WellBeing's 6 Favourite Climate Revivalists

In WellBeing we no longer talk about “climate change” because that is the language of persuasion and we are past that point. The climate crisis is real and we now talk about climate revival, the positive philosophies and actions that will help us all save the future. In keeping with that positive direction here we celebrate six of our favourite climate revivalists. These are not the only people we could have included here, they are not better than others, and the list is not exhaustive. These people are however undeniably worth acknowledging for their vision, their dedication and their skill.

David Attenborough

Sir David Frederick Attenborough is one of Britain’s most beloved figures; a broadcaster, natural historian and, at 93, a global superstar, his reign in the public eye has been defined by environmental benevolence.

Attenborough’s epic series about the natural world have been broadcast around the globe, making a name for him as the father of our planet. Travelling from the icy Edens of Antarctica to the momentous plains of Africa’s Serengeti, his documentaries established a new genre of wildlife film. It is now almost impossible to imagine a time when Attenborough wasn’t on our screens, narrating — in his signature comforting drawl — the epic fight between bison or the silent stalk of Africa’s biggest cats. At its finest, his storytelling reimagines the affairs of the natural world into aweinspiring tales that have captured the imagination of the globe. The migration patterns of albatross and the reign of a queen ant in her colony are crafted into stories that sparkle and delight in a way only Attenborough has mastered.

Over the last 15 years, Attenborough’s stories have shifted from a natural history perspective to an environmental one. Initially peppered with conservation issues, they are now a rallying cry for a planet cracking under the weight of human impact. The arrival of Blue Planet II in 2017 ushered in a new urgency to Attenborough’s blockbuster epics and transformed popular attitudes towards single-use plastic and pollution. He is, on all accounts, credited with making the plastic straw the single most unfashionable accessory in the UK.