Humanity from Space (2015) - full transcript

NARRATOR: TODAY, OVER 7 BILLION
OF US INHABIT THE EARTH...

IN A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
OF BREATHTAKING COMPLEXITY.

NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE CAN
VISUALIZE THE INVISIBLE BONDS

THAT LINK US ALL TOGETHER.

MAN: THE WORLD
HAS REALLY SHRUNK.

WE CAN TAKE IN A SNAPSHOT OF
OUR ENTIRE PLANET IN ONE VIEW.

NARRATOR: IT REVEALS
A FASCINATING WEB OF

MAN-MADE NETWORKS
THAT ALLOW US TO THRIVE...

AND CONNECT ALL OF US.

OUR INTERCONNECTED PLANET
HAS BEEN

THOUSANDS OF YEARS
IN THE MAKING.



WHAT PIVOTAL MOMENTS FORGED
OUR GLOBAL SOCIETY?

WHAT FLASHES OF INGENUITY
ALLOWED US TO FLOURISH?

OUR SUCCESS HAS TRIGGERED
A VAST POPULATION EXPLOSION...

STRAINING OUR GLOBAL NETWORKS.

THIS MASSIVE INCREASE
OF AT LEAST

TWO BILLION PEOPLE
IS UNPRECEDENTED.

MAN: THERE'S GOING TO BE
SOME VERY BIG CHALLENGES

IN THE NEAR FUTURE

FOR HOW WE CAN SUSTAIN
THIS HUMAN POPULATION.

NARRATOR: TO MEET THESE
CHALLENGES WILL REQUIRE

OUR HUMANITY'S LONG TRADITION
OF INGENUITY AND INNOVATION.

WOMAN: HOW TO FEED
9 BILLION PEOPLE

IS OBVIOUSLY
A HEADACHE-INDUCING QUESTION.

THIS IS NOT
AN EASY THING TO DO.



MAN: THE WAY WE DO IT NOW
CANNOT LAST FOREVER,

AND SO WE'RE GOING
TO HAVE TO FIND

SOME ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS.

NARRATOR: THIS IS THE STORY
OF HOW OUR INGENUITY

CREATED THE MODERN WORLD,

AND HOW IT WILL
SHAPE OUR FUTURE.

AS SEEN FROM SPACE.

OUR MODERN WORLD IS
A MARVEL TO BEHOLD.

WE'VE BUILT A SOCIETY THAT'S

COMPLETELY DEPENDENT
ON TECHNOLOGY.

TODAY, THIS TECHNOLOGY DOESN'T
JUST GOVERN OUR LIVES...

IT ALLOWS US TO SEE
A NEW AND FASCINATING

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
OF OURSELVES.

REVEALING--FOR THE FIRST TIME--

JUST HOW COMPLEX
OUR SOCIETY HAS BECOME.

OUR NEW PLANETARY PERSPECTIVE
SHOWS BILLIONS OF US

ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE...

BY LAND...

SEA...

AND AIR.

HOW WE COMMUNICATE
WITH EACH OTHER...

AND ILLUMINATES
OUR INSATIABLE HUNGER

FOR FOOD, WATER, AND POWER.

THE ABILITY TO SEE HUMANITY
ON A GLOBAL SCALE

REVEALS SOMETHING PROFOUND.

FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN OUR HISTORY,

WE ARE COMPLETELY
INTERDEPENDENT ON EACH OTHER.

MAN: THIS HAS CHANGED OUR
PERCEPTION OF THE WORLD.

TODAY, WE LIVE IN
A GLOBAL CIVILIZATION,

AND THIS ENHANCES
OUR APPRECIATION OF THE PLANET

BECAUSE NOW WE SEE IT
ALL AS ONE PIECE.

AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS
JUST HOW INTERCONNECTED,

HOW EVERYONE ON PLANET EARTH
TODAY IS A PART OF ONE VAST,

PLANET-SPANNING NETWORK.

NARRATOR: IT'S EASY
TO TAKE THESE

LIFE-SUSTAINING
NETWORKS FOR GRANTED.

BUT EACH GREW OVER
THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

FORGED FROM THE SIMPLEST IDEAS

THAT LED TO SEISMIC SHIFTS
IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

BY EXPLAINING
THE HUMAN INGENUITY

THAT BUILT THESE NETWORKS,

WE CAN TELL THE STORY OF HOW
OUR MODERN WORLD CAME TO BE--

SEEN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE
OF SPACE.

TO TELL OUR STORY,
WE MUST TRAVEL BACK IN TIME...

OVER 12,000 YEARS.

LONG BEFORE THE WORLD
WE KNOW EXISTED.

TO A TIME WHEN LESS THAN
5 MILLION HUMANS

INHABITED THE EARTH.

THE FERTILE CRESCENT--
IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN.

10,000 BC.

IT'S HERE THE STORY OF
OUR MODERN WORLD BEGINS.

THROUGH ONE OF THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT INNOVATIONS

IN HUMAN HISTORY.

FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

WE LIVED IN SMALL TRIBES
OF HUNTERS AND GATHERERS.

AS NOMADS, WE CONSTANTLY ROAMED
THE LAND IN SEARCH OF FOOD.

BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED
IN THESE RICH SOILS

THAT COMPLETELY CHANGED
THE COURSE OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

RATHER THAN GATHERING SEEDS
TO EAT...WE PLANTED THEM.

WOMAN: PLANTING SEEDS IS HUGELY
SIGNIFICANT IN HUMAN HISTORY

BECAUSE IT'S A COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT WAY

OF FEEDING OURSELVES.

NARRATOR: THE NEW
IDEA OF FARMING

WASN'T RESTRICTED
TO THE MIDDLE EAST.

INDEPENDENTLY, OTHER TRIBES
IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD

BEGAN TO HAVE THE SAME THOUGHT.

FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE,
IT'S POSSIBLE TO SEE

WHERE THE ROOTS
OF FARMING TOOK HOLD.

IN MEXICO, THE OLMECS PLANTED
MAIZE AROUND 9,000 YEARS AGO.

8,000 YEARS AGO
IN THE PERUVIAN ANDES,

THE FIRST POTATOES WERE
PULLED FROM THE GROUND.

THE FIRST RICE WAS SOWN IN THE
PEARL RIVER VALLEY IN CHINA

7,000 YEARS AGO.

AND WHEAT SPREAD
INTO EUROPE BY 3,000 B.C.

WOMAN: HUMANITY WENT THROUGH
A VERY TRANSFORMATIVE SHIFT.

WE WENT FROM BEING HUNTERS,
GATHERERS, FORAGERS

LIKE WE'D BEEN FOR MOST OF THE
200,000 YEARS OF OUR HISTORY

TO BEGINNING TO BE FARMERS.

NARRATOR: FOR THE FIRST TIME,
FARMING NOT ONLY PROVIDED

A RELIABLE SOURCE OF FOOD--
IT PROVIDED A SURPLUS.

WHICH HAD HUGE CONSEQUENCES
FOR HUMANITY.

STEEL: THE CHANGE FROM
HUNTER-GATHERING TO FARMING

IS ABSOLUTELY FUNDAMENTAL.

IT'S REALLY WHAT ALLOWS US
FOR THE FIRST TIME

TO STAY IN ONE PLACE.

WE DON'T HAVE TO RUN AROUND
LOOKING FOR OUR FOOD ANYMORE.

NARRATOR: FARMING ALLOWED US
TO GATHER TOGETHER.

IN THESE FLEDGLING SETTLEMENTS,

WE STRENGTHENED ANOTHER
HUMAN TRAIT--COOPERATION.

WORKING TOGETHER
FOR THE GREATER GOOD

MEANT WE SHARED
NEW IDEAS AND SKILLS.

ALLOWING OUR INGENUITY
TO FLOURISH.

AND THOSE PEOPLE CAN
GO OFF AND SPECIALIZE IN

NEW ROLES IN SOCIETY.

THEY CAN BECOME
EXPERT CARPENTERS

OR WEAVERS OR BLACKSMITHS,
AND IT'S THROUGH THIS PROCESS,

FOUNDED ON AGRICULTURE,
THAT YOU BUILD

COMPLEX, CAPABLE CIVILIZATIONS.

NARRATOR: WITH OUR
NEWFOUND SKILLS, WE CONSTRUCTED

OUR FIRST CIVILIZATIONS,

THE RUINS OF WHICH
WE CAN STILL SEE TODAY.

FOUND IN REGIONS WHERE
WE FIRST LEARNT TO FARM.

FARMING ALLOWED US
TO BUILD OUR FIRST CITIES...

LIKE JERICHO, ERBIL,
AND BYBLOS...

THE OLDEST OF WHICH HAVE BEEN
INHABITED FOR 11,000 YEARS.

THESE ARE THE ROOTS
OF OUR MODERN WORLD.

DEFRIES: THE SIMPLE ACT
OF PLANTING A SEED

TRANSFORMED THE WAY
WE ARE AS A SPECIES.

IT MADE IT POSSIBLE TO
CONGREGATE IN SETTLEMENTS,

WHICH EVENTUALLY BECAME CITIES,

WHICH EVENTUALLY BECAME THE
HEART OF IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGY

AND ART AND THE GLOBAL CONNECTED
SOCIETY THAT WE HAVE TODAY.

NARRATOR: THE ROMAN, GREEK,
MAYAN, AND MONGOLIAN EMPIRES

WERE ALL GOVERNED FROM CITIES.

CITIES THAT BECAME THE FIRST
GREAT HUBS OF HUMAN INNOVATION.

ALL OF WHICH WERE BUILT ON
THE FOUNDATIONS OF FARMING.

BUT WHAT'S SURPRISING IS
FEW GREW TO HAVE POPULATIONS

GREATER THAN A MILLION PEOPLE.

TO CREATE TODAY'S MEGA CITIES

WOULD TAKE ANOTHER HUGE
SHIFT IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

A SHIFT TRIGGERED BY ANOTHER
SEEMINGLY INSIGNIFICANT EVENT.

THESE ARE OUR MODERN
CITIES FROM SPACE.

FROM UP HERE,
IT'S POSSIBLE TO SEE

HOW NUMEROUS AND VAST
THEY HAVE BECOME.

MANY ARE HOME TO OVER
20 MILLION PEOPLE.

SOME HAVE MERGED TO FORM
GIANT METROPOLISES,

HUGE URBAN NETWORKS THAT
STRETCH HUNDREDS OF MILES,

WHERE MORE THAN 50 MILLION
OF US HAVE GATHERED.

MAN: YOU SEE MAJOR METROPOLISES
ALL THE WAY

UP ACROSS THE APPALACHIANS,

DOWN THE ENTIRE
EASTERN SEABOARD,

UP INTO THE, THE GRANITE
AND THE ICE OF CANADA,

AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THAT
IN ONE VIEW.

MAN: IN THE 90 MINUTES
IT TAKES US TO ORBIT THE EARTH,

WE COULD SEE THE IMPACT OF
HUMANITY ALL AROUND US.

WE COULD SEE THAT HUMANITY
HAS SPREAD ALL OVER THE GLOBE.

NARRATOR: TODAY, WE TAKE
OUR CITIES FOR GRANTED.

BUT MODERN SOCIETY
AS WE KNOW IT

COULDN'T EXIST WITHOUT THEM.

OVER 500 WORLDWIDE NOW CONTAIN
MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE.

WHAT'S SURPRISING IS
THEIR INCREDIBLE GROWTH

STARTED JUST 250 YEARS AGO.

LINDSAY: FOR MOST OF
HUMAN HISTORY, CITIES WERE
THE EXCEPTION, YOU KNOW.

THERE WERE A HANDFUL OF LARGE
ONES AND VERY FEW IN GENERAL.

MOST OF HUMANITY
LIVED ON THE LAND

AND THAT SITUATION LASTED FOR
THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

NARRATOR: SO WHAT TRIGGERED
THE PHENOMENAL GROWTH

OF OUR CITIES?

GREAT BRITAIN, 1765.

WHILE MOST OF US
WORK IN THE FIELDS...

THIS MAN--SCOTTISH ENGINEER
JAMES WATT--

SEES A WAY OF IMPROVING
A RECENT INVENTION...

THE STEAM ENGINE.

UNTIL NOW, STEAM ENGINES
WERE PRIMITIVE--

AND HAD LIMITED USES.

BUT WITH JUST
A FEW CRUCIAL TWEAKS,

WATT DESIGNS A STEAM ENGINE
THAT'S FAR MORE EFFICIENT.

ONE THAT BURNS 70% LESS COAL.

WATT'S INGENUITY UNLEASHES
STEAM'S ASTONISHING POTENTIAL

WITH UNIMAGINABLE CONSEQUENCES.

STEEL: WE'VE HAD 3
INCREDIBLE LEAPS FORWARD
IN OUR HUMAN HISTORY.

THE FIRST WAS THE DISCOVERY
OF HOW TO CONTROL FIRE,

THE SECOND WAS HOW TO FARM,

AND THE THIRD MASSIVE
DIFFERENCE WAS MADE

WHEN WE LEARNT HOW TO HARNESS
STEAM TO PRODUCE POWER.

NARRATOR: ENGINEERS
EMBRACE WATT'S ENGINE,

USHERING IN A NEW WAVE OF HUMAN
INNOVATION--ALMOST OVERNIGHT.

SUDDENLY, A SINGLE
STEAM-POWERED

WATER PUMP IN A COAL MINE

COULD REPLACE A TEAM
OF 500 HORSES.

AND NOW WE COULD MANUFACTURE

NOT JUST WITH OUR HANDS,
BUT WITH MACHINES.

