asia.
And so, a forest is turned
into meat.
Barely 20 years ago,
Borneo, the fourth largest
island in the world,
was covered by
a vast primary forest.
At the current rate
of deforestation, it will
have totally disappeared
within 10 years.
Living matter bonds water,
air, earth and the Sun.
In Borneo, this bond
has been broken in what
was one of the Earth's
greatest reservoirs
of biodiversity.
This catastrophe was
provoked by the decision
to produce palm oil,
one of the most productive
and consumed oils
in the world, on Borneo.
Palm oil not only caters
to our growing demand
for food, but also
cosmetics, detergents
and, increasingly,
alternative fuels.
The forest's diversity
was replaced
by a single species,
the oil palm.
For local people,
it provides employment.
It's an
agricultural industry.
Another example
of massive deforestation
is the eucalyptus.
Eucalyptus is used
to make paper pulp.
Plantations are growing
as demand for paper
has increased fivefold
in 50 years.
One forest does not replace
another forest.
At the foot
of these eucalyptus trees,
nothing grows because
their leaves form a bed
that is toxic
for most other plants.
They grow quickly, but
exhaust water reserves.
Soybeans, palm oil,
eucalyptus trees...
Deforestation destroys
the essential to
produce the superfluous.
But elsewhere, deforestation
is a last resort to survive.
Over two billion people,
almost a third
of the world's population,
still depend on charcoal.
In Haiti, one of the
world's poorest countries,
charcoal is
one of the population's
main consumables.
Once the "Pearl
of the Caribbean,"
Haiti can no longer
feed its population
without foreign aid.
On the hills of Haiti,
only two percent
of the forests are left.
Stripped bare, nothing
holds the soils back.
The rainwater washes them
down the hillsides
as far as the sea.
What's left is increasingly
unsuitable for agriculture.
In some parts
of Madagascar,
the erosion is spectacular.
Whole hillsides
bear deep gashes
hundreds of meters wide.
Thin and fragile, soil
is made by living matter.
With erosion,
the fine layer of humus,
which took
thousands of years
to form, disappears.
Here's one theory of
the story of the Rapanui,
the inhabitants
of Easter Island,
that could perhaps
give us pause for thought.
Living on the most
isolated island in the world,
the Rapanui exploited
their resources until
there was nothing left.
Their civilization
did not survive.
On these lands stood
the highest palm trees
in the world.
They have disappeared.
The Rapanui chopped them
all down for lumber.
They then faced
widespread soil erosion.
There were no trees
to build canoes.
Yet the Rapanui formed
one of the most
brilliant civilizations
in the Pacific.
Innovative farmers,
sculptors,
exceptional navigators,
they were caught in
the vise of overpopulation
and dwindling resources.
They experienced social
unrest, revolts and famine.
Many did not survive
the cataclysm.
The real mystery
of Easter Island is not
how its strange statues
got there, we know now.
It's why the Rapanui
didn't react in time.
It's only one
of a number of theories,
but it has particular
relevance to us today.
After these brief messages,
we will continue
our presentation of the
powerful documentary
“Home.”
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
We saw the film “Home”
in Champ-de-Mars.
What was your impression?
My impression of course
was very positive.
And what pleased me is
that I realized
that now in France,
there are many
environmental movements.
I believe that
it would be necessary
to begin to eat less meat,
because
that pollutes the planet,
that’s a lot of cereals
for animals,
water for animals,
not to talk about flatulence
from cows
that pollute the planet.
Thus we should try
to see things differently.
Be more vegetarian.
Welcome back to
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
on Supreme Master
Television.
We now continue
with the environmental
documentary, “Home,”
which serves
as a clear warning
to all humanity
that our planet is
in grave danger
as our natural resources
are being rapidly depleted
and climate change
is accelerating.
Since 1950,
the world's population
has almost tripled.
And since 1950,
we have more
fundamentally altered
our island, the Earth,
than in all of
our 200,000-year history.
Nigeria is the biggest
oil exporter in Africa,
yet 70% of the population
lives under the poverty line.
The wealth is there, but
the country's inhabitants
don't have access to it.
The same is true
all over the globe.
Half the world's poor live
in resource-rich countries.
Our mode of development
has not fulfilled
its promises.
In 50 years, the gap
between rich and poor
has grown wider than ever.
Today,
half the world's wealth is
in the hands
of the richest two percent
of the population.
