A Life on Our Planet

5 million stars.

David Attenborough is to me the British version of Piero Angela, the executive producer of the documentary series named Super Quark in Italy.

I urge you all to read this and watch also the same documentary on Netflix for the following reasons:
- it provides a very clear and structured explanation of what's happening to our planet: from what we have done to it, to the consequences of our actions, to what we have to do to make amendments.
- you do not need to have a scientific degree to understand it, although you'll benefit from knowing a few concepts in advance, at least superficially. For example, what the initial and final products of photosynthesis and cellular respiration are: nothing that a quick read on the wiki can't do.
- if you are not sure if the climate disturbances we are experiencing in the last decades are linked to biodiversity loss and our ever-going expansion (i.e. conversion of natural habitats into land for humans), this book will explain to you how and why
- it includes a glossary, which explains specific terminology, like 'carrying capacity', 'carbon storage', 'bioenergy', 'biochar', etc.

Please note that if you are a person who already cares about the stakes our planet is at and who is already doing small everyday actions to live more sustainably, this book won't soothe your worries.
If you don't care about 'climate crisis', well, I will recommend you this book, because you should care, since Earth is our home and we are all connected to each other.

Sir David Attenborough uses very graphic and melodic writing that gave me the feeling I was reading his documentary (in more depth) and could picture everything he said in my head. This made the reading experience very smooth and awesome.

It’s a good book to get an overview but Attenborough delivers a very white, distanced, and somewhat hypocritical and racist point of view on what should be done next.

He speaks a lot to how people should eat less meat but then remarks that he himself only eats less accidentally. If you’re going to make a huge point about people needing to do something less and then don’t even do it yourself that’s not great. I’m not saying he needs to be vegan but at least actively reduce your meat consumption if you’re preaching that as the way forward to the world.

He also speaks a lot about how developing countries need to stop destroying the last natural reserves and doesn’t really go into how deeply unfair it is that we (the western world) got to destroy nature here and benefit from that and now others have to be better and don’t get to take advantage of their resources. A bigger focus should be placed on how we as the western world should pay countries for keeping natural reserves because that’s only fair.