Educational Media Reviews Online

How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth? is a BBC Horizon special examining the ballooning human population and the potential for a global crisis as the population outgrows the capacity of the Earth to sustain it. British environmentalist and nature photographer Sir David Attenborough is the host and narrator, and brings in several experts such as Timothy Dyson (London School of Economics), Brian Richter (The Nature Conservancy), and Dr. Molly Brown (NASA).

Attenborough gives perspective to the growing problem noting that in his lifetime the human population has more than doubled – from about 2.5 billion in 1950 to nearly seven billion in 2010. As a wildlife photographer, Attenborough has seen drastic changes in the natural environment over his career which propelled him to investigate the looming population crisis.

The problem is that the human population is rapidly growing, while food, water, and energy resources are already being pushed beyond their limits. Attenborough says that at the current rate, the world population will reach 9 billion by the mid-21st century, yet there are more than a billion people who lack access to safe drinking water today. As usual, those who will be hurt first – and the worst – in the mounting crisis are the populations in the poorest countries, where food and water resources are already scarce and the population is growing at the highest rates.

While he does not delve into imagining potential future tragedies, Attenborough points to the genocidal civil war in Rwanda that was in large part caused by desperate competition over scarce food and water resources. Viewers may gain a greater appreciation and awareness of the struggle faced in regions like Rwanda where food and safe drinking water is insufficient to support a population that continues to grow so rapidly. Viewers will not have an answer to the title question, however, according to Attenborough, if everyone consumed resources like the average Indian (i.e., not much!) then the planet could sustain about 15 billion people, while only 1.5 billion people could be sustained if everyone lived the average American lifestyle.

The film was created to be shown on public television, yet it seems best suited for a middle-to-high school classroom. This is clearly no big-budget Hollywood documentary, yet the lack of flashy computer graphics may be preferable for an educational setting. It does not go into great depth on any subject but it does a cover a lot of ground in 52 minutes, approximately the length of a normal class period. The filming is of a professional quality and the narrative flows smoothly from start to finish. Attenborough’s British accent is clear and understandable for younger American audiences, although his mannerisms might prove distracting. Content-wise, the film may be a decent introduction to the global human population issue for adults, but lacks both in viewer engagement and depth. My biggest disappointment with this film is how it presents so few opportunities to inspire creative solutions, ignoring a whole world of innovative ideas and programs that address aspects of this large and complex issue.

The reviewed copy did not have any additional features or available subtitles.

How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth? is recommended with reservations for middle and high school libraries supporting social studies and other classes covering general global studies.