DARTNELL: AND SO FOR THE FIRST
TIME, HUMAN SOCIETY WAS FREED

FROM THE CONSTRAINTS OF
JUST USING MUSCLE POWER,

AND NOW YOU CAN USE MACHINERY.

NARRATOR: STEAM POWER HAD
A PROFOUND EFFECT ON OUR LIVES.

IN HUNDREDS OF FACTORIES,
NEW MACHINES BROUGHT ABOUT

MASS PRODUCTION ON A SCALE
UNHEARD OF...

TRIGGERING A HUGE SHIFT
IN THE LABOR FORCE.

LINDSAY: NO LONGER
DO WE FIND WORK
IN THE COUNTRYSIDE AS FARMERS.

SUDDENLY, WORK AND OPPORTUNITY
IS LOCATED

IN THE CITY AND THE FACTORIES
THAT ARE TRANSFORMING SOCIETY.

NARRATOR: BEFORE 1800,
FEW PEOPLE EVER LEFT

THE VILLAGE WHERE
THEY WERE BORN.

TRANSPORTING THEM TO THE CITIES
TO FILL THE FACTORIES

REQUIRED ANOTHER REVOLUTION.

ONE THAT WAS ALSO
DRIVEN BY STEAM.

STEEL: THE RAILWAYS
CAN BRING IN FOOD;

THEY CAN BRING IN COAL;
THEY CAN BRING IN PEOPLE.

CITIES JUST,
THEY JUST ROLL OUT.

DARTNELL: AND THIS IN ITSELF

BECAME A TRANSFORMATIVE EPISODE

IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR
AND HUMAN HISTORY;

IT OPENED UP THE WORLD TO US.

STEEL: THE AMAZING
THING THAT HAPPENS

IS THAT CITIES CAN GROW
AS BIG AS THEY LIKE

BECAUSE THE RAILWAYS
CAN BRING THE FOOD IN,

THEY CAN BRING THE COAL IN,
IT CAN BRING THE PEOPLE IN,

YOU KNOW, SO
THESE THINGS JUST GO [PBBT].

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU GET
THE GREAT METROPOLITAN
SPLAT, BASICALLY.

NARRATOR: NOWHERE
IS MORE AFFECTED

THAN MANCHESTER IN ENGLAND.

THANKS TO JAMES WATT,
THIS SLEEPY MARKET TOWN

SOON SUCCUMBS TO STEAM POWER.

WITH THE COMING
OF THE RAILWAYS,

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
FLOCK IN FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE,

SEEKING WORK IN ITS
NEW FACTORIES.

IN JUST 50 YEARS, MANCHESTER'S
POPULATION SOARS--

FROM 20,000
TO 160,000 PEOPLE--

AS IT BECOMES THE WORLD'S
FIRST INDUSTRIALIZED CITY.

STEEL: THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE.

BASICALLY, THE DISCOVERY
OF STEAM MAKES IT POSSIBLE

FOR US TO PRODUCE THINGS, AND
IT'S A COMPLETE GAME CHANGER.

NARRATOR: THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION

DRAWS PEOPLE TOGETHER
AS NEVER BEFORE.

FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN HUMAN HISTORY,

THE POPULATION OF CITIES AROUND
THE WORLD EXPANDS MASSIVELY--

RUNNING INTO MILLIONS
IN JUST A FEW DECADES.

IT'S ANOTHER GIANT LEAP FORWARD

IN BUILDING TODAY'S
MODERN WORLD.

LINDSAY: WE SEE IT IN INDIA,
WE SEE IT IN CHINA,

WE SEE IT IN TOKYO.

SUDDENLY YOU HAVE
FACTORY CITIES LIKE DETROIT

SPRINGING UP FROM A QUARTER
OF A MILLION PEOPLE

TO A MILLION PEOPLE
IN A SINGLE DECADE.

AND IT'S JUST EXTRAORDINARY.

THE WHOLE THING
TURNS ON ITS HEAD.

CITIES EXPLODE.

NARRATOR: THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION TRIGGERS ONE OF

THE GREATEST MASS MIGRATIONS

THE MODERN WORLD
HAS EVER WITNESSED...

USHERING IN THE URBAN AGE.

STEEL: IF WE COME TO
SOMETHING LIKE 1800,

THERE'S STILL ONLY 3%
OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION

LIVING IN CITIES.

THEN WE GET STEAM POWER,
WE GET RAILWAYS,

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
AND [WHISTLES]

COMPLETE HOCKEY STICK CURVE.

NARRATOR: AND WHAT STARTED
200 YEARS AGO CONTINUES TODAY.

STEEL: THERE'S 1.2 MILLION
PEOPLE MOVING INTO CITIES

EVERY WEEK GLOBALLY
AT THE MOMENT.

THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY.

NARRATOR: THIS HUMAN SHIFT
HAS LED TO A UNIQUE MOMENT

IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY.

STEEL: IN THE YEAR 2006,
SOMETHING HUGELY SIGNIFICANT

HAPPENED IN THE HUMAN STORY.

BASICALLY, THIS YEAR
IS THE FIRST IN HISTORY

WHEN MORE PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN
CITIES THAN IN THE COUNTRYSIDE.

NARRATOR: THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION LED US TO BECOME

A TRULY URBAN SOCIETY.

BUT KEEPING THE MODERN WORLD
RUNNING WOULD REQUIRE

ANOTHER SPARK OF INGENUITY.

SOMETHING THAT WOULD
LEAD TO THE GREATEST

ENGINEERING NETWORK
ON THE PLANET.

SOMETHING WE CONNECT WITH
ACROSS CONTINENTS--

WITHOUT WHICH THE MODERN WORLD
WOULDN'T FUNCTION.

OCTOBER 28, 2011.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE,
CALIFORNIA.

MAN: THREE, TWO,
MAIN ENGINE START.

ONE...ZERO...AND LIFTOFF!

OF THE DELTA TWO
WITH THE NPP SATELLITE.

NARRATOR: NASA LAUNCHES
THE SUOMI SATELLITE.

IT'S DESIGNED TO STUDY
THE WORLD'S WEATHER.

BUT WITH AN ELECTRONIC EYE
HUNDREDS OF TIMES

MORE SENSITIVE THAN
PREVIOUS SATELLITES,

IT REVEALS
SOMETHING REMARKABLE--

THE INTERCONNECTIVITY
OF OUR ELECTRIFIED WORLD.

THIS IS THE BLACK MARBLE.

A CLOUDLESS COMPOSITE
OF THE ENTIRE WORLD

MADE UP OF THOUSANDS OF IMAGES

COLLECTED FROM SUOMI
OVER 312 ORBITS.

IT REVEALS ALMOST EVERY LIGHT
WE'VE SWITCHED ON...

FROM OFFICE BLOCKS TO HOUSES
TO INDIVIDUAL STREET LIGHTS.

MAN: WHEN I LOOK AT
THE NASA BLACK MARBLE

IMAGES, MY MIND BOGGLES.

IT IS AN AMAZING ILLUSTRATION
OF THE IMPACT THAT

ELECTRICITY AND OUR POWER GRIDS
HAVE HAD ON THE HUMAN SPECIES.

NARRATOR: HERE, THE NILE RIVER
SHINES AS A RIBBON OF LIGHT

THAT FANS OUT
AT THE RIVER'S DELTA

JUST ABOVE THE CITY OF CAIRO.

THESE ARE THE LIGHTS OF
HUNDREDS OF FISHING TRAWLERS.

UNWITTINGLY, THEY PICK OUT
AN INVISIBLE MAN-MADE BOUNDARY

AS THEY PATROL THEIR
TERRITORIAL WATERS.

WE CAN EVEN SEE WHO'S EMBRACED
THE MODERN WORLD.

SOUTH KOREA BLAZES WITH LIGHT,

WHILE NORTH KOREA REMAINS
ALMOST ENTIRELY DARK.

ALL THESE LIGHTS HAVE
ONE THING IN COMMON--

THEY REQUIRE ELECTRICITY.

SHERE: IT'S HARD TO OVERSTATE
JUST HOW IMPORTANT

ELECTRICITY IS
TO OUR LIVES TODAY.

FROM WHEN WE WAKE UP
IN THE MORNING,

TO GETTING TO WORK TO DOING OUR
WORK, TO GOING TO BED AT NIGHT,

ALMOST EVERYTHING WE DO
INVOLVES ELECTRICITY

IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

NARRATOR: THERE'S NO DOUBT
ELECTRIFICATION MARKS

A SEISMIC SHIFT
IN FOUNDING OUR MODERN WORLD.

BUT THE EVENTS THAT SPARKED IT
CAN BE TRACED BACK IN TIME

TO SURPRISINGLY
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS.

DECEMBER 31, 1879,
MENLO PARK, NEW JERSEY.

INVENTOR THOMAS EDISON
DEMONSTRATES

HIS IMPROVED VERSION OF
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT BULB.

BEFORE EDISON, LIGHT BULBS WERE

UNRELIABLE, EXPENSIVE,
AND FAILED QUICKLY.

HIS BREAKTHROUGH
COMES WHEN HE MAKES

A FILAMENT OUT OF
BAMBOO AND CARBON.

IT'S A SMALL CHANGE
BUT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE HUGE.

DARTNELL: EDISON DIDN'T
INVENT THE LIGHT BULB,

BUT WHAT HE DID DO WAS
TWEAK AND PLAY AROUND

WITH THE DESIGNS THAT EXISTED
AT THE TIME, AND LOOKING BACK,

THESE MIGHT SEEM LIKE
INSIGNIFICANT CHANGES,

BUT THEY GOT THE DESIGN TO WORK
AND THAT'S THE IMPORTANT THING.

NARRATOR: EDISON'S BULB
SHINES BRIGHTER AND LONGER
THAN ANY BEFORE--

LASTING FOR OVER 1,000 HOURS.

HE PATENTS HIS DESIGN
AND DECLARES...

"WE WILL MAKE ELECTRICITY
SO CHEAP,

THAT ONLY THE RICH
WILL BURN CANDLES."

BUT A BULB IS USELESS WITHOUT
A SOURCE OF POWER.

DARTNELL: IT'S ONLY
HALF OF THE SOLUTION,

BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY,
YOU NEED TO GET THE ELECTRICITY

FROM WHERE IT'S GENERATED
IN YOUR POWER STATION,

TO WHERE YOU NEED TO USE IT,
TO YOUR HOMES AND FACTORIES.

AND FOR THAT, YOU NEED
ANOTHER KIND OF INVENTION.

SHERE: THOMAS EDISON PERFECTED
THE LIGHT BULB AS WE KNOW IT.

BUT WHAT'S NOT AS WELL KNOWN,

BUT CERTAINLY EVEN
MORE SIGNIFICANT,

IS THAT EDISON WAS
ALSO THE ORIGINATOR

OF THE ELECTRICAL GRID.

NARRATOR: WITH A TALENTED GROUP
OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS--

AMONG THEM NIKOLA TESLA--

EDISON BUILT A SMALL NETWORK
OF ELECTRIFIED CABLES

SUPPLYING POWER
TO JUST 59 CUSTOMERS

IN SOUTHERN MANHATTAN.

STRETCHING JUST A FEW BLOCKS,

THIS IS THE WORLD'S
FIRST ELECTRIC GRID.

AND IN A LITTLE OVER 100 YEARS,
IT HAS GROWN EXPONENTIALLY.

IN NORTH AMERICA, HUNDREDS OF
POWER STATIONS FEED ELECTRICITY

INTO ALMOST
HALF A MILLION MILES

OF HIGH-VOLTAGE
TRANSMISSION LINES.

THESE IN TURN CONNECT
THOUSANDS OF CITIES...

LINKING OVER 300 MILLION PEOPLE
TO THE NORTH AMERICAN GRID...

WITH ENOUGH COPPER CABLE TO
STRETCH TO THE MOON AND BACK.

SHERE: THE ELECTRICAL GRID
IS A MIND-BOGGLING MACHINE.

IT IS EASILY THE LARGEST
AND MOST SOPHISTICATED MACHINE

EVER BUILT BY PEOPLE.

IT'S HARD TO EVEN QUANTIFY
HOW MASSIVE THIS DEVICE IS.

NARRATOR: SEEN FROM
A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE,

THE IMPORTANCE OF
THE GRID BECOMES CLEAR.

29,000 MILES OF CABLE

CARRY ELECTRICITY
THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA.

IN INDIA, IT'S DOUBLE THAT.

RUSSIA'S GRID HAS
73,000 MILES OF CABLE.

IN EUROPE, OVER
185,000 MILES OF CABLE

CONNECTS 23
DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

GLOBALLY, THE ELECTRICAL GRID
SUPPLIES POWER TO OVER

5 1/2 BILLION OF US--
80% OF HUMANITY.

FROM THE INGENUITY OF A HANDFUL
OF PIONEERING ELECTRICIANS,

WE'VE CONSTRUCTED A MODERN
WONDER OF THE WORLD.

SHERE: THE ELECTRICAL GRID
IS ONE OF THE BEST

AND MOST AMAZING EXAMPLES
OF HOW HUMANITY

IS CONNECTED
ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

NARRATOR: AND NOW THE
INTERCONNECTIVITY OF THE GRID

ALLOWS US TO SEE
THE ELECTRICAL CONSUMPTION OF

COUNTRIES AND REGIONS
ACROSS THE WORLD.

CANADA CONSUMES JUST
2% OF THE WORLD'S ELECTRICITY.

AMERICA USES 10 TIMES AS MUCH.

THE COMBINED COUNTRIES OF
EUROPE USE ANOTHER 16 1/2%.

