05: Rare Earth | Earth: The Power of the Planet

Duration: 58'54''

Synopsis

Life on Earth prospers because it enjoys the right amount of heat from the sun, and the atmosphere prevents meteorite bombardment.

Further Information

More clips from Earth: The Power of the Planet

01: Volcano | Earth: The Power of the Planet

01: Volcano | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'10''

Dr Iain Stewart tells the story of planet Earth. Although they appear to be destructive, volcanoes have been crucial to the deve...

02: Atmosphere | Earth: The Power of the Planet

02: Atmosphere | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'03''

Dr Iain Stewart reveals the natural forces that shaped the earth. He traces the history of the atmosphere, from the ozone lay...

03: Ice | Earth: The Power of the Planet

03: Ice | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 59'00''

Documentary series in which Dr Iain Stewart tells the story of the earth's development. Ice isn't just something to put in a gin and...

04: Oceans | Earth: The Power of the Planet

04: Oceans | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'42''

Iain travels to surfers' paradise Hawaii to learn more about oceans, explaining the difference between waves, tides and currents.

How glaciers form | Earth: The Power of the Planet

How glaciers form | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 2'54''

Dr Iain Stewart explains how snow is transformed into glacier ice.

More resources about Ecosystems and Biomes

S01E01: Amazon | Earth's Great Rivers

S01E01: Amazon | Earth's Great Rivers

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'02''

Documentary revealing the animals, landscapes and people of the greatest river on earth. From transparent lagoons to pink dolphins, the...

02: Deserts - Life in the Furnace | Human Planet

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BBC One | 2011 | 59'01''

A look at how the eternal quest for water brings huge challenges - and ingenious solutions - for millions of people in the d...

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BBC One | 2010 | 29'06''

Reporter Raphael Rowe journeys into the rainforest of Borneo, where he uncovers evidence of palm oil companies developing plantations on prote...

Episode 5 | Amazon with Bruce Parry

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BBC Two | 2008 | 59'00''

Bruce Parry explores the Amazon rainforest. He meets the millionaires of Manaus, lives and works with illegal gold miners and sleeps in t...

03: Arctic - Life in the Deep Freeze | Human Planet

03: Arctic - Life in the Deep Freeze | Human Planet

BBC One | 2011 | 58'48''

The remarkable stories of some of the extraordinary people who make their homes in the Arctic, the harshest environment o...

02: Greenland | Arctic with Bruce Parry

02: Greenland | Arctic with Bruce Parry

BBC Two | 2011 | 59'07''

Bruce Parry journeys to the far north of Greenland, home to the last traditional Inuit hunters, and learns how climate change is thre...

Episode 6 | Amazon with Bruce Parry

Episode 6 | Amazon with Bruce Parry

BBC Two | 2008 | 58'55''

Bruce Parry reaches the end of his Amazon adventure in Brazil's Para state where huge areas of forest are being cut down for cattle farming.

Episode 2 | Simon Reeve's South America

Episode 2 | Simon Reeve's South America

BBC Two | 2022 | 59'05''

Simon travels through Brazil, from the heart of the Amazon rainforest to the coast and the glamorous-but-troubled city of Rio de Jane...

Battle for the Amazon | Amazon Specials

Battle for the Amazon | Amazon Specials

BBC Two | 2005 | 29'06''

What has happened to the Amazon rainforest since the 1980s? This report reveals that the battle for the Amazon is now fiercer than ever.

S01E02: Nile | Earth's Great Rivers

S01E02: Nile | Earth's Great Rivers

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'02''

A look at the astonishing wildlife, landscapes and people of the Nile. From elephants and leopards to ancient wonders, its great length i...

S01E02: Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador | Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby

S01E02: Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador | Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby

BBC Two | 2017 | 59'06''

Giles Coren and Monica Galetti head to the Andean Cloud Forest of Ecuador to work at Mashpi Lodge, a $1...

