Nature's my muse and it's been my passion. As a photographer for National Geographic, I've portrayed it for many. But five years ago, I went on a personal journey. I wanted to visualize the story of life. It's the hardest thing I've ever attempted, and there have been plenty of times when I felt like backing out. But there were also revelations. And one of those I'd like to share with you today.
Priroda je moja muza i moja strast. Kao fotograf za Nacionalnu Geografiju, napravio sam njen portret za mnoge. Ali pre pet godina otišao sam na lično putovanje. Želeo sam da vizualizujem priču o životu. To je najteža stvar koju sam ikada pokušao i mnogo puta sam poželeo da odustanem. Ali je takođe bilo i otkrića. Jedno od njih bih želeo da podelim danas sa vama.
I went down to a remote lagoon in Australia, hoping to see the Earth the way it was three billion years ago, back before the sky turned blue. There's stromatolites down there -- the first living things to capture photosynthesis -- and it's the only place they still occur today. Going down there was like entering a time capsule, and I came out with a different sense of myself in time. The oxygen exhaled by those stromatolites is what we all breathe today.
Otišao sam u udaljenu lagunu u Australiji, nadajući se da ću videti Zemlju onakvu kakva je bila pre tri milijarde godina pre nego što je nebo postalo plavo. Tamo dole ima stromatolita - prvih živih stvari koje su usvojile fotosintezu - i to je jedino mesto gde se danas javljaju. Odlazak dole bio je kao ulazak u vremensku kapsulu i izašao sam odande sa drugačijim osećajem sebe u vremenu. Kiseonik koji su izdisali ovi stromatoliti je onaj koji svi mi udišemo danas.
Stromatolites are the heroes in my story. I hope it's a story that has some resonance for our time. It's a story about you and me, nature and science. And with that said, I'd like to invite you for a short, brief journey of life through time. Our journey starts in space, where matter condenses into spheres over time ... solidifying into surface, molded by fire. The fire gave way, Earth emerged -- but this was an alien planet. The moon was closer; things were different. Heat from within made geysers erupt -- that is how the oceans were born. Water froze around the poles and shaped the edges of the Earth. Water is the key to life, but in frozen form, it is a latent force. And when it vanishes, Earth becomes Mars.
Stromatoliti su heroji u mojoj priči. Nadam se da je to priča koja ima neki odjek u našem vremenu. To je priča o vama i meni, prirodi i nauci. I pošto sam to rekao, želeo bih da vas pozovem na kratko, brzo putovanje života kroz vreme. Naše putovanje počinje u svemiru, gde se materija zgušnjava u sfere tokom vremena... stvrdnjava na površini, oblikovana vatrom. Vatra se povukla, pojavila se Zemlja - ali ovo je bila strana planeta. Mesec je bio bliže; stvari su bile različite. Vrelina iznutra je učinila da gejziri eruptiraju - tako su nastali okeani. Voda se zamrzla oko polova i oblikovala ivice Zemlje. Voda je ključ života, ali u smrznutom obliku je skrivena snaga. I kad nestane, Zemlja postaje Mars.
But this planet is different -- it's roiling inside. And where that energy touches water, something new emerges: life. It arises around cracks in the Earth. Mud and minerals become substrate; there are bacteria. Learn to multiply, thickening in places ... Growing living structures under an alien sky ... Stromatolites were the first to exhale oxygen. And they changed the atmosphere. A breath that's fossilized now as iron.
Ali ova planeta je drugačija - muti se unutra. I kad ta energija dodirne vodu, nešto novo nastaje: život. On nastaje oko pukotina u Zemlji. Blato i minerali postaju podloga; tu su bakterije. Uči da se razmnožava, zgušnjava se na mestima... Rastuće žive strukture pod tuđinskim nebom... Stromatoliti su bili prvi koji su izdisali kiseonik. I promenili su atmosferu. Dah koji je sada fosilizovan kao gvožđe.
Meteorites delivered chemistry, and perhaps membranes, too. Life needs a membrane to contain itself so it can replicate and mutate. These are diatoms, single-celled phytoplankton with skeletons of silicon ... circuit boards of the future. Shallow seas nurtured life early on, and that's where it morphed into more complex forms. It grew as light and oxygen increased. Life hardened and became defensive. It learned to move and began to see. The first eyes grew on trilobites. Vision was refined in horseshoe crabs, among the first to leave the sea. They still do what they've done for ages, their enemies long gone.
