00:01:28
Listen to me, please.
00:01:31
You're like me, a homo sapiens,
00:01:35
a wise human.
00:01:37
Life,
00:01:39
a miracle in the universe,
appeared around 4 billion years ago.
00:01:43
And we humans
only 200,000 years ago.
00:01:48
Yet we have succeeded in disrupting
the balance so essential to life.
00:01:53
Listen carefully to this
extraordinary story, which is yours,
00:01:58
and decide
what you want to do with it.
00:02:19
These are traces of our origins.
00:02:22
At the beginning, our planet
was no more than a chaos of fire,
00:02:26
a cloud
of agglutinated dust particles,
00:02:29
like so many similar clusters
in the universe.
00:02:33
Yet this is where
the miracle of life occurred.
00:03:25
Today, life, our life,
00:03:28
is just a link in a chain
of innumerable living beings
00:03:31
that have succeeded one another
on Earth over nearly 4 billion years.
00:03:40
And even today,
00:03:42
new volcanoes continue
to sculpt our landscapes.
00:03:46
They offer a glimpse of what
our Earth was like at its birth,
00:03:49
molten rock surging from the depths,
00:03:52
solidifying, cracking, blistering
or spreading in a thin crust,
00:03:58
before falling dormant for a time.
00:04:13
These wreathes of smoke
curling from the bowels of the Earth
00:04:17
bear witness
to the Earth's original atmosphere.
00:04:21
An atmosphere devoid of oxygen.
00:04:24
A dense atmosphere,
thick with water vapor,
00:04:27
full of carbon dioxide.
00:04:31
A furnace.
00:04:42
The Earth cooled.
00:04:44
The water vapor condensed
and fell in torrential downpours.
00:04:49
At the right distance from the sun,
not too far, not too near,
00:04:54
the Earth's perfect balance
enabled it to conserve water
00:04:58
in liquid form.
00:05:00
The water cut channels.
00:05:02
They are like the veins of a body,
the branches of a tree,
00:05:06
the vessels of the sap
that the water gave to the Earth.
00:05:22
The rivers tore minerals from rocks,
adding them to the oceans' freshwater.
00:05:28
And the oceans became heavy with salt.
00:05:50
Where do we come from?
00:05:52
Where did life
first spark into being?
00:05:57
A miracle of time,
00:05:59
primitive life forms still exist
in the globe's hot springs.
00:06:03
They give them their colors.
They're called archeobacteria.
00:06:16
They all feed off the Earth's heat.
00:06:19
All except the cyanobacteria,
00:06:21
or blue-green algae.
00:06:24
They alone have the capacity
to turn to the sun
00:06:27
to capture its energy.
00:06:30
They are a vital ancestor of all
yesterday's and today's plant species.
00:06:37
These tiny bacteria
and their billions of descendants
00:06:41
changed the destiny of our planet.
00:06:45
They transformed its atmosphere.
00:06:53
What happened to the carbon
that poisoned the atmosphere?
00:06:58
It's still here,
imprisoned in the Earth's crust.
00:07:05
Here, there once was a sea,
inhabited by micro-organisms.
00:07:09
They grew shells by tapping into
the atmosphere's carbon
00:07:13
now dissolved in the ocean.
00:07:16
These strata
are the accumulated shells
00:07:19
of those billions and billions
of micro-organisms.
00:07:29
Thanks to them, the carbon drained
from the atmosphere
00:07:33
and other life forms could develop.
00:07:39
It is life
that altered the atmosphere.
00:07:44
Plant life fed off the sun's energy,
00:07:47
which enabled it to break apart
the water molecule and take the oxygen.
00:07:52
And oxygen filled the air.
00:07:56
The Earth's water cycle
is a process of constant renewal.
00:08:01
Waterfalls, water vapor,
00:08:04
clouds, rain,
00:08:06
springs, rivers,
00:08:09
seas, oceans, glaciers...
00:08:13
The cycle is never broken.
00:08:15
There's always the same quantity
of water on Earth.
00:08:19
All the successive species on Earth
have drunk the same water.
00:08:25
The astonishing matter that is water.
00:08:28
One of the most unstable of all.
00:08:30
It takes a liquid form
as running water,
00:08:33
gaseous as vapor,
or solid as ice.
00:08:40
In Siberia, the frozen surfaces
of the lakes in winter
00:08:45
contain the trace of the forces
that water deploys when it freezes.
00:08:49
Lighter than water, the ice floats.
00:08:51
It forms a protective mantle
against the cold,
00:08:55
under which life can go on.
00:09:33
The engine of life is linkage.
00:09:36
Everything is linked.
00:09:39
Nothing is self-sufficient.
00:09:41
Water and air are inseparable,
00:09:43
united in life
and for our life on Earth.
00:09:48
Sharing is everything.
00:10:09
The green expanse through the clouds
is the source of oxygen in the air.
00:10:14
70% of this gas,
00:10:17
without which our lungs
cannot function,
00:10:20
comes from the algae that tint
the surface of the oceans.
00:10:26
Our Earth relies on a balance,
00:10:29
in which every being
has a role to play
00:10:32
and exists only through the existence
of another being.
00:10:36
A subtle, fragile harmony
that is easily shattered.
00:10:48
Thus, corals are born
from the marriage of algae and shells.
00:10:53
Coral reefs cover
less than 1% of the ocean floor,
00:10:57
but they provide a habitat for thousands
of species of fish, mollusks and algae.
00:11:03
The equilibrium of every ocean
depends on them.
00:11:18
The Earth counts time
in billions of years.
00:11:22
It took more than 4 billion years
for it to make trees.
00:11:30
In the chain of species,
trees are a pinnacle,
00:11:34
a perfect, living sculpture.
00:11:37
Trees defy gravity.
00:11:39
They are the only natural element
in perpetual movement toward the sky.
00:11:45
They grow unhurriedly toward the sun
that nourishes their foliage.