Restoring Our Rivers | Our Changing Planet

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BBC One | 2025 | 58'20''

Liz Bonnin and Ade Adepitan investigate two ambitious river restoration projects: in the US, the largest dam removal in the world,...

Desertification | Newsnight

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BBC Two | 2017 | 8'36''

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Episode 1 | I Bought a Rainforest

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BBC Two | 2014 | 59'16''

Series following wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton James, who has bought 100 acres of Peruvian rainforest. Charlie establishes camp and m...

Episode 1 | Scandinavia with Simon Reeve

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The first leg of Simon's Scandinavian journey takes him from the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to the frozen wilderness of Lapland ...

01: Tropical Worlds | The Green Planet

01: Tropical Worlds | The Green Planet

BBC One | 2022 | 58'43''

Tropical rainforests are plant battlegrounds. New filming techniques allow us to enter the world of plants to see it from their perspe...

02: Savannah | Africa

02: Savannah | Africa

BBC One | 2013 | 58'39''

David Attenborough takes a breathtaking journey through Africa, looking at the constantly changing landscape of east Africa and creatures found nowhere...

04: Jungles - People of the Trees | Human Planet

04: Jungles - People of the Trees | Human Planet

BBC One | 2011 | 58'58''

Series examining man's survival in extreme environments. A look at life in the rainforest, which requires great skill, ingen...

01: Oceans - Into the Blue | Human Planet

01: Oceans - Into the Blue | Human Planet

BBC One | 2011 | 58'37''

Humans have always found ways to live an almost aquatic life so they can exploit the sea's riches. This journey reveals tales of in...

01: Siberia | Arctic with Bruce Parry

01: Siberia | Arctic with Bruce Parry

BBC Two | 2011 | 59'12''

Bruce Parry meets the Sakha horse people and Eveny reindeer herders in Siberia's Verkhoyansk Mountains to see how they are embracing th...

More from Iain Stewart

01: Deep Earth | How Earth Made Us

01: Deep Earth | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'24''

Series telling the story of how the development of civilisation was influenced by planetary forces. Professor Iain Stewart explores the ro...

04: Oceans | Earth: The Power of the Planet

04: Oceans | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'42''

Iain travels to surfers' paradise Hawaii to learn more about oceans, explaining the difference between waves, tides and currents.

Episode 1 | Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered The World

Episode 1 | Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered The World

BBC Four | 2017 | 59'16''

From the moment we first drilled for oil, we opened a Pandora's box that changed the world forever. It transfor...

04: Eurasia | Rise of the Continents

04: Eurasia | Rise of the Continents

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'04''

Professor Iain Stewart shows that where the south of Eurasia is today there was once an ocean and how, in 250 million years, all of the ...

Iceland Erupts: A Volcano Live Special | Volcano Live

Iceland Erupts: A Volcano Live Special | Volcano Live

BBC Two | 2012 | 59'03''

Kate Humble heads to Iceland and meets the scientists monitoring the country's most dangerous volcanoes. She also inves...

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'05''

In the second episode, Iain discovers how flowers have transformed our planet. He journeys to the remote islands of the South...

Trees and carbon dioxide | Making Scotland's Landscape

Trees and carbon dioxide | Making Scotland's Landscape

BBC One | 2010 | 2'35''

The important role that trees play in clearing carbon dioxide.

03: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

03: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'52''

In the final episode of the series, Iain Stewart finds out about daredevil scientist Louis Agassiz, who first imagined the world had been gr...

Lake Nyos, Cameroon | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

Lake Nyos, Cameroon | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 5'12''

In 1986, people and animals living around Lake Nyos in Cameroon suddenly died, due to carbon dioxide released by a l...

Monitoring Mount Merapi (Part 2) | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

Monitoring Mount Merapi (Part 2) | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

BBC Four | 2006 | 2'40''

Iain Stewart climbs Mount Merapi and demonstrates the process of monitoring the volcano's activity.