Meteoriti su doneli hemiju i možda takođe i opne. Životu je potrebna opna da bi se zadržao tako da može da se replicira i mutira. Ovo su silikatne alge, jednoćelijski fitoplankton sa skeletima od silicijuma... štampane ploče budućnosti. Plitka mora su odnegovala život u početku i ovde se on preobrazio u složenije forme. Porastao je kako su se povećavali svetlost i kiseonik. Život je postao teži i odbramben. Naučio je da se pomera i počeo je da vidi. Prve oči su izrasle na trilobitima. Vid se usavršio kod potkovičastih kraba, koje su među prvima napustile more. One još uvek rade ono što su radile vekovima, pošto su njihovi neprijatelji odavno iščezli.
Scorpions follow prey out of the sea. Slugs became snails. Fish tried amphibian life. Frogs adapted to deserts. Lichens arose as a co-op. Fungi married algae ... clinging to rock, and eating it too ... transforming barren land. True land plants arose, leafless at first. Once they learn how to stay upright, they grew in size and shape. The fundamental forms of ferns followed, to bear spores that foreshadowed seeds. Life flourished in swamps.
Škorpije prate plen izvan mora. Puževi golaći postaju puževi. Ribe su probale amfibijski život. Žabe su se adptirale na pustinju. Lišajevi su nastali kao kooperativa. Gljive su se spojile sa algama... lepeći se za stene i takođe ih jedući... transformišući jalovu zemlju. Prave kopnene biljke su nastale, bez lišća u početku. Kada su naučile da stoje uspravno porasle su i uobličile se. Usledili su osnovni oblici paprati koji su stvorili spore koje su nagovestile seme. Život je cvetao u močvarama.
On land, life turned a corner. Jaws formed first; teeth came later. Leatherbacks and tuataras are echoes from that era. It took time for life to break away from water, and it still beckons all the time. Life turned hard so it could venture inland. And the dragons that arose are still among us today. Jurassic Park still shimmers in part of Madagascar, and the center of Brazil, where plants called "cycads" remain rock hard. Forests arose and nurtured things with wings. One early form left an imprint, like it died only yesterday. And others fly today like echoes of the past. In birds, life gained new mobility. Flamingos covered continents. Migrations got underway.
Na kopnu, život je bio na prekretnici. Prvo se formirala vilica; posle su došli zubi. Džinovske kožnate kornjače i tuatare su odjeci iz tog vremena. Životu je trebalo vremena da napusti vodu i ona ga još uvek stalno doziva. Život je postao teži pa je mogao da pokuša na kopnu. I zmajevi koji su se pojavili su još među nama danas. Park iz doba jure još uvek blista u delu Madagaskara i u središtu Brazila, gde su se biljke zvane cikade čvrsto zadržale. Pojavile su se šume i odnegovale stvorenja s krilima. Jedan rani oblik je ostavio otisak kao da je umro tek juče. A ostali lete danas kao odjeci prošlosti. U pticama, život je dobio novu pokretljivost. Flamingosi su prekrili kontinente. Migracije su krenule.
Birds witnessed the emergence of flowering plants. Water lilies were among the first. Plants began to diversify and grew, turning into trees. In Australia, a lily turned into a grass tree, and in Hawaii, a daisy became a silver sword. In Africa, Gondwana molded Proteas. But when that ancient continent broke up, life got lusher. Tropical rainforests arose, sparking new layers of interdependence. Fungi multiplied. Orchids emerged, genitalia shaped to lure insects ... a trick shared by the largest flower on Earth. Co-evolution entwined insects and birds and plants forever. When birds can't fly, they become vulnerable. Kiwis are, and so are these hawks trapped near Antarctica.
Ptice su bile svedoci pojave cvetajućih biljaka. Lokvanja među prvima. Biljke su počele da variraju i rastu, pretvarajući se u drveće. U Australiji lokvanj se pretvorio u travnato drvo, a na Havajima, bela rada je postala srebrni mač. U Africi, Gondvana je oblikovala tropski afrički grm. Ali kada se taj drevni kontinent razdvojio, život je postao bujniji. Pojavile su se tropske prašume, stvarajući nove slojeve međuzavisnosti. Gljive su se razmnožile. Pojavile su se orhideje u obliku genitalija da namame insekte... trik koji dele sa najvećim cvetom na Zemlji. Koevolucija je isprepletala insekte i ptice i biljke zauvek. Kad ptice ne mogu da lete, postaju ranjive. Kiviji su takvi i takođe ovi jastrebovi zarobljeni u blizini Antarktika.
