One Strange Rock (2018) s01e07 Episode Script

We sure lucked out
with Planet Earth.
Blue skies, rolling hills,
water everywhere.
I mean, this place is nice.
But our home didn't come
like this out of the box.
Earth was a real fixer-upper,
and it took some seriously hard
work to build this paradise.
Nearly four billion years
of renovation.
Some tiny,
some huge
to make this house a home.
And when you get up
off the planet,
you realize life is the one
holding the hammer.
Eight astronauts,
with over 1,000 days
in space between them
can tell us how being up there
helped them to truly understand
what goes on down here.
Creatures on Earth
don't just live and die.
They actually change
the world around them.
The diversity
of life can be seen everywhere,
from the coral reefs
to the mountaintops.
The colours of life shine out.
You can just
feel the life that is there
as you observe it from above.
When you look at the planet,
you realize that it's
life that formed it that way.
Land,
sky,
rivers,
rock,
all were shaped by life.
But life doesn't just create.
It also has the power
to destroy.
So this story isn't
just strange,
it's scary.
New York City.
Home to almost
nine million people
and this guy.
Astronaut Mike Massimino.
Right across the 59th
Street Bridge, where's that?
Queens.
Yeah, yeah, but what's the name?
What part of Queens is that?
Long Island City.
That's what I was thinking of.
Yeah, Long Island City's
right across the street there.
Where did you live originally?
Originally,
I came from New York,
and then I lived in
Houston, Texas, for 22 years.
I was six years old when
Apollo 11 landing upon the moon.
Eagle, we got you now,
it's looking good. Over.
You are go to continue
powered descent.
Okay, engines stopped.
We copy you down, Eagle.
The Eagle has landed.
Probably by the time
I was 8 or 9,
I realized that I was
no fearless test pilot
like Neil Armstrong.
I was kind of a scared kid.
I didn't like heights,
I still don't like heights.
I didn't like going fast.
So I thought,
maybe this wasn't the
best job for me.
But New Yorkers
don't give up so easily.
After years
of gruelling training,
Mike made it into space.
And up there,
his fears
melted away.
-Okay. Looking good.
-I'm coming out.
Mike, you're doing good.
My second spacewalk,
things were going
well, and I had
a couple moments.
I took a look
at the planet and
This is incredible.
I started to become
a bit emotional.
And just the sheer beauty of it,
I started to cry, and I could
feel the tears welling up,
and what I thought was,
'This must be the
view from heaven.'
If you could be in heaven,
you look down on a planet,
this is how we must look
from heaven.
And then,
I thought to myself,
'No. That's not right.
It's more beautiful than that.
This is what heaven
must look like.'
And I felt like I was
looking into a paradise.
Earth is a kind of Eden,
but if Mike had been orbiting
way back in the day,
he wouldn't be looking
down at heaven.
He'd be gazing
straight into hell.
All that fire and brimstone
had a role to play.
The inside of our planet
is melted rock,
churning and turning.
That means that
everything on the surface
shifts and slides.
Earth's fiery heart
powers some big changes.
And that's great news
for dinosaur expert
Omar Medina Ramirez.
No need to dig down
into the dirt;
just stand back
and take in the view.
The power of the planet
can take a lake shore
and flip it into a cliff face.
But these rock formations,
and the entire
continent they're on
might not even be here
without a particularly weird
form of life.
Part algae, part fungi,
it grows in the harshest places,
and is a food source
for Dasher and Dancer
and Prancer and Vixen.
Hoo-hoo! Ay! Ay!
Gsh! Ay! Ay! Ho!
Lichen are
a pretty cool form of life.
They exist just about everywhere
on the surface of the Earth.
About 8% of our planet
is covered by this stuff,
and they can change the
formations, the rock formations,
just by their existence.
As lichen grow,
their fungal filaments
physically break apart rock.
But strange as it sounds,
this process will eventually
help create new land.
Over thousands of years,
lichen and other
terrestrial life-forms,
break down rock.
This creates huge amounts
of microscopic particles.