00:12:03
They have inherited
from these miniscule cyanobacteria
00:12:07
the power to capture light's energy.
00:12:10
They store it and feed off it,
00:12:14
turning it into wood and leaves,
00:12:16
which then decompose
into a mixture of water, mineral,
00:12:21
vegetable and living matter.
00:12:27
And so,
00:12:29
gradually,
00:12:30
soils are formed.
00:12:44
Soils teem with the incessant activity
of micro-organisms,
00:12:48
feeding, digging,
aerating and transforming.
00:12:53
They make the humus, the fertile layer
to which all life on land is linked.
00:13:20
What do we know about life on Earth?
00:13:23
How many species are we aware of?
A tenth of them?
00:13:27
A hundredth perhaps?
00:13:28
What do we know
about the bonds that link them?
00:13:43
The Earth is a miracle.
00:13:45
Life remains a mystery.
00:14:04
Families of animals form,
united by customs and rituals
00:14:08
that are handed down
through the generations.
00:14:30
Some adapt
to the nature of their pasture
00:14:34
and their pasture adapts to them.
00:14:36
And both gain.
00:14:39
The animal sates its hunger
and the tree can blossom again.
00:15:24
In the great adventure
of life on Earth,
00:15:27
every species has a role to play,
00:15:29
every species has its place.
00:15:33
None is futile or harmful.
00:15:36
They all balance out.
00:15:52
And that's where you,
00:15:54
homo sapiens, wise human,
00:15:57
enter the story.
00:16:01
You benefit from a fabulous
4-billion-year-old legacy
00:16:05
bequeathed by the Earth.
00:16:14
You are only 200,000 years old,
00:16:17
but you have changed
the face of the world.
00:16:22
Despite your vulnerability, you have
taken possession of every habitat
00:16:27
and conquered swathes of territory,
like no other species before you.
00:16:38
After 180,000 nomadic years,
00:16:41
and thanks to a more clement climate,
00:16:43
humans settled down.
00:16:46
They no longer depended
on hunting for survival.
00:16:49
They chose to live in wet environments
that abounded in fish,
00:16:53
game and wild plants.
00:16:55
There where land,
water and life combine.
00:17:29
Even today,
00:17:30
the majority of humankind
lives on the continents' coastlines
00:17:34
or the banks of rivers and lakes.
00:17:53
Across the planet,
one person in four
00:17:56
lives as humankind did
6,000 years ago,
00:18:00
their only energy that which nature
provides season after season.
00:18:06
It's the way of life
of 1.5 billion people,
00:18:10
more than the combined population
of all the wealthy nations.
00:19:16
But life expectancy is short
and hard labor takes its toll.
00:19:21
The uncertainties of nature
weigh on daily life.
00:19:26
Education is a rare privilege.
00:19:30
Children are a family's only asset
00:19:33
as long as every extra pair of hands
00:19:36
is a necessary contribution
to its subsistence.
00:19:50
Humanity's genius
00:19:51
is to have always had a sense
of its weakness.
00:19:56
The physical strength, with which
nature insufficiently endowed humans,
00:20:01
is found in animals that help them
to discover new territories.
00:20:33
But how can you conquer the world
on an empty stomach?
00:20:41
The invention of agriculture
turned our history on end.
00:20:46
It was less than 10,000 years ago.
00:20:49
Agriculture
was our first great revolution.
00:21:01
It resulted in the first surpluses
00:21:03
and gave birth to cities
and civilizations.
00:21:13
The memory of thousands of years
scrabbling for food faded.
00:21:18
Having made grain the yeast of life,
we multiplied the number of varieties
00:21:23
and learned to adapt them
to our soils and climates.
00:21:44
We are like every species on Earth.
00:21:46
Our principal daily concern
is to feed ourselves.
00:21:52
When the soil is less than generous
00:21:54
and water becomes scarce,
00:21:57
we are able
to deploy prodigious efforts to extract
00:22:00
from the land
enough to live on.
00:22:25
Humans shaped the land with the patience
and devotion the Earth demands
00:22:29
in an almost sacrificial ritual
performed over and over.
00:22:34
Agriculture is still
the world's most widespread occupation.
00:22:40
Half of humankind tills the soil,
00:22:44
over three-quarters of them by hand.
00:22:54
Agriculture is like a tradition handed
down from generation to generation
00:23:00
in sweat, graft and toil,
00:23:03
because for humanity
it is a prerequisite of survival.
00:23:16
But after relying on muscle-power
for so long, humankind found a way
00:23:21
to tap into the energy
buried deep in the Earth.
00:23:34
These flames are also from plants.
A pocket of sunlight.
00:23:38
Pure energy.
The energy of the sun,
00:23:41
captured over millions of years
by millions of plants
00:23:45
more than 100 million years ago.
00:23:47
It's coal. It's gas.
00:23:50
And, above all, it's oil.
00:24:07
And this pocket of sunlight freed
humans from their toil on the land.
00:24:14
With oil began the era of humans
00:24:16
who break free
of the shackles of time.
00:24:20
With oil, some of us
acquired unprecedented comforts.
00:24:24
And in 50 years, in a single lifetime,
00:24:28
the Earth has been
more radically changed
00:24:30
than by all previous generations
of humanity.
00:24:40
Faster and faster.
In the last 60 years,
00:24:42
the Earth's population
has almost tripled.
00:24:46
And over 2 billion people
have moved to the cities.
00:24:50
Faster and faster.
00:24:52
Shenzhen, in China,
00:24:54
with hundreds of skyscrapers
and millions of inhabitants,
00:24:57
was just a small fishing village
barely 40 years ago.
00:25:02
Faster and faster.
00:25:04
In Shanghai,
3,000 towers and skyscrapers
00:25:07
have been built in 20 years.
Hundreds more are under construction.
00:25:14
Today, over half of the world's
7 billion inhabitants
00:25:18
live in cities.
00:25:33
New York.
