22 Jan 2013
The television presenter said that humans are threatening their own existence and that of other species by using up the world’s resources.
He said the only way to save the planet from famine and species extinction is
to limit human population growth.
“We are a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50
years or so. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow
food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the
natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us
right now,” he told the Radio Times.
Sir David, who
is a patron of the Optimum Population Trust, has spoken out before about
the “frightening explosion in human numbers” and the need for investment in
sex education and other voluntary means of limiting population in developing
countries.
“We keep putting on programmes about famine in Ethiopia; that’s what’s
happening. Too many people there. They can’t support themselves — and it’s
not an inhuman thing to say. It’s the case. Until humanity manages to sort
itself out and get a coordinated view about the planet it’s going to get
worse and worse.”
Sir David, whose landmark series are repeated from Monday on BBC2, starting with Life on Earth, has also spoken out about the change in wildlife documentaries during his lifetime.
The 86-year-old said commentary from presenters like himself are becoming less necessary as camera work is able to tell a story.
“I’m not sure there’s any need for a new Attenborough,” he said. “The more you go on, the less you need people standing between you and the animal and the camera waving their arms about.
“It’s much cheaper to get someone in front of a camera describing animal behaviour than actually showing you [the behaviour]. That takes a much longer time. But the kind of carefully tailored programmes in which you really work at the commentary, you really match pictures to words, is a bit out of fashion now … regarded as old hat.”
[ed. I think it is wrong to link this issue to "climate change" or saving animals. We need to reduce the population of the planet in order to improve quality of life and eliminate some of the third world burden, not so we can make it comfortable for giraffes. Besides the only people who will actually listen and limit their reproduction are white westerners a group already in serious decline...]
Sir David, whose landmark series are repeated from Monday on BBC2, starting with Life on Earth, has also spoken out about the change in wildlife documentaries during his lifetime.
The 86-year-old said commentary from presenters like himself are becoming less necessary as camera work is able to tell a story.
“I’m not sure there’s any need for a new Attenborough,” he said. “The more you go on, the less you need people standing between you and the animal and the camera waving their arms about.
“It’s much cheaper to get someone in front of a camera describing animal behaviour than actually showing you [the behaviour]. That takes a much longer time. But the kind of carefully tailored programmes in which you really work at the commentary, you really match pictures to words, is a bit out of fashion now … regarded as old hat.”
[ed. I think it is wrong to link this issue to "climate change" or saving animals. We need to reduce the population of the planet in order to improve quality of life and eliminate some of the third world burden, not so we can make it comfortable for giraffes. Besides the only people who will actually listen and limit their reproduction are white westerners a group already in serious decline...]
