I am extremely lucky, and I feel undeserving
of this great honour. But if it means that
you have the excitements and the thrill and
the enlightenment that I've had looking at
the natural world, and the sheer joy of looking
at the natural world, and that you go on to
care for the natural world, then I am very
pleased indeed and I am delighted to have
this huge honour of having this wonderful
building carry my name.
Well, the whole future of the world depends on understanding the natural world, and that's what natural science
does. And perhaps 500 years ago it might not have mattered when homo-sapiens was a relatively
small effect upon the surface of the Earth.
But now we're everywhere and the consequences
are that the Earth is profoundly affected
by what we do. So we should understand what
it is we're doing.
At a time when the younger
generations, in particular, are highlighting
their great concerns about the climate and
actually making fully justified demands that
something is done about it, the impact of Sir
David's interventions are truly dramatic and
absolutely critical. To the point where the
question has been asked whether he will actually
be the person who saves our planet. Most importantly,
I'd like you to join me in thanking Sir David
Attenborough for honouring us with his presence
today.