00:25:34
The world's first megalopolis
00:25:36
is the symbol of the exploitation
of the energy the Earth supplies
00:25:41
to human genius.
The manpower of millions of immigrants,
00:25:45
the energy of coal,
the unbridled power of oil.
00:26:02
America was the first
to harness the phenomenal,
00:26:05
revolutionary power of "black gold".
00:26:11
In the fields,
machines replaced men.
00:26:16
A liter of oil
generates as much energy
00:26:19
as 100 pairs of hands in 24 hours.
00:26:25
In the United States,
only 3 million farmers are left.
00:26:29
They produce enough grain
to feed 2 billion people.
00:26:35
But most of that grain
is not used to feed people.
00:26:38
Here, and in all other
industrialized nations,
00:26:41
it is transformed into livestock feed
or biofuels.
00:26:51
The pocket of sunshine's energy
chased away the specter of drought
00:26:55
that stalked farmland.
00:26:57
No spring escapes
the demands of agriculture,
00:27:01
which accounts for 70%
of humanity's water consumption.
00:27:07
In nature, everything is linked.
00:27:11
The expansion of cultivated land
and single-crop farming
00:27:14
encouraged
the development of parasites.
00:27:18
Pesticides, another gift
of the petrochemical revolution,
00:27:22
exterminated them.
00:27:23
Bad harvests and famine
became a distant memory.
00:27:27
The biggest headache now
00:27:28
was what to do with the surpluses
engendered by modern agriculture.
00:27:34
But toxic pesticides
seeped into the air,
00:27:37
soil, plants,
animals, rivers and oceans.
00:27:41
They penetrated the heart of cells
00:27:43
similar to the mother cell
shared by all forms of life.
00:27:48
Are they harmful to the humans
they released from hunger?
00:27:52
These farmers
in their yellow protective suits
00:27:56
probably have a good idea.
00:28:07
Then came fertilizers,
another petrochemical discovery.
00:28:13
They produced unprecedented results
on plots of land thus far ignored.
00:28:24
Crops adapted to soils and climates
00:28:27
gave way to the most productive
varieties and easiest to transport.
00:28:32
And so, in the last century,
00:28:34
three-quarters of the varieties
developed by farmers
00:28:37
over thousands of years
have been wiped out.
00:28:45
As far as the eye can see,
fertilizer below, plastic on top.
00:28:50
The greenhouses of Almeria, Spain,
are Europe's vegetable garden.
00:28:55
A city of uniformly sized vegetables
waits every day
00:28:59
for hundreds of trucks to take them
to the continent's supermarkets.
00:29:06
The more a country develops,
the more meat its inhabitants consume.
00:29:12
How can growing worldwide demand
be satisfied without recourse
00:29:16
to concentration camp-style
cattle farms?
00:29:19
Faster and faster.
00:29:21
Like the life cycle of livestock,
which may never see a meadow.
00:29:25
Manufacturing meat faster than
the animal has become a daily routine.
00:29:30
In these vast foodlots,
trampled by millions of cattle,
00:29:34
not a blade of grass grows.
00:29:37
A fleet of trucks from every corner
of the country brings tons of grain,
00:29:42
soy meal and protein-rich granules
00:29:45
that will become tons of meat.
00:29:57
The result is that
it takes 100 liters of water
00:30:00
to produce 1 kilogram of potatoes,
00:30:04
4,000 liters for 1 kilo of rice
00:30:08
and 13,000 liters for 1 kilo of beef.
00:30:13
Not to mention the oil guzzled
in the production process and transport.
00:30:23
Our agriculture
has become oil-powered.
00:30:26
It feeds
twice as many humans on Earth,
00:30:29
but has replaced diversity
with standardization.
00:30:33
It gives many of us comforts
we could only dream of,
00:30:37
but it makes our way of life
totally dependent on oil.
00:30:42
This is the new measure of time.
00:30:45
Our world's clock now beats
to the rhythm of indefatigable machines
00:30:50
tapping into the pocket of sunlight.
00:30:53
The whole planet is attentive
to these metronomes
00:30:57
of our hopes and illusions.
00:31:00
The same hopes and illusions
that proliferate along with our needs,
00:31:04
increasingly insatiable desires
and profligacy.
00:31:09
We know that the end of cheap oil
is imminent,
00:31:12
but we refuse to believe it.
00:31:16
For many of us,
00:31:17
the American dream is embodied
by a legendary name.
00:31:21
Los Angeles.
00:31:24
In this city
that stretches over 100 kilometers,
00:31:28
the number of cars is almost equal
to the number of inhabitants.
00:31:34
Here, energy puts on a fantastic show
every night.
00:31:51
The days seem no more
than a pale reflection of nights
00:31:54
that turn the city into a starry sky.
00:32:07
Faster and faster.
00:32:09
Distances are no longer
counted in miles, but in minutes.
00:32:13
The automobile shapes new suburbs,
where every home is a castle,
00:32:17
a safe distance
from the asphyxiated city centers,
00:32:20
and where neat rows of houses
huddle around dead-end streets.
00:32:26
The model of a lucky-few countries
00:32:28
has become a universal dream
preached by TVs all over the world.
00:32:34
Even here in Beijing,
00:32:35
it is cloned, copied and reproduced
in these formatted houses
00:32:40
that have wiped pagodas off the map.
00:32:50
The automobile has become the symbol
of comfort and progress.
00:32:56
If this model were followed
by every society,
00:32:59
the planet wouldn't have 900 million
vehicles, as it does today,
00:33:04
but 5 billion.
00:33:07
Faster and faster.
00:33:09
The more the world develops,
the greater its thirst for energy.
00:33:13
Everywhere, machines dig, bore
and rip from the Earth
00:33:17
the pieces of stars buried
in its depths since its creation...
00:33:22
Minerals.
00:33:48
As a privilege of power,
80% of this mineral wealth
00:33:52
is consumed
by 20% of the world's population.
00:34:01
Before the end of this century,
00:34:03
excessive mining will have exhausted
nearly all the planet's reserves.
