0:00:02 > 0:00:05Today is my 89th birthday, and, to my very considerable surprise,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09I find myself in a place that I've never been to before
0:00:09 > 0:00:12and which it is a great, great privilege to visit -
0:00:12 > 0:00:13the White House.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19In May 2015, Sir David Attenborough
0:00:19 > 0:00:23met Barack Obama, President of the United States.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31President Obama, the boy from Hawaii,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33grew up watching David's films.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35The blue whale!
0:00:35 > 0:00:38The most powerful man in the Western world
0:00:38 > 0:00:41has the issues of environment and climate change on his agenda.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44I don't have much patience for anyone
0:00:44 > 0:00:46who denies that this challenge is real.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49We don't have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society!
0:00:49 > 0:00:51APPLAUSE
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Now he wants to meet the man he admires, who has filmed
0:00:55 > 0:00:59the natural world for over 60 years and witnessed its many changes.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06What is it that led to such a deep fascination
0:01:06 > 0:01:08with how the natural world worked?
0:01:08 > 0:01:11- Well, I've never met a child... - Who's not fascinated?
0:01:11 > 0:01:14..who's not interested in natural history.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Together they discuss the future of the planet...
0:01:17 > 0:01:23What are the prospects for this... blue marble that we live on?
0:01:23 > 0:01:25..their passion for nature...
0:01:25 > 0:01:29..on a reef with this multitude of multicoloured organisms,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31the like of which you've never seen before!
0:01:31 > 0:01:33..and what can be done to protect it.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37If we find ways of generating
0:01:37 > 0:01:42and storing power from renewable resources,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45we will make the problem
0:01:45 > 0:01:49with oil and coal and other carbon problems disappear.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05It's early afternoon in Washington, DC.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08David Attenborough is in the US,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and he's flown in early for a very special meeting.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14He's en route to the White House,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17and he makes a quick call to the Royal Society in London
0:02:17 > 0:02:21to check on the latest report on climate change.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Hello, Martin.
0:02:23 > 0:02:29I'm in Washington, and although this may sound rather fanciful,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31I'm just about to be interviewed
0:02:31 > 0:02:33by the President of the United States.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37About conservation.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41I rang to ask whether, in fact, it was possible for me
0:02:41 > 0:02:44to use material from the report.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Yeah. Very good, then, I will.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50I just didn't want to do it without referring to you or to Richard.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Oh, really? You were, in the Vatican?
0:02:54 > 0:02:56And what did the Pope say about world population?
0:02:58 > 0:02:59Oh, really?
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Oh, well, that's something.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Indeed.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12This is David's first visit to the White House,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15and although he's no stranger to politicians and royalty,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17he's never met an American President before.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24- How are you, sir? - Mr President, it is a great honour.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26It is my honour. It's wonderful to see you.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Thank you so much for taking the time. Come on.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31It's not as big as I think everybody expects it to be,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- cos it used to be a horse stable, the whole West Wing...- Really?
0:03:34 > 0:03:37..and Theodore Roosevelt converted it,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41so there's not that much space to grow,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43but the windows are wonderful.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46- Fantastic.- Yeah. - Marvellous lighting.- It is.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49And that ceiling, too.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53- There you go. How have you been? - I've been well, thank you. - Thank you for agreeing to this.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56I grew up on some of your programming.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58- Really?- Of course. - DAVID LAUGHS
0:03:58 > 0:04:03And, you know, since I grew up in Hawaii...
0:04:03 > 0:04:05What a great place to grow up.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09..you know, I had a natural affinity for the outdoors
0:04:09 > 0:04:11- and an appreciation for... - A lot of underwater swimming?
