Never more since recent years have the news and scientists given us proofs of the changes happening on our earth; tsunamis, heat waves, ice melting, storms and flooding, quickly disappearing species. Facing the reoccurences of these phenomena, governments tried to act. There was the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 and, in 2005, the Kyoto protocol started to be implemented by the countries who signed it. Unfortunately the attempts remain largely insufficient. Nicolas Hulot presents a lucid portrait of our planet. Eight ecosystems (forests, oceans, deserts, poles, mountains, wetlands, plains, cities) are described for their specificity, the species that inhabit them, and the involvement of humans in each. After years of discovering Nature in his television show Ushuaia, Hulot gives us a rich analysis of his unique experience in the field. His text is paired with beautiful photography from some of the most renowned photographers who have, like him, understood the menace weighing on our planet. This book is a tribute to the beauty of the earth, but more than ever it urges us to preserve it.