Sir David Attenborough’s life mission has been to protect the natural world from irreversible destruction. He has now joined Instagram to continue putting his message out into the world.
‘I am making this move… because, as we all know, the world is in trouble,’ he said in his first video. ‘Continents are on fire. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying. The list goes on and on.’
Attenborough has visited every continent in the world and almost every country, exploring nature and the way humans and nature can live in harmony. The film, A Life On Our Planet, aims to guide viewers towards living more sustainably, which includes a plant-based diet.
Climate Change is a reality that the world needs to wake up to.
Jane Goodall has warned that humanity needs to drastically change our food system. The primatologist said that if our behaviours do not change in light of the climate crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, the human race will be ‘finished’.
WWF’s Living Planet Report reveals an average decline of two thirds in wildlife populations since 1970. The harrowing reality is a result of environmental destruction, such as deforestation, unsustainable agriculture and the illegal wildlife trade – which contributes to virus outbreaks like COVID-19.
Cetacean experts have signed an open statement to global leaders calling for action to urgently address the precarious situation of many populations of whales, dolphins and porpoises, (collectively ‘cetaceans’) many of which face extinction threats due to harmful human activity such as incidental bycatch by fisheries, chemical and noise pollution, global warming and ship strikes.
The scientists say that of the 90 living cetacean species, more than half now have a concerning conservation status, and the trend of action coming ‘too little too late’ must end. Without urgent action, they predict the Northern Atlantic right whale could vanish, along with the critically endangered vaquita in Mexico which sits ‘poised on the knife edge of extinction.’
Overnight, Sir Attenborough has gained 2.9 million followers. His first video has been watched 11.1 million times since it was uploaded.
In just 73 seconds, he manages to send a powerful message about the fate of the planet. ‘Saving our planet is now a communications challenge,’ he says.
Image credit: Screenshot from Instagram video
