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Video tags
Subtitles
Russian
00:00:00
[Music]00:00:06
our planet has immense power and yet00:00:13
that's really mentioned in our history00:00:16
books00:00:19
I'm here to change that00:00:25
I'm looking at four ways the power of00:00:28
the planet has shaped our history00:00:35
[Music]00:00:37
the deep earth that provided the raw00:00:40
materials for a conquest of the planet00:00:46
wind00:00:48
that has influenced the rise and fall of00:00:51
Empires water our struggle to control it00:00:59
has defined the character of00:01:01
civilizations but this week I'm looking00:01:07
at fire it's deadly yet it's also the00:01:13
driving force behind human progress00:01:18
but our dependence on fire has met the00:01:22
events deep in Earth's past and changed00:01:25
the course of history00:01:31
[Music]00:01:55
the vibrate is a lower limit let you00:01:57
know when you're at a quarter tank00:01:58
oxygen okay so when you hear that get it00:02:02
get out get it00:02:04
I'm preparing to undergo an experience00:02:07
that on the face of it is absolutely00:02:09
terrifying these stickers are to measure00:02:13
the temperature that reaches inside the00:02:15
seat in City these will tell you how hot00:02:17
you're actually getting inside the suit00:02:19
so how hot does it go to 130 degrees00:02:21
Fahrenheit00:02:25
[Music]00:02:32
my suit is eight layers thick its visor00:02:37
specially tempered gold-plated glass00:02:42
and I've got my own air supply00:02:46
this is what it takes to survive just a00:02:49
few seconds00:02:52
inside the heart of a fire00:03:15
[Music]00:03:18
the temperature our only is 1600 degrees00:03:22
Celsius00:03:25
[Music] [Applause]00:03:34
for all its danger fire is compelling00:03:38
almost hypnotic00:04:14
Oh scary erected yeah that was good no00:04:21
no no I feel my arms falling no noodle00:04:25
right oh that is not a place where00:04:30
humans should be but were you happy when00:04:33
you're going through and you see the00:04:34
flames licking up in front of you it's00:04:37
the raw energy of it absolutely in00:04:40
transfer unbonded I mean actually my00:04:42
over all right stop it00:04:44
hahaha he's bonded I think I should get00:04:53
the paradox of fire is that it's lethal00:04:57
and yet we depend on it completely00:05:02
fire generates our electricity00:05:09
it drives our machines00:05:13
we use it every day00:05:21
but the history of a relationship with00:05:24
fire reveals how the earth has exerted00:05:27
enormous power over the fate of peoples00:05:30
and nations00:05:42
it's strange to think that for 90% of00:05:46
Earth's history there simply was no fire00:05:51
earth was a barren planet of dust and00:05:55
rock there was nothing to bone not until00:06:00
relatively recently about 400 million00:06:04
years ago that fire first appear00:06:08
[Music]00:06:12
the key to this transformation00:06:15
vegetation the first land plants had00:06:20
just appeared00:06:25
and they provided fuel for fire but00:06:31
plants did something else as well every00:06:34
kid likes to climb trees and the great00:06:36
thing about being grown up is the trees00:06:38
they just get bigger and their ways to00:06:40
get up them just gets fancy vegetation00:06:47
supplied a second crucial ingredient for00:06:50
fire00:06:51
you can see how up here in the forest00:06:55
canopy going on all around me is a00:07:01
chemical reaction photosynthesis is00:07:04
happening and here in the leaves00:07:06
what forest synthesis is producing as a00:07:09
waste product00:07:10
is an essential ingredient for fire00:07:13
oxygen flames cannot bond unless at00:07:20
least thirteen percent of the atmosphere00:07:22
is oxygen but the Earth's early00:07:26
atmosphere had always none00:07:33
[Music]00:07:37
photosynthesizing plants use sunlight to00:07:39
convert carbon dioxide into energy and00:07:43
in the process released oxygen by around00:07:50
four hundred million years ago this00:07:53
process had raised the level of oxygen00:07:55
in the atmosphere to that critical 13%00:08:02
[Music]00:08:05
now there is only one more thing needed00:08:07
for fire to start a spark00:08:19
starting fire was actually the easy bit00:08:23
lightning storms have raged enough for00:08:26
almost its entire history00:08:29
thirty thousand bolts of lightning hit00:08:32
the ground every hour00:08:56
for hundreds of millions of years00:08:59
wildfires were controlled only by the00:09:01
forces of nature they started00:09:05
spontaneously spread freely00:09:10
