Human Footprint

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Earth has never experienced anything like us: a single species dominating and transforming the planet. Biologist Shane Campbell-Staton travels the globe to explore our Human Footprint and to discover how the things we do reveal who we truly are.

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Science and Nature

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Human Footprint is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.

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About the Show

Earth is home to more than 10 million species. Yet the actions of one species – humans – affect every other. The planet has never experienced anything like it: a single species that dominates and reshapes the world.

More About the Show

We occupy vast cities covering 10 percent of Earth’s land. Much of the rest we’ve covered with farms and pastures. We extract energy and raw materials from the Earth, divert and block rivers, and harvest food from the sea. We transport our bodies, products, and other species around the globe at will. And we do it not simply in service of basic biological needs, but to satisfy other, uniquely human desires… power, self-expression, curiosity.

Our insatiable minds have driven us to explore the tallest mountains and the depths of the ocean, to investigate the diversity of life and the fabric of the cosmos, and even to look inward and grapple with consciousness itself. We’ve cracked the genetic code and can read and rewrite DNA at will. And we’ve created music, art, literature, and culture of remarkable beauty. Yet for all of our ingenuity, our species can also be stubbornly short-sighted.

In Human Footprint, Biologist Shane Campbell-Staton travels the world to explore our global impact. In his quest, Shane discovers that although we often tell ourselves what it means to be human, the clearest vision of who we are emerges from what we do. In that way, Human Footprint is a journey not only to understand our human impacts, but to explore our human nature.

Article

Surprising Moments from Human Footprint

Do you think you know what it means to be human? In Human Footprint, Biologist Shane Campbell-Staton asks us all to think again. As he discovers, the story of our impact on the world around us is more complicated — and much more surprising — than you might realize.

Host Shane and Director Nate eat a tamale in the streets of Mexico City.
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Rick Smith/Day's Edge Productions
Julius Tillery, founder of BlackCotton, who is not only a cotton farmer and business owner but also a high school math teacher, dedicated to amplifying the voices and opportunities for his community.
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Nathan Dappen/Day's Edge Productions
This is Cat Urbigkit, a rancher and author who has turned the real-life lambs she raises into lovable children’s book characters in the Wyoming countryside.
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Nathan Dappen/Day's Edge Productions
Shane sits on a throne with a purebred dog at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
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Nathan Dappen/Day's Edge Productions
Shane explores the untamed beauty of Nevada's desert landscape and delves into the complex management of wild horses on public lands.
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Nathan Dappen/Day's Edge Productions
Cage free chickens moving around their pen at a farm in San Diego.
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Nathan Dappen/Day's Edge Productions

Human Footprint: Shorts