Last night David Attenborough took us to South America – I’ve never actually visited South America and I have had opportunities which I’ve turned down. In some ways seeing that programme compensated for not going myself, and in other ways it weakened my resolve never to go.
Anyway, the point was, the film was amazing – not just the Pumas and Guanacos (although they were) but those mannikins – wow! Just wow!
It’s a great series so far, and I’m sure it will keep being top drawer. I am beginning to resent the 10 minutes of ‘How we filmed this stuff’ because, to some extent, I really don’t care – I just want more!
Last night’s The Americas with Simon Reeve would be a good companion programme to Attenborough’s latest. Simon Reeve was in central America and looked at many of the impacts of land use and climate change on the environment and people.
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Currently being discussed on Start the Week with Andrew Marr. Catch up on BBC Sounds.
Not seen any of them yet, so looking forward to catching up. Bruce Parry apparently went to the BBC with a programme suggestion for linking the types of environmental destruction he’s witnessed and the resulting marginalisation of indigenous peoples with what we chose to buy and waste – how often if ever has that been done?They turned him down and the last I heard ITV was showing more interest. We’re absolutely rubbish at being able to point to the fascination and beauty of the natural, say it’s in danger, exactly why and what’s the remedy which is usually down to the attitudes and buying habits of the very same people watching those programmes along with their friends, colleagues and family who don’t but they can influence. How many people watching programmes on endangered rain forests still go out and buy tropical hardwoods? Thirty years ago now I had hoped kerbside recycling projects would work at it from the other end telling the public, especially school kids, how reusing and reducing ‘waste’ helped save wilderness and wildlife – recycling projects could even become a significant platform for encouraging an interest in the natural world. Fat chance – people got a leaflet telling them what material goes in what bin and when it gets picked up. Thirty years later forty to forty five percent of the material my local council collects in the big blue recycling wheelie is actually non recyclable rubbish, and it seems to be harder to buy recycled bog roll now than it was in 1989. When David Attenborough and the BBC Natural History Unit did do it well in the Blue Planet II programme about plastic in the sea they achieved more in sixty minutes than anti litter and pro recycling schemes had done in decades.
I’ve also been watching the Simon Reeves series. It was totally mind-blowing to see people living inside the structure of the railway overpasses, amongst so many other things. Yet another reason to count my blessings.