[Music]00:09:16
and only stopped when they ran out of00:09:19
fuel or the rains came00:09:27
[Music]00:09:29
but then something changed we came along00:09:41
around one and a half million years ago00:09:44
early humans learnt how to control fire00:09:49
[Music]00:09:52
our distant ancestors probably foster00:09:55
captured fire by grabbing a bonding00:09:58
stick from a wildfire and keeping it00:10:01
nourished Fanning the flames to keep it00:10:04
alight it was the beginning of a00:10:10
relationship that would transform the00:10:12
planet and us00:10:18
[Music]00:10:22
in that sense fire is the human00:10:26
signature00:10:30
it gave us a man's power over our world00:10:35
[Music]00:10:44
cooking greatly expanded the range of00:10:47
foods available to us00:10:49
[Music]00:10:52
it gave us warmth and light and00:10:56
protection against hungry predators it00:11:00
allowed us to quickly clear large areas00:11:03
of land00:11:04
[Music]00:11:10
fire was the weapon that began a00:11:12
conquest of the planet00:11:22
[Music]00:11:28
fire was so central to survival perhaps00:11:32
it's no surprise that it was worshipped00:11:34
by some early civilizations in the00:11:40
Middle East one of the oldest religions00:11:42
in the world00:11:43
Zoroastrianism grew up around the00:11:46
worship of fire00:11:50
Prabhas or Oh Austrians the flame itself00:11:53
was sacred humans have always been drawn00:11:58
to fire flames have long been a symbol00:12:01
of a spirit far greater than ourselves00:12:03
almost that divine presence00:12:08
[Music]00:12:10
to this day the eternal flame is still a00:12:14
potent symbol for the world's great00:12:16
religions00:12:23
[Music]00:12:28
but the greatest landmark in our use of00:12:31
fire came about 6,000 years ago00:12:37
the breakthrough centered on an00:12:40
extraordinary element carbon this is00:12:47
carbon in its purest form diamond this00:12:58
particular stone is 25 carats and00:13:01
apparently it's worth 3.3 million pounds00:13:06
it's absolutely beautiful diamonds are00:13:14
made under extreme pressures and00:13:16
temperatures deep in the earth00:13:20
[Music]00:13:22
I've always loved the idea that the00:13:25
ultimate in glitz was to adorn ourselves00:13:28
in tiny pieces in the Earth's interior00:13:31
geological bling00:13:33
[Music]00:13:37
but there are other forms of carbon that00:13:39
are far more valuable to us than this00:13:44
because carbon is the basis for all life00:13:48
on Earth00:13:50
[Music]00:13:55
and it's the key ingredient in fire and00:14:04
once again it depends on photosynthesis00:14:09
plants use the sun's energy to extract00:14:12
carbon from carbon dioxide in the00:14:15
atmosphere and use it to create their00:14:17
living tissue it is this carbon that00:14:20
bonds in a fire releasing the energy00:14:23
that originally came from the Sun as00:14:26
heat the more carbon richer fuel is the00:14:33
more heat it produces00:14:34
[Music]00:14:39
normal wid files burn at about 70000:14:43
degrees Celsius but 6000 years ago our00:14:47
ancestors discovered the trick of00:14:49
burning wood in a low oxygen environment00:14:53
it only partially bonds but in doing so00:14:57
it creates a much pure carbon rich fuel00:15:02
charcoal00:15:08
and that can bond at 1,100 degrees00:15:11
Celsius00:15:12
[Music]00:15:16
hot enough to melt metal out of rock00:15:21
the invention of metal smelting00:15:24
culminating in the use of iron was one00:15:27
of the most critical turning points in00:15:29
human history the age of metals had00:15:33
begun00:15:42
our mastery of metal give us tools00:15:49
money and weapons00:15:53
[Music]00:15:56
it was the foundation on which human00:15:59
progress was built00:16:03
[Music]00:16:06
so much so that by the middle ages the00:16:09
production of charcoal for iron smelting00:16:12
was a major industry00:16:18
but there was an inevitable problem00:16:23
people began to run out of wood in00:16:33
prehistoric times Britain had been00:16:36
almost completely covered in forest but00:16:39
by the end of the sixteenth century00:16:41
ninety percent of the ancient woodland00:16:44
had gone in London which was growing00:16:47
fast the shortage of accessible wood00:16:50
meant that the price rocketed00:16:58
around the growing cities of Europe and00:17:01
Asia similar fuel shortages developed in00:17:05
fact the end of the sixteenth century00:17:07
was the world's first great energy00:17:11
crisis in many societies the demand for00:17:17
energy had reached the limits of what00:17:19