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Oh, yes. You know, there's a place in Hawaii, Hanauma Bay,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18which is now a natural preserve,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21but it's a beautiful coral reef.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23My mother, she always says that the reason I'm calm
0:04:23 > 0:04:25is because when she was pregnant with me,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29she used to go down to this bay and sit and listen to the water.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30DAVID LAUGHS
0:04:31 > 0:04:36President Obama is a huge admirer of David Attenborough and his films.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Today, he wants to sit down with him to discuss the future of the planet.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49As one of the world's most respected wildlife film-makers,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52David has spent the last 60 years travelling the globe,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56gaining a unique insight into the changing natural world.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Here, there's virtually no water at all.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06It's easy to see why the polar regions are so cold.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11So it seems really very unfair that man should have chosen
0:05:11 > 0:05:17the gorilla to symbolise all that is aggressive and violent,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21when that's the one thing that the gorilla is not, and that we are.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26David's fascination for nature began when he was a young boy,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29collecting fossils in Charnwood Forest,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31near his home in Leicestershire.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37It was his first discoveries that sparked a curiosity that inspired
0:05:37 > 0:05:41a lifelong search to uncover the secrets of the natural world.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47The awe and wonder experienced by that seven-year-old
0:05:47 > 0:05:48has only grown stronger.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53THEY LAUGH
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Sir David Attenborough, thank you so much for being here.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58As I was telling you in our walk over,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02I have been a huge admirer of your work for a very long time.
0:06:02 > 0:06:08How did you get interested in nature and wanting to record it?
0:06:08 > 0:06:12When you think back, after this storied career...
0:06:13 > 0:06:18..what is it that led you to such a deep fascination
0:06:18 > 0:06:21with how the natural world worked?
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- Well, I've never met a child... - Who's not fascinated?
0:06:24 > 0:06:26..who's not interested in natural history.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29So, I mean, just the simplest thing,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32a five-year-old turning over a stone and seeing a slug,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35you know, and says "What a treasure!
0:06:35 > 0:06:38"How does it live? What are those things on the front?"
0:06:38 > 0:06:39Kids love it!
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Kids understand the natural world, and they're fascinated by it.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45- You just never grew up?- So the question is, how did you lose it?
0:06:45 > 0:06:47- How did anyone lose the interest in nature?- Yeah.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50- And certainly, I never lost it.- Yeah. - But if you do lose it -
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and I imagine there are lots of other attractions that can
0:06:53 > 0:06:57divert your attention - you've lost a very, very great treasure.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01At what point did you decide that you wanted to...
0:07:01 > 0:07:05make it your life's work to help record it?
0:07:05 > 0:07:08I don't think I ever dared say it was a life's work,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11because, after all, when I started there wasn't any television,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14and all I knew was I wanted to try
0:07:14 > 0:07:18and understand the way the world works, the natural world works.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20It's a great fascination.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25And so I took zoology and natural sciences at university,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27but then I had to go into the Navy - it was the end of the war
0:07:27 > 0:07:30and I was conscripted into the Navy for a couple of years -
0:07:30 > 0:07:32and then I got it when I came out,
0:07:32 > 0:07:37I didn't think I was cut out to be a proper scientist...
0:07:37 > 0:07:41But anyway, I went into television and managed to...
0:07:41 > 0:07:44I was going to say "manipulate" television to allow me
0:07:44 > 0:07:46to go and see these wonderful things,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48which is what I've been doing ever since, pretty well.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54When David first started in television in 1952,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56it was a new frontier.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58And the young television producer
0:07:58 > 0:08:02soon found a way of mixing his passion with his work.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Within a few years of joining the BBC, he helped launch Zoo Quest,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10one of the very first natural history series.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15At first, he was rejected as presenter
0:08:15 > 0:08:17because his bosses felt his teeth were too big.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20But when their first choice fell ill,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23the budding young producer stepped in at the last minute.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31The birds of paradise, are, I think, the most romantic
0:08:31 > 0:08:33and fantastic birds in the world.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Zoo Quest was ground-breaking,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40filming animals in their natural habitat
0:08:40 > 0:08:43and then bringing them back to the studio.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Now, could we see her?
0:08:46 > 0:08:48- Well!- Hello, Jane.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Hello! Oh, bless.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53DAVID LAUGHS Well, now.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Well, now.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00He went on to take a senior management role within the BBC,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03where his vision would help change the landscape of television.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07It was in this role that he had the idea for a series
0:09:07 > 0:09:10that would tell the story of all the life on our planet.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17A project of this breadth and scale had never been attempted before...
