Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (Plume) | 
| Author: Al Gore
Publisher: Plume
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  115 reviews
Sales Rank: 580305
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 1
ISBN: 0452269350
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.7
EAN: 9780452269354
ASIN: 0452269350
Publication Date: January 1, 1993
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Amazon.com
What's most inspiring about Earth in the Balance is who wrote it. It's a big deal, after all, that a sitting senator was willing to write, "We must make the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle for civilization." And that's not all. In his 1992 book, Al Gore also wrote: I have become very impatient with my own tendency to put a finger to the political winds and proceed cautiously.... [E]very time I pause to consider whether I have gone too far out on a limb, I look at the new facts [on the environment crisis] that continue to pour in from around the world and conclude that I have not gone far enough.... [T]he time has long since come to take more political risks--and endure more political criticism--by proposing tougher, more effective solutions and fighting hard for their enactments. And the buzz on the street is that Gore actually wrote those words himself. When Earth in the Balance first came out, it caused quite a stir--and for good reason. It convincingly makes the case that a crisis of epidemic proportions is nearly upon us and that if the world doesn't get its act together soon and agree to some kind of "Global Marshall Plan" to protect the environment, we're all up a polluted creek without a paddle. Myriad plagues are upon us, but the worst include the loss of biodiversity, the depletion of the ozone layer, the slash-and-burn destruction of rainforests, and the onset of global warming. None of this is new, of course, nor was it new in 1992. But most environmentalists will still get a giddy feeling reading such a call to action as written by a prominent politician. The book is arranged into three sections: the first describes the plagues; the second looks at how we got ourselves into this mess; and the final chapters present ways out. Gore gets his points across in a serviceable way, though he could have benefited from a firmer editor's hand; at times the analogies are arcane and the pacing is odd--kind of like a Gore speech that climaxes at weird points and then sinks just as the audience is about to clap. Still, at the end you understand what's been said. Gore believes that if we apply some American ingenuity, the twin engines of democracy and capitalism can be rigged to help us stabilize world population growth, spread social justice, boost education levels, create environmentally appropriate technologies, and negotiate international agreements to bring us back from the brink. For example, a worldwide shift to clean, renewable energy sources would create huge economic opportunities for companies large and small to design, build, and maintain solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells, and other ecofriendly innovations. Gore doesn't mince words when describing just how hard it will be to get out of this jam. Real hope is contingent on a swelling up of concern among the public--and fast. A year into the vice presidency, in an interview with writer Bill McKibben, Gore paraphrased a key passage in his book, "The minimum that is scientifically necessary far exceeds the maximum that is politically feasible." Ah, a political out. Some readers will ask of Gore: what has he done since publishing his book to advance the political feasibility of decisive environmental action? --Chip Giller
Product Description
A passionate and lifelong defender of the environment, Vice President Al Gore describes in this classic best-selling book how human actions and decisions can endanger or safeguard the vulnerable ecosystem that sustains us all. The book's groundbreaking analysis helped place the environment on the national agenda, summoning politicians, the media, and the public to attention and action. The message remains just as urgent today as it did eight years ago: while much has been accomplished, we must meet a global environmental challenge that reaches into every aspect of our society.
In brave and unforgettable terms, Earth in the Balance probes the roots of the environmental crisis and offers a bold and forceful vision of a new, more sustainable path. Having provoked international discussion upon its original publication, it continues to confront us with profound challenges. Human civilization must change its course if we are to heal our ailing environment and preserve the earth's ecology for future generations.
Vice President Gore describes in a new foreword to this classic what we have achieved and what remains to be done, and issues a clarion call to begin the millennium with an "Environment Decade." It is time to reflect deeply on the fate of our planet and commit ourselves to its future.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 110 more reviews...
 Mr. Gore, what would we do without you? June 9, 2007
3 out of 13 found this review helpful
Writing a book that promotes environmentalism on paper is like writing a book that condemns the killing of humans and binding it with human skin!
 Looking back at a book that changed the world February 28, 2007
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
In 1989, one U.S. senator began compiling information on a subject no other member of Congress wanted to look at-- the environment. He began bringing up the critical problem of climate change just when world scientists began to worry, at a time when the term "global warming" was foreign to members of Congress. Some politicians and lobbyists would've liked it to stay that way. To garner more attention to the crucial environmental problems that were being ignored by his fellow Congress members, he decided to write a book in order to spread the message of urgency to the general public. It worked and sparked a new interest in the environment. Earth in the Balance became the first book written by a sitting U.S. Senator to make the New York Times bestseller list since John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage (Wikipedia). That senator, of course, would go on to press some of the boldest environmental initiatives ever undertaken in U.S. government as an eight year vice president, Al Gore.