photosynthesis could provide a new00:17:26
source of carbon was needed and the00:17:31
planet had a solution00:17:40
the answer to the energy shortage00:17:43
started out in cold wet places like here00:17:50
in Oregon in the western United States00:17:56
you know this looks like a perfectly00:17:58
ordinary a very beautiful leg but these00:18:01
waters hold a secret because down there00:18:04
is a lost world and a very cold one00:18:15
melting glaciers keep the water clear00:18:26
ghostly shapes appear in the distance00:18:31
standing like sentinels but this is not00:18:36
their natural home00:18:40
these are 3000 year old tree trunks the00:18:45
remains of a droned forest00:18:47
[Music]00:18:58
they were submerged when lava from a00:19:01
nearby volcano dam this valley and00:19:04
created the lake because the trees are00:19:25
underwater there is no oxygen to help00:19:28
rock them away instead they are00:19:32
preserved and eventually buried in mud00:19:35
at the bottom of the lake the start of a00:19:40
long transformation which turns wood00:19:42
into something very different00:19:51
[Music]00:19:54
oh and I was a crema absolutely freezing00:20:04
hey guys today there are precious few00:20:07
places were whole forest die and get00:20:09
preserved but 300 million years ago this00:20:14
was happening right across the globe00:20:17
we just thought warmer than00:20:19
[Applause]00:20:28
300 million years ago trees dominated00:20:32
the planet00:20:33
many of these forests were in low in00:20:36
swamps00:20:37
[Music]00:20:43
so when the trees died they fell into00:20:46
the water in fact so many carbon-rich00:20:50
trees were buried at this period in the00:20:53
Earth's history is known as the00:20:55
Carboniferous the age of carbon00:21:03
eventually these drone trees would be00:21:05
squeezed and cooked deep inside there00:21:07
and turned into something new and00:21:10
different00:21:16
cool00:21:19
Cole was to change your relationship00:21:22
with fire in a fundamental way00:21:27
instead of bonding carbon from the00:21:29
present call gave us access to a huge00:21:33
new source of carbon from the Earth's00:21:36
past call wars in essence and a men's00:21:40
store of fossilized sunshine00:21:43
[Music]00:21:46
but Cole wasn't evenly distributed00:21:49
across the earth and this meant that00:21:52
from the 17th century onwards the planet00:21:55
began to play a new and crucial role in00:21:58
human history the first place to benefit00:22:02
was a small North European island00:22:06
Britain Britain was lucky it had an00:22:11
abundance of coal00:22:12
much of which could be easily collected00:22:14
from the surface00:22:23
from the beginning of the 17th century00:22:26
burning coal began to replace wood in00:22:29
homes and workshops00:22:33
it was the beginning of a transition00:22:34
that would end up changing Britain and00:22:37
the world00:22:40
to see how I'm heading to the Forest of00:22:44
Dean in Gloucestershire00:22:50
it didn't take long for all that easier00:22:53
to get that call to be used up so the00:22:55
miners were forced to talk into the00:22:57
earth chasing the cold sings on the00:23:00
ground and down there they had a problem00:23:03
but it was a problem which that Tondo00:23:06
would unleash the Industrial Revolution00:23:18
in the process mining condemn millions00:23:22
to dusty dirty existence as man and even00:23:25
children were sent underground this mine00:23:31
is the nearest I can get to experiencing00:23:33
what alley coal mining was like it's00:23:41
owned by Robin Morgan who spent all his00:23:44
life mining is it falling day no I'm00:23:51
just putting this one back up a cheater00:23:52
said you wouldn't just put me here I00:23:54
said have a go I swear he dropped it00:23:56
down there00:23:59
the first money ever went down I was00:24:02
only 13 years of age00:24:03
my two brothers had their own mind yeah00:24:06
and they said drop me down a shaft 10000:24:08
foot deep in a 40 gallon drum which00:24:11
he'll hook since I'd out of hand which00:24:13
so was it cold that's what I'm looking00:24:16
forward to seeing but a college team is00:24:17
actually on in there I can take you on00:24:19
it yeah just like the early miners Robin00:24:33
hacks out that call by hand00:24:41
until they get get out of going you've00:24:43
got global means young there's no much00:24:45
room up here all right00:25:02
supposed to be soft swing the peg inside00:25:05
you're just chopping it you gotta pull00:25:06
the paper over and swing it and you've00:25:09
