人類足跡
今天的人類數量，是一萬二千年前的二千倍。隨著人口增長，人類擴散到世界各地，幾乎征服了地球上所有生態系統，但這並非我們能獨力完成。在這一集《人類足跡》，尚恩遇上了一眾替代品：一群動植物物種接受了人類的幫助，把牠/它們的命運與我們的命運緊扣在一起。
非洲爪蛙是種特別的生物，現已成為科學標誌，牠們以令人驚訝的方式幫助我們了解自己。家貓或許是地球歷史上數量最多的掠食性哺乳動物，牠們在我們的家中和野外過著雙重生活。在美國讓人最費力種植的植物是草坪草，草坪草可說是生產力最低的植物之一，但因為它象徵著的地位和人類對它的歸屬感而繁盛生長。在另一個極端，粟米幾乎為我們們提供一切，但它的崛起令這種世界頂級農作物陷入意外險境。雞揭示出商品化的代價，當新的選擇出現，即使是替代品也可以被替代。
人類這物種與其他物種結成巧妙的聯盟，為我們在全球的擴張推波助瀾，但我們很少能預視到自己的才智會帶何等後果。一個由替代品主導的世界，令地球上的其餘物種幾乎沒有生存空間。問題是我們能否找到方法與我們喜愛和重視的物種共存，同時為地球上其他獨特物種留下生存空間？
雙語廣播： 粵語/英語 (電視版 及 網上版)
播出時間： (首播) 2025年4月28日 星期一 晚上10時
For every human alive 12,000 years ago, two thousand of us live on the planet today. As we multiplied, people spread around the world, conquering virtually all of the planet’s ecosystems. But we didn’t do it alone. In this episode of Human Footprint, Shane meets The Replacements: a group of animal and plant species that accepted humanity’s helping hand, hitching their destinies to our own.
There’s Xenopus, the African Clawed Frog: a bizarre creature that’s become a scientific icon, helping us learn about ourselves in surprising ways. The house cat, maybe the most numerous predatory mammal in our planet’s history, lives a double life in our homes and wild places. America’s most demanding crop, turf grass, might just be its least productive, but it thrives because it signals status and belonging. At the other extreme, corn does just about everything for us… but its stratospheric rise has put the world’s top crop in an unexpectedly perilous position. And the chicken reveals the cost of commodification – when a new alternative appears, even The Replacements can be replaced.
Our species has forged ingenious alliances with other species that have fueled our global spread. But we rarely anticipate the consequences of our cleverness. A world dominated by The Replacements is one with little room for the planet’s other species. The question is: can we find ways to live alongside the species we love and value, while saving space for all the others that make life on Earth so special?
Bilingual: Cantonese/ English (TV Version & Web Version)
Time: (First run) 2025.04.28 MON 10:00pm
