Earthshot: How to Save Our Planet: The Book Everyone Should Read

 by Liberty Mitchell Brock

The Earthshot Prize was launched in 2021 and is awarded by the Royal Foundation. It rewards people for their contributions to environmentalism, and each of the 5 winners receive a grant of £1 million to continue their work. The winning projects have taken outstanding actions and created initiatives that demonstrate positive effects on people's lives and the planet. Each project submitted works towards one of the five Earthshots. The Earthshots are categorised targets to help us, as a unity, to complete our climate goals by the end of the decade. They are; Protect and Restore Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World, and Fix our Climate. The Earthshot concept is simple: Urgency + Optimism = Action. I believe this book is the turning point we as society need to save our planet. We need to unite to create a change in the next decade; what happens in the next few years will decide how humans go on to live for centuries to come (if we make it that long). This book is easy to read and encourages readers to do their part and take action. 

Even though this book shows the frightening consequences of human activities, it still builds hope and shows us that with a bit of effort and awareness, things can change and head in a more positive direction. After explaining the detrimental effects the book then sheds light on how not everything is ruined. For example, some animal species have been shown to be more resilient than we think, such as the Porcupine Caribou whose annual migration of over 2,400km across northern Canada and Alaska has continued, seemingly unaffected by environmental changes on their migration route. There had been worries that climate change could affect the timings of their journey and also cause shortages of food for their young. Another source of hope is, believe it or not, human kind. Take Juan Castro for example, a man who managed to save the coral reefs in his home village, Cabo Pulmo, Mexico. One day the fish stocks started to plummet, this left little work and food for the residents of this fishing village. It was the destruction of the coral reefs that pushed the fish away, encouraging Juan to take action and persuade the village to impose a no fishing zone. He succeeded, and a decade later the fish numbers had increased by more than 400%. This proves that when left untouched, nature will nurture itself back to life. 

The first step in making a difference is awareness, it’s difficult for change to occur without people knowing what’s wrong in the first place. I thought that I was environmentally conscious, but reading this proved me wrong. By reading this book you begin to think about the impact you have on the planet. I know that after reading it myself I questioned what more I could be doing to help. Another great action that can occur from reading this book is simply, just spreading the word. Talk to your friends and family, get a conversation going, brainstorm actions that you can do. Reading this book can be the first step in creating awareness about this global issue. Climate change will affect everyone on one scale or another, maybe by reading this book you will feel inspired to create your own initiative or change something in your lifestyle to better the planet, maybe you already have. No matter who you are or what you do, this book is relevant to you.