0:09:17 > 0:09:20and in 1979, it became a reality.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29'In fact, nobody knows exactly how many different kinds of animals
0:09:29 > 0:09:32'there are here. Wherever you look, there's life.'
0:09:34 > 0:09:36His Life On Earth series
0:09:36 > 0:09:40was watched by over 500 million people worldwide.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45For Barack Obama, growing up between the reefs of Hawaii
0:09:45 > 0:09:47and rainforests of Indonesia,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51those early Attenborough films captured his imagination.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Growing up in Hawaii,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00it was one of the things that taught me...
0:10:00 > 0:10:03not only to appreciate nature,
0:10:03 > 0:10:04but also that you had to care for it.
0:10:04 > 0:10:10And...you know, because we spent so much time outside.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13And I think there was part of the native Hawaiian culture,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15that is true of many native cultures,
0:10:15 > 0:10:20the sense of needing to care for the environment that you're in...
0:10:20 > 0:10:23that sometimes we lose when we live in big cities.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28What was the most dangerous or scariest experience you had
0:10:28 > 0:10:29in all your travels
0:10:29 > 0:10:33as you were trying to record these amazing things?
0:10:34 > 0:10:39Well, the truthful answer is that I've very seldom been in danger,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43but the one time when you are in danger
0:10:43 > 0:10:47is if you encounter a male Homo sapiens
0:10:47 > 0:10:50who doesn't speak your language, who's had a bit too much to drink.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- They are dangerous creatures. - They're dangerous creatures.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Yeah, absolutely. Especially when they're in packs!
0:10:58 > 0:11:03That's right. Otherwise, I've never been seriously attacked,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05but mainly that's because I'm a coward.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08I mean, I don't want things to attack me, so I don't go that close.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10You don't get too close to them!
0:11:11 > 0:11:15When you think of your favourite trips
0:11:15 > 0:11:17or your favourite discoveries
0:11:17 > 0:11:24or places in the world that you wish you could take everybody to
0:11:24 > 0:11:26so that they could really appreciate
0:11:26 > 0:11:30what this marvellous gift we've gotten is, what comes to mind?
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Well, I think you would agree with me
0:11:33 > 0:11:37that the moment you first dive on a barrier...on a coral reef,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41with tanks, so that you are weightless -
0:11:41 > 0:11:46being weightless is enough to make a memorable event for you.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47But when you can do it on a reef
0:11:47 > 0:11:50with this multitude of multicoloured organisms,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52the like of which you've never seen before,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and you can just, with a flick of your fin
0:11:55 > 0:11:56you can go down or you can go up,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00and then you can see these great sharks and things coming in
0:12:00 > 0:12:04from the ocean, that surely has to be one of the great sensations.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06It's a new world.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10One of David's very first dives
0:12:10 > 0:12:13was on the Great Barrier Reef in the early days of scuba.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16'What a world this was.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20'Beneath me lay an endless landscape of coral
0:12:20 > 0:12:23'of every conceivable colour and shape.'
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Now, almost 60 years later,
0:12:29 > 0:12:34he returns to this underwater wonderland for a major new series
0:12:34 > 0:12:37currently being made for the BBC that will air next year.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46In this series, David will use cutting-edge submersibles
0:12:46 > 0:12:49to reach areas of the reef that have never been seen before
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and shed new light on this spectacular environment.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58Nobody has ever dived as deep as this before on the Great Barrier Reef.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02In more than half a century since his first visit,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07David has seen our understanding of this marine paradise grow enormously
0:13:07 > 0:13:10but he's also witnessed some devastating changes.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21When I heard that you had gone down,
0:13:21 > 0:13:26you had dove into the Great Barrier Reef again -
0:13:26 > 0:13:2960 years after the first time you did it? -
0:13:29 > 0:13:33- Yes.- ..that impressed me.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Ah, but I was in a sub.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37I mean, I was in a very, very remarkable research sub,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41- and we went down to over 300 metres. - Oh, so you went way down in there.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44And that was just mind-blowing, of course.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Tell me how the Great Barrier Reef looked to you today
0:13:48 > 0:13:51compared to the first time that you went there.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54And what story does that tell us
0:13:54 > 0:13:59about how we're doing in conserving these incredible treasures?