AND CHINA ACCOUNTS FOR ALMOST
A QUARTER OF THE WORLD'S TOTAL.

EVERY DAY, OUR ELECTRICITY
CONSUMPTION COULD LIGHT

HALF A TRILLION
100-WATT LIGHT BULBS.

ELECTRICITY IS THE LIFEBLOOD
OF OUR MODERN WORLD.

AND THE GRID WE'VE BUILT
TO TRANSPORT IT IS ITS VEINS.

ITS AVAILABILITY HAS SPARKED

ALMOST ALL OF OUR
MODERN INVENTIONS,

FROM FRIDGES AND TVS,
TO TELEPHONES AND COMPUTERS,

TO OUR ELECTRIFIED SKYLINES.

IT'S ONLY WHEN
THE SUPPLY IS CUT

THAT WE FULLY APPRECIATE
ITS IMPORTANCE.

SHERE: SUDDENLY, LIFE FREEZES.

YOU CAN'T GO ON THE INTERNET.
NONE OF THE LIGHTS WORK.

YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING.

AND SUDDENLY YOU REALIZE
FOR THOSE MOMENTS

WHEN ELECTRICITY'S NOT THERE,

JUST HOW UBIQUITOUS IT IS
IN TERMS OF HOW WE FUNCTION

IN, IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD.

NARRATOR: WITHOUT ELECTRICITY,
OUR MODERN WORLD

WOULD BE LEFT IN THE DARK.

TO KEEP IT POWERED, WE'VE DRAWN
ON OUR INGENUITY TO PROVIDE US

WITH TWO RESOURCES
THAT OUR SOCIETY

HAS BECOME COMPLETELY
DEPENDENT ON.

THE CORDERO ROJO MINE
IN POWDER RIVER BASIN,

WYOMING, USA.

THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST
MINES IN AMERICA.

A VAST HOLE IN THE GROUND
OVER A MILE WIDE.

HERE, SOME OF THE LARGEST
MACHINES EVER BUILT SCOOP

THOUSANDS OF TONS OF EARTH
A DAY--DIGGING FOR COAL.

COAL IS CRITICAL IN THE STORY
OF THE MODERN WORLD.

250 YEARS AGO,
IT FUELED THE STEAM ENGINES

THAT TRIGGERED
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION...

CHANGING HUMAN BEHAVIOR
AND LAYING THE FOUNDATION

OF OUR URBAN SOCIETY.

TODAY, IT INFLUENCES OUR LIVES
IN ANOTHER VITAL WAY.

SHERE: I THINK IT SURPRISES
A LOT OF PEOPLE TO LEARN THAT

THE BULK OF THE ELECTRICITY
PRODUCED ALL AROUND THE WORLD

COMES FROM COAL.

NARRATOR: POWDER RIVER BASIN IS
THE LARGEST COAL-MINING REGION

IN NORTH AMERICA.

THIS REVEALING
TIME-LAPSE FROM SPACE

SHOWS THE EXTENT
OF COAL EXPLORATION HERE

OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS.

STARTING FROM NOTHING,
WE'VE EXCAVATED AN AREA

THE SIZE OF MIAMI.

THIS MASSIVE COMPLEX OF MINES
SUPPLIES LESS THAN HALF OF

AMERICA'S ELECTRICITY NEEDS.

OUR DEPENDENCE ON COAL
HAS LED TO

A COMPLEX NETWORK
OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND.

INDONESIA IS THE WORLD'S
GREATEST COAL EXPORTER.

IT SELLS 30 MILLION TONS
TO JAPAN EVERY YEAR.

COAL FROM AUSTRALIA HAS FUELED
CHINA'S INDUSTRIAL BOOM.

AND MUCH OF EUROPE--THE WORLD'S
LARGEST ECONOMY--

BUYS COAL FROM RUSSIA.

WHEN IT COMES TO
PRODUCING ELECTRICITY,

COAL IS KING TODAY.

BUT COAL ALONE DOESN'T MEET
OUR ELECTRICITY DEMANDS.

GLOBALLY, WE USE ENOUGH
ELECTRICITY EVERY DAY TO POWER

THE AVERAGE AMERICAN HOME
FOR OVER 5 MILLION YEARS.

TO MEET THE DEMAND,
WE'VE CONSTRUCTED

A VAST NETWORK OF POWER PLANTS.

OVER 2,300
COAL-POWERED PLANTS

GENERATE 41%
OF OUR ELECTRICITY...

439 NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS
SUPPLY ANOTHER 10%...

WHILE NATURAL GAS FEED
ALMOST 3,000 PLANTS--

GENERATING 1/5 OF
THE ELECTRICITY WE CONSUME.

BUT THESE ENERGY SOURCES
PALE IN SIGNIFICANCE

WHEN COMPARED TO A COMMODITY

THAT PERMEATES NEARLY
EVERY COMPONENT OF OUR WORLD.

OIL.

TITUSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA,
AUGUST 27, 1859.

UNTIL NOW, OIL COULD
ONLY BE COLLECTED

WHERE IT SEEPED TO THE SURFACE.

BUT THIS MAN--EDWIN DRAKE--
THINKS DIFFERENTLY.

HE'S HIRED BY
THE SENECA OIL COMPANY

TO FIND A WAY TO EXTRACT
UNDERGROUND OIL DEPOSITS.

DRAKE REASONED HE COULD
TAP OIL'S POTENTIAL

BY DRILLING FOR IT--

IN THE SAME WAY HE'D SEEN
MINERS DRILL FOR SALT.

SHERE: AND HE ALMOST
IMMEDIATELY STARTED

TO ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS.

IT DIDN'T GO WELL AT FIRST.

WHAT ESSENTIALLY HAPPENED,
THE FURTHER DOWN THEY GOT,

THEY BEGAN TO HIT WATER
AND THIS WELL

BEGAN FILLING UP WITH WATER
AND IT COLLAPSED.

SO IT WAS A COMPLETE DISASTER.

NARRATOR: HE'S PRACTICALLY
LAUGHED OUT OF TOWN.

"DRAKE'S FOLLY"
WILL NEVER WORK.

SHERE: PEOPLE BEGAN
CALLING HIM CRAZY DRAKE,

BECAUSE THEY LITERALLY
THOUGHT HE WAS CRAZY.

NO ONE HAD DONE THIS
BEFORE SUCCESSFULLY.

NARRATOR: DRAKE
DOESN'T GIVE UP.

HE USES IRON PIPES TO SHORE UP
THE SIDES OF HIS WELL.

SHERE: AND GUESS WHAT--
IT WORKED.

HE WAS ABLE TO DRILL DOWN
TO ABOUT 70 FEET,

AND LO AND BEHOLD, OIL WAS
COMING UP OUT OF THAT WELL.

AND THEN PEOPLE DIDN'T THINK
HE WAS SO CRAZY ANYMORE.

NARRATOR: DRAKE'S INGENUITY
PROVES ANOTHER POWERFUL EXAMPLE

OF HOW A SMALL INNOVATION
CAN RADICALLY CHANGE

THE SCALE OF HUMAN ENDEAVOR.

DRILLING MEANT
WE COULD EXTRACT OIL

AND EXPLOIT IT
LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

IN JUST 10 YEARS,
NORTH AMERICA'S OIL PRODUCTION

LEAPS FROM 2,000 BARRELS
TO OVER 5 MILLION A YEAR...

SETTING US ON A PATH TO TODAY'S
MODERN OIL-DEPENDENT WORLD.

SHERE: THIS MOMENT WHEN DRAKE
SUCCESSFULLY DRILLED HIS WELL

AND OIL CAME UP,

WAS A FUNDAMENTAL SEISMIC SHIFT
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

NARRATOR: TODAY,
OUR QUEST FOR OIL

TAKES US AROUND THE GLOBE...

WITH DRILLING AS FAR FLUNG AS
ALASKA AND SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA.

AND FROM THE FROZEN
WASTES OF SIBERIA

TO THE DESERTS OF SAUDI ARABIA.

GLOBALLY, OUR 3,500
RIGS EXTRACT

ALMOST 4 MILLION BARRELS OF
THE BLACK STUFF EVERY HOUR.

AROUND 67,000 BARRELS A MINUTE.

IN JUST 150 YEARS,
WE'VE EXTRACTED ALMOST

A TRILLION BARRELS
OF OIL FROM THE EARTH.

WITHOUT OIL, OUR MODERN WORLD
WOULD BE GROUNDED.

IT'S WHAT KEEPS OUR PLANES...

CARS...

AND SHIPS CONSTANTLY
CIRCLING THE GLOBE.

BUT OIL DOES SO MUCH MORE
THAN KEEP US ON THE MOVE.

OUR INGENUITY HAS FOUND
WAYS OF USING IT

THAT EVEN EDWIN DRAKE
COULD NEVER HAVE SEEN.

SHERE: NEARLY EVERYTHING
THAT WE USE,

EVERY PRODUCT WE
ENGAGE WITH EVERY DAY

IS RELATED TO OIL IN SOME WAY.

NARRATOR: THE VERSATILITY
OF OIL IS EVERYWHERE.

WALK DOWN ANY STREET IN
ANY TOWN AND IT SURROUNDS YOU.

FROM THE TARMAC
UNDER YOUR FEET

TO THE PAINT ON WALLS...

TO THE GOODS IN STORE WINDOWS
AND THE PLASTIC IN CARS.

DARTNELL: IT'S SYNTHETIC FIBERS
IN OUR CLOTHES.

THE VERY CHAIR
I'M SITTING IN.

THE PESTICIDES,
THE INSECTICIDES

WE USE TO GROW
THE FOOD THAT WE EAT.

THE TOOTHBRUSH I USE
TO BRUSH MY TEETH.

TELEVISIONS OR MOBILE PHONES.

THE CAMERA THAT YOU'RE
USING TO FILM ME RIGHT NOW.

EVERYTHING THAT
YOU CAN THINK OF

IS TIED TO OIL
IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

IT'S REALLY AMAZING.

DARTNELL: SO IN A SENSE, WE ARE

UTTERLY DEPENDENT
TO THIS BLACK STUFF.

NARRATOR: OIL'S INFLUENCE
OVER US IS SO HUGE,

A TINY SHIFT IN ITS VALUE

IMPACTS EVERY PART
OF OUR LIVES.

FROM OUR ABILITY TO TRAVEL

TO THE PRICE OF A LOAF OF BREAD
OR A QUART OF MILK.

AND OIL UNDERPINS ONE OF
THE OLDEST HUMAN TRAITS

THAT GOVERN US TODAY...

GLOBAL TRADE.

OUR MODERN WORLD
IS BUILT AROUND

A SERIES OF VAST,
INTERCONNECTED GLOBAL NETWORKS.

MILLIONS OF MILES
OF ROADS AND RAIL.

THOUSANDS OF AIRCRAFT
SPANNING THE GLOBE.

AND SHIPS THAT PLOW THE OCEANS.

THROUGH THEM FLOWS EVERYTHING
OUR CIVILIZATION MAKES.

THESE ARE OUR
MODERN TRADE ROUTES--

AN INDISPENSABLE NETWORK
THAT CONNECTS US.

EVERYTHING THAT WE CONSUME,
EVERYTHING THAT WE USE

ALL COME FROM MANY
DIFFERENT PLACES NOW

AND THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT
TO ANY TIME BEFORE.

IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT MAKES
THE WORLD GO ROUND TODAY,

IT'S THIS INTERNATIONAL
GLOBAL TRADE.

NARRATOR: TRADE WITH EACH OTHER
IS ONE OF THE OLDEST

AND MOST BASIC OF
HUMAN CONNECTIONS.

THE MODERN WORLD IS
ENTIRELY DEFINED BY IT.

WE CAN SEE HOW BY GOING BACK TO

THE ORIGINS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL TRADING NETWORK--

IN CHINA.

THE CHINESE WERE
PIONEERS OF TRADE.

OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS,
THE HAN DYNASTY CREATED

A NETWORK OF PATHS
OVER 6,000 MILES LONG...

COLLECTIVELY CALLED
THE SILK ROUTES.

STRETCHING ACROSS CONTINENTS,

THE SILK ROUTES ARE WIDELY
RECOGNIZED AS THE FIRST

INTERCONTINENTAL TRADE NETWORK.

MAN: AND THE SIGNIFICANCE
WAS PROFOUND,

BECAUSE IT BROUGHT
THE EAST AND THE WEST

INTO CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

NARRATOR: THE SILK ROUTES
PROVIDED ROME, EGYPT,

THE MIDDLE EAST, AND CHINA

WITH A REGULAR, RELIABLE
MEANS OF TRADING...

BECOMING THE ARTERIES THROUGH
WHICH EXOTIC GOODS SUCH AS

SPICES, COFFEE, SILK,
AND GOLD WERE EXCHANGED.

RAISING THE STANDARD OF LIVING
FOR THOSE WHO BOUGHT--AND SOLD.

BERNSTEIN: BEFORE
THE INTRODUCTION OF SILK

INTO THE ROMAN EMPIRE,

THEY HAD SCRATCHY AND CRUMPLY
LINEN AND WOOL.

AND TO THEM, SILK
WAS A REVELATION.

THEY WENT GAGA OVER IT.

NARRATOR: BUT TRADING
OVER LAND WAS OFTEN

ARDUOUS AND DANGEROUS.

BY THE MID-1400S, WAR BETWEEN

THE BYZANTINE
AND OTTOMAN DYNASTIES

MEANT THE SILK ROUTES
BECAME IMPASSABLE.

BUT TRADE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
WAS TOO LUCRATIVE TO LOSE.

