I Spent the Evening with Sir David Attenborough…

I’d like to say Sir David and I hung out and traded wildlife stories, but instead I watched this 94-year-old, who could just be enjoying retirement, give his witness statement on what’s happening to our planet. And yes, a witness statement is what you give when a crime is committed.

If that sounds dramatic, good, because it is. If you have Netflix, you MUST watch David Attenborough, A Life on our Planet. here’s a link to the trailer on YouTube. He explains it with that fabulous English accent so beautifully you can’t help but listen.

Even though I think I’m Miss Ecology because I’m up in arms about about people littering the streets of our planet, Sir David talks about something I’ve never given much thought to. (Spoiler alert.)That biodiversity is absolutely necessary for ALL life on our planet to be sustained. He has personally witnessed it decreasing decade after decade.

You, like me, probably never gave much thought to the fact that lions on the plains in Africa, or orangutans in Sumatra or Borneo are affected by us, but they are. David explains that we’re all connected and by saving nature, we save ourselves. Destroying rainforests, using fossil fuels, continuing to eat meat and overpopulation are the big problems. The world has lost two thirds of its wildlife in the last 50 years. That’s a huge number.

Maybe you think, “Oh hell, I’m too old to do anything about that,” but you’re not. If Sir David Attenborough is doing something about it at 94, we all can. Besides, you don’t want your kids and grandkids saying “Thanks Boomer,” to you, do you?

We’ve helped screw up this planet, so we really should take action now to fix it for our kids and grandkids. You can learn more at GlobalIssues.org It’s a website that explains what biodiversity is and why we need it: In the meantime, here are 12 things you can do right now that could make a difference.

1. You can donate to the World Wildlife Organization. That’s a link, so it doesn’t get much easier than that.
2. You can stop eating meat. (I am a serious offender here with my Costco chicken habit and am continually reminded of that by my vegan friend Mandy.) If you can’t stop completely, then limit it to just one or two days a week. You WILL lose weight. I was vegan for a month once and lost 7 pounds!
3. You can contact your local representative about our country investing in solar energy and other alternatives to fossil fuels.
4. You can get solar. There are government rebates, so you can get a 26 percent tax credit if you get solar before 2020 ends. Then it goes to 22 percent and then goes away in 2022 unless Congress renews it.
5. You can buy a car that’s a hybrid, or electric.
6. You can make a point to only buy seafood and produce from companies that have sustainable practices. Learn more at Foodprint.org.
7. You can stop dropping trash on the street, so our rivers and oceans aren’t polluted, making fish sick. And if you do see trash, pick it up yourself.
8. You can decide to only have one or two children.
9. You can watch the documentary with your children and grandchildren and teach them how serious this problem is.
10. You can donate to organizations that further education for girls in third world countries. Girls who are educated tend to have fewer children. Here’s a link to the Oprah Winfrey Foundation which awards grants to organizations that support the education and empowerment of women worldwide.
11. You can support politicians who recognize this is a serious problem.
12. You can forward this blog to your friends and re-post it on Facebook so we can let the world know we’ve got a problem. Even Sir David Attenborough thinks if we all pull together, starting now, we can turn it around.