8/31/2023 0 Comments Blue planet ii season 2 episode 5![]() ![]() Indeed, I would go further and say that perhaps the most important Blue Planet effect has not just been in bringing the message into the living room, but also into the company board room. I sat next to Sir David briefly at an event in Parliament a few weeks ago and said exactly that to him. In my view, a few minutes of coverage by Blue Planet II has done more to raise awareness than the decades of underlying research could ever have done alone. Images of seabirds regurgitating substantial quantities of plastic debris were particularly harrowing, especially when it became apparent that much of it was household waste. Michael Gove, the UK’s environment secretary, for example, was apparently haunted by the images of plastic bags in one episode. There has been a marked increase in the level of interest on plastic pollution indeed, some in this field of research call it the Blue Planet II effect. Scientific evidence is crucial, but science alone is of limited value unless communicated, and that’s especially important with plastic pollution where actions by all of us, in daily life, are needed to make a difference. Indeed, publication metrics tell me I have written more scientific papers on the topic than anyone else. One such environmental challenge is that of plastic pollution, something I have researched for over 20 years. ![]() Solving the plastic problem – Mark Miodownik.Smart material made from squid teeth a potential plastic alternative.There were concerns that this might be less appealing to wider audiences, but these were unfounded: YouGov rates it as the fourth most popular TV programme of all time in the UK (following Planet Earth and Blue Planet in second and third place). As well as enjoying the series and using clips in my teaching, as a scientist I have been delighted to contribute ideas and help with fact checks.īlue Planet II took a critical step by also highlighting the challenges affecting our oceans. Scientists have named this strange place the Lost City, and many believe that it was at a place just like this that life on earth first began, four billion years ago.Has Blue Planet II had an impact on plastic pollution?īlue Planet, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, is an amazing series, making the diversity of life in our seas and oceans accessible to all. At a hydrothermal vent system in the middle of the Atlantic, seawater and rock react under extreme pressures and temperatures to produce complex hydrocarbons - the building blocks of life itself. One of these geysers might even hold the secret to all life on earth. We discover new species every time we visit these strange new worlds. Shrimps hover on the fringes of billowing clouds of volcanic chemicals, so hot they could melt lead. Hair-covered crabs feed on gushing plumes of otherwise toxic hydrogen sulphide. And at these volcanic hotspots, extraordinary micro-worlds blossom into life, completely divorced from the energy of the sun. Tectonic plates rip apart or collide in mighty clashes. Only three human beings have ever reached here, and yet there is still life to be found in these deep sea trenches. From here we journey on down to the deepest place on earth - the Mariana Trench - almost 11 kilometres from the surface, a vast chasm that ruptures the deep sea floor. Yet even eight kilometres down, where the basic chemistry of life was once thought impossible, we find strange species swimming through the darkness. The sheer weight of water above creates almost unendurable pressures. The deeper you go, the more extreme conditions become. There are fish that walk instead of swim, worms that feed exclusively on bones and shrimps that spend almost their entire lives imprisoned with their mate in a cage of crystal sponge. Food is hard to come by and finding a mate is even harder, but life adapts in ingenious ways. On the desert wastes of the abyss, a whale carcass generates a frenzy as slow-moving sharks as big as great whites fight for what may be their first meal in a year. We encounter savage hordes of Humboldt squid hunting lanternfish in the depths and coral gardens flourishing in absolute darkness, with more species of coral to be found in the deep than on shallow tropical reefs. We discover alien worlds, bizarre creatures and extraordinary new behaviours never seen before. This episode takes us on an epic journey into the unknown, a realm that feels almost like science fiction. Scientists already think that there is more life in the deep than anywhere else on Earth. We have barely begun to explore it, and yet it is the largest living space on the planet. The deep is perhaps the most hostile environment on Earth, at least to us - a world of crushing pressure, brutal cold and utter darkness. ![]()
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