The winner of the 2000 election's popular vote and author/narrator of the recent An Inconvenient Truth book and documentary film, Al Gore has spent the greater part of his life on a mission to educate the public about environmental issues. In 1989, Gore presented his synopsis to a publisher, originally titled as "The New World War" (Maraniss 239). The book was unique in that it would not be ghost written and would not require the standard advance that most prominent public figures demanded. In fall of 1990, Gore began writing the book, which would result in a 711 page draft that would be later cut to just over 400 pages. "Portions of the manuscript came from speeches and op-ed pieces he had already written, and he was aided by a full time researcher and a hefty supporting group of scholars" (Turque 229). Included were many graphs, computer-generated mosaics, and pictures to firmly illustrate the environmental problems at hand. Gore had wanted the book to be like a tour around the Earth, in and out of its environmental problems. We see this same style even more so with his recent book An Inconvenient Truth, which consists mostly of pictures and graphs to best demonstrate the urgencies of global warming. Earth in the Balance, which included around 20 illustrations and pictures, was first published in 1992.
"We feel increasingly distant from our roots in the Earth," (1) writes Gore in the Introduction. "Are we so unique and powerful as to be essentially separate from the Earth?" (1) This is Gore's thesis question. The opening pages have resonance of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which he directly alludes to on page 3, both bringing up the proven harmful effects of DDT and Agent Orange and paying tribute to the ever so influential mother of the environmental movement.
Early on in the book, Gore establishes his stance on faith and science. He never blames science or separates it from his faith. Conflict between the two happens to be a common misperception of people whereas most people believe it is either one or the other. Gore includes faith and science together and establishes in the Forward of the 1993 Plume edition, "We are people of faith and of science, who for centuries, often traveled different roads. In a time of environmental crisis, we find these roads converging." Eliminating this science vs. faith stereotype in the beginning invites everyone and brings them together, something politics certainly does not do.
In the first two chapters, Gore also emphasizes education of the crisis, something he has continued to do with his global warming lectures, which have now led to the training of more lecturers and a massive environmental initiative of education. An emphasis on global warming is also evident in the first two chapters when Gore writes, "The north polar cap has thinned by 2% in just the last decade," (23). Gore goes on to explain why the 600% increase in levels of atmospheric chlorine is one of the reasons why global warming and air pollution are already problematic.
The economy is the subject of Gore's tenth chapter where he brings up the power of industry and our relationship with technology. He mentions the genesis of Love Canal, which had devastating ramifications, all because industry was thinking about convenience and profit, and not about the future. These thoughts carry over into chapter eleven where Gore writes, "I wonder whether America's political paralysis might stem in part from the coexistence of two powerful but clashing media for communicating political thought" (211). Politics do end up being the ultimate problem in battling environmental problems, as Gore reveals.
The League of Conservation Voters described Al Gore as the "environmental Paul Revere," in reference to the success of Earth in the Balance (Turque 235). The book had garnered up so much well deserved attention that it was essentially the reason why Clinton chose Gore as Vice President from a list of 40 candidates.
When Gore had begun writing Earth in the Balance, he also had the desire to produce a television series based on his research. Many knew that "Gore would be an effective narrator, more educator than politician" (Maraniss 246). This series never got off the ground because Gore turned to concentrate on his position as Vice President where he helped strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act, adopt the toughest smog standards ever, accelerate the cleanup of the worst toxic waste sites, expand Americans' right to know about environmental hazards in their communities, and preserve millions of acres of parks, monuments and wilderness" (White House). Researchers at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government examined the environmental policy record of the Clinton/Gore administration and "determined that environmental quality improved overall during the decade" (Research Matters).
As we near 2007, our environmental problems have grown worse because of a turn for the worse. Our foreign, economic, and domestic policies are no better. What we need is leadership. Al Gore warned us of the political consequences to the environment. His warnings are in writing in Earth in the Balance, if we should ever look back in regret and wonder. A must read for anyone who cares about a safe, healthy environment and a better future. A must read for every American.