wrote into those two inch layers and00:25:11
they will price off there how do you do00:25:16
Robin wanna see you get you shoot all00:25:18
the herbs like you know maybe you've00:25:19
only been up there five minutes yeah I00:25:21
know it's all right but spending 1200:25:31
hours a day00:25:32
smashing lumps out of them well that00:25:35
call isn't as hard as rocks no house you00:25:41
were performing at the moment I00:25:42
definitely wouldn't give you a job00:25:43
because the rate they're getting off you00:25:45
would not survive00:25:50
but in the 17th and 18th centuries the00:25:54
problem for Britain's miners was more00:25:56
fundamental than a lack of muscle power00:25:59
[Music]00:26:00
the trouble wars the deeper they00:26:03
tunneled the more likely they were to00:26:05
encounter a major obstacle water can00:26:12
plenty of it 300 years ago - was00:26:16
followed the coal seams on the ground00:26:18
this was a problem they faced and so00:26:22
when this problem was the key to00:26:24
industrial transformation00:26:32
once the miners got down to the water00:26:35
table their tunnels flooded and the coal00:26:38
became inaccessible it was impossible to00:26:41
pump the water out by hand a00:26:44
technological solution was desperately00:26:47
needed and in the early 18th century00:26:52
engineers came up with one the steam00:26:58
engine00:26:59
it was designed specifically to pump00:27:02
water out of mains but it soon found00:27:06
other uses within decades the combined00:27:12
power of steam and coal became the force00:27:15
behind an extraordinary integrated00:27:17
economy00:27:20
[Music]00:27:21
coal fueled the blast furnaces which00:27:24
smelted steel00:27:28
the steel was turned into trains and00:27:31
ships powered by steam engines of course00:27:34
which in tongue bunt war coal00:27:41
today we know this transformation in our00:27:44
years of fire as the Industrial00:27:47
Revolution00:27:48
[Music]00:27:56
you know been down here really focuses00:27:59
your mind Britain was a tremendous00:28:02
amount that distant geological age when00:28:04
trees ruled the world think of the00:28:08
Industrial Revolution as the rise of00:28:11
Carboniferous capitalism but the planet00:28:20
was fickle with its favors Britain was00:28:25
given huge reserves of coal and the00:28:28
geography too exploited not everywhere00:28:32
was so lucky00:28:40
there was another country blessed by the00:28:42
planet with huge reserves of coal in the00:28:46
17th century it too is poised on the00:28:49
edge of an industrial revolution but its00:28:53
story played out rather differently00:28:58
that country was China by this time00:29:05
China had been molded into a vast empire00:29:08
it was rich and technologically advanced00:29:12
[Music]00:29:15
China seemed perfectly positioned to00:29:17
exploit its coal reserves00:29:22
[Music]00:29:24
there was one problem China's coal00:29:29
reserves may have been massive but they00:29:31
were a long way from the country's00:29:32
cities on the coast00:29:35
however running straight from the coal00:29:38
fields to the sea was the mighty Yellow00:29:41
River00:29:44
so in theory transporting the call to00:29:47
the market should have been possible00:29:53
[Music]00:29:56
this is jakku a beautiful old town on00:29:59
the Yellow River00:30:01
it's right in the heart of coal country00:30:05
[Music]00:30:08
if coal was to be carried downstream to00:30:11
the course it would have to pass through00:30:13
here00:30:15
[Music]00:30:24
hello hi mr. Lee is 76 years old and00:30:29
he's been navigating these waters since00:30:32
he was 11 his son runs a local ferry00:30:35
service00:30:39
the water looks very calm very still the00:30:42
water okay Jackie okay go thank you yes00:30:45
cuz I get seasick okay get on okay the00:30:52
Lee family are going to take me down the00:30:54
river in a traditional flat bottom board00:30:57
and the same used for generations this00:31:04
is the route that called from China's00:31:06
coal fields that have had to travel it's00:31:11
like a nice relaxing day in the town but00:31:21
just downstream from chiku is an00:31:23
obstacle00:31:31
mr. Lee and his friends who boast an00:31:34
average age of 75 are the last people00:31:38
who know how to raid these Rapids00:31:47
these Rapids are all in here because the00:31:50
tunnel that our yellow rubber gets00:31:52
constricted to these Buddha's over here00:31:54
let's hard rock here00:31:56
it's literally caught between a rock and00:31:58
a half00:32:07
