0:00:20 > 0:00:23Listen to me. Please.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27You're like me - a Homo sapiens.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29A wise human.
0:00:29 > 0:00:30Life.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35A miracle in the universe appeared around four billion years ago,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39and we humans only 200,000 years ago.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Yet we have succeeded in disrupting the balance
0:00:42 > 0:00:45that is so essential to life.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Listen carefully to this extraordinary story,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51which is yours, and decide what you want to do with it.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12These are traces of our origins.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16At the beginning, our planet was no more than a chaos of fire,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19a cloud of agglutinated dust particles
0:01:19 > 0:01:23similar to so many similar clusters in the universe,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27yet this was where the miracle of life occurred.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Today, life, our life,
0:02:15 > 0:02:19is just a link in a chain of innumerable living beings
0:02:19 > 0:02:22that have succeeded one another on Earth
0:02:22 > 0:02:24over nearly four billion years.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32And even today, new volcanoes continue to sculpt our landscapes.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36They offer a glimpse of what our Earth was like at its birth -
0:02:36 > 0:02:40molten rock surging from the depths,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44solidifying, cracking, blistering or spreading in a thin crust
0:02:44 > 0:02:47before falling dormant for a time.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03These wreaths of smoke curling from the bowels of the Earth
0:03:03 > 0:03:06bear witness to the Earth's original atmosphere,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09an atmosphere devoid of oxygen.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13A dense atmosphere, thick with water vapour,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15full of carbon dioxide.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17A furnace.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29The Earth cooled,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32the water vapour condensed and fell in torrential downpours
0:03:32 > 0:03:36at the right distance from the sun.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Not too far, not too near.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42The Earth's perfect balance enabled it to conserve water
0:03:42 > 0:03:46in liquid form. The water cut channels.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49They're like the veins of a body,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52the branches of a tree, the vessels of the sap
0:03:52 > 0:03:55that the water gave to the Earth.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07The rivers tore minerals from the rocks
0:04:07 > 0:04:11and gradually added them to the fresh water of the oceans,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15and the oceans became heavy with salt.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Where do we come from?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Where did life first spark into being?
0:04:39 > 0:04:41A miracle of time.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Primitive life forms still exist in the globe's hot springs.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47They give them their colours.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49They are called archaebacteria.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00They all feed off the Earth's heat,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02all except the cyanobacteria,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04or blue-green algae.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08They alone have the capacity to turn to the sun
0:05:08 > 0:05:10to capture its energy.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12They are a vital ancestor
0:05:12 > 0:05:16of all yesterday's and today's plant species.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19These tiny bacteria
0:05:19 > 0:05:21and their billions of descendants
0:05:21 > 0:05:24changed the destiny of our planet.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28They transformed its atmosphere.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36What happened to the carbon that poisoned the atmosphere?
0:05:37 > 0:05:41It's still here, imprisoned in the Earth's crust.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Here, there once was a sea inhabited by microorganisms.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52They grew their shells by tapping into carbon from the atmosphere
0:05:52 > 0:05:53dissolved in the ocean.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57These strata are the accumulated shells
0:05:57 > 0:06:01of those billions and billions of microorganisms.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Thanks to them, the carbon drained from the atmosphere
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and other life forms could develop.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19It is life that altered the atmosphere.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Plant life fed off the sun's energy,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27which enabled it to break apart the water molecule
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and take the oxygen,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32and oxygen filled the air.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37The Earth's water cycle is a process of constant renewal -
0:06:37 > 0:06:40waterfalls, water vapour,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42clouds, rain,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45springs, rivers,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49seas, oceans, glaciers.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52The cycle is never broken.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55There's always the same quantity of water on Earth.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59All the successive species on Earth have drunk the same water.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03The astonishing matter that is water.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06One of the most unstable of all,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09it takes a liquid form as running water,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11gaseous as vapour,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13or solid as ice.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19In Siberia, the frozen surfaces of the lakes in winter
0:07:19 > 0:07:23contain the traces of the forces that water deploys when it freezes.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Lighter than water, the ice floats.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29It forms a protective mantle against the cold,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32under which life can go on.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06RUMBLING
0:08:06 > 0:08:10The engine of life is linkage. Everything is linked.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Nothing is self-sufficient.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Water and air are inseparable,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19united in life, and for our life on Earth.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Sharing is everything.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43The green expanse peeking through the clouds
0:08:43 > 0:08:45is the source of oxygen in the air.
0:08:45 > 0:08:5170% of this gas, without which our lungs cannot function,
0:08:51 > 0:08:57comes from the algae that tint the surface of the oceans.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Our Earth relies on a balance
0:08:59 > 0:09:03in which every being has a role to play
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and exists only through the existence of another being,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10a subtle, fragile harmony that is easily shattered.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22Thus, corals are born from the marriage of algae and shells.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor,
0:09:26 > 0:09:31but they provide a habitat for thousands of species of fish,
0:09:31 > 0:09:32molluscs and algae.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35The equilibrium of every ocean depends on it.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48The Earth counts time...
0:09:48 > 0:09:50in billions of years.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55It took more than four billion years for it to make trees.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00In the chain of species,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04trees are a pinnacle, a perfect living sculpture.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09Trees defy gravity. They are the only natural element
0:10:09 > 0:10:12in perpetual movement toward the sky.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17They grow unhurriedly toward the sun that nourishes their foliage.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33They have inherited, from those miniscule cyanobacteria,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36the power to capture light's energy.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40They store it and feed off it,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43turn it into wood and leaves
0:10:43 > 0:10:46which then decompose into a mixture of water, mineral,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49vegetable and living matter.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55And so, gradually,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57soils are formed.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Soils teem with the incessant activity of microorganisms,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16feeding, digging, aerating...
0:11:16 > 0:11:18and transforming.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20They make the humus, the fertile layer
0:11:20 > 0:11:23to which all life on land is linked.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42BIRDS SQUAWK
0:11:43 > 0:11:46What do we know about life on Earth?
0:11:46 > 0:11:49How many species are we aware of?
0:11:49 > 0:11:50A tenth of them?
