8 Times Sir David Attenborough Was A Total Badass
1. When Told It Like It Is
Despite his avuncular, gentle exterior, Sir David has never been one to shy away from expressing his opinion about potentially controversial subjects, particularly environmentalism.
Attenborough was born in 1926, when the world's population was just under two billion, with it now more than three times that, it's no wonder he sees the human race as a frighteningly destructive force. In 2005 he described George W. Bush to be the era's top "environmental villain" and in 2013 he told it exactly how it is:
“We are a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now,”
Never one to mince his words, Attenborough is similarly upfront when discussing his views on Creationism:
"Well, it's funny that the people, when they say that this is evidence of the Almighty, always quote beautiful things. They always quote orchids and hummingbirds and butterflies and roses." But I always have to think too of a little boy sitting on the banks of a river in west Africa who has a worm boring through his eyeball, turning him blind before he's five years old. And I reply and say, "Well, presumably the God you speak about created the worm as well," and now, I find that baffling to credit a merciful God with that action."
Attenborough has campaigned against the teaching of creationism in science lessons (for the blindingly obvious reason that it's not bloody science) and continues to give zero damns about what anybody thinks of him.
What a guy.