and it would be even harder to get00:32:09
through if we were laid him down with00:32:11
coal00:32:22
oh we made it00:32:26
it's a couple of hairy movements but00:32:29
mangy it wasn't the washed set a wrapper00:32:31
to the world but it does make you00:32:32
realize it if you're taking a bulky00:32:35
cargo like Cole down here00:32:37
then either it forwards are gonna end up00:32:39
in the drink the bottom of the river00:32:43
this is only the start downstream there00:32:47
are many more Rapids00:32:53
and just to add to the difficulties the00:32:56
only way to get the boat back upriver is00:32:59
sheer manpower but these Rapids meant00:33:05
was that you could transport goods00:33:06
downstream as far as Chico over there it00:33:09
was impossible to take it bother for00:33:11
cargo boats these Rapids were the end of00:33:15
the lane00:33:18
so the only way to get the call to00:33:21
market was to carry it over land to the00:33:24
coast a thousand kilometres away but its00:33:30
price doubled every 40 kilometers the00:33:36
geography of the Yellow River ensured00:33:38
that coal could never be shipped00:33:40
directly to the Bing coastal markets and00:33:44
that meant that the Empire was00:33:46
effectively cut off from the vast00:33:48
reserves that could have completely00:33:50
transformed it the British invented the00:33:57
steam engine to overcome the barrier00:34:00
pause by flooded mines but the Chinese00:34:05
failed to find a similar solution to00:34:07
their geographical problems it was one00:34:10
of those moments when human factors00:34:13
interacted with the opportunities the00:34:15
planet had to offer00:34:19
while Breton was forging an industrial00:34:22
revolution the Chinese were building00:34:25
these enormous gardens at Chengdu they00:34:31
were designed to celebrate the size and00:34:33
diversity of the Empire00:34:37
there was a miniature replica of the00:34:40
Yellow River a smaller version of the00:34:43
Great Wall and even a copy of the dalai00:34:47
lama's palace in tibet00:34:51
these Gardens symbolized China's00:34:54
preoccupation with managing its vast00:34:57
territory it was such a high priority00:35:01
that rather than focusing on00:35:03
technological innovation the brightest00:35:07
minds were sucked into running the00:35:09
Empire not until the middle of the 20th00:35:18
century the chain abode extensive road00:35:21
and rail systems into its heartland and00:35:24
start its own industrial revolution00:35:29
ironically China is no the biggest user00:35:32
and producer of call in the world00:35:45
China's rulers might not have found a00:35:47
way to solve their fuel crisis 300 years00:35:50
ago but its people had a goal they came00:35:54
up with a brilliant invention which00:35:57
today is known across the world00:36:00
until a 16th century Chinese cuisine was00:36:04
renowned for its delicious juice00:36:06
we take Lord the Taemin Lords of wood to00:36:08
cook so then the era of growing wood00:36:11
shortage a radical new approach was00:36:13
needed and this was at the war it's00:36:18
funny to think that a crippling mood00:36:19
farm and gave us one of the most famous00:36:22
squeezings in the world the Chinese00:36:24
stuff right00:36:25
[Music]00:36:36
the story of coal shows how the planet00:36:39
played a crucial role in transforming00:36:41
the fate of Nations at the time of the00:36:44
Industrial Revolution00:36:45
[Music]00:36:49
it turned fire into the energy and00:36:52
fueled human progress00:36:55
and yet that was only the beginning00:36:59
today the planet stores of ancient00:37:02
carbon have an even greater impact on00:37:04
our world00:37:07
[Music]00:37:09
that impact hinges on another type of00:37:12
buried carbon to see how its formed have00:37:20
come to an amazing cave on an island off00:37:22
southern Iran00:37:34
is it straight there or yes it's so00:37:37
there's a little bit of a lip and then00:37:38
it goes straight down and then it opens00:37:40
out wide and open space the last drop 1500:37:44
meters00:37:46
I just looked oh my god00:37:50
I have to absolute00:37:55
enter the cave system ah inside is00:37:59
evidence that reveals where this other00:38:01
store of ancient carbon comes from and00:38:03
how it's made that is just plain weird00:38:25
I'm heading for some caverns that are00:38:28
even deeper underground00:38:46
oh this it's gotta be the toughest and00:38:54
scariest game ever done there's a00:38:57
hundred meters of solid rock above me00:38:59
but it's good because I have is one of00:39:04
