BBC wildlife star Liz Bonin feels ‘environmental anxiety’ about appearing on nature shows due to huge carbon footprint as Netflix and Disney release dozens of documentaries says.
- The carbon footprint of major natural history series is 30-40 times that of regular TV.
- Bonin wonders whether the show is still morally justified given the state of the world
- One director said people felt ‘disgusted’ while working on the program
BBC wildlife host Liz Bonin said that as Netflix and Disney+ launched a series of new documentaries, she was ‘environmentally anxious’ because of the huge carbon footprint of working on a nature show. He says he feels
According to a Royal Television Society event, major natural history series require 30 to 40 times more dioxide than a typical hour of television due to the need to fly crews around the world and the sheer amount of kit required. have a carbon footprint.
Bonin, who chaired the panel of experts, questioned whether the show was still morally justifiable when it usually offered little benefit to the endangered animals it filmed.
Liz Bonin questions whether wildlife programming on mainstream TV is morally justified because of its massive carbon footprint. She is pictured on her BBC’s Changing Earth.
Ms. Bonin, who has been photographed with David Attenborough, said the show usually brings little benefit to the endangered animals they photograph.
Chairing a discussion titled “Is TV Overheating the Planet?” – reported in The Telegraph – she said: “We are trying to win hearts and minds. [viewers] Let them fall in love with nature and understand the importance of the earth.
“But at what point does it justify making a big landmark? We’re creating all these shows that have the biggest impact on television, but our carbon footprint is so high and the story doesn’t lead to concrete change so that animals don’t go extinct, what should we do?”
Mr. Bonin has introduced various BBC programs for our changing planet, our wild adventures and our love of Britain.
Last year, she revealed that she needed therapy to cope with the stress of witnessing the effects of climate change while at work.
Ms. Bonin on our changing planet was billed as a ‘unique global portrait of extraordinary change’
Chairing a debate titled “Is TV Overheating the Planet?”, she said: [viewers] To fall in love with nature and make people understand the importance of the earth.”
Tom Mustill, a respected filmmaker who has worked with Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, also spoke at the Royal Television Society event.
He said people are refusing to work on wildlife programs because they feel “tired.”
These movies have a gold rush [but] I think we give ourselves a pass in terms of our influence because we push everyone to fall in love with nature.
Netflix recently launched six new wildlife series: Our Universe, Our Planet II, Life In Our Planet, Our Oceans, Our Living World and Our Water World.
Meanwhile, Sky is airing Predator, narrated by Tom Hardy and covering how animals, including lions and polar bears, struggle to survive in a “rapidly changing world.”
Respected filmmaker Tom Mustill, who has worked with Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, says people are ‘tired’ of refusing to work on wildlife programs. He said it was because he felt that
The panel made a series of suggestions for reducing the environmental impact of television. This includes using local film crews and sharing footage.
This isn’t the first time nature documentaries have come under fire, with previous investigations criticizing their creators for portraying animal life as a “soap opera.”
Researchers say nature documentaries focus too much on drama and tension instead of accurately portraying life in the wild.
A 2021 study said that portraying wildlife as “soap opera-style characters” in this way is “honest but unhelpful” and can distort public understanding of issues such as conservation.
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