March 31, 2026
SHERP grad wins Rachel Carson Book Prize from SEJ
Ferris Jabr (SHERP 2010) has won the Rachel Carson Book Prize for Becoming Earth: A Journey Through the Hidden Wonders that Bring Our Planet to Life. The judges for the Society of Environmental Journalists’ award wrote: “Rigorous science, a fascinating cast of characters and one beautiful sentence after another come together to make Ferris Jabr’s ‘Becoming Earth’ pure pleasure to read. Taking us along as he plunges a mile into the earth, snorkels through a California kelp forest, corrals a herd of bison in Siberia and scales a rickety observatory high above the Brazilian Amazon, Jabr engages in lively conversation with a diverse array of geologists, chemists, artists and inventors, and we share his delight at the deeply weird and wonderful creatures he encounters along the way. An exploration into how living organisms influence their environments, ‘Becoming Earth’ is packed with history and nuanced science, but it wears its erudition lightly. Jabr is the best sort of guide: meticulous in his word choice, generous with his insights, devoid of condescension and passionate to the last about life’s incredible power to remake our planet.”