SO AN ALTERNATIVE ROUTE
TO THE FAR EAST WAS NEEDED.

SOUTHERN SPAIN,
AUGUST 3, 1492.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS DEPARTS ON

THE FIRST OF HIS 4
GROUND-BREAKING VOYAGES.

HIS QUEST TO REACH THE EAST
INDIES IS LEGENDARY.

BUT THE REAL LEGACY OF COLUMBUS

WOULD HAVE FAR
GREATER CONSEQUENCES

FOR ESTABLISHING
OUR GLOBAL SOCIETY.

COLUMBUS SAILED WEST
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC,

THINKING HE'D FIND
A PASSAGE TO THE FAR EAST.

OF COURSE, WHAT LAY AHEAD

WAS A COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT CONTINENT...

AMERICA.

THIS SERENDIPITOUS FIND SPARKED
THE GOLDEN AGE OF DISCOVERY.

THE FLOTILLA OF SHIPS
THAT SAILED THE GLOBE

OVER THE NEXT 150 YEARS

WOULD CHART ROUTES TO NEW LANDS

IN THE NORTHERN
AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

AND ALTHOUGH THEY WERE
OFTEN DEPICTED IN HISTORY

AS HEROIC MISSIONS
OF EXPLORATION,

THE SAILORS WHO RISKED
LIFE AND LIMB ON THESE VOYAGES

WERE DRIVEN BY SOMETHING
MORE LUCRATIVE--

THE DESIRE TO TRADE.

BERNSTEIN: COLUMBUS AND DIAZ
AND DA GAMA AND MAGELLAN

WEREN'T LOOKING FOR GOLD
AND THEY WEREN'T
LOOKING FOR SOULS TO SAVE.

THEY WERE LOOKING
FOR NUTMEG AND MACE

AND CLOVES AND CINNAMON.

THE AGE OF DISCOVERY ALLOWED
US TO REALIZE IN EUROPE

THAT THERE ARE PLACES
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

THAT HAD UNTOLD RICHES.

A POUND OF NUTMEG
WAS THE ARMANI SUIT

AND THE GUCCI SHOE
AND THE BMW OF ITS ERA.

NARRATOR: OVER
THE NEXT 400 YEARS,

THE EFFECT OF THESE VOYAGES
RIPPLED AROUND THE WORLD.

BUSINESSES LIKE BRITAIN'S
EAST INDIA COMPANY

REVOLVED AROUND THE PROSPERITY
INTERNATIONAL TRADE OFFERED.

BOLSTERING NOT JUST
PORTS SUCH AS

LONDON, PARIS, AND AMSTERDAM--

TRADING IN TEA,
COFFEE, AND SPICES--

BUT ENTIRE COUNTRIES
LIKE INDIA,

BURMA, SINGAPORE,
AND HONG KONG.

ALTHOUGH NOT WITHOUT PERIODS
OF HARDSHIP AND UPHEAVAL,

THESE SHIPPING ROUTES
BROUGHT GREAT WEALTH

TO THE LANDS THEY LINKED...

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF
TODAY'S GLOBAL TRADE NETWORKS.

BERNSTEIN: THE AGE OF DISCOVERY
BROUGHT EUROPEANS INTO CONTACT

WITH LUXURY GOODS THAT
THEY HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE

AND THEY GRADUALLY DEVELOPED
AN INCREASING TASTE FOR THESE.

NARRATOR: BY THE 19TH CENTURY,
NO PROPER ENGLISH HOUSEHOLD

WAS WITHOUT ITS DARJEELING TEA
AND BONE CHINA SET.

BUT LUXURIES LIKE THESE
WERE RESERVED FOR THE RICH.

THE START OF TODAY'S
MODERN MASS MARKET

WOULD HAVE TO WAIT FOR ANOTHER
SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS.

PORT NEWARK-ELIZABETH,
NEW JERSEY, APRIL 26, 1956.

THIS MAN, MALCOLM MCLEAN,
IS ABOUT TO INTRODUCE

AN INNOVATION THAT WILL
REVOLUTIONIZE TRADE.

BEFORE MCLEAN, LOADING
AND OFFLOADING SHIPPING CARGO

IS SLOW AND EXPENSIVE.

GRAIN WAS CRANED INTO THE HOLD

AND HUNDREDS OF PORTERS
PACK GOODS

INTO EVERY AVAILABLE SPACE.

MCLEAN'S BRIGHT IDEA WAS
TO STANDARDIZE THE PROCESS

USING SHIPPING CONTAINERS.

DARTNELL: IT'S JUST A BOX,
BUT WHAT THE SHIPPING CONTAINER

DOES FOR YOU IS IT
GIVES YOU A UNIT OF TRADE,

SOMETHING WHICH IS UNIFORM IN
SIZE, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,

AND YOU CAN HAVE THE SPACE
ON THE SHIPS AND THE CRANES

AND YOUR TRANSPORTING TRUCKS
ALL ADAPTED

TO SOMETHING THE SAME SIZE.

NARRATOR: THE ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL
CONTAINER

SLASHES THE COST OF LOADING
IN AN INSTANT

FROM AROUND $6.00
TO JUST 16 CENTS A TON.

DARTNELL: AND IT'S THAT
INCREDIBLE INCREASE
IN EFFICIENCY

WHICH REALLY DRIVES DOWN THE
COST OF SHIPPING A CONTAINER

AND IT MAKES INTERNATIONAL
TRADE SO MUCH CHEAPER.

NARRATOR: CHEAP SHIPMENTS
MEANT PEOPLE

ALL AROUND THE WORLD
COULD AFFORD MORE.

TODAY IT'S GROWN INTO
A $4 TRILLION NETWORK...

WITH THOUSANDS
OF SHIPS CARRYING

OVER 120 MILLION CONTAINERS
EVERY YEAR.

FROM SPACE, GLOBAL
POSITIONING SATELLITES

TRACK THE MOVEMENT
OF THIS IMMENSE FLEET...

REVEALING TODAY'S
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING NETWORK.

A GLOBAL NETWORK
DELIVERING CARGO

TO AND FROM OVER
4,500 CONTAINER PORTS.

MUCH OF THAT CARGO PASSES
THROUGH HERE--THE PANAMA CANAL.

EACH YEAR, OVER 14,000 SHIPS
SAIL THIS SHORTCUT

BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC
AND PACIFIC OCEANS...

MAKING IT THE MOST CONGESTED
SHIPPING LANE IN THE WORLD.

TO APPRECIATE HOW
THE HUMBLE SHIPPING CONTAINER

HAS CHANGED YOUR LIFE,

JUST WALK INTO YOUR
NEAREST SUPERMARKET.

YOU CAN BUY ORANGES AND BANANAS
FROM THE USA AND ECUADOR.

FISH FROM CHINA.

BEEF FROM ARGENTINA.

ALMONDS FROM MOROCCO.

SUCH A DIVERSITY OF PRODUCTS
WOULD BE UNIMAGINABLE

WITHOUT MODERN SHIPPING.

BERNSTEIN: YOU DON'T GIVE
A SECOND THOUGHT TO THE FACT

THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT GOODS
FROM AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND,

ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA,
SOUTH AMERICA.

NARRATOR: TRADING ROUTES
HAVE BROUGHT

THE WORLD TO OUR DOORSTEP.

A GLOBAL NETWORK SUPPORTING
ALMOST EVERY ASPECT

OF OUR MODERN WAY OF LIFE.

IT CONNECTS US ALL.

BERNSTEIN: THE ABILITY TO BUY
GOODS FROM AROUND THE WORLD,

THE SHRINKING OF THE WORLD
IN TERMS OF ITS MARKETPLACES

HAS BOUGHT US A DEGREE
OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS

THAT MAKES THE WORLD
EVERYONE'S COUNTRY.

NARRATOR: BUT IN THE MODERN
WORLD, IT'S NOT JUST GOODS

THAT ARE CONSTANTLY
ON THE MOVE.

NOW IT'S POPULATIONS THAT
MOVE AROUND THE WORLD QUICKLY.

WE CAN CROSS
COUNTRIES, CONTINENTS,

AND CULTURAL BOUNDARIES
IN A SINGLE DAY.

YET 150 YEARS AGO,
MANY BELIEVED TRAVELING

FASTER THAN A GALLOPING HORSE
WOULD SUFFOCATE YOU.

SO WHAT TRIGGERED
TODAY'S GLOBAL TRAVEL?

NEW YORK--ONE OF THE LARGEST
CITIES ON THE PLANET.

TODAY, OVER 800
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

ARE SPOKEN HERE AT ANY TIME.

BUILT BY GENERATIONS
OF MIGRANTS,

THE BIG APPLE IS THE MOST
LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE

CITY ON EARTH.

GLOBALLY, OVER
200 MILLION OF US

HEAD FOR A NEW LIFE
ABROAD EVERY YEAR.

BUT THE NUMBER OF US
WHO TRAVEL EACH DAY

IS CONSIDERABLY GREATER.

AT ANY ONE MOMENT, A STAGGERING
1/5 OF HUMANITY--

AROUND ONE AND A HALF BILLION
OF US--IS ON THE MOVE...

NAVIGATING A COMPLEX GLOBAL
NETWORK MADE UP OF ROADS...

AND RAILWAYS...

SHIPPING LANES...
AND FLIGHT PATHS.

TRANSPORTATION HAS
OPENED UP THE WORLD...

ENABLING US TO GO ALMOST
ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME.

BUT JUST 100 YEARS AGO,

VIRTUALLY NONE OF THIS
INFRASTRUCTURE WAS IN PLACE.

LINDSAY: IT TOOK THOUSANDS
OF YEARS FOR OUR ANCESTORS

TO MOVE ACROSS THE LAND BRIDGE

INTO NORTH AMERICA,
FOR EXAMPLE.

AND IT TOOK THOUSANDS OF YEARS
BEYOND THAT FOR A SINGLE PERSON

TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE GLOBE...

AND TODAY, WE DO IT
ALL THE TIME EVERY DAY.

NARRATOR: OUR ABILITY
TO TRAVEL THE GLOBE

STEMS FROM A LONG LINE
OF INNOVATIONS,

EACH ALLOWING US TO TRAVEL
FURTHER AND FASTER.

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
WE MOVED BY FOOT--

ALLOWING US TO TRAVEL
BETWEEN VILLAGES.

BY BOAT, WE COULD HEAD UP RIVER
AND REACH THE NEXT TOWN.

BY THE 1800S,
HORSE-DRAWN STAGECOACHES

CARRIED US TO THE NEAREST CITY.

BUT THE REAL
REVOLUTION IN TRAVEL

COMES WITH INNOVATIONS
USING COAL AND OIL.

THE STEAM TRAIN SPEEDS
AT 30 MILES AN HOUR--

MAKING CONTINENTAL
TRAVEL POSSIBLE.

THEN FINALLY COMES AN INVENTION

THAT OPENS UP
THE CONTINENT TO EVERYONE.

OCTOBER 1, 1908,
DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

INDUSTRIALIST HENRY FORD
DESIGNS AN ASSEMBLY LINE

MASS-PRODUCING HIS CAR--
THE FORD MODEL T.

IT SLASHES MANUFACTURING COSTS,

MAKING THE CAR CHEAP ENOUGH FOR
THE AVERAGE AMERICAN TO BUY.

OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS,

15 MILLION ROLL OFF
THE FACTORY FLOOR...

BEGINNING A RADICAL GEAR CHANGE
IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

LINDSAY: THE CAR IS
REALLY THE TECHNOLOGY

THAT BINDS US TOGETHER
AND MARKS US

AS A MODERN CIVILIZATION,

BECAUSE THE CAR
FULFILLED THE DREAM

THAT WE'D HAD FOR CENTURIES,
WHICH WAS

POINT-TO-POINT TRAVEL
IN INDIVIDUAL FORM.

NARRATOR: THE MASS
PRODUCTION OF CARS

DRIVES A NEW NETWORK--
OUR ROADS.

AMERICA'S FIRST HIGHWAY
STRETCHED 600 MILES

FROM THE POTOMAC
TO THE OHIO RIVER.

100 YEARS LATER
AND NORTH AMERICA HAD BUILT

THE WORLD'S LARGEST
ROAD NETWORK.

4 1/2 MILLION MILES WORTH.

GLOBALLY, OVER 35 MILLION
MILES OF ROADS

LINK CITIES, COUNTRIES,
AND EVEN CONTINENTS TOGETHER.

TODAY, YOU CAN DRIVE
11,000 MILES NON-STOP--

FROM JOHN O'GROATS, SCOTLAND
TO CAPE TOWN IN SOUTH AFRICA.

STRING OUT ALL OUR ROADS

AND THEY'D WRAP AROUND THE
EQUATOR WELL OVER 1,000 TIMES.

ALLOWING US TO DRIVE OVER
A BILLION VEHICLES WORLDWIDE...

ONE FOR EVERY 7 OF US.

WE'VE EMBRACED THE CAR
LIKE NO OTHER INVENTION.

[TIRES SCREECH]

TODAY BILLIONS OF US HEAD OUT
ON THE HIGHWAY EVERY DAY.

LINDSAY:
THE CAR REPRESENTS FREEDOM.

THE ABILITY TO REMAKE ONES LIFE,
THE ABILITY TO FIND A NEW JOB,

THE ABILITY TO LIVE
STILL DEPENDS ON THE CAR.

NARRATOR: THIS PERSONAL FREEDOM
HAS TRANSFORMED

HOW AND WHERE WE LIVE,
AND, IN DOING SO,

WE'VE TRANSFORMED OUR WORLD.

