David Attenborough’s: A Life on Our Planet

David Attenborough’s: A Life on Our Planet

Please watch A Life on Our Planet (available on Netflix) and answer the following questions.

1. Where does the opening scene of this documentary take place? 

 

1. Why is the location of the opening scene important? Explain. 

 

 

1. At the time of this film, how old was Attenborough?

 

1. In 1937:
   1. The world population was: 
   2. The concentration of carbon in the atmosphere was:
   3. The remaining wilderness was:

 

1. When Attenborough was a boy, what did he search for near his home?

 

1. How many mass extinctions have happened in the geologic past? 

 

 

1. Approximately how many years are there between each of these mass extinctions?

 

1. Approximately how old is the Earth?

 

 

1. Attenborough refers to “today” the modern world as what?

 

1. Why is polar ice important on Earth?

 

 

1. What does Attenborough state is the most important human invention?

 

1. In 1954:
   1. The world population was: 
   2. The concentration of carbon in the atmosphere was:
   3. The remaining wilderness was:

 

1. In 1960:
   1. The world population was: 
   2. The concentration of carbon in the atmosphere was:
   3. The remaining wilderness was:

 

1. When did the Apollo space mission take place? Why was this an important global event?

 

1. In 1978:
   1. The world population was: 
   2. The concentration of carbon in the atmosphere was:
   3. The remaining wilderness was:

 

1. Global news/media in beginning in the late 1960s was important for the environment/conservation in what ways?

 

1. Orangutan mothers have been documented spending how many years with their young? 

 

 

1. In the last several decades, what have humans been transforming vast amounts of tropical rainforest into? 

 

1. To date, approximately how much of the world’s rainforests have been cleared? 

 

 

1. In 1997:
   1. The world population was: 
   2. The concentration of carbon in the atmosphere was:
   3. The remaining wilderness was:

 

1. What are ocean hotspots and why are they important?

 

1. Approximately how much of the oceans’ large fish have commercial fishing fleets removed from the ocean?

 

 

1. In 1998, Attenborough and the Blue Planet film crew documented what event?

 

1. What was a feature off all 5 mass extinctions in the geologic record?

 

 

1. With continued large-scale human burning of fossil fuels, what will happen to global temperature?

 

1. If global temperature continues to rise, what will happen to polar ice?

 

 

1. Compared to when Attenborough was born, how much warmer is Earth today?

 

1. Summer sea ice has reduced by how much over the last 40 years?

 

 

1. Attenborough states that humans have overfished approximately how much of fish stocks?

 

1. Attenborough states that humans cut down approximately how many trees each year?

 

 

1. What does Attenborough state that humans are replacing “wild” with?

 

1. Approximately what percentage of birds on Earth are domestic?

 

 

1. In 2020:
   1. The world population is: 
   2. The concentration of carbon in the atmosphere is:
   3. The remaining wilderness is:

 

1. If business as usual continues, by 2035, it is predicted that much of the tropical rainforests will turn into what type of habitat?

 

1. If business as usual continues, by 2035, what is predicted to happen to biodiversity?

 

 

1. Why is thawing of permafrost bad for the planet? 

 

1. What will happen to Earth is soils continue to be overused?

 

 

1. Attenborough states that to restore stability to Earth, we much do what? 

 

1. If the present growth rate of the human population continues, how many people will there be on this planet by 2100?

 

 

1. Will the human population ever reach a maximum capacity? Explain.

 

1. How does increasing the standard of living globally contribute to stabilizing the global population? Explain. 

 

 

1. Near the end of this film, Attenborough provides some ways that we can help our planet provide three examples:
   1.  

 

1.  

 

1.  

 

1. What country is the second largest exporter of food (despite its size)?

 

1. At the conclusion of this film, Attenborough says we must rediscover what? 

 

 

1. What location does the last scene in this film take place? Explain why this is significant.