A Life on Our Planet is not an autobiography. Instead, Attenborough intends to refer to witnessing the dewilding of Earth over the past century. Dewilding, a neologism, denotes the growing extinction rate, loss of wilderness, over harvesting of the oceans and all the myriad ways we humans have pushed nature to the outskirts of the planet. None of this will be new to viewers of his documentaries. But the medium of print allows him to develop these themes in more depth.
While there are those who say that he is an alarmist, no serious scientist contests that this description of natural history is largely correct. And so, the controversy comes down to what measures must be taken to halt this more and more pressing situation.
Attenborough’s solution is for a sea change in public attitudes. Such an approach shouldn’t be mocked: witness the change in attitudes to human slavery in the nineteenth century. But it would take a sea change to accept, for example, his proposal for zero economic growth as the new normal.
Otherwise, the suggestions are mostly the large scale implementation of successful scientific experiments already in place. He tends to sugarcoat these by saying that they will benefit both humankind and the rest of nature. But the book is more intended to change attitudes and bring about awareness than set forth a blueprint for action.
As a fan of the documentaries I was predisposed to like this work. Everyone, however, will acknowledge that Attenborough, by working on BBC nature shows since the 1950s, has a privileged position with which to view the dewilding and subsequent loss of biodiversity on Earth. Thus, while it is certainly recommended to fans, newcomers who want to go beyond the trivial and tired question of “What to do about the environment” will also find that it opens a prescient perspective on the panoply of life that share the planet Earth.
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A Life On Our Planet
“I am 94. I've had an extraordinary life. It's only now that I appreciate how extraordinary.
As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day - the loss of our planet's wild places, its biodiversity.
I have been witness to this decline. A Life on Our Planet is my witness statement, and my vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake - and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right.
We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited.”
All we need is the will to do so.
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Aran Joseph Canes
A Witness to the History of Planet Earth
7 October 2020 -
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D. Shipp
A good read, not great, but not a fault of Mr. Attenborough
25 November 2020 -
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Jim
A Source for Hope
6 November 2020 -
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Carolyn Wilhelm
Very clear and profound explanation of the climate crisis and solutions
14 December 2020 -
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mary in new york city
A real testament from one of the great naturalists
17 November 2020 -
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