00:34:26
Faster and faster.
00:34:28
Shipyards churn out oil tankers,
container ships and gas tankers
00:34:33
to cater for the demands
of globalized industrial production.
00:34:37
Most consumer goods travel
thousands of kilometers
00:34:40
from the country of production
to the country of consumption.
00:34:46
Since 1950, the volume of international
trade has increased 20 times over.
00:35:00
90% of trade goes by sea.
00:35:03
500 million containers
are transported every year.
00:35:09
Headed for the world's major hubs
of consumption,
00:35:12
such as Dubai.
00:35:14
Dubai is a sort of culmination
of the Western model,
00:35:18
a country where the impossible
becomes possible.
00:35:21
Building artificial islands in the sea,
for example.
00:35:27
Dubai has few natural resources,
00:35:31
but with oil money it can bring in
millions of tons of material
00:35:36
and workers from all over the planet.
00:35:39
Dubai has no farmland,
but it can import food.
00:35:45
Dubai has no water, but it can afford
to expend immense amounts of energy
00:35:50
to desalinate seawater and build
the world's highest skyscrapers.
00:35:55
Dubai has endless sun,
but no solar panels.
00:36:00
It is the totem to total modernity
that never fails to amaze the world.
00:36:17
Dubai is like the new beacon
for all the world's money.
00:36:30
Nothing seems further removed
from nature than Dubai,
00:36:33
although nothing depends on nature
more than Dubai.
00:36:37
Dubai is a sort of culmination
of the Western model.
00:36:41
We haven't understood that
we're depleting what nature provides.
00:37:54
Since 1950, fishing catches
have increased fivefold
00:37:59
from 18 to 100 million metric tons
a year.
00:38:04
Thousands of factory ships
are emptying the oceans.
00:38:09
Three-quarters of fishing grounds
are exhausted,
00:38:12
depleted or in danger of being so.
00:38:16
Most large fish have been fished
out of existence
00:38:19
since they have no time to reproduce.
00:38:34
We are destroying the cycle of a life
that was given to us.
00:38:56
At the current rate, all fish stocks
are threatened with exhaustion.
00:39:03
Fish is the staple diet
of one in five humans.
00:39:24
We have forgotten
that resources are scarce.
00:39:29
500 million humans
live in the world's desert lands,
00:39:33
more than the combined population
of Europe.
00:39:37
They know the value of water.
00:39:39
They know how to use it sparingly.
00:39:42
Here, they depend on wells
replenished by fossil water,
00:39:46
which accumulated underground
back when it rained on these deserts.
00:39:50
25,000 years ago.
00:39:57
Fossil water also enables crops
to be grown in the desert
00:40:01
to provide food for local populations.
00:40:04
The fields' circular shape derives
00:40:07
from the pipes that irrigate them
around a central pivot.
00:40:12
But there is a heavy price to pay.
00:40:14
Fossil water
is a non-renewable resource.
00:40:30
In Saudi Arabia,
00:40:31
the dream of industrial farming
in the desert has faded.
00:40:36
As if on a parchment map,
00:40:38
the light spots on this patchwork
show abandoned plots.
00:40:43
The irrigation equipment
is still there.
00:40:45
The energy to pump water also.
00:40:48
But the fossil water reserves
are severely depleted.
00:41:00
Israel turned the desert
into arable land.
00:41:08
Even though these hothouses
are now irrigated drop by drop,
00:41:12
water consumption continues
to increase along with exports.
00:41:22
The once mighty River Jordan
is now just a trickle.
00:41:26
Its water has flown to supermarkets
all over the world
00:41:29
in crates of fruit and vegetables.
00:41:48
The Jordan's fate is not unique.
00:41:50
Across the planet,
one major river in ten
00:41:54
no longer flows into the sea
for several months of the year.
00:42:08
Deprived of the Jordan's water,
00:42:11
the level of the Dead Sea goes down
by over one meter per year.
00:42:39
India risks being the country
that suffers most
00:42:42
from lack of water
in the coming century.
00:42:45
Massive irrigation
has fed the growing population
00:42:49
and in the last 50 years,
21 million wells have been dug.
00:42:54
In many parts of the country,
00:42:57
the drill has to sink every deeper
to hit water.
00:43:01
In western India,
30% of wells have been abandoned.
00:43:07
The underground aquifers
are drying out.
00:43:14
Vast reservoirs will catch monsoon rains
to replenish the aquifers.
00:43:22
In the dry season, local village women
dig them with their bare hands.
00:43:46
Thousands of kilometers away,
00:43:48
800 to 1,000 liters of water
are consumed
00:43:51
per person per day.
00:43:54
Las Vegas was built out of the desert.
00:43:57
Millions of people live there.
00:44:00
Thousands more arrive every month.
00:44:03
Its inhabitants are among the biggest
water consumers in the world.
00:44:18
Palm Springs is another desert city
with tropical vegetation
00:44:22
and lush golf courses.
00:44:27
How long can this mirage
continue to prosper?
00:44:35
The Earth cannot keep up.
00:44:39
The Colorado River,
which brings water to these cities,
00:44:42
is one of those rivers
that no longer reaches the sea.
00:44:47
Water levels in the catchment lakes
along its course are plummeting.
00:45:03
Water shortages could affect nearly
2 billion people before 2025.
00:45:36
The wetlands represent
6% of the surface of the planet.
00:45:41
Under their calm waters
lies a veritable factory,
00:45:44
where plants and micro-organisms
patiently filter the water
00:45:48
and digest all the pollution.
00:45:52
These marshes are indispensable
environments for the regeneration
00:45:56
and purification of water.
00:45:59
They are sponges
that regulate the flow of water.
00:46:03
They absorb it in the wet season
00:46:05
and release it in the dry season.
00:46:37
In our race to conquer more land,
00:46:39
we have reclaimed them
as pasture for livestock,
00:46:43
or as land for agriculture or building.