0:11:50 > 0:11:52A hundredth, perhaps?
0:11:52 > 0:11:55What do know about the bonds that link them?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08The Earth is a miracle.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Life remains a mystery.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Families of animals form, united by customs
0:12:28 > 0:12:33and rituals that are handed down through the generations.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Some adapt to the nature of their pasture,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and their pasture adapts to them.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59And both gain.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03The animal sates his hunger and the tree can blossom again.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46In the great adventure of life on Earth,
0:13:46 > 0:13:51every species has a role to play, every species has its place.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54None is futile or harmful.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57They all balance out.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13And that's where you, Homo sapiens,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15wise human, enter the story.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22You benefit from a fabulous four-billion-year-old legacy,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25bequeathed by the Earth.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34You're only 200,000 years old,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36but you have changed the face of the world.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Despite your vulnerability, you have taken possession of every habitat
0:14:43 > 0:14:46and conquered swathes of territory,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48like no other species before you.
0:14:53 > 0:14:59After 180,000 nomadic years, and thanks to a more clement climate,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01humans settled down.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04They no longer depended on hunting for survival.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06They chose to live in wet environments
0:15:06 > 0:15:10that abounded in fish, game and wild plants -
0:15:10 > 0:15:13there, where land, water and life combine.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Even today, the majority of humankind
0:15:45 > 0:15:50lives on the continents' coastlines, or the banks of rivers and lakes.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Across the planet,
0:16:08 > 0:16:13one person in four lives as humankind did 6,000 years ago -
0:16:13 > 0:16:18their only energy, that which nature provides, season after season.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22It's the way of life of 1½ billion people,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26more than the combined population of all the wealthy nations.
0:17:25 > 0:17:31But life expectancy is short, and hard labour takes its toll.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35The uncertainties of nature weigh on daily life.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Education is a rare privilege.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Children are a family's only asset, as long as every extra
0:17:43 > 0:17:47pair of hands is a necessary contribution to its subsistence.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Humanity's genius is to have always had a sense of its weakness.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07The physical energy and strength with which nature insufficiently
0:18:07 > 0:18:10endowed humans is found in animals
0:18:10 > 0:18:13that help them to discover new territories.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43But how can you conquer the world on an empty stomach?
0:18:47 > 0:18:51The invention of agriculture turned our history on end.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55It was less than 10,000 years ago.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Agriculture was our first great revolution.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08It resulted in the first surpluses,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and gave birth to cities and civilisations.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22The memory of thousands of years scrabbling for food faded.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Having made grain, the yeast of life,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27we multiplied the number of varieties
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and learned to adapt them to our soils and climates.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50We're like every species on Earth -
0:19:50 > 0:19:53our principal daily concern is to feed ourselves.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57When the soil is less than generous
0:19:57 > 0:20:00and the water becomes scarce,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03we're able to deploy prodigious efforts
0:20:03 > 0:20:06to extract from the land enough to live on.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Humans shaped the land with the patience and devotion that the Earth
0:20:31 > 0:20:35demands, in an almost sacrificial ritual performed over and over.
0:20:36 > 0:20:42Agriculture is still the world's most widespread occupation.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Half of humankind tills the soil.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Over three-quarters of them by hand.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Agriculture is like a tradition handed down
0:20:58 > 0:21:03from generation to generation in sweat, graft and toil.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Because, for humanity, it is a prerequisite of survival.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19But after relying on muscle power for so long,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22humankind found a way to tap into the energy buried
0:21:22 > 0:21:24deep in the Earth.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36These flames are also from plants,
0:21:36 > 0:21:38a pocket of sunlight, pure energy.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40The energy of the sun,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43captured over millions of years, by millions of plants,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46more than 100 million years ago.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51It's coal, it's gas, and, above all, it's oil.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09This pocket of sunlight freed humans from their toil on the land.
0:22:12 > 0:22:13With oil began the era of humans
0:22:13 > 0:22:16who break free of the shackles of time.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20With oil, some of us acquired unprecedented comforts.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24In 50 years, in a single lifetime,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27the Earth has been more radically changed
0:22:27 > 0:22:30than by all previous generations of humanity.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36SIRENS WAIL
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Faster and faster, in the last 60 years,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42the Earth's population has almost tripled.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Over two billion people have moved to the cities.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Faster and faster. Shenzhen in China,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53with its hundreds of skyscrapers and millions of inhabitants,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55was just a small fishing village
0:22:55 > 0:22:57barely 40 years ago.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03Faster and faster. In Shanghai, 3,000 towers and skyscrapers
0:23:03 > 0:23:05have been built in 20 years.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Hundreds more are under construction.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Today, over half of the world's seven billion inhabitants
0:23:13 > 0:23:14live in cities.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29New York.
0:23:29 > 0:23:30The world's first megalopolis
0:23:30 > 0:23:34is a symbol of the exploitation of the energy
0:23:34 > 0:23:36the Earth supplies to human genius.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40The manpower of millions of immigrants, the energy of coal,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43the unbridled power of oil.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55MACHINE WHIRS
0:23:55 > 0:23:58America was the first to harness the phenomenal
0:23:58 > 0:24:01revolutionary power of black gold.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07In the fields, machines replaced men.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11A litre of oil generates as much energy
0:24:11 > 0:24:14as 100 pairs of hands in 24 hours.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21In the United States, only three million farmers are left.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25They produce enough grain to feed two billion people.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30But most of that grain is not used to feed people.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Here, and in all other industrialised nations,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35it's transformed into livestock feed
0:24:35 > 0:24:37or biofuels.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44The pocket of sunshine's energy
0:24:44 > 0:24:46chased away the spectre of drought
0:24:46 > 0:24:47that stalked farmland.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51No spring escapes the demands of agriculture,
0:24:51 > 0:24:55which accounts for 70% of humanity's water consumption.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00In nature, everything is linked.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04The expansion of cultivated land and single-crop farming
0:25:04 > 0:25:07encouraged the development of parasites.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Pesticides, another gift of the petrochemical revolution,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13exterminated them.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Bad harvests and famine became a distant memory.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18The biggest headache now was what to do
0:25:18 > 0:25:22with the surpluses engendered by modern agriculture.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26But toxic pesticides seeped into the air,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30soil, plants, animals, rivers and oceans.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34They penetrated the heart of cells similar to the mother cell
0:25:34 > 0:25:36that is shared by all forms of life.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Are they harmful to the humans that they released from hunger?
