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Sir David Attenborough was 28 when he convinced his bosses at the BBC to allow him to travel the world and document their explorations. He has always been traveling ever since.
For nearly 70 years, the knighted Briton and his teams of filmmakers have traveled to some of the most remote places on earth to explore the natural world.
“I want [people] to know… not human history in particular, but the history of life on this earth, how it developed, “Attenborough told 60 Minutes.
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Attenborough, now 94, has witnessed the evolution of the natural world more closely than most.
Attenborough studied geology and zoology before embarking on a career in television and film. Since then, he has been an animal advocate, conservationist, and serves as an ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund.
For much of his career, Attenborough chose not to preach conservation in his films. In 2002, the naturalist told 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley in an interview that his job was to show an “objective description of the natural world.”
“The most important job is to persuade people that the natural world is complex and wonderful and one of the most precious things we have,” Attenborough told 60 Minutes in 2002. “And if you’re going to do that, then do it every time. , you show the facts, you end up saying: ‘And everything is disappearing and everything is your fault’, people will stop seeing. “
Until recently, Attenborough’s films avoided making radical statements about the planet’s climate change.
That position has changed.
Attenborough’s latest project includes a book and film titled “A Life on Our Planet.” The documentary premieres on Netflix on October 4. He calls this latest project his “witness statement,” and on 60 Minutes he told correspondent Anderson Cooper that “a crime has been committed” against the planet.
“We’re both on broadcast, if you’re going to say something like it’s true, you better make sure it’s true,” Attenborough told Cooper. “So I didn’t say much about the ecologically endangered world until I was absolutely sure what I was talking about was correct.”
Attenborough no longer beats around words or leaves his viewers wondering where he stands on the issue of climate change. In the new film, he laments the decline of the Earth and emphatically states: “Our planet is headed for disaster.”
Despite his stern warning about the danger of the planet, Attenborough told Cooper that it is not too late to save it, if countries work together and societies alter their behavior. The nonagenarian maintains hope for the future.
“There is a huge movement around the world of people of all nations, young people who can see what is happening in the world and who demand that their government act,” Attenborough said. “And that’s the best hope I have.”
The video above was produced by Keith Zubrow and Sarah Shafer Prediger. It was edited by Sarah Shafer Prediger.
Photos and video courtesy of Silverback Films, WWF and Getty Images.