the most unusual cave systems in the00:39:06
world most caves are made from solid00:39:13
rock00:39:14
[Music]00:39:15
this Calvin is different00:39:21
[Music]00:39:23
Wow cabeza00:39:25
please a stalactite the weirdest ones00:39:30
I've ever seen I mean normally solid00:39:33
things I made a limestone and they drip00:39:35
vertically down but these if you look at00:39:39
them closely they're made of small00:39:40
crystals of twisting tongue you can00:39:45
check what they're made of really easily00:39:47
though because you just did to lick them00:39:49
oh yeah salt00:40:00
[Music]00:40:09
[Music]00:40:15
written in the roof is a clue to where00:40:19
the salt came from this magnificent00:40:23
straight banding is a real giveaway clue00:40:27
the layers are formed with seawater00:40:29
evaporates away leaving behind00:40:32
then.who residue of salt crystal this is00:40:35
all evidence that the salt rock was00:40:37
originally laid down in an ocean that00:40:39
dried up00:40:41
[Music]00:40:55
to create so much salt you need to00:40:58
evaporate an awful lot of sea water00:41:01
usually this happens in shallow seas00:41:05
which get cut off from the rest of an00:41:07
ocean sea water then evaporates leaving00:41:11
behind a thick layer of salt00:41:16
but it's not ordinary salt that gets00:41:18
left behind when an ocean evaporates00:41:24
shallow seas are the most biologically00:41:26
productive part of the ocean they're00:41:29
teeming with life00:41:31
all made from carbon00:41:41
when marine creatures die their00:41:44
skeletons build up on the seafloor over00:41:48
millions of years these skeletons are00:41:51
transformed into a sludge of carbon and00:41:54
buried under sediment and layers of salt00:41:59
one of the best places to see what that00:42:02
sludge ends up looking like isn't the00:42:07
Republic of Azerbaijan00:42:12
[Music]00:42:16
here they call it NAFTA on00:42:22
[Music]00:42:23
it's been used as a health treatment for00:42:25
thousands of years healed is a cure for00:42:28
everything from rheumatism to baldness00:42:38
[Music]00:42:50
it's said that four thousand years ago00:42:53
the Babylonians mix this stuff with beer00:42:56
and drank it as a medicine but there is00:43:01
another way to enjoy its healing00:43:02
properties00:43:06
[Music]00:43:19
[Music]00:43:20
it's so clingy good00:43:27
[Music]00:43:39
you know people have been doing around00:43:40
doing way back to the time of the00:43:42
ancient Persians the Lord knows what may00:43:45
they'll get their kid off and start to00:43:47
bathe in this it was when I first saw it00:43:52
looked absolutely disgusting they feel00:43:56
about me woman he was horrible but now00:44:00
after five minutes it still feels00:44:03
absolutely disgusting00:44:07
[Music]00:44:09
just as well this isn't it's only use00:44:16
you know I think I can smell someone00:44:18
smoking it's just making me a bit00:44:21
jittery because no because this is oil00:44:25
I'm lying in a bath of petroleum00:44:40
today we've thought of a few more ways00:44:43
of using oil00:44:44
it's the ultimate source of concentrated00:44:46
carbon energy it's more energy rich than00:44:51
coal easier to transport and it's got a00:44:55
million different uses00:45:05
the use of oil is the pinnacle of a00:45:08
mastery of fire00:45:14
fittingly the first country to benefit00:45:17
from the exploitation of oil was the00:45:19
home of naphthalene00:45:22
Azerbaijan00:45:27
you know for centuries this thick black00:45:30
oily sludge was dug out the grown here00:45:33
by hand on a small scale basis but the00:45:36
middle of the 19th century demand for00:45:38
oil really took off and what had been a00:45:41
cottage industry London for that00:45:51
[Music]00:46:04
within 20 years these fields with the00:46:07
site of the first great global oil boom00:46:10
from across the world entrepreneurs00:46:12
rushed to Azerbaijan to make the00:46:14
fortunes some succeeded so well that the00:46:18
names are always legendary the Shell Oil00:46:21
Company started life here and the noble00:46:24
brothers of Nobel Prize Fame built their00:46:27
business empire on as Ariel this place00:46:38
[Music]00:46:41
by the early 1900's baku the capital of00:46:46
Azerbaijan boasted more millionaires00:46:49
than anywhere else on earth00:46:53
[Music]00:46:57
but Azerbaijan really awed its sudden00:47:01
wealth to fluke of geology in the land00:47:14
of Naphtali an oil happens to be00:47:16
exceptionally close to the surface you00:47:22
can see how close at an unusual location00:47:25