0:25:41 > 0:25:43These farmers, in their yellow protective suits
0:25:43 > 0:25:46probably have a good idea.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Then came fertilisers,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59another petrochemical discovery.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03They produced unprecedented results on plots of land
0:26:03 > 0:26:05thus far ignored.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Crops adapted to soils and climates,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16gave way to the most productive varieties
0:26:16 > 0:26:18and the easiest to transport.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23In the last century, three quarters of the varieties
0:26:23 > 0:26:25developed by farmers over thousands of years,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27have been wiped out.
0:26:32 > 0:26:33As far as the eye can see,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36fertiliser below, plastic on top.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39The greenhouses of Almeria in Spain
0:26:39 > 0:26:41are Europe's vegetable garden.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44A city of uniformly-sized vegetables
0:26:44 > 0:26:47waits every day for the hundreds of trucks that will take them
0:26:47 > 0:26:49to the continent's supermarkets.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54The more a country develops,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56the more meat its inhabitants consume.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59How can growing worldwide demand
0:26:59 > 0:27:01be satisfied without recourse to
0:27:01 > 0:27:03concentration-camp style cattle farms?
0:27:03 > 0:27:08Faster and faster. Like the life cycle of livestock,
0:27:08 > 0:27:09which may never see a meadow.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Manufacturing meat faster than the animal,
0:27:12 > 0:27:14has become a daily routine.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16In these vast food lots,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18trampled by millions of cattle,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21not a blade of grass grows.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25A fleet of trucks from every corner of the country
0:27:25 > 0:27:29brings in tons of grain, soymeal and protein-rich granules
0:27:29 > 0:27:31that will become tons of meat.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44The result is that it takes 100 litres of water
0:27:44 > 0:27:47to produce 1kg of potatoes,
0:27:47 > 0:27:514,000 litres for 1kg of rice.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55And 13,000 litres for 1kg of beef,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58not to mention the oil guzzled in the production process
0:27:58 > 0:28:00and transport.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Our agriculture has become oil powered.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11It feeds twice as many humans on Earth
0:28:11 > 0:28:14but has replaced diversity with standardisation.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18It has offered many of us comforts we could only dream of.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23But it makes our way of life totally dependent on oil.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26This is the new measure of time.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Our world's clock now beats to the rhythm
0:28:30 > 0:28:32of these indefatigable machines
0:28:32 > 0:28:34tapping into the pocket of sunlight.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38The whole planet is attentive to these metronomes
0:28:38 > 0:28:41of our hopes and illusions.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44The same hopes and illusions that proliferate,
0:28:44 > 0:28:45along with our needs -
0:28:45 > 0:28:49increasingly insatiable desires and profligacy.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52We know that the end of cheap oil is imminent
0:28:52 > 0:28:54but we refuse to believe it.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01For many of us, the American dream is embodied by a legendary name...
0:29:02 > 0:29:03..Los Angeles.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08In this city that stretches over 100 kilometres,
0:29:08 > 0:29:12the number of cars is almost equal to the number of inhabitants.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Here, energy puts on a fantastic show every night.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28SIRENS WAIL
0:29:30 > 0:29:33The days seem to be no more than the pale reflection
0:29:33 > 0:29:36of nights that turn the city into a starry sky.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50Faster and faster. Distances are no longer counted in miles
0:29:50 > 0:29:51but in minutes.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53The automobile shapes new suburbs
0:29:53 > 0:29:55where every home is a castle,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58a safe distance from the asphyxiated city centres
0:29:58 > 0:30:00and where neat rows of houses
0:30:00 > 0:30:02huddle round dead-end streets.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06The model of a lucky few countries
0:30:06 > 0:30:08has become a universal dream,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10preached by televisions all over the world.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Even here in Beijing,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15it is cloned, copied and reproduced
0:30:15 > 0:30:17in these formatted houses
0:30:17 > 0:30:20that have wiped pagodas off the map.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31The automobile has become the symbol of comfort and progress.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35If this model were followed by every society,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38the planet wouldn't have 900 million vehicles,
0:30:38 > 0:30:40as it does today,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42but 5 billion.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Faster and faster. The more the world develops,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49the greater its thirst for energy.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53Everywhere, machines dig ore and rip from the Earth
0:30:53 > 0:30:56the pieces of stars buried in its depth
0:30:56 > 0:30:59since its creation - minerals.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27As a privilege of power, 80% of this mineral wealth
0:31:27 > 0:31:30is consumed by 20% of the world's population.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Before the end of this century, excessive mining will have exhausted
0:31:39 > 0:31:41nearly all the planet's reserves.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01Faster and faster.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Shipyards churn out oil tankers,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06container ships and gas tankers,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09to cater for the demands of globalised industrial production.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Most consumer goods travel thousands of kilometres
0:32:13 > 0:32:16from the country of production to the country of consumption.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Since 1950, the volume of international trade
0:32:21 > 0:32:23has increased 20 times over.
0:32:32 > 0:32:3490% of trade goes by sea.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39500 million containers are transported every year...
