A review by samdalefox
A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough

challenging hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This is the one. The book that gives me hope that people who aren't currently engaged with the climate crisis will finally understand and take action. David Attenborough is an icon with the ability to reach millions of people who respect and are inspired by him. Attenborough has taken this opportunity horns first and written a damning, hopeful, instructive book on what the climiate crisis is, why it is bad, and what we can actively do NOW to help. As he says himself: "With the right motivations profound change can happen in a short period of time."

I will not waste words here repeating the structure and tales he uses to illustrate his points. Attenborough does this himself eloquently and makes the science accessible to all. I'd recommend listening to the audiobook if you're used to hearing him on the TV. It's one of the few non-fiction audio-books that I really retained the information from. Instead, I'll offer you some of my favourite quotes below. Please read this book. Please give this book to others to read. We must act now to save ourselves and the planet. Some key themes and concepts are listed here:

• The demographic transition model
• The doughnut of social and planetary boundaries - by Kate Raworth. 
• The shifting baseline syndrome 
• Degrowth (a just transition to sustainable energy, considering equitable social and infrastructure factors)
• Rewilding, habitat conservation, and protecting biodiversity 
• Circular economy (biological and technical cycles 

Quotes:

"We have become Accustomed to an impoverished planet. We have replaced the wild with the tame. We regard the earth as our planet, run by humankind for humankind. There is little left for the rest of the living world. That truly human world, that non human world, has gone. We have overun the earth." 

 "To restore stability to our planet therefore we must restore biodiversity, the very thing we have removed" 

 "We have all the tools we need plans minds and imagination of a future. All we require is the will".