Eco protests AREN'T working: A surprising admission from ardent environmentalist Chris Packham
He may be the much-loved presenter of shows such as the 's Springwatch, but Chris Packham is also a controversial figure. It's no surprise that a man so obsessed with the natural world is also a passionate environmentalist, and he sparked controversy again earlier this year when he encouraged people to join an rally, with some suggesting he'd broken the corporation's impartiality rules (his response was that he's a freelancer). Today, however, he admits he's decided that the eco-mob's antics aren't having the desired effect. 'We've been protesting about the climate for some time and things have got worse, so I can make a strong argument that this behaviour isn't working,' he says. 'I don't think any of us in the climate protesting movement can say that we're anywhere close to getting the job done.' Not that it will stop him talking about it. 'I feel wretched about what's happening to our planet. I've seen so much of the natural world destroyed, it's difficult not to be pessimistic.' Chris continues, 'Since 1970, which I remember like it was yesterday, we've lost 69 per cent of the world's wildlife. The other week my stepdaughter was so excited to see a Small Copper butterfly but I told her I used to see 15 or 20 of them when I went out back then they were everywhere. It's a motivator for me. I feel like I've been asleep at the wheel and so I've got to do more now and quickly.' Which is where his latest show comes in. The five-part BBC2 series Earth isn't about man-made global warming per se but a celebration of the wonder of our planet. It's a fascinating show, a sort of biography of the Earth using the latest science to reveal what an ever-changing place it has been from the first seconds of its existence to the arrival of its most impactful inhabitants humans. The five episodes feature stories of volcanic destruction, ice ages that lasted millennia and the death of the dinosaurs, and explore how life has been lived in the most extreme environments. It isn't until the final episode that we explore more recent history, when we began to walk the Earth. Chris's passion for his subject is infectious, and there's a touching moment in the first episode when you can feel his childlike glee at putting his hand in a dinosaur footprint. 'Holding a fossil, placing your hand where a dinosaur once placed its foot, picking up a meteorite that's come from another part of the universe; there is this incredible romance to it,' he says. His enthusiasm was not easily dampened, even during an unfortunate incident with an Andean Condor while filming a segment about the atmosphere. 'I was looking up at the bird and this shower came onto me,' he recalls. 'I was revelling in the joy of being pooed on, then I turned to the crew and realised everyone thought I was a complete nutter.' The series reveals how the Earth has had a rollercoaster of a history. 'Sometimes there are interplanetary interventions and other times it's our own planetary forces that create huge changes,' says Chris. 'We've enjoyed a period of enormous stability for the brief time that humans have been here, but we're destabilising our world with terrifying rapidity.' Critics might point to the programme as evidence that the Earth's temperature has always been unstable, but Chris says, 'Our series might show that the temperature has gone up and down many times but that's always taken millions of years. We've done it in 150 years. I think there would once have been a debate over how far climate change was due to mankind, but we've reached a point where there is no doubt that the changes we're seeing now are instigated by human activity,' he insists. 'The people who still cling to the idea that it's nothing to do with us don't respect the science. 'This is not a campaigning series, it's a science documentary, but I do want it to feed people's consciousness, so that when they're asked to make decisions that might have a tiny impact on the planet they'll do the right thing.' There will be those too who will call him a hypocrite because the production travelled to Iceland, South America and the Canary Islands among other places, but Chris says that's a necessary evil of trying to educate. He's also helping to pioneer the use of hydrogen to fuel filming Springwatch recently became the first series to be powered solely by a hydrogen generator. Ultimately he's optimistic that we humans have the capacity to fix our mistakes. 'I want people to understand how special our planet is and perhaps they do need to be frightened about what we could lose,' he says. 'Our unique planet has been forming for four billion years and it's had all sorts of inhabitants on it. For us humans to reach the zenith of our achievements, we need to learn to put Earth first.'