Today, on my 71st birthday, my wife gave me a book by a 94 year-old author. The writer is David Attenborough, perhaps the best known naturalist on the planet and renowned for his many nature documentaries, including Life on Earth, The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, among others.
His new book, A Life on Our Planet, chronicles the loss of biodiversity on Earth and how that steady, ongoing process threatens every form of life on the planet, humans included. Fortunately, Attenborough also discusses how we can reverse course by re-wilding natural ecosystems.
As one who has long been interested in natural history and who is increasingly distressed by human-induced climate change, the destruction of natural habitat and the poisoning of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, this is a special gift. I recommend the book for anyone who shares Attenborough's devotion to the health of our planet.
