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I — Interviewer B — Brian Cowles
I: Brian Cowles is the producer of a new series of documentaries called “The Earth at Risk” which can be seen on Channel 4 later this month. Each program deals with a different continent, doesn’t it, Brian?
B: That’s right, yes, we went to … er … we went to America, both North and South and then we went over to Africa and Southeast Asia.
I: And what did you find in each of these continents?
B:Well … er … starting with … er … Africa, our film shows the impact of the population on the environment. Generally speaking, this has caused the Sahara Desert to expand. It’s a bit of a vicious circle … er … we find, people cut down trees for firewood and their domestic animals eat all the available plants — and so consequently they have to move south as the Sahara Desert expands further south. I mean, soon the whole of Mali will become a desert. And … er … in East Africa: here the grasslands are supporting too many animals and the result is, of course, there’s no grass— nothing for the animals to eat.
I: Mm, yes, I see. Um … and the … the next film deals with North America?
B: That’s right. In the … er … USA, as you know, intensive agriculture requires a plentiful supply of rain for these crops to grow, I mean if there isn’t enough rain the crops don’t grow. And growing crops stabilize soil, without them the top soil just … it just blows away. I mean, this is also true for any region that is intensely farmed — most of Europe, for example.
I: And what did you find in South America?
B: In South America (a … as in Central Africa and Southern Asia) tropical forests are being cut down at an alarming rate. Th … this is done so that people can support themselves by growing food or to create ranches where cattle can be raised to exp … to be exported to Europe or America as tinned meat. The problem is that the s … the soil is so poor that … um … that only a couple of harvests are possible before this very thin soil becomes exhausted. And it can’t be fed with fertilizers like agricultural land in Europe.
Um … for example, in Brazil in 1982 an area of jungle the size of Britain and France combined was destroyed to make way for an iron ore mine. I mean, huge numbers of trees are being cut down for export as hardwood to Japan, Europe, USA … I mean … to make things like luxury furniture. These forests can’t … er … they can’t be replaced — the forest soil is thin and unproductive and in just a few years, a … a jungle has become a waste land. Tropical forests contain rare plants (which … er … we can use for medicines, for example) and animals — one animal or plant species becomes extinct every half hour. These … er … forest trees … I mean … also have worldwide effects. You know, they convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. The consequence of destroying forests is not only that the climate of that region changes (because there is less rainfall) but this change affects the whole world. I mean, over half the world’s rain forest has been cut down this century (20th century).
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