LINDSAY: NOW, SUDDENLY,
METROPOLITAN REGIONS

SPAN FOR MILES, AND WE'RE
ABLE TO LIVE AT SCALES

THAT WERE COMPLETELY UNHEARD OF
EVEN GENERATIONS BEFORE,

AND THAT SETS THE FINAL STAGE
FOR TRANSPORTATION

THAT TAKES US BEYOND THE CITY
TO A GLOBAL SCALE.

NARRATOR: SURPRISINGLY,
THE INNOVATION

THAT TRIGGERED HUMANITY'S
LARGEST SPANNING NETWORK

PREDATES FORD'S CAR
BY 5 YEARS.

KITTY HAWK, NORTH CAROLINA,

DECEMBER 17, 1903.

ON THIS BLEAK, WINDSWEPT BEACH,

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS
TEST A MACHINE CALLED THE FLYER.

IT'S AIRBORNE
FOR JUST 12 SECONDS,

FLYING 120 FEET.

THIS SEEMINGLY
INSIGNIFICANT EVENT

BEGINS A NEW REVOLUTION--

THE AGE OF POWERED FLIGHT...

FURTHER PROPELLING OUR JOURNEY
TOWARDS TODAY'S GLOBAL SOCIETY.

LINDSAY:
FROM THAT FIRST FLIGHT,

WHICH TRAVELS ONLY
A COUPLE HUNDRED FEET,

THE WORLD SHRINKS.

WE NOW HAVE GLOBAL NETWORKS
THAT ALLOW US TO TRAVEL

FROM ONE SIDE OF THE PLANET
TO THE OTHER IN A SINGLE DAY.

NARRATOR: USING GPS
AND RADAR DATA,

WE CAN REVEAL EVERY SINGLE PLANE

CRISSCROSSING THE GLOBE
EACH DAY.

AROUND HALF A MILLION OF US
ARE IN THE AIR AT ANY ONE TIME.

EACH YEAR,
ALMOST 40 MILLION FLIGHTS

CARRY 3 BILLION OF US
TO FAR-FLUNG DESTINATIONS.

SUPPORTING THIS MOVING MATRIX

IS A NETWORK
OF OVER 40,000 AIRPORTS.

ATLANTA'S HARTSFIELD-JACKSON
INTERNATIONAL

IS THE BUSIEST AIRPORT
ON THE EARTH,

SERVING 95 MILLION PASSENGERS
IN A YEAR

TO 225 DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS.

TODAY AVIATION PAINTS
AN INCREDIBLE PICTURE

OF MODERN HUMAN MOVEMENT.

DARTNELL: WITH THE INVENTION
OF THE AIRPLANE

AND INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS,

IT'S NOT ONLY SHRUNK THE WORLD,

BUT IT'S ALSO CONNECTED
THE WHOLE OF HUMANITY,

THE WHOLE PLANET INTO A SINGLE
INTERCONNECTED CITY.

NARRATOR: TODAY VIEWING
OUR MODERN METHODS

OF TRANSPORTATION,
AN ASTONISHING PICTURE EMERGES.

WE CAN REACH OVER 90% OF
THE PLANET IN JUST 48 HOURS...

STARTLING PROOF
WE ARE MORE CONNECTED

THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

LINDSAY: IT HAS CHANGED
OUR PERCEPTION OF THE WORLD.

WE CAN NOW SEE OURSELVES AS
MEMBERS OF A SINGLE SOCIETY,

AS MEMBERS OF A SINGLE RACE.

NARRATOR:
TRAVEL IN THE MODERN WORLD

BINDS US IN WAYS
UNIMAGINABLE A CENTURY AGO...

BUT IN THE LAST 20 YEARS,
WE'VE DEVELOPED

A TRANSFORMATIVE NETWORK
THAT CONNECTS HUMANITY

IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY...

AN INVISIBLE SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS
US TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE WORLD

WITHOUT THE NEED
TO LEAVE OUR HOMES.

TODAY BILLIONS OF US CARRY
AROUND MINIATURE COMPUTERS.

50 YEARS AGO,

CALCULATORS WITH THE EQUIVALENT
PROCESSING POWER

WOULD HAVE FILLED
YOUR LIVING ROOM.

NOW ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY HAVE
SHRUNK THEM TO FIT IN OUR HANDS.

NETWORKED TOGETHER,
OUR SMARTPHONES

HAVE COMPLETELY CHANGED
THE WAY SOCIETY WORKS...

WITH INCREDIBLE CONSEQUENCES.

AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON,
WE CAN SHARE OUR LIVES

WITH ANYONE ALMOST
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

GOLDIN: WE SEE EVERYONE GOING
AROUND TEXTING ALL THE TIME,

SNAPPING ALL THE TIME,

SENDING E-MAILS
ON THEIR MOBILE PHONES.

NARRATOR: TRACKING HOW WE KEEP
IN TOUCH IN OUR MODERN WORLD

GIVES US A STARTLING NEW VIEW
OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION.

EVERY DAY, WE SEND
182 BILLION E-MAILS

AND 500 MILLION TWEETS.

WE INSTAGRAM 70 MILLION PHOTOS

AND WE LIKE
OVER 3 BILLION FACEBOOK POSTS.

WE CAN SPREAD A THOUGHT OR IDEA
IN AN INSTANT.

GOING VIRAL, A SINGLE POST
CAN REACH BILLIONS OF PEOPLE.

TODAY'S COMMUNICATION NETWORK
IS REMARKABLE,

BUT IT'S ROOTS STEM
TO THE SMALLEST OF INNOVATIONS.

MAINZ GERMANY, 1450.

FOR CENTURIES,
BOOKS AND SCRIPTURES

WERE PRINTED WITH THESE--
WOODEN LETTERS.

EACH LETTER
IS METICULOUSLY CARVED

AND EVERY PAGE
INDIVIDUALLY PRINTED

UNTIL BLACKSMITH
JOHANNES GUTENBERG

HAD A VERY SIMPLE IDEA.

HE MAKES HIS PRINTING PRESS
LETTERS FROM LEAD.

METAL LETTERS CAN BE CAST
RATHER THAN CARVED,

SPEEDING UP PRINTING ENORMOUSLY.

HILBERT: BEFORE 1450,
TO PRINT A BOOK

IT WOULD MAYBE TWO WEEKS,
MAYBE A MONTH.

NOW WITH GUTENBERG'S
VERY FLEXIBLE

AND VERY FAST INVENTION,

YOU COULD PRINT A BOOK
IN AN HOUR.

NARRATOR: THE CONSEQUENCE
OF GUTENBERG'S LEAD LETTERS

IS STARK.

IT MAKES PRINTING
A HUNDRED TIMES CHEAPER.

BERNSTEIN: WHAT THE AVAILABILITY
OF CHEAP BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS DID

WAS, IT MADE PEOPLE
WANT TO LEARN TO READ AND WRITE.

NARRATOR: READING AND WRITING

IS NO LONGER RESTRICTED
TO THE RICH.

OVER THE NEXT 500 YEARS,
THE PRINTING PRESS

BECOMES THE METHOD
OF MASS COMMUNICATION...

ROLLING OUT BILLIONS OF BOOKS
AND NEWSPAPERS.

DARTNELL: THE PRINTING PRESS
WASN'T JUST

A TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

IT WAS SOCIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE.

IT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO EXCHANGE
THEIR IDEAS FAR MORE WIDELY

THAN THEY EVER WOULD
HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BEFORE.

NARRATOR: BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS
REMAINED THE FASTEST WAY

TO COMMUNICATE
FOR OVER 200 YEARS,

BUT THEY COULD ONLY TRAVEL AS
FAST AS THEY COULD BE CARRIED...

IN THE CASE OF AMERICA,
TAKING OVER A WEEK

TO TRAVEL FROM THE EAST COAST
TO WEST...

[TROLLEY BELL RINGING]

UNTIL THE EARLY 1800s
SEES THE ARRIVAL

OF AN INVENTION THAT SPEEDS UP
COMMUNICATION EXPONENTIALLY--

THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

[BEEPING MORSE CODE]

WITH THE INNOVATION
OF ELECTRICITY,

MESSAGES CAN BE CARRIED
NOT AT THE PACE OF A HORSE,

BUT ALONG CABLES CLOSE
TO THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

WILLIAM: AT A STROKE,
WHAT THE TELEGRAPH DOES

IS TO SHORTEN
THAT TRANSMISSION TIME

FROM DAYS OR WEEKS
FROM CITY TO CITY

INTO SECONDS AND SHRINKS
THE SIZE

OF THE COMMUNICATIONS WORLD
ALMOST TO NOTHING.

NARRATOR: BUT THE REAL TEST
OF THE TELEGRAPH WOULD COME

NOT FROM CONNECTING A COUNTRY,
BUT FROM CONNECTING CONTINENTS.

JULY 29, 1858.

IN THE MID ATLANTIC, TWO SHIPS
ARE MOVING CLOSER TOGETHER.

BOTH CARRY CABLE MADE
FROM 7 WOUND COPPER WIRES.

SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY,
THE CABLES ARE BOUND TOGETHER,

CREATING THE FIRST
TRANSATLANTIC TELEGRAPH CABLE.

DARTNELL: AND SO FOR THE FIRST
TIME, EUROPE AND AMERICAN

BECAME JOINED
BY AN ELECTRICAL WIRE,

AND WE COULD HARNESS ELECTRICITY
TO SEND MESSAGES TO EACH OTHER.

NARRATOR:
ON AUGUST 16, 1858,

QUEEN VICTORIA SENT A TELEGRAPH
MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT BUCHANAN.

"THE QUEEN DESIRES
TO CONGRATULATE THE PRESIDENT

"UPON THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
OF THIS GREAT INTERNATIONAL WORK

WHICH NOW CONNECTS GREAT BRITAIN
WITH THE UNITED STATES."

IN ALL, HER MAJESTY'S MESSAGE

OF 99 WORDS

TOOK 17 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES

TO TRANSMIT,

LAUGHABLY SLOW
BY TODAY'S STANDARDS,

BUT THE SIGNIFICANCE IS STARK.

DARTNELL: WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT
WHAT THAT ACTUALLY MEANT,

IS THAT PEOPLE WERE
COMMUNICATING

ACROSS THIS VAST OCEAN
FAR, FAR QUICKER

THAN A LETTER COULD EVER
HAVE BEEN SENT BY BOAT.

IT'S BRINGING
TWO CONTINENTS TOGETHER.

IT WAS A HUGE ACHIEVEMENT,
PHENOMENAL.

NARRATOR:
FAST-FORWARD TO TODAY,

AND OVER HALF MILLION MILES
OF SUBMARINE, FIBER-OPTIC CABLE

CONNECTS EVERY CONTINENT
ON EARTH.

THIS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
HAS DOUBLED IN SIZE

IN THE LAST 5 YEARS ALONE.

THIS IS THE SOUTH-EAST ASIA -
MIDDLE EAST -

WESTERN EUROPE 3 CABLE.

IT'S AN ENGINEERING MASTERPIECE
STRETCHING ALMOST 24,000 MILES,

LINKING 33 COUNTRIES
DIRECTLY TO EACH OTHER

FROM BELGIUM TO JAPAN.

THROUGH IT,
WE SEND THE EQUIVALENT

OF 200 BILLION WORDS
EVERY SECOND.

HILBERT: IF YOU AND ME
WOULD SPEAK THESE WORDS,

WE WOULD HAVE TO START BABBLING
AT THE TIME JESUS CHRIST

WAS ON THIS PLANET AND TALK
DAY AND NIGHT WITHOUT SLEEPING,

WITHOUT STOPPING,
WITHOUT EATING,

AND WE WOULD STILL
BE TALKING RIGHT NOW.

NARRATOR: THIS AMAZING
MODERN NETWORK

ISN'T CONFINED
TO THE OCEAN FLOOR.

AROUND 35 MILLION MILES
LACE AMERICA ALONE.

TOGETHER, THESE CABLES
HAVE CREATED

THE ULTIMATE
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK,

ONE THAT DEFINES HOW WE INTERACT
AND COMMUNICATE TODAY--

THE INTERNET.

DARTNELL: WITH ALL OF THESE
DATA NETWORKS AND THE INTERNET,

FOR THE FIRST TIME, REALLY,
IN HUMAN HISTORY,

WE CAN COMMUNICATE
TO ANY OTHER PERSON

ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET
WHENEVER YOU LIKE.

GOLDIN: HIP-HOP DANCERS
IN SHANGHAI ARE LEARNING

AND SWAPPING IDEAS WITH HIP-HOP
DANCERS IN HARLEM AND IN SOWETO.

BERNSTEIN: NOW YOU CAN BE
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

OR IN THE PLAINS OF TIBET
AND YOU CAN HAVE ACCESS

TO A HUNDRED TIMES
MORE INFORMATION

THAN EVEN THE BEST-INFORMED
PERSON DID 20 YEARS AGO.

THE INTERNET IS THE PINNACLE
OF OUR INTERCONNECTED SOCIETY.

AN INNOVATIVE ACHIEVEMENT
THAT DEFINES OUR WORLD TODAY.

IT SHAPES ALMOST EVERY ASPECT
OF OUR DAILY LIVES.

FROM SOCIALIZING AND SHOPPING

TO MOVING MONEY
AND CONDUCTING BUSINESS.

WE CAN DO ALL THIS
INSTANTANEOUSLY

FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

THE INTERNET SHOWS
JUST HOW GLOBAL

OUR CIVILIZATION HAS BECOME.

WE'VE COME A LONG WAY
IN THE LAST 12,000 YEARS.