Can such disparities
be maintained?
They are the cause of
population movements
whose scale we have yet
to fully realize.
The city of Lagos had
a population of 700,000
in 1960 that will rise
to 16 million by 2025.
Lagos is one of the fastest
growing megalopolises
in the world.
The new arrivals
are mostly farmers
forced off the land
for economic
or demographic reasons,
or because of
diminishing resources.
This is a radically
new type of urban growth,
driven by the urge
to survive
rather than to prosper.
Every week,
over a million people
swell the populations
of the world's cities.
1 human being in 6 now
lives in a precarious,
unhealthy, overpopulated
environment without access
to daily necessities,
such as water, sanitation,
electricity.
Hunger is spreading
once more.
It affects
nearly 1 billion people.
All over the planet,
the poorest scrabble
to survive on scraps,
while we continue
to dig for resources
that we can
no longer live without.
We look farther and farther
afield in previously
unspoilt territory
and in regions that are
increasingly difficult
to exploit.
We're not changing
our model.
Oil might run out?
We can still extract oil from
the tar sands of Canada.
The biggest trucks
in the world move
thousands of tons of sand.
The process of heating
and separating bitumen
from the sand requires
millions of cubic meters
of water.
Colossal amounts
of energy are needed.
The pollution
is catastrophic.
The most urgent priority,
apparently, is to pick
every pocket of sunlight.
Our oil tankers are
getting bigger and bigger.
Our energy requirements
are constantly increasing.
We try to power growth
like a bottomless oven
that demands
more and more fuel.
It's all about carbon.
In a few decades,
the carbon that made
our atmosphere a furnace
and that nature captured
over millions of years,
allowing life to develop,
will have largely
been pumped back out.
The atmosphere
is heating up.
It would have been
inconceivable
for a boat to be here
just a few years ago.
Transport, industry,
deforestation, agriculture...
Our activities release
gigantic quantities
of carbon dioxide.
Without realizing it,
molecule by molecule,
we have upset the Earth's
climatic balance.
All eyes are on the poles,
where the effects
of global warming
are most visible.
It's happening fast,
very fast.
The Northwest Passage
that connects America,
Europe and Asia
via the pole is opening up.
The Arctic ice cap
is melting.
Under the effect
of global warming,
the ice cap has lost
40% of its thickness
in 40 years.
Its surface area
in the summer
shrinks year by year.
It could disappear
in the summer months
by 2030. Some say 2015.
The sunbeams
that the ice sheet
previously reflected back
now penetrate
the dark water,
heating it up.
The warming process
gathers pace.
This ice contains
the records of our planet.
The concentration
of carbon dioxide
hasn't been so high
for several
hundred thousand years.
Humanity has never lived
in an atmosphere like this.
Is excessive exploitation
of our resources
threatening the lives
of every species?
Climate change
accentuates the threat.
By 2050, a quarter
of the Earth's species
could be threatened
with extinction.
In these polar regions,
the balance of nature
has already been disrupted.
Around the North Pole,
the ice cap has lost
30% of its surface area
in 30 years.
But as Greenland
rapidly becomes warmer,
the freshwater
of a whole continent
flows into the salt water
of the oceans.
Greenland's ice contains
20% of the freshwater
of the whole planet.
If it melts, sea levels will
rise by nearly seven meters.
But there is
no industry here.
Greenland's ice sheet
suffers from
greenhouse gases emitted
elsewhere on Earth.
Our ecosystem
doesn't have borders.
Wherever we are,
our actions
have repercussions
on the whole Earth.
The atmosphere
of our planet
is an indivisible whole.
It is an asset we share.
On Greenland's surface,
lakes are appearing
on the landscape.
The ice cap has begun
to melt at a speed
even the most pessimistic
scientists did not envision
10 years ago.
More and more
of these glacier-fed rivers
are merging together
and burrowing
though the surface.
It was thought
the water would freeze
in the depths of the ice.
On the contrary,
it flows under the ice,
carrying the ice sheet
into the sea, where
it breaks into icebergs.
As the freshwater
of Greenland's ice sheet
gradually seeps into the
salt water of the oceans,
low-lying lands
around the globe
are threatened.
Sea levels are rising.
Water expanding
as it gets warmer caused,
in the 20th century alone,
a rise of 20 centimeters.
Everything becomes
unstable.
