Do you know how many people live in the world right now?
It's almost eight BILLION people.
And each of those people has needs.
They need food and water and shelter.
It turns out that animals also need all of those same things: food, water, and shelter.
It seems like an impossible situation to solve, but there is a solution.
Let's talk about how animals and people can both get what they need.
Can I tell you a little bit more about the world population?
It's almost eight billion now, but 100 years ago it was only two billion.
So we have been building a LOT of roads and houses and farms for the last 100 years.
There are these amazing time-lapse videos of cities growing.
It's amazing what humans can accomplish in a short time!
We fed, clothed, and sheltered billions of new people as we 4x'ed the number of humans.
Not only that, but our standard of living has gone up over that time, so the average
person today has a WAY better life than someone living 100 years ago.
But there has been a cost.
It turns out that as cities and farms expand, there are fewer resources available for nature.
This video of city expansion in Mato Grosso, Brazil shows it really well.
In 30 years this area went from a green forest to brown houses and farms.
The plants and animals that lived there don't have a home anymore.
This is how we have chosen to live for the last 100 years.
But we can choose to do something else for the next 100 years.
What if we took our engineering talent and creativity and did something else?
What can we do in our homes and businesses to make space for nature?
Homeowners
The average person living in a house could plant trees in their yard.
One single old tree is a home for dozens of species including birds and moths.
And every new tree turns into an old tree someday.
If you don't have a yard you probably know someone that does, so you can plant a tree
in their yard.
Or think of other tiny habitats you can provide, like letting part of your yard grow out with
native plants.
Or stacking up branches to let birds and other animals hide inside.
As we discussed in a previous video, bird feeders are a net benefit to birds if done
correctly.
They help birds with extra calories during the times they need it most.
You can watch that video for more details.
And this is a more extreme measure, but if you have an unused swimming pool you can turn
it into a pond for local frogs and birds to visit.
I know someone who has done this and they have so many stories of interesting turtles
and dragonflies visiting the pond.
I think that any of these changes will help you be happier and less stressed, and will
help nature at the same time.
I'll mention also that trees improve property values and save money on utilities.
It's a situation where nature and humans both win!
Businesses
The easiest thing for businesses to do to help nature is to reduce their use of pesticide,
herbicide, and fertilizer.
Your landscaping will look a little more wild, but that's the point, we're trying to help
wild things.
You can provide artificial nests for songbirds, and clean them each year to encourage reuse.
Imagine coming in to work and seeing baby birds growing every day.
Or, if you want to make a bigger impact for wildlife and save money on utilities, installing
a green roof or green wall is a big, visible sign of your commitment to making space for
nature.
Here's what the future might look like if we want:
Every neighborhood has big, old trees that reach across the street.
People walk in the shade and birds live up above.
The stress level in the city has gone down since these trees were planted.
There are more houses and people, sure, but it's like everyone lives in a park now.
Apartment-dwellers have plants and feeders on their balconies, and the apartment building
itself has living walls and a living roof, a spire of green rising above the city.
There are animals living in the city, but there are enough places for them to hide that
they don't bother people that much.
Children growing up in the city have lots of chances to see nature, and they grow up
caring enough to improve our connection with nature even more.
There is no reason why we can't all have this future.
We just need to start doing what we can to make it happen.
So what will you do next?
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And here's some other videos you might like.