00:04Humans have had a pretty big impact on our planet, from building intricate cities connected by
00:08thousands of miles of roadways to the way we've been warming the planet with industry. But now
00:13a new study by researchers from the University of Baltimore, Maryland County reveals just how
00:17big an impact humanity has also had on the ecology of the world. This map shows the change of
00:23anthromes, or human land-use biomes, all over the world, with each interval providing an
00:27illustration of humanity's effects on the globe over millennia, centuries, and decade
00:32intervals. As the animation moves through the years, you can see the effects of humankind on
00:36land all over the world. And according to the study, humans have reshaped most of the ecology
00:41over the face of the entire planet over the last 12 millennia. Professor of Geography and
00:45Environmental Systems at the University of Baltimore, Maryland County, Dr. Earl Ellis said about
00:50the findings, quote, Our work shows that most areas depicted as untouched, wild, and natural
00:55are actually areas with long histories of human inhabitation and use. Adding,
01:00Areas untouched by people were almost as rare 12,000 years ago as they are today, which some say
01:06could change our understanding of conservation and living on this planet, shifting away from a
01:10hands-off preservation-style approach and moving to a more traditional and indigenous people's way
01:15way of living more sustainably within nature.
