Bad Idea #52 "Attenborough’s films ignore human impacts” with Colin Butfield

“Attenborough’s films ignore human impacts.”

In this episode of Saving the World from Bad Ideas, Mark Lynas speaks with filmmaker and environmental storyteller Colin Butfield, co-founder of Open Planet Studios and a long-time collaborator of David Attenborough. They discuss how Attenborough’s work has evolved from classic nature spectacle toward a much more explicit confrontation with ecological destruction, restoration, and humanity’s role in shaping the living world. Through the making of Ocean with David Attenborough, they explore the shocking reality of bottom trawling and Antarctic krill fishing, the changing grammar of nature documentaries in the Anthropocene, and why stories of damage now have to sit alongside stories of recovery. It is a rich conversation about storytelling, responsibility, and the power of film to show that human impacts can no longer be ignored.

🧠 Topics Discussed:

• 🎥 What it is like working with David Attenborough over nearly two decades

• 🗣️ How Attenborough delivers those iconic pieces to camera

• 🌍 How nature documentaries shifted from pristine spectacle to ecological reality

• 🌊 Why Ocean with David Attenborough was made as an urgent film about human impacts

• 🐟 How bottom trawling devastates marine ecosystems on an industrial scale

• 🛑 Why bottom trawling is still allowed in many marine protected areas

• 🐋 How Antarctic krill fishing competes directly with whales and destabilises the Southern Ocean food web

• 🧾 Why “sustainable” seafood labels often deserve much more scrutiny

• 📚 How films can remain true to documentary storytelling while still driving real-world campaigns

• 🎬 Why Open Planet gives footage away for education and advocacy

• 🌱 What ecological recovery can look like when people choose restoration and protection

• 🤝 Why humans are not inherently destructive and can become a force for good

• 🐻 What it takes to film extraordinary wildlife and wild places around the world

• 🚀 Why “we can always go and live on Mars” is its own terrible environmental fantasy

👩‍🏫 Guest Bio:Colin Butfield is co-founder and director of Open Planet Studios. As a filmmaker, writer and environmental storyteller, he has worked on major productions including A Life on Our Planet, Breaking Boundaries, Our Planet, and Ocean with David Attenborough. He has also co-written Ocean with David Attenborough and works at the intersection of documentary storytelling, conservation, and public engagement.

📚 Recommended Reading & Resources

• Ocean by David Attenborough and Colin Butfield

• Ocean with David Attenborough

• Open Planet

• Campaigns and research on bottom trawling in marine protected areas

• Work on marine protection, krill fisheries, and ocean restoration

• Sea Shepherd footage and reporting on the Southern Ocean krill fishery

💬 Quote Highlights💬 “This is what we’ve chosen to do as a society or chosen to allow.”Colin Butfield

💬 “I can absolutely sympathize with a community casting nets, even bottom trawling though I hope we can get away from that to feed their families, feed their communities, and earn a living. That’s a million miles away from going all the way down to Antarctica, hauling up krill for pet food and supplements.”Colin Butfield

💬 “You just got to a point where it felt very strange... not to mention humanity or talk about the changes that are happening in them.”Colin Butfield

💬 “It was unavoidable. You just can’t ignore this. It’s crazy to ignore it.”Colin Butfield

💬 “I don’t think humans are inherently bad.”Colin Butfield

🌐 About WePlanetWePlanet is an international movement campaigning for science-based solutions to the climate, nature and development crises. Through conversations like this one, we challenge bad ideas, spotlight better ones, and make the case for a more abundant, resilient and hopeful future.

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