0:32:40 > 0:32:44..headed for the world's major hubs of consumption, such as Dubai.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48Dubai is a sort of culmination of the western model,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51a country where the impossible becomes possible,
0:32:51 > 0:32:55building artificial islands in the sea, for example.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Dubai has few natural resources.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05But with the money from oil it can bring millions of tons of material.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08And workers from all over the planet.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Dubai has no farmland but it can import food.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Dubai has no water but it can afford to expend immense
0:33:18 > 0:33:21amounts of energy to desalinate sea water
0:33:21 > 0:33:23and build the highest skyscrapers in the world.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28Dubai has endless sun but no solar panels.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34It is a totem to total modernity that never fails to amaze the world.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Dubai is like the new beacon for all the world's money.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00Nothing seems further removed from nature than Dubai.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Although nothing depends on nature more than Dubai.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09Dubai is a sort of culmination of the Western model.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13We haven't understood that we're depleting what nature provides.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24Since 1950 fishing catches have increased five-fold,
0:35:24 > 0:35:28from 18 to 100 million metric tons a year.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Thousands of factory ships are emptying the oceans.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36Three quarters of fishing grounds are exhausted,
0:35:36 > 0:35:38depleted or in danger of being so.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Most large fish have been fished out of existence
0:35:42 > 0:35:44since they have no time to reproduce.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01We are destroying the cycle of a life that was given to us.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23At the current rate, all fish stocks are threatened with exhaustion.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28Fish is the staple diet of one in five humans.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48We have forgotten that resources are scarce.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54500 million humans live in the world's desert lands -
0:36:54 > 0:36:56more than the combined population of Europe.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59They know the value of water.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01They know how to use it sparingly.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06Here, they depend on wells replenished by fossil water,
0:37:06 > 0:37:08which accumulated underground in the days
0:37:08 > 0:37:11when it rained on these deserts -
0:37:11 > 0:37:1225,000 years ago.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Fossil water also enables crops to be grown in the desert to
0:37:21 > 0:37:23provide food for local populations.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27The fields' circular shape derives from the pipes that irrigate them
0:37:27 > 0:37:29around a central pivot.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33But there's a heavy price to pay.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Fossil water is a non-renewable resource.
0:37:48 > 0:37:49In Saudi Arabia,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53the dream of industrial farming in the desert has faded.
0:37:55 > 0:37:56As if on a parchment map,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00the light spots on this patchwork show abandoned plots.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03The irrigation equipment is still there.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05The energy to pump water, also.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09But the fossil water reserves are severely depleted.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Israel turned the desert into arable land.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29Even though these hothouses are now irrigated drop by drop,
0:38:29 > 0:38:32water consumption continues to increase along with exports.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42The once-mighty River Jordan is now just a trickle.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Its water has flown to supermarkets all over the world
0:38:45 > 0:38:47in crates of fruit and vegetables.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05The Jordan's fate is not unique.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Across the planet, one major river in ten
0:39:09 > 0:39:13no longer flows into the sea for several months of the year.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Deprived of the Jordan's water,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28the level of the Dead Sea goes down by over one metre per year.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55India risks being the country that suffers most
0:39:55 > 0:39:58from the lack of water in the coming century.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Massive irrigation has fed the growing population.
0:40:01 > 0:40:07And in the last 50 years, 21 million wells have been dug.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09In many parts of the country,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12the drill has to sink ever deeper to hit water.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18In western India, 30% of wells have been abandoned.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22The underground aquifers are drying out.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Vast reservoirs will catch the monsoon rains
0:40:29 > 0:40:30to replenish the aquifers.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36In dry season, women from local villages dig them
0:40:36 > 0:40:37with their bare hands.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Thousands of kilometres away, 800 to 1,000 litres of water
0:41:01 > 0:41:03are consumed per person per day.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Las Vegas was built out of the desert.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10Millions of people live there.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13Thousands more arrive every month.
0:41:13 > 0:41:14The inhabitants of Las Vegas
0:41:14 > 0:41:17are among the biggest consumers of water in the world.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31Palm Springs is another desert city with tropical vegetation
0:41:31 > 0:41:33and lush golf courses.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39How long can this mirage continue to prosper?
0:41:44 > 0:41:46The Earth cannot keep up.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51The Colorado River, which brings water to these cities,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54is one of those rivers that no longer reaches the sea.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59Water levels in the catchment lakes along its course are plummeting.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16Water shortages could affect nearly two billion people before 2025.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46The wetlands represent 6% of the surface of the planet.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Under their calm water lies a veritable factory,
0:42:50 > 0:42:54where plants and microorganisms patiently filter the water
0:42:54 > 0:42:56and digest all the pollution.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00These marshes are indispensible environments
0:43:00 > 0:43:03for the regeneration and purification of water.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08They are sponges that regulate the flow of water.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11They absorb it in the wet season and release it in the dry season.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43In our race to conquer more land,
0:43:43 > 0:43:46we have reclaimed them as pasture for our livestock
0:43:46 > 0:43:50or as land for agriculture or building.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55In the last century, half of the world's marshes were drained.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00We know neither their richness, nor their role.
0:44:06 > 0:44:13All living matter is linked - water, air, soil, trees.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16The world's magic is right in front of our eyes.
0:44:27 > 0:44:32Trees breathe ground water into the atmosphere as light mist.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36They form a canopy which alleviates the impact of heavy rains.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40The forests provide the humidity that is necessary for life.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47They store carbon, containing more than all the Earth's atmosphere.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52They are the cornerstone of the climactic balance on which
0:44:52 > 0:44:53we all depend.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05The trees of the primary forest
0:45:05 > 0:45:09provide a habitat for three-quarters of the planet's biodiversity,
0:45:09 > 0:45:11that's to say, of all life on Earth.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24These forests provide the remedies that cure us.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27The substances secreted by these plants can be
0:45:27 > 0:45:29recognised by our bodies.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34Our cells talk the same language, we are of the same family.
0:45:53 > 0:45:58But in barely 40 years, the world's largest rainforest, the Amazon,
0:45:58 > 0:45:59has been reduced by 20%.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16The forest gives way to cattle ranches, or soybean farms.
0:46:16 > 0:46:1995% of these soybeans are used
0:46:19 > 0:46:21to feed livestock and poultry in Europe and Asia.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26So, a forest is turned into meat.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40Barely 20 years ago, Borneo, the fourth largest
0:46:40 > 0:46:44island in the world, was covered by a vast primary forest.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47At the current rate of deforestation,
0:46:47 > 0:46:49it will have totally disappeared within ten years.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Living matter bonds water, air, earth and the sun.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02In Borneo, this bond has been broken
0:47:02 > 0:47:07in what was one of the Earth's greatest reservoirs of biodiversity.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21This catastrophe was provoked by the decision to produce palm oil,
0:47:21 > 0:47:23one of the most productive
0:47:23 > 0:47:26and consumed oils in the world, on Borneo.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30Palm oil not only caters to our growing demand for food,
0:47:30 > 0:47:36but also cosmetics, detergents and, increasingly, alternative fuels.