00:46:48
In the last century,
half the world's marshes were drained.
00:46:53
We know neither their richness
nor their role.
00:47:03
All living matter is linked.
00:47:06
Water, air, soil, trees.
00:47:11
The world's magic
is right in front of our eyes.
00:47:26
Trees breathe groundwater
into the atmosphere as light mist.
00:47:30
They form a canopy that alleviates
the impact of heavy rains.
00:47:35
The forests provide the humidity
that is necessary for life.
00:47:42
They store carbon,
00:47:43
containing more
than all the Earth's atmosphere.
00:47:48
They are the cornerstone of the climatic
balance on which we all depend.
00:48:02
The primary forests provide a habitat
00:48:05
for three-quarters
of the planet's biodiversity,
00:48:08
that is to say,
of all life on Earth.
00:48:21
These forests provide the remedies
that cure us.
00:48:25
The substances secreted by these plants
can be recognized by our bodies.
00:48:30
Our cells talk the same language.
00:48:33
We are of the same family.
00:48:54
But in barely 40 years,
the world's largest rainforest,
00:48:58
the Amazon,
has been reduced by 20%.
00:49:15
The forest gives way to cattle ranches
or soybean farms.
00:49:19
95% of these soybeans are used
to feed livestock and poultry
00:49:23
in Europe and Asia.
00:49:25
And so, a forest is turned into meat.
00:49:40
Barely 20 years ago, Borneo,
the 4th largest island
00:49:44
in the world,
was covered by a vast primary forest.
00:49:48
At the current rate of deforestation,
00:49:51
it will have disappeared
within 10 years.
00:50:00
Living matter
bonds water, air, earth and the sun.
00:50:05
In Borneo, this bond has been broken
00:50:08
in what was one of the Earth's
greatest reservoirs of biodiversity.
00:50:23
This catastrophe was provoked
by the decision to produce palm oil,
00:50:27
one of the most productive and consumed
oils in the world, on Borneo.
00:50:32
Palm oil not only caters
to our growing demand for food,
00:50:36
but also cosmetics, detergents
and, increasingly, alternative fuels.
00:50:42
The forest's diversity was replaced
by a single species, the oil palm.
00:50:47
For local people,
it provides employment.
00:50:50
It's an agricultural industry.
00:50:57
Another example of massive deforestation
is the eucalyptus.
00:51:01
Eucalyptus is used to make paper pulp.
00:51:04
Plantations are growing
as demand for paper has increased
00:51:08
fivefold in 50 years.
00:51:11
One forest
does not replace another forest.
00:51:15
At the foot of these eucalyptus trees,
00:51:17
nothing grows because their leaves form
a toxic bed for most other plants.
00:51:25
They grow quickly,
but exhaust water reserves.
00:51:31
Soybeans, palm oil,
00:51:33
eucalyptus trees...
00:51:35
Deforestation destroys the essential
to produce the superfluous.
00:51:41
But elsewhere,
00:51:42
deforestation is a last resort
to survive.
00:51:55
Over 2 billion people,
00:51:57
almost one third
of the world's population,
00:52:00
still depend on charcoal.
00:52:04
In Haiti,
00:52:05
one of the world's poorest countries,
00:52:07
charcoal is one of the population's
main consumables.
00:52:13
Once the "pearl of the Caribbean",
00:52:15
Haiti can no longer feed
its population without foreign aid.
00:52:24
On the hills of Haiti,
only 2% of the forests are left.
00:52:30
Stripped bare,
00:52:32
nothing holds the soils back.
00:52:34
The rainwater washes them
down the hillsides as far as the sea.
00:52:39
What's left is increasingly
unsuitable for agriculture.
00:52:50
In some parts of Madagascar,
the erosion is spectacular.
00:52:55
Whole hillsides bear deep gashes
hundreds of meters wide.
00:53:00
Thin and fragile,
soil is made by living matter.
00:53:04
With erosion,
the fine layer of humus,
00:53:07
which took thousands of years to form,
disappears.
00:53:38
Here's one theory of the story
of the Rapanui,
00:53:41
the inhabitants of Easter Island,
00:53:43
that could perhaps
give us pause for thought.
00:53:47
Living on the most isolated island
in the world,
00:53:50
the Rapanui exploited their resources
until there was nothing left.
00:53:55
Their civilization did not survive.
00:53:58
On these lands stood
the highest palm trees in the world.
00:54:03
They have disappeared.
00:54:04
The Rapanui
chopped them all down for lumber.
00:54:08
They then faced
widespread soil erosion.
00:54:13
The Rapanui could no longer go fishing.
There were no trees to build canoes.
00:54:24
Yet the Rapanui formed one of the most
brilliant civilizations in the Pacific.
00:54:29
Innovative farmers, sculptors,
exceptional navigators,
00:54:33
they were caught in the vise of
overpopulation and dwindling resources.
00:54:38
They experienced social unrest,
revolts and famine.
00:54:43
Many did not survive the cataclysm.
00:55:06
The real mystery of Easter Island is not
how its strange statues got there,
00:55:11
we know now.
00:55:12
It is why the Rapanui
didn't react in time.
00:55:23
It's only one of a number of theories,
but it has particular relevance today.
00:55:47
Since 1950, the world's population
has almost tripled.
00:55:52
And since 1950,
00:55:54
we have more fundamentally
altered our island, the Earth,
00:55:57
than in all
of our 200,000-year history.
00:56:02
Nigeria is the biggest oil exporter
in Africa,
00:56:06
yet 70% of the population
lives under the poverty line.
00:56:12
The wealth is there, but the country's
inhabitants don't have access to it.
00:56:17
The same is true all over the globe.
00:56:19
Half the world's poor
live in resource-rich countries.
00:56:28
Our mode of development
has not fulfilled its promises.
00:56:32
In 50 years, the gap between rich
and poor has grown wider than ever.
00:56:39
Today,
00:56:40
half the world's wealth is in the hands
of the richest 2% of the population.
