We live in an era of climate change, floods, storms, hurricanes, devastating landslides, melting glaciers, environmental disasters, plastics everywhere, uncontrolled emissions, rampant deforestation, biodiversity loss, and habitat destruction.
Every time a catastrophic event occurs, we fill our mouths with words that then remain empty promises.
Terms like environmentalism, nature conservation, and the green revolution are used with disdain and irony by those who, with arrogance and an excessive dose of ignorance and bad faith, prioritize their own profit or that of their powerful peers.
What can we do? Without wishing to be moralistic, Mario Tozzi, a renowned popularizer and TV personality, with his new book, our recommended reading for this month, invites us to reflect on what is happening by shifting our perspective. No one stands to judge; it is the Earth addressing us with a letter: Dear Sapiens!
Pages: 384, Hardcover | EAN: 9788804776499
The Earth does not judge; it observes, and in an imagined dialogue filled with affection and concern, it writes to us, reminding us of its history, which began billions of years before our appearance: the birth of the universe, its vastness, the age of the stars and planets, the emergence of life on Earth, its evolution leading up to us, and the disasters we have caused through our intrusion. The ecological footprint we leave is truly heavy; beyond being the most ferocious life form, we are also the most unscrupulous and greedy. We accumulate and consume more than we need, with all the consequences that entails.
Dear Sapiens reminds us how young our presence on the planet is: “If we compared Earth’s history to a meter, we sapiens would occupy only the last millimeter,” explains the author.
The book is a journey through science, knowledge, and awareness, ending with a warning: although we, in our infinite arrogance, have called ourselves sapiens and consider ourselves masters of the world, in reality, we are not. The planet does not belong to us but to all living things; the Earth does not need us, we need it.
Credits
Maria Beatrice Lupi is a naturalist and an expert in training, sustainable development planning, participatory methodologies, and European planning. She is currently engaged in dissemination and education for sustainability.
Translated by Maria Antonietta Sessa
