[00:10] Nature purifies the air and water, stabilizes the soil, moderates the weather, pollinates our crops, cycles life supporting chemicals and reserves genetic secrets for future medicines.

[00:23] But a growing human population, rapid economic growth and rising living standards are depleting Earth's resources faster than they can be renewed.

[00:32] Today it takes about 11 acres of land to produce the material and energy consumed by the average American. That's more than 8 entire football fields per person. If everyone on Earth maintained this standard of living, it would require at least three earths to support society's needs.

[00:50] Not everyone is claiming an equal share of nature's bounty. In today's global society, the gap will have to narrow. If we live beyond nature's limits we are borrowing resources from future generations.

[01:04] Fortunately we know how to recycle. Use renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar power, and consume more efficiently so we can leave our children and their children a world better than the one we inherited.

[01:19] For Our Changing Planet, I'm Jane Joyce. To learn more about Our Changing Planet, visit us on the web at www.umac.org/ocp.