00:56:53
Can such disparities be maintained?
00:56:57
They are the cause
of population movements
00:56:59
whose scale we have yet
to fully realize.
00:57:03
The city of Lagos
had a population of 700,000 in 1960.
00:57:09
That will rise to 16 million by 2025.
00:57:13
Lagos is one of the fastest growing
megalopolises in the world.
00:57:18
The new arrivals are mostly farmers
forced off the land
00:57:21
for economic or demographic reasons,
or because of diminishing resources.
00:57:26
This is a radically new type
of urban growth,
00:57:30
driven by the urge to survive
rather than to prosper.
00:57:39
Every week, over a million people swell
the populations of the world's cities.
00:57:50
1 human in 6 now lives in a precarious,
unhealthy, overpopulated environment
00:57:56
without access to daily necessities,
such as water, sanitation, electricity.
00:58:37
Hunger is spreading once more.
00:58:39
It affects nearly 1 billion people.
00:59:14
All over the planet, the poorest
scrabble to survive, while we continue
00:59:19
to dig for resources
that we can no longer live without.
00:59:23
We look farther and farther afield
00:59:25
in previously unspoilt territory
00:59:28
and in regions that are
increasingly difficult to exploit.
00:59:39
We're not changing our model.
00:59:42
Oil might run out?
00:59:44
We can still extract oil
from the tar sands of Canada.
00:59:48
The biggest trucks in the world
move thousands of tons of sand.
00:59:53
The process of heating
and separating bitumen from the sand
00:59:57
requires millions
of cubic meters of water.
01:00:00
Colossal amounts of energy are needed.
01:00:03
The pollution is catastrophic.
01:00:06
The most urgent priority, apparently,
01:00:08
is to pick every pocket of sunlight.
01:00:45
Our oil tankers
are getting bigger and bigger.
01:00:48
Our energy requirements
are constantly increasing.
01:00:51
We try to power growth
like a bottomless oven
01:00:54
that demands more and more fuel.
01:01:14
It's all about carbon.
01:01:16
In a few decades, the carbon
that made our atmosphere a furnace
01:01:20
and that nature captured over millions
of years, allowing life to develop,
01:01:25
will have largely been pumped back out.
01:01:28
The atmosphere is heating up.
01:01:31
It would have been inconceivable for
a boat to be here just a few years ago.
01:01:37
Transport, industry,
deforestation, agriculture...
01:01:42
Our activities release gigantic
quantities of carbon dioxide.
01:01:46
Without realizing it,
molecule by molecule,
01:01:50
we have upset
the Earth's climatic balance.
01:01:57
All eyes are on the poles,
01:02:01
where the effects of global warming
are most visible.
01:02:06
It's happening fast, very fast.
01:02:09
The north-west passage that connects
America, Europe and Asia via the pole,
01:02:14
is opening up.
01:02:16
The arctic ice cap is melting.
01:02:21
Under the effect of global warming,
01:02:23
the ice cap has lost
40% of its thickness in 40 years.
01:02:29
Its surface area in the summer
shrinks year by year.
01:02:34
It could disappear
in the summer months by 2030.
01:02:38
Some say 2015.
01:02:52
The sunbeams that the ice sheet
previously reflected back
01:02:56
now penetrate the dark water,
heating it up.
01:03:00
The warming process gathers pace.
01:03:11
This ice contains the records
of our planet.
01:03:15
The concentration of carbon dioxide
hasn't been so high
01:03:19
for several hundred thousand years.
01:03:23
Humanity has never lived
in an atmosphere like this.
01:03:39
Is excessive exploitation of resources
threatening the lives of every species?
01:03:45
Climate change
01:03:46
accentuates the threat.
01:03:48
By 2050,
a quarter of the Earth's species
01:03:52
could be threatened with extinction.
01:03:55
In these polar regions,
01:03:57
the balance of nature
has already been disrupted.
01:05:36
Around the North Pole,
01:05:37
the ice cap has lost 30%
of its surface area in 30 years.
01:05:44
But as Greenland
rapidly becomes warmer,
01:05:47
the freshwater of a whole continent
flows into the salt water of the oceans.
01:06:04
Greenland's ice contains 20%
of the freshwater of the whole planet.
01:06:10
If it melts,
sea levels will rise by nearly 7 meters.
01:06:30
But there is no industry here.
01:06:34
Greenland's ice sheet suffers
from greenhouse gases
01:06:37
emitted elsewhere on Earth.
01:06:42
Our ecosystem doesn't have borders.
01:06:46
Wherever we are,
01:06:47
our actions have repercussions
on the whole Earth.
01:06:51
Our planet's atmosphere
is an indivisible whole.
01:06:55
It is an asset we share.
01:07:01
In Greenland,
lakes are appearing on the landscape.
01:07:05
The ice cap is melting at a speed
even the most pessimistic scientists
01:07:10
did not envision 10 years ago.
01:07:22
More and more of these glacier-fed
rivers are merging together
01:07:26
and burrowing though the surface.
01:07:29
It was thought the water would freeze
in the depths of the ice.
01:07:33
On the contrary,
it flows under the ice,
01:07:36
carrying the ice sheet into the sea,
where it breaks into icebergs.
01:08:26
As the freshwater
of Greenland's ice sheet
01:08:29
seeps into the salt water of the oceans,
01:08:32
low-lying lands around the globe
are threatened.
01:08:39
Sea levels are rising.
01:08:42
Water expanding as it gets warmer
01:08:44
caused, in the 20th century alone,
01:08:47
a rise of 20 centimeters.
01:08:50
Everything becomes unstable.
01:08:53
Coral reefs are extremely sensitive
to the slightest change
01:08:58
in water temperature.
30% have disappeared.
01:09:01
They are an essential link
in the chain of species.
01:09:10
In the atmosphere, major wind streams
are changing direction.
01:09:15
Rain cycles are altered.
01:09:18
The geography of climates is modified.