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Well, of course, the whole population of Australia
0:14:03 > 0:14:05has increased a very great deal, so the population
0:14:05 > 0:14:10up the east coast of Queensland has grown, and so has industry,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13and wherever there are human beings and wherever there is industry,
0:14:13 > 0:14:14there are consequences,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17and the consequences on the coast are likely to be not too good
0:14:17 > 0:14:19for the reef, which is quite true.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23And the Australians are addressing that.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25The real problem on the reef
0:14:25 > 0:14:28is the global one, which is what is happening with
0:14:28 > 0:14:32the increase in acidification and the rise in the ocean temperature.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35And the Australians have done research on coral now
0:14:35 > 0:14:39- and they know for sure it will kill coral...- Right.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41..it will kill the species of coral.
0:14:41 > 0:14:42And what they're concerned about now is...
0:14:42 > 0:14:46I mean, that seems almost inevitable. What it seems now is,
0:14:46 > 0:14:51can they find the right species to maintain the reef's population?
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Right. So, really, there's a mitigation strategy
0:14:55 > 0:14:57that they're trying to come up with,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59but what we're seeing is global trends
0:14:59 > 0:15:04that...depend on the entire world working together.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08- Yes.- And, sadly, it seems as if
0:15:08 > 0:15:11we haven't made as much progress as we need to on climate change.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16Now, given the work that you've done, though, the good news
0:15:16 > 0:15:19is that there are some areas where we HAVE made progress.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21We've been able, here in the United States, for example,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23with the Clean Air and the Clean Water Act,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27to clean up areas that 20, 30, 40 years ago
0:15:27 > 0:15:30seemed like they'd never recover,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33and once we took some sensible steps,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37turns out that nature was fairly resilient.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42But it required us being fairly intentional
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and really go after the problem in a serious way.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Certainly, the resilience of the natural world
0:15:50 > 0:15:53gives you great hope, really.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Give nature half a chance, it really takes it and works with it.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59But we are throwing huge problems at it.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04The National Parks of the USA are a good example
0:16:04 > 0:16:08of where land has been protected and nature has flourished.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Yet here there's a rodent that manages to find food
0:16:11 > 0:16:14throughout the winter months,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17and it does so with an extremely ingenious device.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23It's in these parks that President Obama is continuing the tradition
0:16:23 > 0:16:27of other presidents, preserving millions of acres of land and water.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33- OBAMA:- I can't think of a better way to spend Earth Day
0:16:33 > 0:16:39than in one of our nation's greatest national treasures, the Everglades.
0:16:39 > 0:16:40CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:16:40 > 0:16:43But part of the reason we're here is because climate change
0:16:43 > 0:16:46is threatening this treasure.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51This is not a problem for another generation, not any more.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53This is a problem now.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57His recent initiatives have been aimed at motivating
0:16:57 > 0:17:01the young people of America to see the great outdoors for themselves.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06You know, one of my predecessors, Teddy Roosevelt,
0:17:06 > 0:17:11- started the National Parks, and... - Yeah, I mean...- ..what a legacy.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15The United States was the model for the world -
0:17:15 > 0:17:16I mean, Yosemite and so on
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- and the founding of those great National Parks.- Right.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Yes, indeed, have I travelled there,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24and boy, what a wonderful time one has there.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28- Yeah.- And great lodges, and great treks, and...
0:17:28 > 0:17:31And the space, still! It doesn't...
0:17:31 > 0:17:33You know, all these visitors come
0:17:33 > 0:17:36and yet you can still be alone up there.
0:17:36 > 0:17:42It's one of the great, I think, secrets of the United States, is...
