The ‘Attenborough Effect’: What is it and what has it done for our environment?

David Attenborough is one of Britain’s treasures. He is a writer, broadcaster, and natural historian, but most notably, Attenborough is known for his documentaries: Planet Earth, Our Planet, and Blue Planet. These documentaries have done more than just entertaining millions of viewers across the globe, they have educated mass audiences about the crisis of single-use plastics and sustainability.

In 2017, after the release of Blue Planet II, a moral panic engulfed mankind as they were affronted by the amount of plastic pollution in the Ocean, causing harm to marine life. According to a new report by Global Web Index, there has been a 53 percent reduction in single-use plastic usage over the past two years since watching the documentary.

A study published this year showed that 60 million bottles are used each day and Americans alone send more than 38 billion water bottles to landfills. That means that 1,500 plastic bottles are thrown away every second.

The ‘Attenborough Effect’ highlights the progress we are making in stopping the uses of single-use plastics and recycling plastic correctly. The ‘Attenborough Effect’ is now spreading across the globe as a larger-scale movement to reduce the use of plastic worldwide.

The importance of recycling correctly is becoming a prominent issue as marine life is actively being destroyed every second of every day. Over the last decade, mankind has produced more plastic than what we have produced in the past 100 years. The plastic that enters the oceans kills: fish, marine mammals, sea turtles, and birds and destroys habitats.

The ‘Attenborough Effect’ is a positive change for our planet, with many people reporting they make an active effort to consider sustainable materials when making every decision, such as using reusable shopping bags, rejecting plastic straws, and investing in permanent coffee cups.

David Attenborough has made us aware of the devastating nature plastic can cause in our Oceans. The next step is down to us. By educating ourselves and making positive changes, we can reduce the amount of plastic we dispose of into our environment.

We share this planet with other humans and animals, let's look after them too.