DRIVEN BY GROUNDBREAKING
INNOVATIONS,

WE'VE CONSTRUCTED
A GLOBAL NETWORK

OF BREATHTAKING COMPLEXITY.

LAYER BY LAYER, THIS NETWORK
SUPPLIES US WITH FOOD,

POWER, GOODS,

TRANSPORTATION
AND COMMUNICATION,

REVEALING THAT WE NOW LIVE IN
A TRULY INTERCONNECTED SOCIETY.

THESE LAYERS HELP US UNDERSTAND

HOW WE BUILT THE MODERN WORLD
AND HOW IT FUNCTIONS...

BUT WHAT WE'RE
REALLY LEARNING IS,

THESE NETWORKS CAN HELP US
IN A MORE SURPRISING WAY.

THEY CAN GIVE US AN INSIGHT
INTO OUR FUTURE WORLD.

IN TODAY'S GLOBAL SOCIETY,
ALMOST EVERYTHING WE DO

LEAVES AN INVISIBLE TRACE.

MODERN TECHNOLOGY RECORDS EVERY
MINUTE DETAIL OF OUR LIVES.

IT'S WHY EACH YEAR,
WE GENERATE MORE INFORMATION

THAN THE WHOLE OF HUMAN HISTORY
BEFORE US.

GLOBALLY, THE WORLD
HOARDS AN UNIMAGINABLE

2.5 QUINTILLION BYTES OF DATA.

IF YOU WOULD STORE THIS
IN CD ROMs,

YOU COULD MAKE
ABOUT 7 OR 8 PILES OF CD ROMs

AND GO FROM HERE TO THE MOON,
7 OR 8 OF THEM.

TODAY IS THE DAY OF DATA.

NARRATOR: THIS DATA HAS BECOME
INCREDIBLY VALUABLE.

IT ALLOWS US TO BUILD A DETAILED
PICTURE OF OUR MODERN WORLD...

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT HELPS
EXPOSE OUR VULNERABILITIES.

GOLDIN: THIS EXTRAORDINARY
INTENSITY AND RICHNESS OF DATA

ALLOWS US FOR THE FIRST TIME

TO GET A BETTER SENSE
OF THE FUTURE,

TO BE ABLE TO WORK OUT
HOW OUR PRESENT ACTIONS

ARE LIKELY TO PLAY OUT
IN THE FUTURE.

[TICKING]

NARRATOR: THIS IS THE WORLD'S
POPULATION CLOCK.

WITH EACH CLICK, IT REGISTERS
ANOTHER PERSON ON THE PLANET.

THE NUMBER INCREASES
BY OVER 200,000 PEOPLE EACH DAY.

THERE ARE NOW 7.3 BILLION OF US.

HOW DID WE REACH THIS NUMBER,

AND HOW MUCH BIGGER WILL IT GET?

FOR MOST OF HUMANITY'S EXISTENCE
OUR POPULATION WAS STAGNANT.

IT TOOK 11,500 YEARS
TO REACH 1 BILLION PEOPLE...

BUT ONLY ANOTHER 130 YEARS
TO DOUBLE THAT.

DARTNELL:
WE'VE BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE

AT SUCCESSFUL AGRICULTURE

AND FEEDING OUR OWN MOUTHS

AND EXTRACTING THE RAW MATERIALS
OUT OF THE GROUND,

OUT OF THE EARTH,
AND CONVERTING THEM

INTO THE CRUCIAL MATERIALS

THAT WE'RE BUILDING
OUR SOCIETY OUT OF.

NARRATOR:
IN THE LAST 50 YEARS,

OUR POPULATION
HAS DOUBLED AGAIN.

OUR SUCCESS HAS SET US
ON AN IRREVERSIBLE TRACK.

IN JUST 15 YEARS, OUR POPULATION
WILL SWELL TO 8 BILLION.

20 YEARS LATER, IT'S PREDICTED
TO PEAK AT OVER 9 BILLION...

AN INCREASE
OF TWO BILLION PEOPLE

NOT IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
BUT IN A SINGLE GENERATION.

GOLDIN: WE'RE ABOUT
7 BILLION PEOPLE NOW,

BUT THIS MASSIVE INCREASE
OF AT LEAST TWO BILLION PEOPLE

OVER THE NEXT 35 YEARS OR SO
IS UNPRECEDENTED.

THE WORLDS POPULATION
HAS NEVER INCREASED BY SO MANY.

NARRATOR:
INNOVATION HAS LED US

TO THIS UNPRECEDENTED
POPULATION GROWTH.

THE BIG QUESTION IS,

ARE WE BECOMING VICTIMS
OF OUR OWN SUCCESS?

DARTNELL: THERE'S GOING TO BE
SOME VERY BIG CHALLENGES

IN THE NEAR FUTURE
FOR HOW WE CAN SUSTAIN

THIS HUMAN POPULATION OURSELVES
WITHOUT RAVAGING

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
OF THE PLANET WE LIVE ON.

THESE CHALLENGES
REVOLVE AROUND FOOD...

STEEL: FOOD IS LIFE.

WITHOUT IT, WE DIE.

I-- I CAN'T STATE IT
MORE SIMPLY.

FOOD REALLY IS LIFE.

NARRATOR: WATER...

SEDLAK: JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING
THAT HUMANS DO REQUIRES WATER,

SO WHETHER IT'S GROWING THE
CROPS THAT PROVIDE US WITH FOOD

OR RUNNING OUR INDUSTRIES,
WE NEED WATER.

NARRATOR:
AND A SOURCE OF POWER.

SHERE: HOW ARE WE GOING
TO TACKLE THIS PROBLEM

OF KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON,
KEEPING OUR VEHICLES POWERED?

NARRATOR: THE CLOCK IS TICKING.

WITH EVERY DAY THAT PASSES,
OUR RAPIDLY GROWING POPULATION

DEMANDS MORE FOOD, WATER,
AND ENERGY.

HOW CAN WE MEET THE DEMAND ON
A PLANET WITH FINITE RESOURCES,

AND CAN WE DO IT WHILE KEEPING
THE ACCELERATING PACE OF CHANGE

FROM SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL?

SHEPHERD:
AS SCIENTISTS, WE KNOW

THAT OUR CLIMATE
CHANGES NATURALLY--

WE'VE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT--BUT NOW
THERE'S A HUMAN CONTRIBUTION

COUPLED WITH
THAT NATURAL CHANGE,

AND, LIKE A MAGNIFYING GLASS,

IT'S REALLY AMPLIFYING
HOW OUR SYSTEMS CHANGE.

THIS AMPLIFICATION
IS SET TO CONTINUE

AS TECHNOLOGY
CHANGES HUMAN BEHAVIOR

ACROSS LARGE AREAS
OF THE PLANET.

SHEPHERD: SO AS WE SEE
INCREASES IN PRODUCTIVITY

AND POPULATION GROWTH
IN THE DEVELOPED

AND DEVELOPING PARTS
OF OUR WORLD--

FOSSIL FUEL PLANTS
COMING ONLINE,

LESS USE OF BICYCLING,
MORE USE OF AUTOMOBILES--

THOSE TYPES OF THINGS LEAD
TO INCREASES IN CO2 EMISSIONS.

NARRATOR: NOWHERE
IS THIS AFFECT OF HUMANITY

ON THE CLIMATE CLEARER
THAN FROM SPACE.

NASA's TERRA SATELLITE, ORBITING
440 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH,

REVEALS THE EXTENT
OF AIR POLLUTION

OVER VAST AREAS OF THE GLOBE.

HERE, THE HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS

FORM A NATURAL BARRIER
TO POLLUTION OVER INDIA.

VAST, GRAY CLOUDS OF SMOKE

STRETCH FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES
ACROSS CENTRAL CHINA...

AND IN WESTERN EUROPE, MANMADE
HAZE HANGS OVER THE CONTINENT.

THESE CLOUDS OF POLLUTION
ARE THE RESULT

OF THOUSANDS OF TONS
OF CARBON PARTICLES

LOFTED INTO THE AIR
AS WE BURN FOSSIL FUELS.

SHERE: THE WAY WE DO IT NOW
CANNOT LAST FOREVER,

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO
FIND SOME ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS.

SHEPHERD: THESE ARE
CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE,

AND THEN WHEN YOU THROW IN
TWO BILLION PEOPLE MORE

OVER THE NEXT 35 YEARS,

IT SHOULD BE APPARENT WHAT
THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM IS.

NARRATOR: THE WEALTH OF DATA
WE GENERATE TODAY

EXPOSES THE WEAKNESSES
OF OUR MODERN WORLD...

BUT IT'S ALSO A POWERFUL TOOL
IN FOCUSING OUR INGENUITY

TO ALLEVIATE THE ISSUES WE FACE,
ALLOWING US TO BETTER PREPARE

FOR THE PROBLEMS A RAPIDLY
GROWING POPULATION PRESENT.

LINDSAY: WE CAN USE THIS DATA
TO UNDERSTAND THE FUTURE,

THE PATTERNS THAT ARE SHAPING
HOW CIVILIZATION WILL EVOLVE.

NARRATOR: HUMAN INGENUITY
HAS LED TO A POPULATION GROWTH

THE LIKE OF WHICH
WE'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.

ADDING ANOTHER
TWO BILLION PEOPLE BY 2050

WILL CHALLENGE THE WAY WE LIVE.

ONE OF OUR GREATEST ISSUES
WILL BE FOOD.

STEEL: HOW TO FEED
9 BILLION PEOPLE

IS OBVIOUSLY
A HEADACHE-INDUCING QUESTION.

THIS IS NOT AN EASY THING TO DO.

NARRATOR: FEEDING THE WORLD
IS A TALL ORDER.

IT USES A VAST AMOUNT OF LAND
FOR CROPS AND CATTLE...

MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER...

AND ENERGY TO RAISE...

PRODUCE...

AND TRANSPORT THE FOOD WE EAT.

ALL THIS TAKES ITS TOLL
ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

DARTNELL: THESE ALL RELEASE
CARBON DIOXIDE,

AND, IN FACT, OUR BIGGEST
RELEASER IS OUR OWN AGRICULTURE.

NARRATOR: THE CHALLENGE
IS TO FIND WAYS

OF PRODUCING
ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE

WITH THE FINITE RESOURCES
OF THE PLANET.

STEEL: IMAGINE YOU HAD
A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN

AND IT WAS FULL OF ALL THE FOOD
YOU NEEDED TO GROW

TO FEED YOURSELF FOR A YEAR,
FANTASTIC,

AND NOW IMAGINE THAT EVERY YEAR,
THE GARDEN SHRANK BY A METER,

AND, YES, YOU CAN PROBABLY
COPE FOR A WHILE,

BUT IN THE END, YOU KNOW,
THERE'S JUST A PROBLEM.

WHAT DO YOU DO THEN?

NARRATOR: TODAY AGRICULTURE
IS THE SINGLE GREATEST ACTIVITY

UNDERTAKEN BY HUMANITY,

THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHICH AFFECT
EVERYONE ONE OF US ON THE EARTH.

MASTRACCHIO: WHEN YOU
LOOK DOWN FROM LOW EARTH ORBIT

YOU SEE THESE PATCHWORKS
OF FARMS.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE 250 MILES AWAY,

SO YOU CAN IMAGINE
THAT LARGE AREAS OF LAND

ARE BEING USED
FOR AGRICULTURAL CROPS.

DEFRIES: THE ABILITY TO PEER
DOWN ON OUR EARTH FROM SPACE

LETS US SEE OUR ENORMOUS IMPRINT
ON THE PLANET.

NARRATOR: WE USE 10%
OF THE EARTH'S LAND SURFACE

TO GROW OUR CROPS...

AND MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT
TO REAR OUR LIVESTOCK.

THE LARGEST CATTLE FARM IN THE
WORLD IS BIGGER THAN ISRAEL...

AND WE GROW WHEAT ON AN AREA
THE EQUIVALENT OF GREENLAND.

INCREDIBLY, TO FEED US

TAKES ALMOST HALF OF THE LAND
ON THE PLANET...

A FIGURE THAT'S
RAPIDLY INCREASING

AS OUR POPULATION GROWS.

WITH A RISING POPULATION,
THE AMOUNT OF LAND AVAILABLE

TO SUSTAIN US
WILL RAPIDLY DECREASE.

TODAY FEEDING
THE AVERAGE AMERICAN

USES AROUND TWO ACRES OF LAND...

BUT BY 2050, IT'S PREDICTED
TWO ACRES OF LAND

WILL HAVE TO FEED NOT ONE,
BUT 4 AMERICANS.

DEFRIES: AT THIS POINT,
WE'VE USED

PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THE ARABLE
LAND IN THE WORLD.

NARRATOR: SO TO FEED THE WORLD
IN THE FUTURE,

WE MUST SEEK
NEW INNOVATIONS NOW.

CHICAGO, ON THE SHORES
OF THE GREAT LAKES.

IT'S HOME
TO THE GREEN SENSE FARM.

IT MAY NOT LOOK GREEN INSIDE,

BUT SUBSTITUTING THE SUN
WITH THESE PINK L.E.D. LIGHTS

ALLOWS FOR A VERY DIFFERENT WAY
OF PLANTING.

THE CROPS HERE
ARE GROWN VERTICALLY,

CUTTING THE AMOUNT
OF LAND USED BY 90%...

RACKING UP NOT ONE,
BUT 26 HARVESTS A YEAR.

URBAN FARMING
NOT ONLY SAVES LAND.

IT SAVES WATER, TOO.