An excellent example of alarmism, inappropriate interpretation and outright misrepresentation July 11, 2006
23 out of 62 found this review helpful
With all the fuss being made over - An Inconvenient Truth - the movie and book by Albert Gore Jr., it is appropriate to review his 1992 book: Earth in the Balance. This review will cover two key aspects of this book: his so-called couple between carbon dioxide and temperature; and his extremism.
Gore discussed the carbon dioxide (CO2) - temperature relationship on page 94. He showed a graph of temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration plotted versus time over a span of 160,000 years. With the exception of one point, his graph comes from chemical analysis of two mile deep ice core samples from Antarctica and Greenland, which is valid and exciting scientific data. Gore has called the data behind this chart as the most compelling evidence of a correlation between CO2 and temperature change.
Both variables exhibit a saw-tooth profile. The graph for each variable is of a similar shape, and appear to move somewhat in parallel. Based on such a chart Gore made the claim that CO2 concentration and temperature have moved in lockstep over this period. The word lockstep is far too strong for a simple visual correlation. The implication is also made that the change in CO2 concentration precedes the change in temperature, and hence is the cause for the change in temperature. However, it is impossible to tell this from such a graph. Indeed one could just as easily claim the reverse.
The behavior of these two variables represent the change in each variable due to the changes in other major variables, particularly the orbital parameters of planet Earth as it travels around the sun. Yet Gore is basing all of his conclusions on his eye-balled correlation.
Further, this data is highly compressed and displayed over a space little more than two inches in width in his book. The basic time unit is estimated at 2,500 years per point. A single tic on this graph--say 1/32nd of an inch in width--would represent 2,500 years of history. Thus a mere 1/32nd of an inch would represent the huge number of weather events over 2,500 years, averaged to a single point.
The second problem with this graph is the last point shown. This is not part of the scientific record. Rather it is one scenario projection, out of dozens of scenarios, of the future CO2 level. This step is particularly egregious as this point brings the graph height to seven inches, on a graph that would only be two inches tall otherwise. This is pure distortion and misrepresentation.
This critique is a perfect example of Gore gaining some validity by "cherry picking" valid scientific data, but simplifying it, extrapolating it and misrepresenting the situation until it literally has no meaning.
On a second subject, some of the writings by Gore are quite disturbing. Several quotes are examined.
* In the first quote he equates the dangers to the environment to the dangers of nuclear war. "Nuclear war is an apocalyptic subject, and so is global environmental destruction."
Can this be a truly sound judgement of the state of the environment after years of the EPA, after years of automobile fuel and exhaust improvements and after billions of dollars of environmental control investments in all our utility and manufacturing industries?
* The next quote broadens the doomsday view to the ecology. "Today the evidence of an ecological Kristallnacht is as clear as the sound of glass shattering in Berlin."
Again can this be viewed as a precise, sound and fair diagnosis of the ecological situation? In this quote he equates Americans' use of natural resources with Nazism. He goes on "...the environmental crisis is so serious that I believe our civilization must be considered in some basic way dysfunctional. "... In this terrible century... we have witnessed some especially malignant examples of dysfunctional civilization: the totalitarian societies of Nazi Germany under Hitler, fascist Italy under Mussolini ... in psychological terms, our rapid and aggressive expansion into what remains of the wildness of the earth represents an effort to plunder from outside civilization what we cannot find inside."
Yes, in Gore's mind, our society's embrace of what he calls consumptionism, resembles Nazi Germany society's embrace of totalitarianism.
* Next he contrasts the richness of nature to the emptiness of industrial civilization. According to Gore we live in an "inauthentic world of our own making. "Life can be easy, we assure ourselves. "We need not suffer the heat or the cold; we need not sow or reap or hunt and gather. "We can heal the sick, fly through the air, light up the darkness, and be entertained in our living room by orchestras and clowns whenever we like." Further into this quote he observes this false world was created by people to distract people from their psychic pain. He asserts that the world of leisure, air conditioning, industrial agriculture, modern medicine, and home entertainment is not good in itself. "It is but a fleeting sideshow." Finally he claims that only by somehow awakening from such in-authenticity will the cycle of psychic pain and environmental plunder be broken. It is not quite clear how Gore, who grew upo in a hotel, earned credentials to decide what is authentic in life and what is not.
Gore seems to have come up with the following modus operandi. First he will proclaim an unprecedented environmental catastrophe is at hand. Next he will indicate only a handful of ignorant and unqualified dissenters oppose this assessment. Finally he would indicate that such dissenters are preventing him from moving ahead to solve this problem.