As some of these particles
get washed out into the oceans.
They trap water.
Over time, this locked-up water
is pulled deep inside the Earth,
where it helps mantle rock
melt and flow more easily.
Ultimately, this leads
to more volcanic eruptions
back at the surface.
But the amazing thing
is that all this lava
means new land is formed that
wouldn't be there otherwise.
Life helps create the land.
Best guess is,
without life,
earth wouldn't have
seven continents.
There would only be enough land
for about one
floating in the middle
of a seriously big ocean.
Life helped make
the ground we walk on.
But it didn't do it overnight.
When you're in space,
you get a different
appreciation of time,
compared to what we have
on the Earth.
And what you see are
changes in the Earth
that took place over
sometimes millions of years
or, or even longer.
I think life,
no matter what form it is,
whether it's a simple form
like lichen or an animal
or a more complicated
form of life like us,
whatever level
that life-form takes,
it is going to change
its planet.
It might just take
a while to do it.
From the
perspective of a space station,
suddenly you can
see the entirety,
of the world's history.
It changes
your fundamental
feel of time.
Your fundamental perception
of the age of the world,
and even though I knew the world
was 4.5 billion years old,
I'd never got a sense
for what that meant.
It took billions of years
for life to mould a barren rock
into the world we know.
But things didn't just
get better and better;
sometimes they went wrong.
Like,
almost end-of-the-world wrong.
I'm a sucker
for a tropical island.
I mean, I get off the plane
and head straight for the beach.
Cool sea breeze and
sand between my toes.
But get this:
all of that sand down there?
Most of it came,
out of the wrong end of a fish.
We'll head out
towards the coral reef.
We'll drop down
to about five meters,
and we'll survey along there,
I think.
You can find parrot-fish on reefs
throughout the tropics.
You see them active on the reef,
feeding on the hard coral
material continuously.
And the amazing thing
is that you can hear
this incredible
grinding, crunching noise.
That really gives you a sense
of the life on the reef.
After the parrot-fish
have eaten the coral,
they then excrete it
as sand.
In one year,
one fish eats enough coral
to poop out a ton of sand
literally.
And there's an awful lot
of fish here.
That same sand material
that you find
in the parrot-fish poo
can be found in the islands
themselves.
On some islands,
the sand material
is made up of over
70% parrot-fish poo.
The parrot-fish are
absolutely crucial
to the development
of these islands.
But life's not done.
Fish form the fresh beach,
then more life follows on.
And presto,
instant island paradise.
As you fly across,
there are little
light blue rings
down in the water beneath you.
There's the deep blue
of the ocean around them,
and then all the different
changing blues that are possible
as the water gets
shallower and shallower.
But what's intriguing to think
is that living
organisms down there,
created that beautiful vista
that is visible
from space itself.
It's kind of amazing
what a small creature can do.
That a bunch of little fish
can build an island
just by going about
their daily routine.
That's quite an impact.
Parrot-fish aren't
in the business
of seaside resort development.
I mean, they were just snacking.
These islands were
a happy accident.
But life's little accidents
don't always work out so well.
About three billion years ago,
bacteria in the oceans
of the early Earth
produced a by-product
oxygen
which transformed our world.
But when this accidental
waste gas filled the atmosphere,
it reduced levels
of warming methane,
cooling the planet.
Earth started to freeze,
from the poles all the way
down to the equator.
It froze like a giant snowball.
Billions of years ago,
things weren't looking
that great for us,
but thanks to
all the planet's water,
we got a lucky break.
Ice floats on water,
and underneath it,
is a kind of sanctuary.
Life managed to cling
on down there,
under the ice, for
millions of years
until eventually,
the planet's volcanoes
saved the day.
We think that as they pumped out
carbon dioxide,
the planet began to warm up.
The ice melted,
and life on Earth
really took off.
Life almost killed itself
when it messed
with the atmosphere.
But it survived
and put its roots down on land.
The creatures that emerged,
weird and wonderful and new,
helped build our modern world.
But not in the way
you might expect.
