To wonder who will carry on David Attenborough's work once he's no longer around? *Title edited by MNHQ**

[starsparkle08]

With the recent death of Prince Philip . Which is very sad of course . It got me thinking of David Attenborough . I think the world would be so lost without him and struggle to think of anyone who could match him in advocating for nature .
To me losing David Attenborough would be worse than losing Prince Philip .

@starsparkle08

So glad title change has been changed at my request Thankyou mumsnet

That’s an even weirder thing to saaaaaay 😂

@SpringItIsThen

I don't feel anything either way - they don't know me, I don't know them.

I really do think the whole 'What happens if this famous person dies' trend is getting a bit insensitive, to say the least.

Why?

I bear no bad feeling towards David Attenborough, but he is of the silver spoon in mouth type.
Seems a decent guy, but spent his summer breaks wandering around the academic cloisters where his father worked, befriended by botanists and academics as a boy.
A privileged upbringing, private school, family connections in the media.
Yes seems a good man, but not worth fawning over.
Many individuals from council sinks are not so lucky.

Why what? @Fembot123

the point is that he did something USEFUL with his privelege

Attenborough to me is worth a thousand Prince Philips..A very humane and lovely man.
He took my brother's son and others pond dipping as part of a school Nature prize, kids loved it.

Yeah sorry there'll be no grief for Attenborough in this household. He's a hypocrite.

Simon King then is it? I'm lost.

@speakout

I bear no bad feeling towards David Attenborough, but he is of the silver spoon in mouth type. Seems a decent guy, but spent his summer breaks wandering around the academic cloisters where his father worked, befriended by botanists and academics as a boy. A privileged upbringing, private school, family connections in the media. Yes seems a good man, but not worth fawning over. Many individuals from council sinks are not so lucky.

Attenburgh worked with less than privileged children, but behind the scenes. He wasn't forever trumpeting about this. He inspires people from all backgrounds.

@aliensprig can I ask why

Although it goes on inadvertently all the time, I don't like to rank deaths of any one person over another, so for that reason I voted YABU.

They both make/made valuable contributions to conservation. Philip has bad press from the gaffes and general bluntness of his character, but his initiatives did do a lot of good too. One of the most moving things I saw from the whole coverage of Philip's death, was an interview with an ex-prisoner who was allowed to do DofE from jail. He had learnt to cook during it and had subsequently become a chef and turned his life around. I could be imagining it, but even though he admitted the Duke had asked if they'd been joined 'with ball-and-chain' when on day release (a classic ), the guy looked properly choked, reflecting on Philip's impact on his life.

Simon Reeve

It's an interesting question, although there were other naturalists before David Attenborough. I wonder how many on here remember Gerald Durrell's work? What about Jane Goodall? All from that generation of course.

The media will just have to find someone younger to wheel out and -gasp - build up. I expect there are loads of people who could do it - fgs we have Wildlife Trusts and animal charities a-plenty in this country, all of them with voluntary workers and many interested supporters.

@Fembot123

The thread title change make it a totally different IABU 😂

Bloody hell! I’ve just noticed that now!

The thread ‘switches’ halfway to being about something very different because the original title made the OP sound unpleasantly macabre, and MNHQ have agreed to that change?

So if you don’t like the responses you’re getting, you can now get your thread changed so that it looks like you were posting about something different?

This thread makes little sense any more, but it's good to know that if you don't like the responses you get you can just rewrite history with a thread title change.

To be fair, OP was asked to change the title to make things clearer. Although it went from being clear (to show DA wasn't dead) to being about a slightly different question regarding DA.

@SpringItIsThen

To be fair, OP was asked to change the title to make things clearer. Although it went from being clear (to show DA wasn't dead) to being about a slightly different question regarding DA.

I think deleting this thread and the OP starting another would have made more sense.

He's a quasi-eugenicist whose environmental campaigning seems to come from a similar place as Prince Philip's did tbf.

What's a quasi eugenicist?

I too have wondered this. Sad, and worrying.

Cheery.

Maybe the BBC could ask Greta Thunberg to take over?

@ImpatiensI

Maybe the BBC could ask Greta Thunberg to take over?

Fuck, no!!!!

Why not @GlassBoxSpectacular? I think she'd be great!

@ImpatiensI

Why not *@GlassBoxSpectacular*? I think she'd be great!

Because she lacks experience and knowledge. There are plenty other experienced natural historians who would do a fantastic job.