01:09:22
The inhabitants of low-lying islands,
01:09:24
here in the Maldives, for example,
are on the front line.
01:09:28
They are increasingly concerned.
01:09:31
Some are already looking for new,
more hospitable lands.
01:09:41
If sea levels continue to rise
faster and faster,
01:09:44
what will major cities like Tokyo,
the world's most populous city, do?
01:09:50
Every year, scientists' predictions
become more alarming.
01:09:57
70% of the world's population
lives on coastal plains.
01:10:02
11 of the 15 biggest cities
01:10:05
stand on a coastline or river estuary.
01:10:09
As the seas rise,
salt will invade the water table,
01:10:13
depriving inhabitants
of drinking water.
01:10:16
Migratory phenomena are inevitable.
01:10:19
The only uncertainty
concerns their scale.
01:10:54
In Africa,
Mount Kilimanjaro is unrecognizable.
01:10:59
80% of its glaciers have disappeared.
01:11:02
In summer,
the rivers no longer flow.
01:11:05
Local peoples are affected
by the lack of water.
01:11:09
Even on the world's highest peaks,
in the heart of the Himalayas,
01:11:14
eternal snows and glaciers
are receding.
01:11:19
Yet these glaciers play
an essential role in the water cycle.
01:11:23
They trap the water
from the monsoons as ice
01:11:27
and release it in the summer
when the snows melt.
01:11:43
The Himalayan glaciers are the source
of all the great Asian rivers,
01:11:47
the Indus, Ganges,
Mekong, Yangtze Kiang...
01:11:52
2 billion people depend on them
for drinking water
01:11:56
and to irrigate their crops,
as in Bangladesh.
01:12:01
On the delta
of the Ganges and Brahmaputra,
01:12:05
Bangladesh is directly affected
by phenomena occurring in the Himalayas
01:12:09
and at sea level.
01:12:11
This is one of the most populous
and poorest countries in the world.
01:12:15
It is already hit by global warming.
01:12:18
The combined impact of increasingly
dramatic floods and hurricanes
01:12:23
could make
a third of its land mass disappear.
01:12:27
When populations are subjected
to these devastating phenomena,
01:12:31
they eventually move away.
01:12:39
Wealthy countries will not be spared.
01:12:42
Droughts are occurring
all over the planet.
01:12:44
In Australia,
half of farmland is already affected.
01:13:01
We are in the process of compromising
the climatic balance
01:13:05
that has allowed us to develop
over 12,000 years.
01:13:17
More and more wildfires
encroach on major cities.
01:13:23
In turn,
they exacerbate global warming.
01:13:26
As the trees burn,
they release carbon dioxide.
01:13:31
The system that controls our climate
has been severely disrupted.
01:13:36
The elements on which it relies
have been disrupted.
01:14:11
The clock of climate change is ticking
in these magnificent landscapes.
01:14:16
Here in Siberia,
and elsewhere across the globe,
01:14:20
it is so cold
that the ground is constantly frozen.
01:14:24
It's known as permafrost.
01:14:28
Under its surface
lies a climatic time-bomb.
01:14:32
Methane,
01:14:33
a greenhouse gas 20 times
more powerful than carbon dioxide.
01:14:53
If the permafrost melts,
01:14:55
the methane releases would cause
the greenhouse effect
01:14:58
to race out of control
with consequences no one can predict.
01:15:08
We would literally
be in unknown territory.
01:15:20
Humanity has no more than 10 years
to reverse the trend
01:15:24
and avoid
crossing into this territory...
01:15:28
Life on Earth
as we have never known it.
01:15:59
We have created phenomena
we cannot control.
01:16:03
Since our origins,
01:16:05
water, air and forms of life
are intimately linked.
01:16:11
But recently
we have broken those links.
01:16:17
Let's face the facts.
01:16:18
We must believe what we know.
01:16:24
All we have just seen is a reflection
of human behavior.
01:16:30
We have shaped the Earth in our image.
01:16:34
We have very little time to change.
01:16:37
How can this century carry the burden
of 9 billion human beings
01:16:42
if we refuse to be called to account
01:16:44
for everything we alone have done?
01:16:55
20% of the world's population
consumes 80% of its resources
01:17:20
The world spends
12 times more on military expenditures
01:17:25
than on aid to developing countries
01:17:40
5,000 people a day die
because of dirty drinking water
01:17:45
1 billion people
have no access to safe drinking water
01:18:00
Nearly 1 billion people are going hungry
01:18:19
Over 50% of grain
traded around the world
01:18:24
is used for animal feed or biofuels
01:18:42
40% of arable land
has suffered long-term damage
01:19:00
Every year,
13 million hectares of forest disappear
01:19:16
1 mammal in 4, 1 bird in 8, 1 amphibian
in 3 are threatened with extinction
01:19:22
Species are dying out at a rhythm
1,000 times faster than the natural rate
01:19:37
Three quarters of fishing grounds
are exhausted,
01:19:42
depleted or in dangerous decline
01:19:54
The average temperature
of the last 15 years
01:19:58
has been the highest ever recorded
01:20:15
The ice cap is 40% thinner
than 40 years ago
01:20:32
There may be at least 200 million
climate refugees by 2050
01:20:48
The cost of our actions is high.
01:20:50
Others pay the price
without having been actively involved.
01:20:54
I have seen refugee camps
01:20:57
as big as cities,
sprawling in the desert.
01:21:00
How many men,
women and children
01:21:03
will be left by the wayside tomorrow?
01:21:06
Must we always build walls
to break the chain of human solidarity,
01:21:10
separate peoples
01:21:11
and protect the happiness of some
from others' misery?
01:21:15
It's too late to be a pessimist.
01:21:17
I know that a single human
can knock down every wall.
01:21:21
It's too late to be a pessimist.
01:21:23
Worldwide,
4 children out of 5 attend school.
01:21:27
Never has learning been given
to so many human beings.
01:21:30
Everyone, from richest to poorest,
can make a contribution.
