Books & Literature

Book Review: How to Unf*ck the Planet a Little Bit Each Day, by Jo Stewart

ENVIRONMENT: Global warming, pollution, inequality, species loss… take your concerns and channel them into action with this proactive guide.

How to Unf*ck the Planet is a nice book to have and is full of inspiration for many aspects of our life.
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Smith Street Books are perhaps the leading publisher in Australia when it comes to fun, fascinating, colourful coffee-table tomes. This latest addition provides 100 inspirations about the little changes we can make in our lives to build a better world. Alone, we rarely make a difference but together, even minor changes add up.

According to the introduction, global warming needs to be kept under 1.5°C so it’s up to individuals to act on their concerns for our planet. Regardless of whether one chooses to incorporate a single idea from the book, or all of them, every change counts.

The book provides one idea per page, beginning with a quirky headline and then limited text to expand the idea. First off the rank is Support the Slow Flower Movement which talks about the pesticides, refrigeration and travel our fresh-cut flowers can go through before landing in our local florist. The Slow Flower Movement encourages finding local, bee-friendly flower farmers closer to home.

Do the Right Bling on page 47 uncovers the exploitation of workers and human rights in the diamond-mining industry and the environmental devastation associated with it. Food Co-ops, Fair Trade products, the false hype of superfoods, accessibility for those living with a disability, and volunteering in a community centre all have a page dedicated to them, demonstrating that ways to help save the planet can sometimes involve supporting or teaching others. Most of the ideas require just a simple change to our lives that is manageable and easy to remember.

The book design and illustrations by George Saad are full-paged and fun. It’s fantastic to see that his background colours and drawings all provide a clear space for the text so it’s easy to read. Stewart’s text is to the point and outlines the ideas and reasoning behind it without making the reader feel guilty or overwhelmed.

How to Unf*ck the Planet is a nice book to have. It looks good, is easy to read and is full of inspiration for many aspects of our life. At only 108 pages, it’s a small tome in both size and thickness, making it ideal to leave lying around for your visitors to flick through too.

Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet

Distributed by: Simon & Schuster Australia
Released: February 2021
RRP: $29.99 hardcover

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