Coral reefs, for example,
are extremely sensitive
to the slightest change
in water temperature.
Thirty percent
have disappeared.
They are an essential link
in the chain of species.
In the atmosphere,
the major wind streams
are changing direction.
Rain cycles are altered.
The geography of climates
is modified.
The inhabitants
of low-lying islands,
here in the Maldives,
for example,
are on the front line.
They are
increasingly concerned.
Some are already
looking for new,
more hospitable lands.
If sea levels continue
to rise faster and faster,
what will major cities
like Tokyo, the world's
most populous city, do?
Every year, scientists'
predictions become
more and more alarming.
Seventy percent of
the world's population
lives on coastal plains.
Eleven of
the 15 biggest cities
stand on a coastline
or river estuary.
As the seas rise, salt will
invade the water table,
depriving inhabitants
of drinking water.
Migratory phenomena
are inevitable.
The only uncertainty
concerns their scale.
In Africa,
Mount Kilimanjaro
is unrecognizable.
Eighty percent
of its glaciers
have disappeared.
In summer,
the rivers no longer flow.
Local peoples are affected
by the lack of water.
Even on the world's
highest peaks, in the heart
of the Himalayas,
eternal snows and glaciers
are receding.
Yet these glaciers
play an essential role
in the water cycle.
They trap the water
from the monsoons as ice
and release it
in the summer
when the snows melt.
The glaciers
of the Himalayas
are the source of
all the great Asian rivers,
the Indus, Ganges,
Mekong, Yangtze, Kiang...
two billion people
depend on them
for drinking water and
to irrigate their crops,
as in Bangladesh.
On the delta of the Ganges
and Brahmaputra,
Bangladesh is directly
affected by phenomena
occurring in the Himalayas
and at sea level.
This is
one of the most populous
and poorest countries
in the world.
It is already hit
by global warming.
The combined impact
of increasingly dramatic
floods and hurricanes
could make a third
of its land mass disappear.
When populations
are subjected to these
devastating phenomena,
they eventually move away.
Wealthy countries
will not be spared.
Droughts are occurring
all over the planet.
In Australia,
half of farmland
is already affected.
We are in the process
of compromising
the climatic balance that
has allowed us to develop
over 12,000 years.
We sincerely thank
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
for producing
this significant film that
serves as a wake-up call
to aid our planet.
Let us all now
take immediate action
to save our fragile abode.
For more details
on “Home,” please visit
www.Home-2009.com
Esteemed viewers, please
join us next Wednesday
on Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
for the presentation of
Part 3 of our three-part
series featuring
the eco-documentary
“Home.”
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment.
May your days be filled
with love and bliss.
Eating less meat
is certainly
a healthier way of living.
Eating less meat is to send
less CO2 and methane
in the atmosphere.
Because
meat is responsible
for huge deforestation
and nowadays
meat costs tremendously
in terms of energy.
Besides, livestock raising
is one of the largest emitters
of greenhouse gases,
larger than transportation,
so we must
be aware of this.
Since methane is
a greenhouse gas
20 times more potent
than CO2, eat less meat,
it is better for nature
and the environment.
Hallo,
eco-conscious viewers,
and welcome to
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home.
Today we present Part 3
of a three part series
featuring the acclaimed
2009 documentary
“Home” directed
by world famous
French photographer
Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
He is particularly
renowned for
his aerial photography.
Entranced by
the beauty of nature,
Mr. Arthus-Bertrand
has taken scores
of photographs
of majestic landscapes
from helicopters
and hot air balloons.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
established the
GoodPlanet Foundation
in 2005.
The Foundation focuses
on raising public awareness
of global warming
and helps to implement
various innovative
programs to offset
carbon emissions.
Recognizing his
commitment to the planet,
the United Nations
Environment Programme
presented him
with the
“Champions of the Earth”
award and appointed him
as a Goodwill
Ambassador in 2009.
“Home” explores
issues impacting
our planet’s viability
such as
the environmental
devastation caused by
the livestock industry,
serious water shortages,
rapidly rising sea levels,
dependency
on fossil fuels,
and the severe depletion
of natural resources.
With high definition
aerial views of our abode,
the documentary
clearly illustrates
the extent to which
our precious Earth has been
enormously damaged
by humanity’s actions.
The film’s ultimate message
is that we have only
a few short years left
to reverse
the tremendous destruction.