0:17:43 > 0:17:46..how big it is, and there are big chunks of it
0:17:46 > 0:17:49that are still undisturbed. And when you fly over the country,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53you're reminded about what a blessing it is.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58There aren't many places with such low density
0:17:58 > 0:18:01where you can just walk for miles.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Well, to have in your own country the Okefenokee Swamp down there
0:18:04 > 0:18:07and the glaciers of Alaska up there
0:18:07 > 0:18:11- and Yosemite, and the Rockies over there... Oh, gosh!- Yeah.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15Well, that's part of the reason why what we've been doing
0:18:15 > 0:18:19is trying to initiate ways to get more children and young people
0:18:19 > 0:18:20to use the parks.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24And as you said, so many of these kids are growing up cut off -
0:18:24 > 0:18:28they're sitting on the couch, they're playing video games,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31if they experience nature, it's through a television screen.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34And just getting them out there
0:18:34 > 0:18:37so that they're picking up that rock and finding that slug...
0:18:37 > 0:18:41They're seeing that bird with colours
0:18:41 > 0:18:43- that they've never seen before. - And they're learning
0:18:43 > 0:18:46a bit of self-reliance, too. I mean, it's very, very difficult,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50if you've never been in the outside, to find yourself in a forest.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54I mean, I've been humiliated enough in Amazon forests -
0:18:54 > 0:18:59losing myself, I mean - and you really do feel an idiot.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02And the local people, tribespeople, look at you,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06thinking, "You're lost?! Where were you brought up?"
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- The answer is "not in the forest". - Yeah.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12But kids can learn, and they love it when they do.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17During David's lifetime,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20the natural world has undergone enormous changes.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Since beginning his journeys around the world,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31the ozone hole was discovered...
0:19:32 > 0:19:34..global warming was detected...
0:19:40 > 0:19:43..and extinctions have increased.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47To this day, David continues to witness the impact first-hand.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00What.... What are the prospects for this...
0:20:01 > 0:20:04..blue marble that we live on in the middle of space?
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Do you get a sense that we're going to be able
0:20:07 > 0:20:13to get ahead of these problems? Do you think that, you know,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17with the prospects of climate change, rising populations,
0:20:17 > 0:20:22that it's realistic for us to be able to get a handle
0:20:22 > 0:20:24on these issues and reverse some of the problems?
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Or are you more pessimistic?
0:20:27 > 0:20:34I believe that if we find ways of generating and storing power
0:20:34 > 0:20:41from renewable resources, we will make the problem with oil and coal
0:20:41 > 0:20:44and other carbon problems disappear,
0:20:44 > 0:20:49- because economically, we will wish to use these other methods.- Right.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53And if we do that, a huge step will have been taken
0:20:53 > 0:20:55towards solving the problems of the Earth.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Well, I think you're right about that there's got to be
0:20:58 > 0:21:01an economic component to this.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Nowhere is such an economic conflict more apparent than in Africa,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11where the natural world is clashing with the rapidly growing human one.
0:21:14 > 0:21:20Nobody knows what the future has in store for this little calf...
0:21:20 > 0:21:21CALF SQUEAKS
0:21:21 > 0:21:25DAVID IMITATES IT
0:21:25 > 0:21:28..or, indeed, how the changes that inevitably are going to
0:21:28 > 0:21:32take place in Africa will affect the rest of the world,
0:21:32 > 0:21:33and this little animal.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38Throughout his many years of travel across this continent, David has
0:21:38 > 0:21:41become familiar with the unique projects to protect its wildlife.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47President Obama's connection to this continent is even more personal,
0:21:47 > 0:21:48as Kenya is his paternal home.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56His ancestral roots lie 300 miles west of Nairobi,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58where his father was born and raised.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00CHEERING
0:22:00 > 0:22:04I am so proud to come back home and see all...