0:47:36 > 0:47:41The forest diversity was replaced by a single species, the oil palm.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44For local people, it provides employment,
0:47:44 > 0:47:46it is an agricultural industry.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Another example of massive deforestation is the eucalyptus.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57Eucalyptus is used to make paper pulp.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01Plantations are growing, as demand for paper has increased five fold
0:48:01 > 0:48:03in 50 years.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06One forest does not replace another forest.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11At the foot of these eucalyptus trees, nothing grows because
0:48:11 > 0:48:14their leaves form a bed which is toxic for most other plants.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22They grow quickly, but exhaust water reserves.
0:48:22 > 0:48:27Soybeans, palm oil, eucalyptus trees -
0:48:27 > 0:48:31deforestation destroys the essential to provide the superfluous.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37But elsewhere, deforestation is a last resort to survive.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51Over two billion people, almost a third of the world's population,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53still depend on charcoal.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58In Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01charcoal is one of the population's main consumables.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07Once the pearl of the Caribbean, Haiti can no longer
0:49:07 > 0:49:10feed its population without foreign aid.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18On the hills of Haiti, only 2% of the forests are left.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Stripped bare, nothing holds the soils back.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27The rainwater washes them down the hillsides as far as the sea.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32What's left is increasingly unsuitable for agriculture.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43In some parts of Madagascar, the erosion is spectacular.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Whole hillsides bear deep gashes hundreds of metres wide.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52Thin and fragile, soil is made by living matter.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55The erosion, the fine layer of humus,
0:49:55 > 0:49:59which took thousands of years to form, disappears.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29Here's one theory of the story of the Rapa Nui, the inhabitants
0:50:29 > 0:50:33of Easter Island, that could perhaps give us pause for thought.
0:50:33 > 0:50:37Living on the most isolated island in the world, the Rapa Nui
0:50:37 > 0:50:40exploited their resources until there was nothing left.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Their civilisation did not survive.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48On these lands stood the highest palm trees in the world.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51They have disappeared.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53The Rapa Nui chopped them all down for lumber.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57They then had to face widespread soil erosion.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01The Rapa Nui could no longer go fishing.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04There were no trees to build canoes.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12And yet the Rapa Nui formed one of the most brilliant
0:51:12 > 0:51:14civilisations in the Pacific.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Innovative farmers, sculptors, exceptional navigators -
0:51:17 > 0:51:20they were caught in the vice of overpopulation
0:51:20 > 0:51:21and dwindling resources.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26They experienced social unrest, revolts and famine.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30Many did not survive the cataclysm.
0:51:49 > 0:51:54The real mystery of Easter Island is not how its strange statues
0:51:54 > 0:51:58got there - we know now - it's why the Rapa Nui didn't react in time.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08It's only one of a number of theories,
0:52:08 > 0:52:10but it has particular relevance to us today.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33Since 1950, the world's population has almost tripled
0:52:33 > 0:52:36and since 1950, we have more fundamentally
0:52:36 > 0:52:42altered our island, the Earth, than in all of our 200,000-year history.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47Nigeria is the biggest oil exporter in Africa,
0:52:47 > 0:52:51and yet 70% of the population lives under the poverty line.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55The wealth is there, but the country's inhabitants
0:52:55 > 0:52:57don't have access to it.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00The same is true all over the globe.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03Half the world's poor live in resource-rich countries.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Our mode of development has not fulfilled its promises.
0:53:12 > 0:53:18In 50 years, the gap between rich and poor has grown wider than ever.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Today, half the world's wealth
0:53:21 > 0:53:25is in the hands of the richest 2% of the population.
0:53:33 > 0:53:34Can such disparities be maintained?
0:53:36 > 0:53:39They are the cause of population movements whose scale
0:53:39 > 0:53:42we have yet to fully realise.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47The city of Lagos had a population of 700,000 in 1960.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51That will rise to 16 million by 2025.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56Lagos is one of the fastest-growing megalopolises in the world.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58The new arrivals are mostly famers,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02forced off the land for economic or demographic reasons,
0:54:02 > 0:54:04or because of diminishing resources.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07This is a radically new type of urban growth,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10driven by the urge to survive rather than to prosper.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19Every week, over a million people
0:54:19 > 0:54:21swell the populations of the world's cities.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30One human being in six now lives in a precarious, unhealthy,
0:54:30 > 0:54:33over-populated environment,
0:54:33 > 0:54:37without access to daily necessities such as water,
0:54:37 > 0:54:39sanitation, electricity.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14Hunger is spreading once more.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17It affects nearly one billion people.
0:55:23 > 0:55:24BIRDS CAW
0:55:48 > 0:55:51All over the planet, the poor scrabble to survive on scraps
0:55:51 > 0:55:54while we continue to dig for resources
0:55:54 > 0:55:56that we can no longer live without.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00We look farther and farther afield, in previously unspoilt territory
0:56:00 > 0:56:04and in regions that are increasingly difficult to exploit.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14We're not changing our model.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16Oil might run out.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20We can still extract oil from the tar sands of Canada.
0:56:20 > 0:56:25The biggest trucks in the world move thousands of tons of sand.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28The process of heating and separating bitumen from the sand
0:56:28 > 0:56:32requires millions of cubic metres of water.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34Colossal amounts of energy are needed.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37The pollution is catastrophic.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40The most urgent priority, apparently,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43is to pick every pocket of sunlight.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18Our oil tankers are getting bigger and bigger,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21our energy requirements are constantly increasing.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24We try to power growth like a bottomless oven
0:57:24 > 0:57:26that demands more and more fuel.
0:57:43 > 0:57:44It's all about carbon.