Extinction can come slowly, but sometimes it arrives fast. An asteroid hits, and the world went down in flames. But there were witnesses, survivors in the dark. When the skies cleared, a new world was born. A world fit for mammals. From tiny shrews [came] tenrecs, accustomed to the dark. New forms became bats. Civets. New predators, hyenas, getting faster and faster still.
Izumiranje može doći sporo, ali ponekad stigne brzo. Asteroid udari i svet je nestao u plamenu. Ali bilo je svedoka, preživelih u mraku. Kada se nebo pročistilo novi svet je rođen. Svet koji pogoduje sisarima. Od malenih krtica došli su tenreci, prilagođeni mraku. Novi oblici su postali slepi miševi. Civeti. Novi mesožderi, hijene, postaju sve brži i brži.
Grasslands created opportunities. Herd safety came with sharpened senses. Growing big was another answer, but size always comes at a price. Some mammals turned back to water. Walruses adapted with layers of fat. Sea lions got sleek. And cetaceans moved into a world without bounds. There are many ways to be a mammal. A 'roo hops in Oz; a horse runs in Asia; and a wolf evolves stilt legs in Brazil. Primates emerge from jungles, as tarsiers first, becoming lemurs not much later. Learning became reinforced. Bands of apes ventured into the open. And forests dried out once more. Going upright became a lifestyle.
Savane su stvorile mogućnosti. Sigurnost krda je došla sa izoštrenim čulima. Rast je bio drugi odgovor, ali veličina uvek ima svoju cenu. Neki sisari su se vratili u vodu. Morževi su se adaptirali sa slojevima sala. Morski lavovi su postali glatki. A kitovi su se preselili u svet bez granica. Ima puno načina da se bude sisar. Kengur skakuće u Australiji; konj trči u Aziji; vuk razvija noge u obliku štula u Brazilu. Primati se pojavljuju u džunglama, prvo kao tarzijeri koji postaju lemuri malo kasnije. Učenje se pojačava. Grupe majmuna izlaze na otvoreno. Šume se suše još jedanput. Hodanje uspravno postaje način života.
So who are we? Brothers of masculine chimps, sisters of feminine bonobos? We are all of them, and more. We're molded by the same life force. The blood veins in our hands echoed a course of water traces on the Earth. And our brains -- our celebrated brains -- reflect a drainage of a tidal marsh.
Ko smo mi onda? Braća muških šimpanza, sestre ženskih bonobo majmuna? Mi smo sve to i više. Oblikovani smo istom životnom silom. Vene u našim rukama podsećaju na rečne tokove na Zemlji. I naši mozgovi - naši slavljeni mozgovi - podsećaju na sistem za isušivanje plimske močvare.
Life is a force in its own right. It is a new element. And it has altered the Earth. It covers Earth like a skin. And where it doesn't, as in Greenland in winter, Mars is still not very far. But that likelihood fades as long as ice melts again. And where water is liquid, it becomes a womb for cells green with chlorophyll -- and that molecular marvel is what's made a difference -- it powers everything. The whole animal world today lives on a stockpile of bacterial oxygen that is cycled constantly through plants and algae, and their waste is our breath, and vice versa. This Earth is alive, and it's made its own membrane. We call it "atmosphere." This is the icon of our journey. And you all here today can imagine and will shape where we go next. (Applause) Thank you. Thank you.
Život je sila s pravom. To je nova sila prirode. On je promenio Zemlju. Prekriva Zemlju kao koža. A tamo gde nije, kao na Grenlandu zimi, Mars još uvek nije tako daleko. Ali ta mogućnost bledi dok se led ne otopi ponovo. I tamo gde je voda u tečnom stanju, ona postaje mesto začeća ćelija zelenih od hlorofila - i to molekularno čudo je ono što je značajno - ono napaja sve. Ceo životinjski svet danas živi na zalihama bakterijskog kiseonika koji kruži stalno kroz biljke i alge i njihov otpad je naš udah i obrnuto. Ova Zemlja je živa i napravila je svoju sopstvenu opnu. Mi je zovemo "atmosfera". Ovo je portret našeg putovanja. I svi vi ovde danas možete da zamislite i oblikovaćete ono gde ćemo otići sledeće. (Aplauz) Hvala vam. Hvala vam.