Earth in the Balance Ecology and the Human Spirit (Audio) [Abridged] [Audio Cassette]

Albert Gore (Author), Al Gore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2000

A passionate defender of the environment for more than 20 years, Senator Al Gore from Tennessee is now convinced that the engines of human civilization have brought us to the brink of catastrophe. In this brave work, he argues that only a radical rethinking of our relationship with nature can save the earth for future generations.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In a thoughtful, compelling primer, Gore, Democratic senator from Tennessee, attempts to explain environmentalism to a benighted American public that, as he discovered in his 1988 presidential bid, gives environmental issues low or no priority. Unraveling the grave dangers posed by global warming, thinning of the ozone layer, destruction of tropical rain forests, overuse of pesticides, incineration of municipal wastes and other human-made disasters, Gore takes on head-in-the-sand skeptics who try to minimize the severity of these ecological crises. Attacking Bush and Congress for failing to assume a leadership role in environmental problems, he outlines a "global Marshall Plan," a cooperative international effort to stabilize world population, create and share environmentally appropriate technologies, educate the public and institute accountability for polluters. The Superfund law that Gore coauthored in 1980 to clean up the nation's hazardous chemical dump sites has been an utter failure, partly due to lax EPA enforcement, he notes. The general proposals Gore sets forth here represent an important, bold step in the right direction. Author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Audio Literature; 1st edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574533827
• ISBN-13: 978-1574533828
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,873,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Former Vice President Al Gore is currently the chairman of both
Current TV and Generational Investment Management. He was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives in 1976 and the U.S. Senate in 1984 and 1990,
and served eight years as vice president of the United States, from 1993 to
2000. He is the author of the 1992 bestseller Earth in the Balance:
Ecology and the Human Spirit. He lives with his wife, Tipper, in
Nashville, Tennessee.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Olympic-level Reality Check, November 23, 2006

By 

Al Gore's Buddy "Green power" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (Paperback)

This work sets an incredible standard for what the overprivileged and uninitiated might call "alarmist" environmental literature. It is a definitive work that comprehensively addresses the state of the environment, tracing its historical aspects and examining its societal dynamics, even to the level of modern psychotherapeutic psychology. He is meticulous in presenting the facts and images without veering into untenable predictions of non-essential disasters, as plagued Paul Ehrlich's early books. He refers carefully to scientific information, and the unavoidable consequences of foreseeable conditions. Global climate change, for example, will likely make some areas uninhabitable. Gore makes a profound analogy by incively comparing the tragic environmental situation with the unprecedented nature of the nuclear arms race, citing how it has changed from a "fight- to a process of destruction." Industrial civilization and world ecology have reached a similar stage, he indicates.

His solutions are strong given his level of perception and analysis as a government policymaker. They are not much good for rapid change, however, or for grassroots action. While health food stores already existed back in 1992, it is amazing to witness how many efforts have lead to more sustainable products since then. Unfortunately, the green business trend is new, and, perhaps protectively, he appears to leave out any significant mention of environmentalists and entrepreneurial efforts, especially the initiating of Greenpeace by its Sierra Club founders, health food stores and food cooperatives, Anita Roddick and the Body Shop, and Greenpeace's promotion of non-chlorine bleaching techniques. Since then, of course, have come windpower, hybrid cars, organic clothing, Hawken's and Lovins' Natural Capitalism, Interface and CEO Ray Anderson, Greider's Soul of Capitalism about the ownership crisis in capitalism and the need for employee and cooperative reform, and so on. In conjunction with these grassroots constructive efforts, Gore's work continues to provide an excellent source to remember exactly what is occurring, what is at stake and why learning to take multiple consumer, entrepreneurial, technological, educational, protest, and legislative action are all the more crucial all the time.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars environmental politics at its optimistic peak, January 5, 2003

By 

Brian Miller "b-rian" (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (Plume) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am unsure what frightened me more, the ominious environmental facts presented in this book or the dangerous impermeability of several Amazon reviewers. If one enters this book with an open mind, the result will be a re-evaluation of how one relates to the natural world. Gore is not pushing for the destruction of the American economy but instead a more fair juxtaposition of today's benfits versus future consequences. For someone to curse this book without even remote heed to what it states scares the living daylights out of me. I am not saying this book should be converted into American policy verbatim. However, if we do not use the knowledge and experience of this book as part of an international effort to achieve balance between the present and the future, then we are in trouble. Or let me rephrase that, our kids are in trouble.

68 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well Thought Out and Provocative, October 2, 2000

By 

Lon Grabowski (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (Plume) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read this book two and a half times - during the 1992 and 1996 elections and am reading it currently - and have found it fascinating each time. Al Gore seems to truly understand the environmental issue to a depth that is shocking to find in a politician. Common criticisms of the book include:

1. It is dully written - This is true to some extent. If I were not fascinated by the subject I may have found it rough going. This is the reason it gets 4 stars rather than 5 from me.

2. That the facts stated are unsupported - Balderdash. The book is not foot-noted like an academic monograph because it is not an academic monograph - it is a "popular science" book much like Carl Sagan's work or Isaac Asimov's nonfiction. Sources are frequently mentioned within the text and the figure captions. Add this to the copious chapter notes and bibliography and his sources are well credited.

3. Current Science doses not back up the text - Fully answering this would mean writing another book, but, for example, I have yet to see a reputable atmospheric scientist outside the pay of conservative think tanks deny the existence of the global warming phenomenon anymore. Gore simply researched this book to death and got the science right.

4. An excuse for more big government - Yes, some more environmental regulation would be necessary to forward the Vice-President's goals - current corporate structure is not at all conducive to putting the good of the world ahead of the bottom line no matter how small the sacrifice is. On the other hand, Al Gore was one of the first proponents of free-market solutions too, such as transferable carbon-emission credits.

All in all, a very good if not great book.