0:57:44 > 0:57:49In a few decades, the carbon that made our atmosphere a furnace,
0:57:49 > 0:57:52and that nature captured over millions of years,
0:57:52 > 0:57:53allowing life to develop,
0:57:53 > 0:57:56will have largely been pumped back out.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59The atmosphere is heating up.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02It would have been inconceivable for a boat to be here
0:58:02 > 0:58:04just a few years ago.
0:58:04 > 0:58:09Transport, industry, deforestation, agriculture -
0:58:09 > 0:58:13our activities release gigantic quantities of carbon dioxide.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17Without realising it, molecule by molecule,
0:58:17 > 0:58:20we have upset the Earth's climatic balance.
0:58:24 > 0:58:28All eyes are on the Poles...
0:58:28 > 0:58:33where the effects of global warming are most visible.
0:58:33 > 0:58:35It's happening fast, very fast.
0:58:35 > 0:58:39The Northwest Passage that connects America, Europe and Asia
0:58:39 > 0:58:42via the Pole is opening up.
0:58:42 > 0:58:44The Arctic ice cap is melting.
0:58:47 > 0:58:49Under the effect of global warming,
0:58:49 > 0:58:54the ice cap has lost 40% of its thickness in 40 years.
0:58:54 > 0:59:00Its surface area in the summer shrinks year by year.
0:59:00 > 0:59:03It could disappear in the summer months by 2030,
0:59:03 > 0:59:05some say 2015.
0:59:17 > 0:59:20The sunbeams that the ice sheet previously reflected back
0:59:20 > 0:59:24now penetrate the dark water, heating it up.
0:59:24 > 0:59:27The warming process gathers pace.
0:59:35 > 0:59:39This ice contains the records of our planet.
0:59:39 > 0:59:42The concentration of carbon dioxide hasn't been so high
0:59:42 > 0:59:45for several hundred thousand years.
0:59:47 > 0:59:51Humanity has never lived in an atmosphere like this.
1:00:01 > 1:00:04Is excessive exploitation of our resources
1:00:04 > 1:00:08threatening the lives of every species?
1:00:08 > 1:00:11Climate change accentuates the threat.
1:00:11 > 1:00:14By 2050, a quarter of the Earth's species
1:00:14 > 1:00:18could be threatened with extinction.
1:00:18 > 1:00:20In these polar regions,
1:00:20 > 1:00:23the balance of nature has already been disrupted.
1:01:54 > 1:01:57Around the North Pole, the ice cap has lost
1:01:57 > 1:02:0030% of its surface area in 30 years.
1:02:02 > 1:02:05But as Greenland rapidly becomes warmer,
1:02:05 > 1:02:08the freshwater of the whole continent
1:02:08 > 1:02:10flows into the saltwater of the oceans.
1:02:21 > 1:02:25Greenland's ice contains 20% of the freshwater of the whole planet.
1:02:27 > 1:02:31If it melts, sea levels will rise by nearly seven metres.
1:02:37 > 1:02:38RUMBLING
1:02:46 > 1:02:50But there is no industry here.
1:02:50 > 1:02:53Greenland's ice sheets suffers from greenhouse gases
1:02:53 > 1:02:55emitted elsewhere on Earth.
1:02:58 > 1:03:01Our ecosystem doesn't have borders.
1:03:01 > 1:03:06Wherever we are, our actions have repercussions on the whole Earth.
1:03:06 > 1:03:10The atmosphere of our planet is an indivisible hole -
1:03:10 > 1:03:13it is an asset we share.
1:03:16 > 1:03:20On Greenland's surface, lakes are appearing on the landscape.
1:03:20 > 1:03:22The ice cap has begun to melt at a speed
1:03:22 > 1:03:25that even the most pessimistic scientists
1:03:25 > 1:03:28did not envision ten years ago.
1:03:36 > 1:03:40More and more of these glacier-fed rivers are merging together
1:03:40 > 1:03:43and burrowing through the surface.
1:03:43 > 1:03:46It was thought the water would freeze in the depths of the ice.
1:03:46 > 1:03:49On the contrary, it flows under the ice,
1:03:49 > 1:03:53carrying the ice sheet into the sea, where it breaks into icebergs.
1:04:37 > 1:04:41As the freshwater of Greenland's ice sheet gradually seeps
1:04:41 > 1:04:43into the saltwater of the oceans,
1:04:43 > 1:04:46low-lying lands around the globe are threatened.
1:04:51 > 1:04:53Sea levels are rising.
1:04:53 > 1:04:57Water expanding as it gets warmer, caused, in the 20th century alone,
1:04:57 > 1:04:59a rise of 20cm.
1:05:00 > 1:05:03Everything becomes unstable.
1:05:03 > 1:05:07Coral reefs, for example, are extremely sensitive
1:05:07 > 1:05:09to the slightest change in water temperature.
1:05:09 > 1:05:1230% have disappeared.
1:05:12 > 1:05:15They are an essential chain of species.
1:05:20 > 1:05:25In the atmosphere, the major wind streams are changing direction.
1:05:25 > 1:05:27Rain cycles are altered.
1:05:27 > 1:05:31The geography of climates is modified.
1:05:31 > 1:05:35The inhabitants of low-lying islands here in the Maldives, for example,
1:05:35 > 1:05:37are on the front line.
1:05:37 > 1:05:40They are increasingly concerned.
1:05:40 > 1:05:43Some are already looking for new, more hospitable lands.
1:05:49 > 1:05:52If sea levels continue to rise faster and faster,
1:05:52 > 1:05:59what will major cities like Tokyo, the world's most populous city, do?
1:05:59 > 1:06:05Every year, scientist predictions become more and more alarming.
1:06:05 > 1:06:1070% of the world's population lives on costal plains.
1:06:10 > 1:06:1611 of the 15 biggest cities stand on a coastline or river estuary.
1:06:16 > 1:06:20As the seas rise, salt will invade the water table,
1:06:20 > 1:06:24depriving inhabitants of drinking water.
1:06:24 > 1:06:26Migratory phenomena are inevitable.
1:06:26 > 1:06:29The only uncertainty concerns their scale.
1:07:00 > 1:07:04In Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro is unrecognisable.
1:07:04 > 1:07:0780% of its glaciers have disappeared.