0:22:04 > 0:22:06CHEERING AND APPLAUSE DROWN OUT SPEECH
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Like David, he is passionate
0:22:08 > 0:22:11about Africa's natural beauty and wildlife,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14and has created initiatives to help protect it.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18You know, my father was from Kenya,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22and I still remember the first time I went to Maasai Mara
0:22:22 > 0:22:26and the Serengeti and saw the great migration,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30and, you know, it's like going back to the Garden of Eden
0:22:30 > 0:22:35when you see the wildebeest and the zebras, and you're transported.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39But I remember talking to the rangers out there, and, you know,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42they're dealing with issues of poaching and other problems,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46but the principal problem initially that they had
0:22:46 > 0:22:49was that the populations around the parks
0:22:49 > 0:22:54didn't feel any economic incentive to help preserve it.
0:22:54 > 0:23:01And when the National Parks started to work WITH the local farmers
0:23:01 > 0:23:04and saying to them, "There's ways for you to do well
0:23:04 > 0:23:09"while still conserving this great treasure that we have,"
0:23:09 > 0:23:11that's when you got co-operation,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15and I think all too often we pose this
0:23:15 > 0:23:19as an "economic development versus environment" problem
0:23:19 > 0:23:22rather than recognising there's a way of marrying those two concerns.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24That indeed is the case, but the trouble is that
0:23:24 > 0:23:27as fast as you find solutions along those lines,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29the problem grows bigger,
0:23:29 > 0:23:33- because the increase in population in Kenya is...- Serious.
0:23:33 > 0:23:34..is very, very considerable.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37And it's very difficult, if you're growing a family
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and you want to grow your own food and so on,
0:23:39 > 0:23:44and you can see all that space occupied by elephants or whatever.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- Right, right.- So, "What about us?" - Exactly, and that's why...
0:23:47 > 0:23:51- Population growth is one of the huge problems.- Yeah.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55David was recently filming a series in China
0:23:55 > 0:23:59as the world's population was crossing the seven billion mark.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09This little boy's name is Xiao Bao.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12It means "little treasure".
0:24:14 > 0:24:19In David's lifetime, the world's population has more than tripled.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23He and President Obama agree that population growth
0:24:23 > 0:24:26is one of the major issues facing the planet today.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30We're spending a lot of time, including working with my wife,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33around issues of girls' education.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38Turns out that when young women are getting proper schooling
0:24:38 > 0:24:40and see opportunity,
0:24:40 > 0:24:46they're less likely to have children early -
0:24:46 > 0:24:50smaller families, population stabilises,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53and so it actually ends up helping not only those young women succeed
0:24:53 > 0:24:57and look after their children, but it also helps the...
0:24:57 > 0:25:00- Certainly so. - ..you know, the environment.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04So you have to have a literate, informed population
0:25:04 > 0:25:07with medical understanding of what the problems are
0:25:07 > 0:25:11and what's available, and then the population, the birth-rate falls.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12It's not the end of the story,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15but the birth-rates falling is a start.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18In tackling these issues, both President Obama
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and David embrace the latest developments in communication
0:25:22 > 0:25:25to reach millions of people around the world.
0:25:25 > 0:25:26CHEERING
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Obama was the first to use social media
0:25:28 > 0:25:31as a major campaign strategy to secure his presidency.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39The audience is changing.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43The audience is no longer sitting in front of armchairs
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and the family and saying, "Look at the television."
0:25:46 > 0:25:49You're doing it how you want to do it, WHERE you want to do it
0:25:49 > 0:25:50and WHEN you want to do it.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54The internet now connects billions of people all over the world,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56and the potential is clear.
0:25:56 > 0:26:02This is a huge and valuable weapon that has been put in our hands,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06put in the hands of anybody and everybody
0:26:06 > 0:26:10who cares about the future of this greatly imperilled world.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14So perhaps it's no surprise that David Attenborough
0:26:14 > 0:26:18and President Obama occupy the all-time top two spots of Reddit,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21one of the largest social media sites in the world.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25The internet's been a powerful tool, though, for this generation,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28I think, to become aware of all the wonders of the world.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31When you were starting off,
0:26:31 > 0:26:35maybe you could get a programme on once every so often.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39- Now on your telephone you can see... - DAVID LAUGHS
0:26:39 > 0:26:43..you know, glaciers and the Amazon and...