“Home” was filmed on
location in 54 countries
over a period
of 18 months,
generating 488 hours
of footage in the process.
Filming was done
using helicopter-mounted
high definition
Cineflex cameras
that are able to record
moving images smoothly.
True to “Home’s” eco-ideals,
the producers mitigated
the emissions released
during the making of it
through carbon offsets.
It took approximately
three years for the
93-minute documentary
to be finally completed.
On June 5, 2009,
coinciding with
World Environment Day,
“Home” premiered in
over 100 countries.
The producers say
it is the first movie ever
to be released
simultaneously through
all media channels,
including theaters, TV,
DVD, and Internet and
across five continents.
Many cinemas
offered free screenings
and it was on shown
on big screens
at the Champ de Mars
in Paris, France as well as
in London, England
and New York, USA.
In France,
8 million viewers
watched “Home”
on France2 Television
the day it debuted.
As a gift to the world,
the work is distributed
free of charge and
is available for viewing
on the website YouTube.
We now present Part 3
of the landmark
documentary, “Home”
with narration
by award-winning
US actress Glenn Close.
More and more wildfires
encroach on major cities.
In turn, they exacerbate
global warming.
As the trees burn, they
release carbon dioxide.
The system
that controls our climate
has been severely disrupted.
The elements
on which it relies
have been disrupted.
The clock of climate change
is ticking in these
magnificent landscapes.
Here in Siberia, and
elsewhere across the globe,
it is so cold
that the ground
is constantly frozen.
It's known as permafrost.
Under its surface
lies a climatic time-bomb
- methane,
a greenhouse gas
20 times more powerful
than carbon dioxide.
If the permafrost melts,
the methane released
would cause
the greenhouse effect
to race out of control
with consequences
no one can predict.
We would literally be
in unknown territory.
Humanity has
no more than 10 years
to reverse the trend
and avoid crossing
into this territory...
life on Earth as
we have never known it.
We have created phenomena
we cannot control.
Since our origins, water,
air and forms of life
are intimately linked.
But recently we have
broken those links.
Let's face the facts.
We must believe
what we know.
All we have just seen
is a reflection
of human behavior.
We have shaped the Earth
in our image.
We have very little time
to change.
How can this century
carry the burden
of 9 billion human beings
if we refuse to be called
to account for everything
we alone have done?
20% of the world's
population consumes
80% of its resources.
The world spends
12 times more
on military expenditures
than on aid
to developing countries.
5,000 people a day die
because of
dirty drinking water.
1 billion people
have no access
to safe drinking water.
Nearly 1 billion people
are going hungry.
Over 50% of grain
traded around the world
is used for animal feed
or biofuels.
40% of arable land has
suffered long-term damage.
Every year,
13 million hectares
of forest disappear.
One mammal in four,
one bird in eight,
one amphibian in three
are threatened
with extinction.
Species are dying out
at a rhythm 1,000 times
faster than the natural rate.
Three quarters
of fishing grounds
are exhausted, depleted
or in dangerous decline.
The average temperature
of the last 15 years
have been
the highest ever recorded.
The ice cap is 40%
thinner than 40 years ago.
There may be
at least 200 million
climate refugees by 2050.
The cost of our actions
is high.
Others pay the price
without having been
actively involved.
I have seen refugee camps
as big as cities,
sprawling in the desert.
How many men, women
and children will be left
by the wayside tomorrow?
Must we always build
walls to break the chain
of human solidarity,
separate peoples and
protect the happiness of
some from others' misery?
After these brief messages,
we will continue
with our presentation of
the documentary, “Home.”
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
Welcome back to
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
featuring “Home”
a film by
Yann Arthus–Bertrand.
The conclusion
of this excellent
eco-documentary suggests
constructive solutions
to the urgent issues
our planet is facing.
It's too late
to be a pessimist.
I know
that a single human can
knock down every wall.
It's too late
to be a pessimist.
Worldwide, four children
out of five attend school.
Never has learning
been given to
so many human beings.
Everyone,
from richest to poorest,
can make a contribution.
Lesotho, one of the
world's poorest countries,
is proportionally the one
that invests most
in its people's education.
Qatar, one of
the world’s richest states,
has opened its doors
to the best universities.
Culture, education,
research and innovation
are inexhaustible resources.
In Bangladesh, a man
thought the unthinkable
and founded a bank that
lends only to the poor.
In 30 years,
it has changed the lives
of 150 million people.
