Earth in the Balance: Forging a New Common Purpose

by Al Gore

Overview

With over half a million copies of Earth in the Balance sold, this timely re-issue benefits from a major new Foreword. It is a powerful and passionate analysis of the most crucial and far reaching issues confronting humanity. 'When I wrote this book, terms like global warming and greenhouse gases seemed exotic, unfamiliar, and unimportant to the lives of ordinary Americans. That has changed dramatically - except for those who still want to pretend that no one cares. There is a powerful awareness of the danger, and a widespread determination that we must not and will not leave our grandchildren a ravaged planet ringed with a thickening layer of carbon dioxide concentrations. So we have to strengthen, not weaken, environmental protection across the board, from global warming to stabilizing world population. This was my conclusion when this book was first published: We can believe in that future and work to achieve it and preserve it, or we can whirl blindly on, behaving as if one day there will be no children to inherit our legacy. The choice is ours; the Environment Decade is within our reach; the earth is in the balance.' AL GORE, December 1999 From the Foreword

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781853837432
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis, Inc.
Publication date:	05/01/2000
Edition description:	1
Pages:	440
Sales rank:	135,065
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.88(d)

Table of Contents

	Foreword to the Plume Edition	xi
	Introduction	1
Part I	Balance at Risk
1.	Ships in the Desert	19
2.	The Shadow Our Future Throws	36
3.	Climate and Civilization: A Short History	56
4.	Buddha's Breath	81
5.	If the Well Goes Dry	99
6.	Skin Deep	115
7.	Seeds of Privation	126
8.	The Wasteland	145
Part II	The Search for Balance
9.	Self-Stewardship	167
10.	Eco-nomics: Truth or Consequences	182
11.	We Are What We Use	197
12.	Dysfunctional Civilization	216
13.	Environmentalism of the Spirit	238
Part III	Striking the Balance
14.	A New Common Purpose	269
15.	A Global Marshall Plan	295
	Conclusion	361
	Acknowledgments	371
	Notes	374
	Bibliography	386
	Index	394
	Credits	408

Editorial Reviews

Vice President-elect Gore explains the necessity of enviromentalism and offers bold initiatives for change in this thoughtful, compelling primer, a QPB selection and PW bestseller. Illustrations. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

YA-- Too often, environmental challenges are presented in such a way that the more one learns, the more hopeless it all seems. Earth in the Balance does not shrink from the magnitude and painfulness of the conflicts YAs will soon inherit, but it also gives encouragement, offering the possibility of resolution. A passionate yet clearheaded exposition of a worldwide crisis is the starting point of this courageous book. Retracing his own journey, Gore leads readers toward a greater understanding of humanity and toward thinking beyond currently perceived limitations. With often stunning insight, he looks at how ``dysfunctional civilization,'' political realities, and religious traditions have helped to shape the current global ecological situation. This breadth of perspective should speak to a diversity of readers, while the final section, outlining a plausible plan of action, can capture the imaginations of practical as well as idealistic readers. The book may seem daunting to some, but its 3-part, 15-chapter structure, which allows readers to browse at will, should make it accessible enough to most YAs.-- Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

Senator (and vice presidential candidate) Gore (Democrat, Tennessee) demonstrates that the quality of air, water, and soil is at grave risk, not only locally or regionally but globally, and argues that only a radical rethinking of the human relationship with nature can save the earth's ecology for future generations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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