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Well, it is an extraordinary paradox, isn't it,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49that the United Nations tells us
0:26:49 > 0:26:52that over 50% of the human population on the planet
0:26:52 > 0:26:54are urbanised, which means that,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58to some degree, they are cut off from the natural world -
0:26:58 > 0:27:00and after all, some people are totally cut off,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03they don't see a wild creature from dawn till dusk,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- unless it's a rat or a pigeon.- Right.
0:27:06 > 0:27:11And yet at the same time, mass media can get at and inform those people
0:27:11 > 0:27:14as to what the natural world is.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19If they don't understand about the workings of the natural world,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22they won't take the trouble to protect it.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25That's one of the roles that the media should have,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28of maintaining a link between the population
0:27:28 > 0:27:32and an understanding of what goes on in the natural world,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35because why should they give up money on taxes, come to that,
0:27:35 > 0:27:39to protect the natural world unless they actually care about it?
0:27:39 > 0:27:42The interesting thing is, though, my daughters, I find,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Malia and Sasha, they're 16 and 13 now,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49they're much more environmentally aware, this generation...
0:27:49 > 0:27:51- I believe that. - ..more than previous generations.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55They do not dispute, for example, the science around climate change.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59- No.- They think it's self-apparent that we've got a problem
0:27:59 > 0:28:01and that we should be doing something about it.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Yeah. I absolutely agree. Certainly the letters I get,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07they bring tears to the eyes, from kids of all ages.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12And the young people, they care!
0:28:12 > 0:28:14They know that this is the world they're going to grow up in,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17that they're going to spend the rest of their lives in,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20but I think it's more idealistic than that.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23They actually believe that humanity,
0:28:23 > 0:28:29human species has no right to destroy and despoil regardless.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32- They actually feel that very powerfully.- They do.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Like many,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38David believes the world's natural resources are seriously at risk.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42With just 18 months left in office,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45President Obama hopes that one of his legacies
0:28:45 > 0:28:49will be to have helped protect the environment.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53The climate is changing faster than our efforts to address it.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57He recently signed an agreement with China
0:28:57 > 0:28:59for both nations to cap their emissions.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03The United States has set a new goal of reducing
0:29:03 > 0:29:10our net greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% below 2005 levels
0:29:10 > 0:29:11by the year 2025.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17President Obama had great hopes to tackle the energy crisis
0:29:17 > 0:29:20facing our planet, but he knows there's still a lot to do.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26What concerns me is that when we're sitting in Europe,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29we see what you did by saying,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33"We're going to put a man on the moon in ten years."
0:29:33 > 0:29:37Supposing you said, "In ten years, the United States
0:29:37 > 0:29:42"will organise the world and energise the world to find a solution,
0:29:42 > 0:29:46"to find a way of producing energy with no problems" -
0:29:46 > 0:29:51that is to say, exploiting sunshine, to a degree,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54and finding ways of storing electricity.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Because if you did that, so much would be solved,
0:29:57 > 0:29:58problems would be solved.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Well, that's what we're going to be shooting for.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03I mean, we've made enormous investments,
0:30:03 > 0:30:04we've doubled our investment
0:30:04 > 0:30:06in clean energy here in the United States.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10I just last year came back from China with
0:30:10 > 0:30:14an agreement from the Chinese to work with us on reducing emissions.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17But we're not moving as fast as we need to, and the...
0:30:17 > 0:30:22Part of what I know from watching your programmes
0:30:22 > 0:30:24and all the great work you've done
0:30:24 > 0:30:28is that these, you know, these ecosystems are...