in the south of the country if you want00:47:33
to appreciate why this country was a00:47:35
sailor the first great oil boom you00:47:37
don't have to look any further than00:47:39
these curious moans let's watch the00:47:42
moans it's interesting it's what's00:47:43
bubbling out of them mud but not just00:47:46
ordinary mud look what happens when I do00:47:48
this00:48:05
the reason that's flammable is that the00:48:08
mud is full of natural gas which is00:48:11
formed along with the oil you know these00:48:16
things are like like miniature volcanoes00:48:19
really except that rather than hot water00:48:23
not have a spew node at the top it's00:48:26
just mud so the thing is you can dig00:48:29
into them and you can see what they00:48:32
cannot Plumbing's like inside it's00:48:35
exactly what I'm doing now you can see00:48:42
it in here like muds just bubbling up00:48:45
and here in this cavity and then there's00:48:48
a little vent pipe that carries it up to00:48:50
the top but it spews out there were a00:48:56
few places on earth00:48:58
but it was easier to extract oil and gas00:49:00
than Azerbaijan00:49:05
but by the start of the 20th century00:49:08
demand for oil was rocketing and new00:49:11
sources had to be phoned00:49:16
once again the Earth's distant past00:49:19
would play a decisive role in meeting00:49:22
our meet00:49:27
the big question is why a few lucky00:49:30
places ended up with huge oil fields but00:49:32
others didn't I don't think it's an00:49:35
exaggeration to say that the answer to00:49:37
that puzzle has shaped the global00:49:39
geopolitics of our age it's probably the00:49:43
most powerful way that the earth has00:49:44
influenced human history00:49:51
after Azerbaijan faded from prominence00:49:54
the Middle East's became the key00:49:56
oil-producing region in the world00:49:59
it always there's good fortune to a00:50:02
chain of events that began almost 30000:50:05
million years ago00:50:08
[Music]00:50:11
back then the two areas that would one00:50:14
day for most of the modern Middle East00:50:16
were separate but they were on the move00:50:22
remarkably as they moved both areas00:50:26
spent much of the time submerged by00:50:28
shallow seas so layer upon layer of dead00:50:35
sea creatures built up on the ocean00:50:37
floor and when periodically the Seas00:50:41
evaporated the layers of salt were also00:50:45
deposited00:50:51
as the modern Middle East came together00:50:53
these layers were buried deep inside the00:50:56
earth where the heat and pressure turned00:50:59
the Dead Sea creatures into oil00:51:06
[Music]00:51:10
but the earth played one final role in00:51:13
telling this area into the dominant00:51:15
oil-producing region in the world and to00:51:18
see what it is I've come to an unusual00:51:23
mountain range in Iran the drifting00:51:31
continents helped form the oil but in00:51:33
most areas the oil was buried deep in00:51:36
the earth00:51:42
too deep to be exploited it needed to be00:51:47
brought closer to the surface which is00:51:50
where salt returns to the story you know00:51:54
as a geologist I've been lucky enough to00:51:55
go to a lot of places and see a lot of00:51:57
rocks but nothing really prepares you00:52:00
for what you find here because here I am00:52:02
walking in this scorching desert Sun00:52:05
looking down on a glacier00:52:07
but that isn't made of ice that's made00:52:11
of salt00:52:14
[Music]00:52:16
this whole mountainside is covered in00:52:19
salt that's used upwards from deep00:52:22
inside the earth the remains of a00:52:27
long-lost ocean00:52:32
[Music]00:52:41
I know this is such a surreal landscape00:52:46
what's hard to take is it virtually00:52:48
everything under my feet is moving you00:52:51
can see that lik look at this here like00:52:53
it he's cracks that are opening up in00:52:55
the salt as it opens up and then closes00:52:58
again and then also here in there look00:53:01
yes a bit well let's just carried down00:53:05
the Glacia by the salt from somewhere up00:53:08
there I mean this is exactly what I00:53:10
taste us00:53:16
salt is similar to ace because it's soft00:53:19
and plastic which is why it flows on the00:53:24
Earth's surface this means it can slide00:53:26
across the land like a glacier00:53:33
but even more spectacular is the rule00:53:37
that played underground and the00:53:39
formation of oil reserves as the00:53:48
continents collided to form the Middle00:53:50
East layers of salt and oil-rich rock00:53:53
strata began to buckle upwards the salt00:53:57