Antarctica is a continent
with immense natural
resources that no country
can claim for itself,
a natural reserve devoted
to peace and science.
A treaty signed by 49 states
has made it a treasure
shared by all humanity.
It's too late
to be a pessimist.
Governments
have acted to protect
nearly two percent
of territorial waters.
It's not much
but it's two times
more than 10 years ago.
The first natural parks
were created
just over a century ago.
They cover over 13%
of the continents.
They create spaces
where human activity is
in step with the
preservation of species,
soils and landscapes.
This harmony between
humans and nature
can become the rule,
no longer the exception.
In United States,
New York has realized
what nature does for us.
These forests and lakes
supply all the drinking
water the city needs.
In South Korea,
the forests have been
devastated by war.
Thanks to a national
reforestation program,
they once more
cover 65% of the country.
More than 75% of paper
is recycled.
Costa Rica has made
a choice between
military spending
and land conservation.
The country
no longer has an army.
It prefers to devote its
resources to education,
eco-tourism and
the protection
of its primary forest.
Gabon is one of
the world's leading
producers of wood.
It enforces
selective logging.
Not more than one tree
every hectare.
Its forests are one of the
country's most important
economic resources,
but they have the time
to regenerate.
Programs exist that
guarantee sustainable
forest management.
They must
become mandatory.
For consumers
and producers,
justice is an opportunity
to be seized.
When trade is fair,
when both buyer
and seller benefit,
everybody can prosper
and earn a decent living.
How can there be justice
and equity between people
whose only tools
are their hands and those
who harvest their crops
with a machine
and state subsidies?
Let's be
responsible consumers.
Think about what we buy!
It's too late
to be a pessimist.
I have seen agriculture
on a human scale.
It can feed the whole planet
if meat production
doesn't take the food
out of people's mouths.
I have seen houses
producing their own energy.
Five thousand people live
in the world's first ever
eco-friendly district
in Freiburg, Germany.
Other cities
partner with the project.
Mumbai is the thousandth
to join them.
The governments
of New Zealand, Iceland,
Austria, Sweden and
other nations have made
the development of
sustainable energy sources
a top priority.
I know that 80%
of the energy we consume
comes from
fossil energy sources.
Every week,
two new coal-fired
generating plants
are built in China alone.
But I have also seen,
in Denmark, a prototype
of a coal-fired plant
that releases its carbon
into the soil
rather than the air.
A solution for the future?
Nobody knows yet.
I have seen, in Iceland,
an electricity plant
powered by the Earth's heat.
Geothermal power.
I have seen a sea snake
lying on the swell
to absorb the energy
of the waves
and produce electricity.
I have seen wind farms
off the coast of Denmark
that produce 20% of
the country's electricity.
The USA, China, India,
Germany and Spain
are the biggest investors
in sustainable energy.
They have already created
over 2.5 million jobs.
Where on Earth
doesn't the wind blow?
I have seen desert
expanses baking in the sun.
Everything on Earth
is linked, and the Earth
is linked to the Sun,
its original energy source.
Can humans
not imitate plants
and capture its energy?
In one hour,
the Sun gives the Earth
the same amount of energy
as that consumed by
all humanity in one year.
As long as the Earth exists,
the Sun's energy
will be inexhaustible.
All we have to do is
stop drilling the Earth
and start looking to the sky.
All we have to do is
learn to cultivate the Sun.
All these experiments
are only examples,
but they testify
to a new awareness.
They lay down markers
for a new human adventure
based on moderation,
intelligence and sharing.
It's time to come together.
What's important
is not what's gone,
but what remains.
We still have
half the world's forests,
thousands of rivers, lakes
and glaciers, and thousands
of thriving species.
We know that the solutions
are there today.
We all have the power
to change.
So what are we waiting for?
It's up to us to write
what happens next.
Together.
We sincerely thank
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
for producing
this significant film that
serves as a wake-up call
to aid our planet.
Following
an organic vegan diet
is the simplest
and quickest way
to stop global warming
and is something that
everyone can do very easily.
Organic farming benefits
public health and the
environment immensely.
Let us all now
take immediate action
to save our fragile abode.
For more details
on “Home,” please visit
www.Home-2009.com
Eco-conscious viewers,
thank you for joining us
for today’s Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment
after Noteworthy News.
May Heaven bless us all
abundantly and protect
our planetary home forever.