01:21:34
Lesotho,
one of the world's poorest countries,
01:21:37
is proportionally the one that invests
most in its people's education.
01:21:41
Qatar, one of the richest states,
has opened up to the best universities.
01:21:46
Culture, education,
research and innovation
01:21:49
are inexhaustible resources.
01:21:52
In the face of misery and suffering,
01:21:54
millions of NGOs prove that solidarity
01:21:57
between peoples is stronger
than the selfishness of nations.
01:22:01
In Bangladesh,
a man thought the unthinkable
01:22:04
and founded a bank
that lends only to the poor.
01:22:07
In 30 years, it has changed
the lives of 150 million people.
01:22:12
Antarctica is a continent
with immense natural resources
01:22:16
that no country can claim for itself,
01:22:19
a natural reserve
devoted to peace and science.
01:22:23
A treaty signed by 49 states
01:22:25
has made it a treasure
shared by all humanity.
01:22:28
It's too late to be a pessimist.
01:22:30
Governments have acted to protect
nearly 2% of territorial waters.
01:22:35
It's not much but it's 2 times more
than 10 years ago.
01:22:39
The first natural parks were created
just over a century ago.
01:22:43
They cover over 13% of the continents.
01:22:46
They create spaces
where human activity
01:22:48
is in step with the preservation
of species, soils and landscapes.
01:22:53
This harmony between humans and nature
can become the rule,
01:22:57
no longer the exception.
01:22:59
In the US, New York has realized
what nature does for us.
01:23:03
These forests and lakes
supply all the city's drinking water.
01:23:07
In South Korea,
the forests had been devastated by war.
01:23:11
Thanks to
a national reforestation program,
01:23:14
they once more cover
65% of the country.
01:23:17
More than 75% of paper is recycled.
01:23:21
Costa Rica has made a choice between
military spending and land conservation.
01:23:26
The country no longer has an army.
01:23:28
It prefers to devote its resources
to education, ecotourism
01:23:32
and the protection
of its primary forest.
01:23:35
Gabon is one of the world's
leading producers of wood.
01:23:38
It enforces selective logging.
Not more than 1 tree every hectare.
01:23:43
Its forests are one of the country's
most important resources,
01:23:47
but they have time to regenerate.
01:23:49
Programs exist that guarantee
sustainable forest management.
01:23:53
They must become mandatory.
01:23:56
For consumers and producers,
justice is an opportunity to be seized.
01:24:01
When trade is fair,
when both buyer and seller benefit,
01:24:05
everybody can prosper
and earn a decent living.
01:24:09
How can there be justice and equity
01:24:12
between people
whose only tools are their hands
01:24:15
and those who harvest their crops
with a machine and state subsidies?
01:24:22
Let's be responsible consumers.
01:24:25
Think about what we buy!
01:24:31
It's too late to be a pessimist.
01:24:33
I have seen agriculture
on a human scale.
01:24:36
It can feed the whole planet
01:24:38
if meat production doesn't take
the food out of people's mouths.
01:24:43
I have seen fishermen
who take care what they catch
01:24:46
and care for the riches of the ocean.
01:24:50
I have seen houses
producing their own energy.
01:24:53
5,000 people live in the world's
01:24:55
first ever eco-friendly district
in Freiburg, Germany.
01:24:59
Other cities partner the project.
01:25:01
Mumbai is the thousandth to join them.
01:25:04
The governments of New Zealand, Iceland,
Austria, Sweden and other nations
01:25:09
have made the development
of renewable energy sources
01:25:12
a top priority.
01:25:15
80% of the energy we consume
comes from fossil energy sources.
01:25:20
Every week,
01:25:21
two new coal-fired generating plants
are built in China alone.
01:25:26
But I have also seen, in Denmark,
a prototype of a coal-fired plant
01:25:30
that releases carbon into the soil
rather than the air.
01:25:34
A solution for the future?
Nobody knows yet.
01:25:37
I have seen, in Iceland,
01:25:39
an electricity plant
powered by the Earth's heat.
01:25:42
Geothermal power.
01:25:44
I have seen a sea snake
01:25:46
lying on the swell
to absorb the energy of the waves
01:25:49
and produce electricity.
01:25:52
I have seen wind farms
off Denmark's coast
01:25:55
that produce 20%
of the country's electricity.
01:25:58
The USA, China, India, Germany
and Spain are the biggest investors
01:26:04
in renewable energy.
01:26:06
They have already created
over 2.5 million jobs.
01:26:10
Where on earth
doesn't the wind blow?
01:26:14
I have seen desert expanses
baking in the sun.
01:26:18
Everything on Earth is linked,
01:26:21
and the Earth is linked to the sun,
its original energy source.
01:26:25
Can humans not imitate plants
and capture its energy?
01:26:29
In one hour, the sun gives the Earth
the same amount of energy
01:26:34
as that consumed
by all humanity in one year.
01:26:37
As long as the Earth exists,
the sun's energy will be inexhaustible.
01:26:42
All we have to do
01:26:43
is stop drilling the Earth
and start looking to the sky.
01:26:47
All we have to do
is learn to cultivate the sun.
01:26:50
All these experiments
are only examples,
01:26:52
but they testify to a new awareness.
01:26:55
They lay down markers
for a new human adventure
01:26:58
based on moderation,
intelligence and sharing.
01:27:18
It's time to come together.
01:27:22
What's important
01:27:24
is not what's gone,
01:27:26
but what remains.
01:27:30
We still have
half the world's forests,
01:27:33
thousands of rivers, lakes and glaciers,
and thousands of thriving species.
01:27:42
We know that the solutions
are there today.
01:27:46
We all have the power to change.
01:27:51
So what are we waiting for?
01:28:21
It's up to us to write
what happens next
01:28:27
Together
01:32:50
get involved and join us on
www.goodplanet.org
01:32:56
Special thanks to the 88.000 employees
of the PPR Group
01:32:59
for supporting the movie HOME