As noted above Gore has a strange streak of extremism in his makeup. He clearly is not happy with our society. He equates environmental activists to resistance fighters. But does not this group of activists include eco-saboteurs? Clearly Gore does not limit his concern to just the environment, but declares that we are in a midst of political, informational, inner-spiritual and deep philosophical crisis. He, I believe,claims to be the sole author of his book and to have put his heart and soul into it. He seems to believe in his book and all its comparisons of our society with Nazi Germany's or to the former USSR's. All of the above quotes and comments have earned him the extremist tag.
No where has this been better exposed than in a 1995 column by Tony Snow. In this essay Snow contrasts statements by Gore to those of the Unabomber. Snow noted that the vision advocated by the Unabomber sounds much like that stated in Gore's 1992 manifesto. The difference between the Unabomber and Gore is that Gore wants to achieve this via massive government bureaucracies, while the Unabomber would achieve this through mail bombs.
Al Gore's penchant for alarmism, inappropriate interpretation and outright misrepresentation in 1992, is surely food for thought as one reads his latest book or sees his movie.
Remarkable undertaking by a blessed man July 9, 2006
13 out of 23 found this review helpful
I approached this book with preset cynicism for two reasons. One, the author is a politician who was bitterly defeated by a much less qualified candidate. So, I expected a book filled with revenge and pity. It does have some, yet could be forgiven. Secondly, Al Gore's performance during his presidential recount was that of a drugged man out of touch with reality. Only after he accepted defeat, was when his spirit lit up.
Glancing through this book would erase every feeling of misgiving. The man has indeed done great work to raise global awareness about the eminent danger of environmental crisis. He spared no effort in his crusade for overcoming inaction and indifference to the environment. He started with his sister's smoking problem and got the reader's attention of how smoking had claimed the life of a beautiful and talented lady because of the public ignorance about the danger of smoking in the 1960's. There is an impressive ad from those days that reads "Most doctors smoke Camel".
In his campaign to raise environmental awareness, Al Gore relied on his personal and political assets to depict his major concerns in vivid and colorful photography. Those were taken by satellites, airplanes, nuclear submarines, and on-foot travel. No single aspect of the impact of global warming has been overlooked. It depicts the effect of global warming on mosquito habitat and disease transmission, on urban flooding, on arctic polar bears and Antarctic penguins, on skin cancer and hurricanes,etc. He did that with tables, diagrams, charts, and pre- and post effect images.
Gore's blessing with a wealthy and influential father and successful political career are brought to the benefit of mankind through this magnificent undertaking. No more, one could hold a grudge towards his presidential failure that paved the way for Bush's disastrous blunders. Mr. "Bore" might not be politically popular, but his mission on sparing the delicate balance of the Earth environment is remarkably unique. His latest imitation of how Bill Clinton talks effectively and scores brilliantly is obviously a transient state. Let Gore be Gore, may the environment be spared!
The book is designed in a boyish style like those high school projects. It contains full ads that span two pages, different font colors and forms, lacks uniformity of display, and shows unfocused, yet driven authoring, whose passion outpaces his organizational skill. His personal stories and photographs of his family and childhood present the innocence and naivety of adolescence. Those are also the traits that let him tackle such controversial and hypothetical topic that bears uncertain dates for occurring in real life, yet might strike with eminent hardship to mankind.
Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training
A Truly Inspired and Insightful Book May 25, 2006
12 out of 19 found this review helpful
Since this book was first published in 1993, the negative effects of our human resource use/abuse, population demands, pollution and global warming have increased substantially and one can only guess what our world would be like had Al Gore become President as the popular vote wished for.
Would Gore's grasp of human caused climate change and his dedication to implementing corrective measures have helped reverse global warming? Would Gore's insight into socio-political-economic-environmental sustainability help guide humanity to a more rational relationship with our beautiful Earth home and it`s resources? Hopefully, Gore will run for President in 2008 and succeed- our nation and world desperately need wise leaders like him.
After reading this book I was left with the feeling that it would be great if all politicians were required to demonstrate at least half of Gore's eco-literacy before taking office, what a fair, just and sustainable world this would be!
In the meantime, Gore has actively been spreading the word about the deleterious effects of global warming and the need for sustainability and good stewardship in our relationship to Earth. His latest projects are the film documentary and book "An Inconvenient Truth" about global warming.
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