1:07:07 > 1:07:10In summer, the rivers no longer flow.
1:07:10 > 1:07:14Local peoples are affected by the lack of water.
1:07:14 > 1:07:18Even on the world's highest peaks in the heart of the Himalayas,
1:07:18 > 1:07:21eternal snows and glaciers are receding.
1:07:24 > 1:07:28Yet these glaciers plan an essential role in the water cycle.
1:07:28 > 1:07:31They trap the water from the monsoons as ice
1:07:31 > 1:07:34and release it in the summer when the snow melts.
1:07:47 > 1:07:48The glaciers of the Himalayas
1:07:48 > 1:07:51are the source of all the great Asian rivers -
1:07:51 > 1:07:55the Indus, Ganges, Mekong, Xiangjiang.
1:07:55 > 1:07:59Two billion people depend on them for drinking water
1:07:59 > 1:08:04and to irrigate their crops, as in Bangladesh.
1:08:04 > 1:08:07On the delta of the Ganges, in Brahmaputra,
1:08:07 > 1:08:11Bangladesh is directly affected by the phenomena incurring
1:08:11 > 1:08:13in the Himalayas and at sea level.
1:08:13 > 1:08:17This is one of the most populous and poorest countries in the world.
1:08:17 > 1:08:21It is already hit by global warming.
1:08:21 > 1:08:25The combined impact of increasingly dramatic floods and hurricanes
1:08:25 > 1:08:29could make a third of its landmass disappear.
1:08:29 > 1:08:32When populations are subjected to these devastating phenomena,
1:08:32 > 1:08:34they eventually move away.
1:08:40 > 1:08:43Wealthy countries will not be spared.
1:08:43 > 1:08:46Droughts are occurring all over the planet.
1:08:46 > 1:08:49In Australia, half of farmland is already affected.
1:09:01 > 1:09:05We are in the process of compromising the climactic balance
1:09:05 > 1:09:09that has allowed us to develop over 12,000 years.
1:09:17 > 1:09:23More and more wildfires encroach on major cities.
1:09:23 > 1:09:26In turn, they exacerbate global warming -
1:09:26 > 1:09:30as the trees burn, they release carbon dioxide.
1:09:30 > 1:09:35This system that controls our climate has been severely disrupted.
1:09:35 > 1:09:39The elements on which it relies have been disrupted.
1:10:09 > 1:10:11The clock of climate change is ticking
1:10:11 > 1:10:14in these magnificent landscapes.
1:10:14 > 1:10:17Here in Siberia, and elsewhere across the globe,
1:10:17 > 1:10:22it is so cold that the ground is constantly frozen.
1:10:22 > 1:10:25It's known as permafrost.
1:10:25 > 1:10:30Under its surface lies a climactic time bomb - methane,
1:10:30 > 1:10:34a greenhouse gas 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
1:10:49 > 1:10:51If the permafrost melts,
1:10:51 > 1:10:54the methane released would cause the greenhouse effect
1:10:54 > 1:10:58to race out of control with consequences no-one can predict.
1:11:03 > 1:11:07We would literally be in unknown territory.
1:11:15 > 1:11:19Humanity has no more than ten years to reverse the trend
1:11:19 > 1:11:22and avoid crossing into this territory -
1:11:22 > 1:11:25life on Earth as we have never known it.
1:11:53 > 1:11:56We have created phenomena we cannot control.
1:11:56 > 1:11:58Since our origins,
1:11:58 > 1:12:02water, air and forms of life are intimately linked.
1:12:04 > 1:12:07But recently we have broken those links.
1:12:10 > 1:12:13Let's face the facts - we must believe what we know.
1:12:16 > 1:12:20All that we have just seen is a reflection of human behaviour.
1:12:22 > 1:12:26We have shaped the Earth in our image.
1:12:26 > 1:12:29We have very little time to change.
1:12:29 > 1:12:33How can this century carry the burden of nine billion human beings
1:12:33 > 1:12:39if we refuse to be called to account for everything we alone have done?
1:16:30 > 1:16:32The cost of our actions is high.
1:16:32 > 1:16:36Others pay the price without having been actively involved.
1:16:36 > 1:16:41I have seen refugee camps as big as cities, sprawling in the desert.
1:16:41 > 1:16:43How many men, woman and children
1:16:43 > 1:16:47will be left by the wayside tomorrow?
1:16:47 > 1:16:51Must we always build walls to break the chain of human solidarity,
1:16:51 > 1:16:54separate peoples and protect the happiness of some
1:16:54 > 1:16:56from the misery of others?
1:16:56 > 1:16:58It's too late to be a pessimist.
1:16:58 > 1:17:02I know that a single human can knock down every wall.
1:17:02 > 1:17:04It's too late to be a pessimist.
1:17:04 > 1:17:07Worldwide, four children out of five attend school.
1:17:07 > 1:17:10Never has learning been given to so many human beings.
1:17:10 > 1:17:14Everyone, from richest to poorest, can make a contribution.
1:17:14 > 1:17:17Lesotho, one of the world's poorest countries, is proportionally
1:17:17 > 1:17:21the one that invests most in its people's education.
1:17:21 > 1:17:23Qatar, one of the world's richest states,
1:17:23 > 1:17:26has opened its doors to the best universities.
1:17:26 > 1:17:28Culture, education,
1:17:28 > 1:17:32research and innovation are inexhaustible resources.
1:17:32 > 1:17:34In the face of misery and suffering,
1:17:34 > 1:17:38millions of NGOs prove that solidarity between peoples is
1:17:38 > 1:17:41stronger than the selfishness of nations.
1:17:41 > 1:17:44Bangladesh, a man thought the unthinkable
1:17:44 > 1:17:46and founded a bank that lends only to the poor.
1:17:46 > 1:17:50In 30 years, it has changed the lives of 150 million people.
1:17:50 > 1:17:55Antarctica is a continent with immense natural resources
1:17:55 > 1:17:58that no country can claim for itself.
1:17:58 > 1:18:01A natural reserve devoted to peace and science.
