David Attenborough’s statement is a clever, wise and heart-breaking assessment of the state of our home, the Earth. Subdivided in three parts – roughly speaking: the past, the present, a possible future – it holds up a mirror to what humanity has done to its home, the negative impacts of humans’
striving for wealth and comfort and the cost of that quest to ourselves, our children and nature. All…mehrDavid Attenborough’s statement is a clever, wise and heart-breaking assessment of the state of our home, the Earth. Subdivided in three parts – roughly speaking: the past, the present, a possible future – it holds up a mirror to what humanity has done to its home, the negative impacts of humans’ striving for wealth and comfort and the cost of that quest to ourselves, our children and nature. All of this is underlined by vivid and understandable examples, such as Chernobyl, which is used as a point of reference to judge the scale of the current catastrophe. Attenborough’s account is well-written, well-explained, evidence-based and extremely reader-friendly. Even if you have no real understanding of the chemical, biological and social processes that inform the current state of our planet, Attenborough makes sure that you are absolutely able to grasp the links between the different pieces that are responsible for climate change and other factors that cause the deterioration of our natural environment. He also makes it abundantly clear, that we are all in the same boat and that only we can change this development. In fact, his call to action and the perspectives and examples he provides of measures and projects that are already taking place are another asset of this book, as, although it deals with a bleak and disturbing subject, it still does not leave you utterly hopeless. At the moment there may only be a silver lining, but if Attenborough’s statement manages to be read by a wide audience, governments and policies will change even more profoundly. It is to be hoped that the world leaders will hear him. I absolutely recommend this book to everyone. It is important, it celebrates our planet, it stresses the need for biodiversity and political and economic change – and it tells you that it is not too late.