They don't walk,
they can't see,
they barely even move,
but plants are
almost unstoppable.
Give them enough time,
and they are Earth's
ultimate transformers.
Roots rip through rock
like slow-motion excavators.
But they don't just destroy.
Those plants?
They shape how rivers run.
Plants have had
a big impact on the Earth.
As plants grow,
their roots spread
out and intertwine.
They help hold soil together,
like a kind of living glue.
Plant roots make riverbanks
more solid,
so instead
of spreading outwards,
plants cause rivers
to get deeper,
and then begin to wind and
switch back on themselves.
Rivers and
land formations stand out.
It's almost like somebody has
painted trees on the planet.
These bendy rivers
have become a crucial habitat
for all kinds of living things,
including us.
You look down at Earth
and you see the Nile River.
You know, the cradle
of civilization,
the Tigris-Euphrates.
The Yangtze over in China.
And you just sort of
have an appreciation of
history and of
mankind becoming civilized.
We've founded some
of our greatest cities
at a bend in the river.
And plants help
bend those rivers.
Once we settled,
we started to build.
Brick by brick and rock by rock.
Life gave us perfect
plots of building land,
but it gave us
even more than that.
All those rocks we built with?
Some of them used to be alive.
Be super careful
with the rock here.
It's really not so great.
Yeah.
I'm watching you.
Oh, my God.
Good job.
I'm specially aware
of the landscape
from a geological point of view.
Can you find any gear?
Got a good hold at least.
Because obviously,
my first focus is the rock.
This rock wasn't made
from molten lava.
It's made of shells and bones.
Layers and layers of life
that died and sank
and were squeezed into stone.
Limestone.
Limestone isn't
the most solid rock.
Be careful.
There is always the possibility
of rock falling above you.
But I think I can
keep on climbing
across the chimney, which
makes it a bit easier.
Alright.
When you've got this
tiny little summit
where nobody's been
on top of it,
there is obviously
something very special.
Woo-hoo!
Woo-hoo!
-Good job! Good job!
-We did it!
Limestone is soft
because it's made of shells.
That makes it tough to climb,
but easy to cut and carve
and make into monuments.
In places, you can still
see those seashells
in the monuments' walls.
-Can I help you?
-How you doing?
Fine. You want a ticket?
Next train to Bronxville.
To Bronxville.
Okay, Bronxville.
Grand Central Station,
you can look in the
beautiful limestone that
cathedral-like terminal
is made out of.
You can see evidence
of little fossils
right in the rock.
Next time you're catching a
train at Grand Central Station,
take a look at the rock,
and you'll see some evidence
of the animals
that once were here on Earth
many years ago.
It's not just building material.
Almost everything we think of
as being man-made
has been given a helping hand
by other life-forms.
The tar in the road.
The fibre in your clothes.
The polish in your toothpaste.
All these things are
made from organisms
that died millions of years ago.
If it wasn't for those
prehistoric critters,
we'd struggle
to turn on a light,
let alone build a space station.
We've thrived,
with a little help
from our friends.
But it's not all smooth sailing.
Because success brings
its own problems.
Life has been shaping
the Earth for billions of years.
Now, it's our turn.
We may be new here,
but the changes we're making
are pretty easy to spot.
Flying over the Earth
during the daytime,
you can't see buildings
or motion or people at all.
It almost looks
still and silent,
almost like a painting
that you're looking at.
When you pass into night time,
then wow, you know,
the planet comes alive.
Space becomes a very magical
place at night.
You can see where
people are living,
you can see where
civilization exists,
because you see their lights.
If you see one of these cities,
space gives you a different
perspective on it.
At night time,
the pattern of lights,
you just think 'humanity'
when you see that.
It's so obviously man-made,
because you'll see these
straight lines of lights,
or you know, circles of lights,
where cities are just
built in rings.
Seeing the planet
at night from space
lets you see the footprint
of human beings.
The city lights at night,
the byways, the
highways, the homes,
you see all of that.
Makes you wonder,
how powerful the
human presence is.