1:18:01 > 1:18:04A treaty signed by 49 states has made it a treasure
1:18:04 > 1:18:07shared by all humanity. It's too late to be a pessimist.
1:18:07 > 1:18:11Governments have acted to protect nearly 2% of the world's
1:18:11 > 1:18:13territorial waters.
1:18:13 > 1:18:16It's not much, but it's two times more than ten years ago.
1:18:16 > 1:18:20The first natural parks were created just over a century ago.
1:18:20 > 1:18:22They cover over 13% of the continents.
1:18:22 > 1:18:26They create spaces where human activity is in step with
1:18:26 > 1:18:29the preservation of species, soils and landscapes.
1:18:29 > 1:18:33This harmony between humans and nature can become the rule,
1:18:33 > 1:18:35no longer the exception.
1:18:35 > 1:18:40In the United States, New York has realised what nature does for us.
1:18:40 > 1:18:44These forests and lakes supply all the drinking water the city needs.
1:18:44 > 1:18:48In South Korea, the forests have been devastated by war.
1:18:48 > 1:18:51Thanks to a national reforestation programme,
1:18:51 > 1:18:54they once more cover 65% of the country.
1:18:54 > 1:18:57More than 75% of paper is recycled.
1:18:57 > 1:19:00Costa Rica has made a choice between military spending
1:19:00 > 1:19:04and the conservation of its lands. The country no longer has an army.
1:19:04 > 1:19:07It prefers to devote its resources to education, ecotourism
1:19:07 > 1:19:10and the protection of its primary forest.
1:19:10 > 1:19:13Gabon is one of the world's leading producers of wood.
1:19:13 > 1:19:17It enforces selective logging - not more than one tree every hectare.
1:19:17 > 1:19:21Its forests are one of the country's most important economic resources,
1:19:21 > 1:19:24but they have the time to regenerate.
1:19:24 > 1:19:27Programmes exist that guarantee sustainable forest management.
1:19:27 > 1:19:29They must become mandatory.
1:19:29 > 1:19:34For consumers and producers, justice is an opportunity to be seized.
1:19:34 > 1:19:38When trade is fair, when both buyer and seller benefit,
1:19:38 > 1:19:42everybody can prosper and earn a decent living.
1:19:42 > 1:19:47How can there be justice and equity between people whose only tools are
1:19:47 > 1:19:50their hands, and those who harvest their crops with a machine
1:19:50 > 1:19:52and state subsidies?
1:19:55 > 1:19:59Let's be responsible consumers. Think about what we buy.
1:20:02 > 1:20:06It's too late to be a pessimist.
1:20:06 > 1:20:10I've seen agriculture on a human scale. It can feed the whole planet,
1:20:10 > 1:20:16if meat production doesn't take the food out of people's mouths.
1:20:16 > 1:20:18I've seen fishermen who take care what they catch
1:20:18 > 1:20:21and care for the riches of the ocean.
1:20:21 > 1:20:24I have seen houses producing their own energy.
1:20:24 > 1:20:285,000 people live in the world's first-ever ecofriendly
1:20:28 > 1:20:32district in Freiburg, Germany. Other cities partner the project.
1:20:32 > 1:20:34Mumbai is the 1,000th to join them.
1:20:34 > 1:20:38The governments of New Zealand, Iceland, Austria, Sweden
1:20:38 > 1:20:42and other nations have made the development of renewable
1:20:42 > 1:20:45energy sources a top priority.
1:20:45 > 1:20:47I know that 80% of the energy we consume
1:20:47 > 1:20:50comes from fossil energy sources. Every week,
1:20:50 > 1:20:55two new coal-fired generating plants are built in China alone, but I have
1:20:55 > 1:21:00also seen, in Denmark, a prototype of a coal-fired plant that
1:21:00 > 1:21:03releases its carbon into the soil rather than the air.
1:21:03 > 1:21:07A solution for the future? Nobody knows yet.
1:21:07 > 1:21:10I have seen, in Iceland, an electricity plant
1:21:10 > 1:21:13powered by the Earth's heat. Geothermal power.
1:21:13 > 1:21:17I have seen a sea snake lying on the swell to absorb
1:21:17 > 1:21:21the energy of the waves and produce electricity.
1:21:21 > 1:21:25I have seen wind farms off the coast of Denmark that
1:21:25 > 1:21:28produce 20% of the country's electricity.
1:21:28 > 1:21:30The USA, China, India, Germany
1:21:30 > 1:21:34and Spain are the biggest investors in renewable energy.
1:21:34 > 1:21:38They've already created over 2.5 million jobs.
1:21:38 > 1:21:42Where on Earth doesn't the wind blow?
1:21:42 > 1:21:46I have seen desert expanses baking in the sun.
1:21:46 > 1:21:51Everything on Earth is linked, and the Earth is linked to the sun,
1:21:51 > 1:21:53its original energy source.
1:21:53 > 1:21:57Can humans not imitate plants and capture its energy?
1:21:57 > 1:22:00In one hour, the sun gives the Earth the same
1:22:00 > 1:22:05amount of energy as that consumed by all humanity in one year.
1:22:05 > 1:22:09As long as the Earth exists, the sun's energy will be inexhaustible.
1:22:09 > 1:22:12All we have to do is stop drilling the earth
1:22:12 > 1:22:14and start looking to the sky.
1:22:14 > 1:22:17All we have to do is learn to cultivate the sun.
1:22:17 > 1:22:20All these experiments are only examples,
1:22:20 > 1:22:23but they testify to a new awareness.
1:22:23 > 1:22:26They lay down markers for a new human adventure,
1:22:26 > 1:22:29based on moderation, intelligence and sharing.
1:22:45 > 1:22:48It's time to come together.
1:22:48 > 1:22:53What's important is not what's gone, but what remains.
1:22:53 > 1:22:59We still have half the world's forests, thousands of rivers,
1:22:59 > 1:23:05lakes and glaciers, and thousands of thriving species.
1:23:05 > 1:23:12We know that the solutions are there today.
1:23:12 > 1:23:16We all have the power to change.
1:23:16 > 1:23:18So, what are we waiting for?