YouTube Saturday - Human Planet

The Human Planet is the latest offering from the BBC Natural History Unit. This excellent new series takes a closer look at the human species and, more specifically, its relationship with the natural world. The series aims to show the remarkable ways humans have adapted to life in every environment on Earth (Oceans, Desert, Arctic, Jungles, Mountains, Grassland, Rivers & Cities) and they do it in their usual breathtaking fashion. Human Planet is now airing on BBC ONE on Thursday evenings at 8pm and is narrated by the brilliant John Hurt. There has been four episodes so far, with four more to come and each episode has provided some spectacular views of human achievement in the harshest environments on our planet. Click here to visit their website. There is also an amazing gallery of images taken during the filming of the series.

Below is an extract from episode one, describing one of the most dangerous fishing methods used by our species. The clip reveals how a 100 strong crew in the Philippines dive to 40 metres, breathing air pumped through makeshift tangled tubes by a rusty compressor. Spectacular! The series will air worldwide later in the year but is available for pre-order on Amazon now.