Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves. <i>Samuel Myers and Howard Frumkin (eds)</i>

Drawing from peer-reviewed science and case studies from around the world, Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves warns that our current patterns of consumption are dangerous and altering natural systems in ways that damage human health and well-being. It acknowledges that the scale and complexity of these planetary problems are enormous, transcending both disciplinary and geographical boundaries. However, this action-oriented book also focuses on readily available solutions that can be implemented today and enable both humanity and the natural systems to thrive. Planetary Health is co-edited by Samuel Myers and Howard Frumkin, who bring decades of experience in environment and health and also contributed to the writing of several chapters. Myers is a senior research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and also directs the Planetary Health Alliance which is a global consortium of over 200 institutions focused on the health impacts of environmental change. Frumkin is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Washington and previously served as director of the National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also contributing to the book’s chapters are many distinguished experts from health, natural and social sciences from top academic institutions and the public sector, including multiple MacArthur fellows and elected members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Together, the editors and authors present a comprehensive and sophisticated understanding of natural systems, their health impacts and mitigation strategies. The impressive breadth and depth of material covered in Planetary Health is reflected in its length of 538 pages, though most chapters are stand-alone. The book is separated into four sections. The first begins by discussing the intellectual history of planetary health (Chapter 2) and the role of human consumption in ecological change and deteriorated environments (Chapters 3 and 4). The second section (Chapters 5–11) explores the pathways through which environmental change and disruptions impact upon human health and well-being, with topics ranging from biodiversity loss and infectious disease to climate change and nutrition to ecosystems and happiness. The third section (Chapters 12–16) creatively pivots human activities, like energy demand, chemical production and urbanization, that have caused significant environmental damage, and explores their potential to combat environmental change and promote sustainability. The final section (Chapters 17–18) describes the ethical challenges and opportunities for planetary health and outlines steps for achieving an optimistic and aspirational future. In a brief but timely afterword, Myers and Frumkin examine the Covid-19 pandemic as a planetary health problem. Each chapter is brought to life through photographs, infographics and case studies that enable the reader to better contextualize the scientific evidence and make the content accessible to an interdisciplinary group of readers with varied levels of scientific training. Cross-cutting themes that reflect challenges identified by the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on Planetary Health are recurrent throughout the chapters, including systems thinking, vulnerability, the distributions of costs and benefits of environmental policies and environmental stewardship. In contrast with most previous books on environment and health which predominately focus on problems, a refreshing aspect of Planetary Health is the considerable portion of the book that is dedicated toward solutions. The entire book—but particularly the second half—describes the different paths that can lead us toward a more sustainable and healthier future. The book strikes a tone that is ambitious yet focused, optimistic while acknowledging that we are at a crossroads, and encourages new thinking and innovation while also reminding us that society is already well-equipped for change. Planetary Health invokes the ‘now is better than new’ mantra, compelling us to pursue the environmental and climate solutions already in hand rather than waiting for innovation. This format may particularly appeal to the younger generations of environmental researchers, advocates and practitioners who are anxious about the future and demanding action, though readers of any age can appreciate the book’s optimistic call to action. Where I think Planetary Health falls short in being truly transformative is in exhibiting the ideals of diversity and inclusion that are at the core of planetary health science. Across the 50 author contributions to the book’s main chapters, only 15 are from women and two are from experts at institutions in low- or middle-income countries. The authors are, without question, distinguished experts and leaders in their academic disciplines, but do they truly represent the people most threatened by planetary disruptions? Do they suffer the consequences? Are they close enough to the solutions? In some cases, probably yes. But in many cases the answer must be no. In their chapter on the scholarly history of planetary health, the authors confess that their ‘…historical narrative swarms with well-meaning White male experts from the Global North’ and ask whether the field might be transformed as it starts to incorporate a greater diversity of insights from women, people from the Global South and Indigenous people. While a nod to this is well taken, going further would be timely and appropriate. How do practitioners in the Global South perceive trade-offs between development and environmental sustainability? How can Indigenous knowledge and stewardship inform natural resource management and mitigate the climate crisis? How can the voices of marginalized communities be empowered and incorporated into planetary health solutions? Will women experience the benefits and costs of planetary health policies differently from men? These questions and many others are best answered when a greater diversity in perspectives is prioritized. Epidemiologists and other health scientists will appreciate Planetary Health’s comprehensive review of the environment-health literature and its incorporation of frameworks from biological, environmental and health sciences to improve causal inference between complex natural systems and human health. But perhaps the book’s most timely contribution is its roadmap for action to manage and protect our natural environments and improve health. I write this review in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, during which many people have escaped to nature to reduce stress, improve mental health and stay physically active. One hopes this reconnection will motivate us, as Myers and Frumkin aspire, to emerge from the pandemic with renewed environmental stewardship and a greater recognition that protecting nature can indeed protect ourselves.

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