0:30:30 > 0:30:32..are all interconnected,
0:30:32 > 0:30:36and that if just one country is doing the right thing
0:30:36 > 0:30:40but other countries are not, we're not going to solve the problem.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42We're going to have to have a global solution to this.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45And the solutions are global, have to be global,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48and that has been the huge encouragement
0:30:48 > 0:30:52over the past ten years, that the United States and indeed China -
0:30:52 > 0:30:54two vast, important nations -
0:30:54 > 0:30:57have actually agreed to take these steps.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00That surely will go down in history as epoch-making,
0:31:00 > 0:31:05- but the job is not yet done. - No, we're far from it.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09If you were to think about how we could raise awareness...
0:31:10 > 0:31:13Because you've been a great educator as well as a great naturalist.
0:31:13 > 0:31:19How do you think we can reach the public around these issues,
0:31:19 > 0:31:21not only to make them aware of the dangers
0:31:21 > 0:31:23of an issue like climate change,
0:31:23 > 0:31:29but also to feel a sense of agency and capacity to change it?
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Another way of asking this is maybe, what do you think
0:31:32 > 0:31:36are some of the most stubborn misconceptions about nature
0:31:36 > 0:31:43that lead us not always to get out in front of these problems?
0:31:43 > 0:31:44I think only unfamiliarity.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49And I don't see how you can hope to take somebody who has
0:31:49 > 0:31:53spent the first 16 years of his life surrounded by bricks and mortar
0:31:53 > 0:31:55and then suddenly put him in the middle of a rainforest
0:31:55 > 0:31:58and expect him to find his way or to know how to live
0:31:58 > 0:32:00or indeed how to survive and find food.
0:32:00 > 0:32:05And I'm not sure that that is absolutely necessary, anyway.
0:32:05 > 0:32:10I think what is required is an understanding and a gut feeling
0:32:10 > 0:32:15that you understand that the natural world is part of your inheritance.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17This is the planet on which we live,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20it's the only one we've got, and we've got to protect it.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24And people do feel that, deeply and instinctively,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27and it is, after all...
0:32:27 > 0:32:31The natural world is where you go in moments of celebration
0:32:31 > 0:32:32and in moments of grief.
0:32:32 > 0:32:38It is the greatest prop and stay to humanity's own...
0:32:38 > 0:32:42feeling for himself, itself, herself, ourself.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Well, you know, if you think about...um...
0:32:46 > 0:32:53in all the world's religions, you know, when you're seeking wisdom,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56you're seeking to hear God,
0:32:56 > 0:33:01you're in the desert or you go to great waters,
0:33:01 > 0:33:03or you go up to great mountain peaks.
0:33:03 > 0:33:11You know, the amazement of the natural world and its powers,
0:33:11 > 0:33:15you know, that's what speaks to what's deepest in us,
0:33:15 > 0:33:20and, you know, what's critically important
0:33:20 > 0:33:23is making sure that we're passing that on to future generations.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27You know, you and I, we've been blessed to be able to see it
0:33:27 > 0:33:31and experience it and be moved by it,
0:33:31 > 0:33:36and I want to make sure that my daughters and their children
0:33:36 > 0:33:39are experiencing that same thing.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43- Mr President, thank you very much. - Well, I was a good pupil of yours.
0:33:43 > 0:33:44- DAVID LAUGHS - Thank you so much.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46- Thank you very much indeed. - Great to talk to you.
0:33:49 > 0:33:54My experience is that everybody surrounding the great man
0:33:54 > 0:34:00is very concerned about protocol, but the great man himself is not.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03I've got an official birthday present from the President.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06- I'm extremely grateful.- All right? Thank you so much.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09- It was a great honour to meet you. - Thank you.- I really enjoyed it.
0:34:09 > 0:34:15He couldn't have been more direct, friendly or kind and generous
0:34:15 > 0:34:17in what he said.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21It was my 89th birthday, and...
0:34:21 > 0:34:25so there were... Americans go in for birthday celebrations.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28They love singing Happy Birthday, it seems,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31and provide you with a cake at all opportunities.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33- ALL:- # Happy birthday to you... #
0:34:33 > 0:34:39So I have run a gauntlet of cakes and Happy Birthdays today,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43which is all very touching. I've never had a birthday like it.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47But then, I've never had any other day like it, either.