THESE CROPS USE
ONLY 10% OF THE WATER

THEY'D NEED OUT IN THE FIELDS,
AND THAT'S CRITICAL

BECAUSE HAVING ENOUGH WATER
IS ANOTHER CHALLENGE

WE'RE GOING TO FACE
IN THE FUTURE.

A SHORTAGE OF WATER
MAY SEEM PARADOXICAL.

FROM SPACE, IT'S CLEAR TO SEE
THE EARTH IS A WATER WORLD,

BUT MOST OF IT WE CAN'T USE.

SEDLAK: 97% OF THE WATER
ON EARTH EXISTS AS SEAWATER,

AND ONLY ABOUT 2.5%
IS PRESENT AS FRESH WATER.

NARRATOR: AND THE AMOUNT
WE CAN TAP INTO IS EVEN LESS.

SEDLAK: THE MAJORITY
OF THAT FRESH WATER

IS TIED UP AS GLACIERS

AND AS GROUND WATER
THAT'S TOO DEEP FOR US TO PUMP,

SO ONLY ABOUT 1% OF THE WATER
ON EARTH EXISTS AS FRESH WATER,

AND THAT'S TRULY
A LIMITED RESOURCE.

NARRATOR: OF THAT 1%
OF FRESH WATER,

A STAGGERING 2/3
IS USED TO MAKE OUR FOOD.

LOOK HOW MUCH GOES INTO MAKING
AN EVERYDAY MEAL,

AND IT'S CLEAR TO SEE WHY.

TO GROW A COUPLE OF POTATOES

TAKES AN AVERAGE
25 LITERS OF WATER.

THE SALAD USES
AROUND 140 LITERS.

THOSE TWO EGGS, TOGETHER,
THAT'S ANOTHER 270 LITERS...

AND THE STEAK,
OVER 2,000 LITERS OF WATER...

AND THE GLASS OF MILK
YOU ORDERED, 200 LITERS.

IN ALL, IT TAKES
AROUND 2,600 LITERS OF WATER

TO CREATE THIS MEAL...

AND MILLIONS
ARE EATEN EVERY HOUR.

SEDLAK: SO MUCH OF THE FOOD
THAT WE EAT WAS ULTIMATELY GROWN

IN A FIELD WHERE THERE
WAS IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE,

SO THE VEGETABLE, THE MEAT,
THE GLASS OF MILK,

ALL OF THOSE THINGS TOOK LARGE
QUANTITIES OF WATER TO MAKE.

NARRATOR: IT'S WHY WATER
IS FAST BECOMING

ONE OF OUR MOST PRECIOUS
COMMODITIES.

LOOKING AT THE WORLD FROM ORBIT,

WE CAN SEE THE CONSEQUENCES
OF OUR GLOBAL THIRST.

MARSHBURN: I'LL NEVER FORGET
WANTING TO TAKE A PICTURE

OF THE ARAL SEA, AND IT TOOK
A FEW ORBITS TO ACTUALLY FIND--

FEW ATTEMPTS TO FIND
THE ARAL SEA

BECAUSE IT'S NO LONGER A SEA.

NARRATOR: OVER 20,000
MILES OF CANALS AND 45 DAMS

HAVE ROBBED THE ARAL SEA
OF WATER.

MARSHBURN: I DIDN'T SEE
ANY WATER THERE.

THERE WERE REMNANTS OF, PERHAPS,
A SHORELINE THERE,

BUT JUST A DUSTY,
UH, BROWN GRAY

IS ALL THAT REMAINS
THAT I COULD SEE.

NARRATOR: IT'S NOT
THE ONLY WATER THAT'S VANISHING.

THE YELLOW RIVER IN CHINA,
DRAINED FOR AGRICULTURE,

ONLY 10% OF ITS WATERS
REACH THE SEA.

THE INDUS RIVER IN PAKISTAN,

AGAIN, ONLY AROUND 10% OF WATER
IS LEFT IN THE RIVER,

AND IN AMERICA,
LESS THAN 10% OF THE WATERS

OF THE COLORADO
EVER REACH MEXICO.

BY 2050, THESE RIVERS
COULD ALL BUT DISAPPEAR

IF WE DON'T SEEK WAYS
TO PRESERVE OUR WATER USE.

IT'S WHY GROWING FOOD THAT HELPS
PRESERVE LAND AND WATER

WILL CONTINUE TO BE CRITICAL
IN THE FUTURE.

URBAN FARMING CAN GO A LONG WAY,

BUT IT WON'T SAFEGUARD
OUR FUTURE FOOD SECURITY ALONE.

TO DO THAT, WE'LL NEED TO DRAW
UPON OTHER INNOVATIONS.

HARPENDEN, NORTH OF LONDON.

AT THE ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH LABS,

THESE WHEAT PLANTS
LOOK LIKE ANY OTHER,

BUT HERE SCIENTISTS
ARE ENGINEERING THEM

TO PRODUCE MORE WHEAT.

CURRENTLY, WHEAT ACCOUNTS
FOR A FIFTH

OF THE CALORIES
CONSUMED BY HUMANS,

BUT WITH A RAPIDLY
EXPANDING POPULATION,

THIS SOON WON'T BE ENOUGH.

DEFRIES: THE PRIMARY WAY
THAT WE'VE INCREASED THE AMOUNT

OF FOOD THAT WE'VE PRODUCED
IS BY INCREASING YIELD,

THAT IS, INCREASING
THE AMOUNT OF FOOD

PRODUCED ON THE SAME AREA
OF LAND.

NARRATOR: A WHOLE RANGE OF
TECHNOLOGIES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED

TO INCREASE WHEAT YIELDS...

DEFRIES: IRRIGATION, PESTICIDES,

FERTILIZER TO PUT MORE NUTRIENTS
IN THE SOIL.

NARRATOR: BUT THESE TECHNIQUES
COME AT A PRICE.

THEY'RE KNOWN TO DAMAGE
THE ENVIRONMENT...

POISONING WILDLIFE
AND FRESH WATER SUPPLIES.

AT ROTHAMSTED,

SCIENTISTS ARE IMPROVING
TWO OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

THAT CAN HELP INCREASE YIELDS--

SELECTIVE BREEDING
AND GENETIC MODIFICATION.

SELECTIVE BREEDING ESSENTIALLY
TAKES THE BEST QUALITIES

OF A NUMBER OF PLANT SPECIES
AND FUSES THEM

INTO ONE STRONGER STRAIN.

DEFRIES: WE'VE BEEN BREEDING
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PLANTS

FOR 10,000 OR 12,000 YEARS,

AND THERE'S STILL
A LOT OF POTENTIAL

WITH THAT TECHNOLOGY
WHICH HAS SERVED US WELL.

NARRATOR: MORE RECENTLY,
GENETIC MODIFICATION

HAS PROVED
ANOTHER POWERFUL TOOL.

GM CAN ENGINEER PLANTS
TO BE MORE RESISTANT

TO PESTS, DROUGHT,
AND PRODUCE GREATER YIELDS.

THESE PLANTS WILL EVENTUALLY
CONTAIN A GENE

THAT INCREASES
THEIR PHOTOSYNTHESIS,

THE WAY PLANTS PRODUCE ENERGY
FROM SUNLIGHT

MEANING THEY'LL HAVE MORE ENERGY
TO PRODUCE WHEAT.

WHEN FINALLY GROWN
IN THE FIELDS,

IT'S HOPED THE WHEAT YIELDS
WILL INCREASE

FROM AROUND 8 TONS
TO 20 TONS PER HECTARE.

DARTNELL: AND SO YOU'LL BE
LOOKING TO TECHNOLOGIES

LIKE GENETIC ENGINEERING
TO KEEP OUR CROPS

BEING AS PRODUCTIVE
AS WE CAN MAKE THEM.

NARRATOR: NOT EVERYONE
RECOGNIZES GM PLANTS

AS THE WAY FORWARD.

SOME ARE CONCERNED THAT THEY TOO
MAY CONTAMINATE THE ENVIRONMENT

AND THAT
THESE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

COULD BE WORSE THAN THEIR CURE,

BUT CONTINUED INNOVATIONS
IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

COULD OPEN UP NEW POSSIBILITIES

OF WHERE WE CAN GROW
THE CROPS OF THE FUTURE.

WE COULD SEE DROUGHT-
AND FLOOD-TOLERANT RICE

GROWN IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN...

DROUGHT-TOLERANT CORN
IN WEST KANSAS...

MAIZE PLANTED
IN PARCHED PARTS OF UGANDA...

AND WHEAT HARVESTED IN SEMI ARID
AREAS OF AFRICA...

AUSTRALIA,

AND SOUTH AMERICA.

THE EFFICIENCY BIOTECHNOLOGY
OFFERS IN GROWING OUR FOOD

COULD ALSO HELP
IN CURBING CLIMATE CHANGE.

DEFRIES: SURPRISINGLY,
AGRICULTURE PRODUCES

ABOUT ONE QUARTER
OF THE GREENHOUSE GASES

FROM HUMAN SOURCES
GOING INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST CULPRITS
IS FOOD TRANSPORTATION.

TAKE A POUND OF ORANGES.

GROWN AND EATEN LOCALLY,

THEY PRODUCE AROUND A POUND
OF CARBON DIOXIDE...

BUT FLY THEM IN, AND
THE EMISSIONS RISE BY OVER 500%.

BIOTECHNOLOGY EMPLOYED
BY URBAN FARMING

DRASTICALLY REDUCES
THE NEED FOR TRANSPORTATION.

GROWN ON AN URBAN FARM,
LETTUCES TYPICALLY TRAVEL

AROUND 50 MILES
TO REACH OUR TABLE...

BUT IF THEY'RE IMPORTED,
THEY TRAVEL

CLOSER TO 1,500 MILES,

PRODUCING FAR MORE
GREENHOUSE GASES.

THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET TO
SECURING OUR FOOD IN THE FUTURE,

BUT CHANGING HOW WE GROW IT,
WHERE WE GROW IT,

AND WHAT WE GROW ALL HELP...

BUT THAT BEGS ANOTHER QUESTION.

WILL WE HAVE ENOUGH POWER
TO COOK OUR FOOD IN THE FUTURE?

MUCH OF WHAT WE DO EVERY DAY
DEMANDS POWER--

MANUFACTURING, MOVING,

EATING, HAVING FUN.

AS THE POPULATION
RACES TOWARDS 9 BILLION,

WE'LL NEED EVEN MORE POWER.

300 YEARS AGO,
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

STARTED A MASS MIGRATION.

SINCE THEN, MORE AND MORE OF US
HAVE FLOCKED TO THE CITIES.

STEEL: AT THE MOMENT, WE'VE GOT
ROUGHLY 3.5 BILLION PEOPLE

LIVING IN CITIES, AND,
ASTONISHINGLY, THE PREDICTION

IS THAT BY 2050,
THERE'S GOING TO BE 7 BILLION.

THERE'S GOING TO BE
DOUBLE THE NUMBER,

AND THIS IS A HUMAN TRANSITION

AT A SCALE THAT WE'VE
NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

LINDSAY: WHAT'S TRULY AMAZING
IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BUILD

MORE CITIES IN THE NEXT 40 YEARS

THAN WE'VE BUILT
IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY.

NARRATOR: OUR CITIES
OF THE FUTURE WILL NEED ENERGY,

LOTS OF IT.

WE'LL NEED VAST AMOUNTS OF OIL
AND COAL TO BUILD THEM--

A TON OF STEEL ALONE USES
3/4 OF A TON OF COAL TO MAKE--

AND WHEN WE FINISH
BUILDING THEM,

WE'LL NEED EVEN MORE
FOSSIL FUELS TO POWER THEM.

BY 2050, IT'S PREDICTED 70%
OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION

WILL LIVE IN URBAN AREAS.

SUCH A RAPID CHANGE MEANS
OUR SOCIETY IS DRIVING HEADLONG

INTO A RADICALLY
DIFFERENT FUTURE.

BY 2050,
GETTING BETWEEN OUR CITIES

MEANS MORE OF US ON THE MOVE,
SURGING BY A STAGGERING 600%.

AIR PASSENGERS SOAR
FROM AROUND 3 BILLION TODAY

TO 16 BILLION,

THE EQUIVALENT OF FLYING
44 MILLION PEOPLE A DAY...

AND THE NUMBER OF CARS ON
THE ROAD LEAPS TO TWO BILLION.

LINDSAY: SO CHINA TODAY HAS
250 MILLION OF THOSE VEHICLES

AND IS ADDING 20 MILLION A YEAR
AS A MIDDLE CLASS DISCOVERS

IT WANTS THE CAR AND THE FREEDOM
THAT IT CONVEYS.

[CAR HORNS HONKING]

NARRATOR: IN BEIJING,
THE ROADS ARE ALREADY JAMMED

WITH OVER TWO MILLION CARS...

A FIGURE THAT GROWS
BY 1,500 EVERY DAY.

POWERING OUR
PREDOMINANTLY URBAN SOCIETY

MEANS OUR ENERGY NEEDS ARE
PREDICTED TO DOUBLE BY 2050.

WE'LL NEED 110% MORE OIL,

THE EQUIVALENT OF GUZZLING

AN INCONCEIVABLE 70,000 GALLONS
EVERY SECOND...

AND GLOBALLY,
WE'LL BUILD OVER A THOUSAND

NEW COAL-FIRED POWER STATIONS TO
MEET THE DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY.

SHERE: LOOKING AHEAD
INTO THE FUTURE,

THE GREATEST INCREASES
IN DEMAND FOR ENERGY

ARE GOING TO COME FROM PLACES
LIKE CHINA AND INDIA.