in it much easier for the rock to bend00:53:59
until eventually00:54:05
it cracked no the oil could flew upwards00:54:08
until it was trapped in a fold in the00:54:11
rock kept in place by an impermeable00:54:14
layer above the salt help the rock slide00:54:21
easily acting as I kind of lubricant00:54:23
creating huge folds cold anticlines00:54:26
which were perfect for trapping oil and00:54:29
where there are oil traps there are00:54:31
generally oil fields if you take a look00:54:36
at a map of the world's buried salt00:54:38
deposits and overlay the major oil00:54:40
fields it's easy to see why geologists00:54:43
searching for oil go looking for salt it00:54:51
takes millions of years and some pretty00:54:53
extraordinary geological events to00:54:56
create an oil trap that we can exploit00:54:58
so it's not surprising that only a few00:55:01
countries have oil beneath them and when00:55:04
they find it there's always no limit to00:55:07
what they'll do to get it out of the00:55:09
ground00:55:12
nowwhere symbolizes this determination00:55:15
more than this town in the former Soviet00:55:19
Union first glance this looks like your00:55:25
typical Eastern European town you've got00:55:28
your standard-issue apartment blocks and00:55:30
the architecture has got a real00:55:31
industrial feel to00:55:38
it was first started in 194000:55:43
it's got a football team00:55:48
and even a mosque00:55:53
this place is called oily rocks and over00:55:57
two thousand people live and what them00:55:59
if ever there was a monument to an00:56:01
obsession for oil then that is that00:56:03
because what you don't see from the00:56:06
ground is that oily rocks was built in00:56:09
the middle of the Caspian Sea00:56:23
it's 50 kilometers from dry land over00:56:28
the years more than 600 oil wells have00:56:31
been drilled from these platforms00:56:34
today oily rocks is still producing oil00:56:38
but it's past its peak00:56:42
and that about sums up a relationship00:56:45
with oil more generally00:56:52
today were bonding it far faster than00:56:55
the planet can make it it would take the00:56:58
earth 3 million years to make enough oil00:57:01
for just one year of our consumption00:57:11
we've reached a tunneling point in human00:57:14
history every major advance in human00:57:20
civilization has been made possible by00:57:23
our ability to raid the earth forever00:57:26
more energy rich forms of carbon00:57:30
but our love affair with bonding00:57:33
carbon-based fuel is coming to an end00:57:35
[Music]00:57:38
carbon itself has become the problem00:57:42
bonding it produces greenhouse gases00:57:45
which are changing our climate00:57:49
and that means if human civilization is00:57:52
to continue to advance we will have to00:57:55
break the link between progress and the00:57:58
bonding of carbon00:58:01
[Music]00:58:10
next time a very different planetary00:58:13
force as we are changing the surface of00:58:18
the planet more than all the forces of00:58:20
nature put together but are we00:58:24
threatening the Earth's ability to00:58:26
support human civilization00:58:29
[Music]00:58:35
and how earth made us is back here on00:58:39
BBC HD in two weeks timeDescription:
An epic series about how the natural forces of the planet have shaped human civilisation and reveals for the first time on television how geology, geography and climate have impacted on mankind. Episode Links: 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emEq6x5_dpc 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsD9rvSPiWQ 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GorIgzw0Q8 4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34H7SMcYxI8 5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCkOtNXH6I Please consider subscribing to Iain's channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/piss1964 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qbvyc Production Companies British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (as BBC Productions) National Geographic Channel Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) (in association with) how earth made us full episode deep earth documentary geology geology documentary continents plate tectonics iain stewart bronze age iron age crust magma volcano bbc bbc documentary good documentary crete minoan knossos copper bronze tin smelting plate boundary wind earth fire water human planet civilisation evolution evolution of civilisation wind currents ocean currents
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