David Attenborough at 99: ‘I Will Not See How the Story Ends’

In this extract from Ocean: Earth’s Last Wilderness by Sir David Attenborough and Colin Butfield, Attenborough reflects on favourite moments from his incredible career. After so many decades immersed in natural history, it is no surprise these recollections are special and beautiful. There are also some welcome hints at optimism: Attenborough is hopeful that the future may still be bright. We can only hope.

We now understand how to fix many of the biggest problems we face as a species, and we have centuries of progress to draw on for inspiration. Indeed, in the past 100 years alone we have dramatically reduced infant mortality, suppressed many of our most feared diseases, increased access to education and healthcare, acquired scientific knowledge that has transformed our understanding of the world and co-operated on global issues to a degree never seen before.

Young children playing on a beach today will live through perhaps the most consequential time for the human species in the past 10,000 years. They will grow up to see how this story ends, to see how our choices play out. If we use our great discoveries, apply our unique minds and direct our unparalleled communication and problem-solving skills to restoring our ocean, then those children will bring their own into a world where the biggest challenges our species has ever faced have already been navigated.