PEOPLE IN THESE PARTS
OF THE WORLD

ARE GOING TO BE
DRIVING MORE CARS.

THEY'RE GOING TO BE FLYING MORE.

THERE'RE GOING
TO BE USING MORE DEVICES

THAT CONSUME ELECTRICITY.

NARRATOR: BOTH OIL AND COAL
HAVE SERVED US WELL

IN CONSTRUCTING
THE MODERN WORLD...

BUT FOR HOW MUCH LONGER
CAN WE DEPEND ON THEM?

IS THERE ENOUGH TO MEET
OUR SOARING ENERGY DEMAND?

AT OUR CURRENT
CONSUMPTION RATES,

OIL IS LIKELY TO LAST
FOR AROUND 50 YEARS.

COAL MAY SEE US THROUGH
TO THE NEXT CENTURY.

SO AT LEAST FOR A WHILE,
WE MIGHT JUST HAVE ENOUGH,

BUT USING WHAT'S LEFT
OF THESE RESOURCES

WILL GET US INTO HOT WATER.

DARTNELL: THERE'S A LOT OF COAL
LEFT IN THE GROUND,

BUT IF YOU BURN ALL THAT COAL
TO GENERATE THE POWER YOU NEED,

YOU NOW HAVE A VERY BIG PROBLEM
WITH CLIMATE CHANGE.

YOU CAN'T BURN YOUR WAY
OUT OF THIS.

NARRATOR: USING FOSSIL FUELS
COULD ADD AN EXTRA

300 BILLION TONS
OF CARBON DIOXIDE

INTO THE ATMOSPHERE BY 2050,

GREATLY INCREASING THE EFFECTS
OF CLIMATE CHANGE...

[THUNDER]

MEANING POWERFUL STORMS
AND RISING SEA LEVELS

WILL AFFECT MORE OF US
MORE FREQUENTLY...

SHEPHERD:
LOOK AT SUPERSTORM SANDY.

IT'S LIKELY
THAT SUPERSTORM SANDY

PUSHED MORE WATER
INTO NEW YORK CITY IN 2012

THAN IT WOULD HAVE
100 YEARS AGO.

NARRATOR: AND TAKING INTO
CONSIDERATION THE LOCATION

OF OUR MAJOR CITIES AND THE
PREDICTED TRENDS IN MIGRATION,

THE PROBLEM OF STORMS LIKE SANDY
BECOME ALL TOO CLEAR.

SHEPHERD: WHAT'S REALLY
INTERESTING IS THAT MANY

OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST CITIES,
PARTICULARLY IN ASIA,

ARE NEAR OR ON THE COAST,
AND MORE PEOPLE EVERY DAY

ARE FLOCKING TO THE COAST,
BUILDING HOMES,

DEVELOPING BUSINESSES THERE.

THAT PLACES EVEN GREATER
POPULATIONS AT RISK.

NARRATOR:
OVER THE NEXT 35 YEARS,

THE POPULATION IN COASTAL CITIES
IN ASIA IS SET TO SKYROCKET.

FUTURE PREDICTIONS SHOW
JUST HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE

WILL BE AT RISK.

WORLDWIDE, COASTAL FLOODING
THREATENS TO INVADE

UP TO A BILLION PEOPLE BY 2050.

IN THE COMING YEARS,
CUTTING BACK ON FOSSIL FUELS

TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS
WON'T BE A MATTER FOR DEBATE.

IT WILL BE A NECESSITY...

BUT THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES
ALREADY OUT THERE.

SHERE: HUMAN BEINGS HAVE AN
AMAZING CAPACITY FOR INNOVATION.

WE ARE SUPREME TOOLMAKERS.

WE CREATE THINGS,
AND WE ARE ALREADY BEGINNING

TO CREATE TECHNOLOGIES AND
MACHINES THAT WILL PROVIDE US

WITH ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF
CREATING AND GATHERING ENERGY.

NARRATOR: THIS IS THE IVANPAH
SOLAR ELECTRIC PLANT.

LOCATED IN
THE CALIFORNIAN DESERT,

IT'S THE WORLD'S LARGEST
SOLAR POWER STATION.

OVER 300,000
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED MIRRORS

FOCUS SUNLIGHT ON THE TOP
OF THIS GIANT TOWER...

TURNING WATER
INTO SUPERHEATED STEAM

DRIVING
ELECTRIC-GENERATING TURBINES.

SHERE: THERE WAS A TIME
NOT THAT LONG AGO,

MAYBE JUST A FEW DECADES AGO,
WHEN SOMETHING LIKE SOLAR ENERGY

WAS SEEN AS MORE OF
A SORT OF UTOPIAN DREAM,

A KIND OF NICHE FANTASY.

NARRATOR:
BUT PLANTS LIKE THESE

ARE TURNING FANTASY
INTO REALITY.

IVANPAH ALONE

PRODUCES ENOUGH ELECTRICITY
TO POWER OVER 140,000 HOMES,

THE EQUIVALENT OF SAVING AROUND
45,000 TONS OF COAL A YEAR.

SHERE: I THINK WE'VE REALLY SEEN
THAT THESE LARGE POWER PLANTS

HAVE DEMONSTRATED
THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY

HAS REALLY COME INTO ITS OWN.

THE TECHNOLOGY WORKS.

WE CAN PRODUCE LARGE AMOUNTS
OF POWER USING SOLAR ENERGY.

NARRATOR: IVANPAH
IS JUST A GLIMPSE

OF WHAT POWER IS POSSIBLE
FROM THE SUN.

OUR NEAREST STAR PROVIDES US

WITH OTHER SOURCES
OF ENERGY, AS WELL.

ITS HEAT DRIVES
THE WORLD'S WINDS...

SHERE: WIND POWER IS PROBABLY
THE SINGLE MOST SUCCESSFUL FORM

OF RENEWABLE ENERGY.

IT IS ACTIVE ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THERE ARE ENTIRE COUNTRIES NOW
THAT ARE GETTING

A SIGNIFICANT PORTION
OF THEIR ENERGY THROUGH WIND.

AND, ALONG WITH THE MOON,

IT RAISES AND LOWERS OUR OCEANS
AROUND THE WORLD.

IN THE BAY OF FUNDY
IN NOVA SCOTIA,

TIDES RISE AND FALL
BY 55 FEET A DAY.

UNLOCKING THE ENERGY WITHIN
COULD HELP POWER THE PLANET.

SHERE: THERE ARE SCIENTISTS AND
RESEARCHERS RIGHT NOW WORKING

ON AMAZING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE
GETTING BETTER EVERY SINGLE DAY

AT BEING ABLE TO TAKE
THE POWER OF WAVES

AND-- AND MAKE THAT
USEFUL FOR US.

EACH YEAR, THE SUN
DELIVERS ENOUGH ENERGY

TO MEET OUR GLOBAL NEEDS
20,000 TIMES OVER.

IT'S RELIABLE, IT'S LIMITLESS,

AND, MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL,
IT'S CLEAN,

AND WE'RE TAPPING INTO IT.

IN THE LAST 5 YEARS ALONE,
THE ENERGY PROVIDED

BY SOLAR POWER HAS INCREASED
BY ALMOST 100%.

CHINA CAN NOW PRODUCE
ALMOST 400 GIGAWATTS

OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
AT ANY GIVEN TIME,

MORE THAN TWICE THE TOTAL ENERGY
CONSUMPTION OF AFRICA.

IN CANADA ALONE, WIND POWER HAS
RISEN ALMOST 2,000% IN 10 YEARS,

POWERING 1.5 MILLION HOMES
AND BUSINESSES...

ALL WITH BARELY A WHIFF
OF GREENHOUSE GASES.

LONG BEFORE WE EVER STARTED
TAKING COAL OUT OF THE GROUND

AND DRILLING FOR OIL,
WE RELIED MAINLY ESSENTIALLY

ON THE POWER OF THE SUN.

LOOKING AHEAD,
WE WILL COME FULL CIRCLE

TO ONCE AGAIN RELYING ON THE SUN
TO PRODUCE MOST OF OUR ENERGY.

THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH
COAL AND OIL IN THE GROUND,

BUT THE SUN WILL SHINE ON
FOR BILLIONS OF YEARS.

THE WIND WILL ALWAYS BLOW.
WATER WILL ALWAYS FLOW.

NARRATOR: THE SUN OFFERS A WAY
TO WEAN US OFF FOSSIL FUELS.

TECHNOLOGIES THAT HARNESS ITS
ENERGY COULD SIGNIFICANTLY HELP

MEET THE DEMAND OF
OUR EVER-GROWING ENERGY NEEDS.

SO DO WE HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURE
AHEAD OF US?

THE LAST 12,000 YEARS
HAS SEEN OUR SOCIETY

UNDERGO AN INCREDIBLE
TRANSFORMATION...

FROM SPARSELY SCATTERED
NOMADS...

TO BUILDING THE MODERN WORLD...

ONE WHERE INNOVATION HAS LED US

TO CONSTRUCT A VAST
INTERCONNECTED WEB...

A WEB THAT NOW TOUCHES
ALL OF US.

THIS INCREDIBLE CONNECTIVITY

LEADS TO GREATER
INTERDEPENDENCY.

IT ALSO MEANS WE HAVE TO CARE
ABOUT THE SYSTEMS

AND EACH OTHER MORE BECAUSE
WHAT WE DO AS INDIVIDUALS

AFFECTS OTHERS MORE.

WE NOW HAVE THE ABILITY TO SEE
HOW WE ARE ALL CONNECTED.

THE THINGS WE DO
DURING OUR DAILY LIVES

GENERATE VAST AMOUNTS
OF INFORMATION.

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER,
AND WE CAN OUR SPECIES

AS NEVER BEFORE
ON A GLOBAL SCALE--

HOW WE MOVE, EAT, TRADE--

AND IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND
ANY ASPECT OF OUR MODERN WORLD,

YOU CAN DO IT
AT THE CLICK OF A BUTTON.

THIS IS THE BREATHTAKINGLY
COMPLEX PLANET WE'VE CREATED.

GOLDIN:
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY,

WHAT ALL THIS DATA
ALLOWS US TO DO

IS SEE OURSELVES
IN OUR FULLNESS.

NARRATOR: BUT THE SUCCESS
OF OUR MODERN WORLD

HANGS IN THE BALANCE.

OUR INGENUITY COMES AT A PRICE.

WE'VE CREATED A WORLD THAT MUST
SUPPORT 7 BILLION PEOPLE,

AND IN JUST A HUMAN GENERATION,

THE NUMBER IS SET TO RISE
BY ANOTHER TWO BILLION,

PROPELLING US
INTO AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE.

DARTNELL: AS A SPECIES,
WE CERTAINLY ARE FACING

SOME BIG CHALLENGES
IN THE COMING YEARS.

NARRATOR: BUT OUR CIVILIZATION
HAS TRIUMPHED

AGAINST ADVERSITY BEFORE.

DARTNELL: FROM LOOKING BACK
THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY

IS THAT TIME AND TIME AGAIN,
WE PULL TOGETHER,

AND WE SOLVE THOSE CHALLENGES.

IT'S THE SAME INGENUITY
THAT HAS LED US TO THIS POINT

WE MUST DRAW ON IN THE FUTURE.

WE'VE SHOWED THROUGHOUT THE AGES
THAT WE ARE ABLE

TO MEET GLOBAL CHALLENGES
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY,

THROUGH OUR BRAINPOWER.

WE ARE INVENTIVE IN WAYS
THAT SURPRISE EVEN US,

THE VERY PEOPLE
WHO ARE BEING INVENTIVE.

TODAY WE CAN DRAW UPON
A VAST POOL OF RESOURCES

TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS
THAT LIE AHEAD.

DEFRIES: WE HAVE MORE KNOWLEDGE
THAN WE'VE EVER HAD BEFORE.

WE HAVE A INCREDIBLE INGENUITY.

WE HAVE THE ABILITY
TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE,

TO SPREAD KNOWLEDGE,
TO BUILD ON KNOWLEDGE.

HILBERT: FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN HUMAN HISTORY,

THANKS TO THE DIGITAL NETWORK,

WE CAN NOW
COMMUNICATE WITH EVERYBODY

AT ANY TIME EVERYWHERE
INSTANTANEOUSLY.

GOLDIN: WE'VE GOT SO MUCH DATA,
WE'VE GOT SO MUCH INFORMATION,

I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE A TRAGEDY
IF WE DON'T USE IT EFFECTIVELY,

AND WE NEED TO LEARN TO USE IT,

AND THAT PERIOD
WILL GIVE US THE WISDOM

TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE'VE USED IT.

NARRATOR: HOW WE DECIDE TO
MANAGE CHANGES IN THE FUTURE

WITH THE INFORMATION
WE HAVE TODAY

WILL DETERMINE OUR OUTCOME.

LINDSAY: WOULD I LIKE TO LIVE
IN THE FUTURE?

WHICH FUTURE?

BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE
IN "THE FUTURE,"

THAT THERE'S A SINGLE FUTURE
AHEAD OF US.

I WANT TO MAKE THE FUTURE.

I BELIEVE WE ALL MAKE
THE FUTURE TOGETHER,

AND SO I WANT TO LIVE
IN A FUTURE

THAT'S EVEN MORE CONNECTED
THAN IT IS NOW.

I WANT TO BELONG TO A GLOBAL
SOCIETY THAT BINDS US ALL

TOGETHER IN WAYS WHERE WE CAN
ACHIEVE OUR FULL POTENTIAL,

AND I THINK THAT FUTURE
IS POSSIBLE.