We have spread far
and wide over this old rock,
adding a whole new layer
to the planet's surface.
But we didn't make all
of this stuff out of nothing.
Franco Barattini helps extract
some of the most beautiful
natural resources on the planet,
but it's a dangerous job.
Marble has been
mined here since Roman times.
It's done with skill
and loving care.
But you know what?
A showroom isn't the only place
to see that
gleaming white stone.
Bright white marble in Italy,
you can see that. It's looks
like there's a snowfield
in a time of year when we
wouldn't have any snow.
But it looks as if it's snow,
because it's that white marble
being taken from the Earth.
And it's not just marble.
When you're floating
above the Earth,
you see many different examples
of how our desire
for natural resources
is changing the planet,
and not always in a good way.
There are places on the planet,
when you fly over top of it,
you see these vast
stretches of land
that have been mined for coal,
or mined for minerals or riches,
and this leaves a blight
on the surface of the planet.
And it's ghastly at times
to see some of this.
The scars and scratches
in the Earth's surface
are one thing,
but the damage we can't see
is the real danger.
Of all the changes
that we're making to the Earth,
I think it's changes
to the atmosphere
that we should be
the most worried about.
That's the one that could really
lead to some serious problems.
You just have to look at what
happened in the planet's past
to see how badly it could go.
Our planet has
always been changing.
It's been changing
over billions of years.
We're just the latest
form of life to do it here.
There's a big difference
between then and now,
and we're making these changes,
but we're aware
of what's going on,
and we have brains in our heads,
that can allow us to try to
understand what's happening,
and control it.
We're transforming
our planet every day.
But it's very possible,
we could hurt it so badly
that we can no longer live here.
And what if we do?
What would happen
if humans disappeared?
Life has created
the most remarkable planet
in the solar system.
But there is no guarantee
that humans are gonna always
be here to appreciate it.
Thing is, the Earth
will go on spinning,
life will go on living.
Astronauts like Mike can
see that as clear as day.
There was this
one particular time
when I was on the space shuttle,
and we were going from
darkness into light.
And I could feel the warmth
of the sun coming.
As I looked down at the Earth,
there was this line
that was moving,
and the thought that went
through my mind was,
'The sun will come up tomorrow.'
This cosmic dance of our planet,
going around the sun and
rotating as it does this,
this has been going on
for billions of years.
It'll be going on
for a long time,
after we are gone.
The Earth doesn't need us.
Neither does life.
And if humans don't make it,
life will go on changing things.
Even the things we leave behind.
Minoru Kinoshita
left here when he
was 13 years old.
This is the first time
he's been back in 50 years.
Hashima Island,
was once the most densely
populated place on Earth.
People came here to mine coal.
When that ran out,
everybody left.
This place was abandoned
practically overnight.
40 years later,
life has started
taking Hashima back.
If humans died out,
most of our man-made world
would fall apart.
Life would rip it up
and transform it.
Reclaim,
and remould it.
Our buildings would crumble,
our towers would fall,
our lights would go out.
But the Earth would endure.
Not so different from
the way we found it.
A big, blue ball
that life made into a home.
How you doing?
One hot dog with mustard,
please.
I think my concept of what
I consider to be home
changed over the years.
Alright. Thanks very much.
See ya.
When I was a little person,
my home was my home
on Long Island
and Franklin Square, and
my block surrounding it.
You know, that was my world,
I guess.
Going to space and seeing
where we live from above
and then turning and looking
to the rest of the universe
I think now I consider
my home to be Earth,
and that is my home.
I might live in one part of it,
but I think of my home now
as Planet Earth.
That's our home.
We moved into
a populated planet,
and in the short time we've
been here, we have changed it.
But we're not
the master craftsmen.
We've just been moving
furniture around.
Life worked on this planet
for billions of years
before we even walked
in the door.
It transformed a barren rock
into a paradise.
A paradise we should be careful
to hold on to.
Life transformed this planet,
but we aren't the only rock
out there.
Next time
Do we have any neighbours?