Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis [Paperback]

Al Gore (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 3, 2009

It is now abundantly clear that we have at our fingertips all of the tools we need to solve the climate crisis. The only missing ingredient is collective will.

Properly understood, the climate crisis is an unparalleled opportunity to finally and effectively address many persistent causes of suffering and misery that have long been neglected, and to transform the prospects of future generations, giving them a chance to live healthier, more prosperous lives as they continue their pursuit of happiness.

Our Choice gathers in one place all of the most effective solutions that are available now and that, together, will solve this crisis. It is meant to depoliticize the issue as much as possible and inspire readers to take action—not only on an individual basis but as participants in the political processes by which every country, and the world as a whole, makes the choice that now confronts us.

There is an old African proverb that says, "If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together."

We have to go far, quickly.

We can solve the climate crisis. It will be hard, to be sure, but if we can make the choice to solve it, I have no doubt whatsoever that we can and will succeed.

—AL GORE, from the introduction

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Nobel laureate Gore is dedicated to one of the most important missions on the planet: educating humankind about the causes and consequences of global warming and offering solutions to the looming crises implicit in the changes to the earth’s climate and habitability that are already well under way. No one is more qualified than Gore to lead the collective movement beyond fossil fuels, given his command of the science and politics involved, his invaluable global connections and resources, and his sensitivity to our reluctance to face the “magnitude and gravity of the climate crisis.” As he did in An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Gore matches clear and ringing explanations and commentary with superb supporting diagrams and illustrations and striking photographs from around the world, documenting the dramatic impacts of human industry and climate change. He begins by providing the straight facts about the sources of the pollutants causing global warming and the disastrous energy inefficiency of our buildings, vehicles, appliances, and industrialized agriculture. Here, too, is the searing truth about the campaign of climate change denial via disinformation and ridicule orchestrated and paid for by oil and coal corporations. But after spending three years convening “solution summits” and assessing the fruits of those productive discussions, Gore turns away from blame and despair and toward answers and encouragement. The result is a veritable catalog for a better world and a practical guide to solar, wind, and geothermal power and smart “super grids,” endeavors China is already pursuing. Gore also eloquently explains how the harnessing of renewable energy sources will solve an entire matrix of global traumas. Our Choice is an inviting and momentous compendium of environmental discovery (with 100 percent of its earnings going to the Alliance for Climate Protection) that addresses one of the greatest threats our species has encountered with intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, and faith in human empowerment. This is a book that should be displayed and talked about everywhere. --Donna Seaman

Review

"In a new book that marks an evolution in his thinking, Al Gore recognizes that the debate over climate change can be more about doing well while doing good."
—John Meachan, Newsweek
 
"Authoritative, exhaustive, reasoned, erudite."
 —Sharon Begley, Newsweek

 

“The clarity of his argument and the fissile power of his analysis combine to elevate Our Choice into the top-ranking environmental books of our time."
 —Financial Times

 

"There is no greater champion of the climate imperative than Al Gore. [He] distills his mastery of the topic into clean, readable prose, and illustrates it with gorgeous glossy photos and accessible -- and eye-opening -- charts. After you read Gore's book, you will see why the choice must be made right now."
 —Huffington Post
 
"Ken-Burns-meets-global-warming, with vivid diagrams of how technologies work and lavish color photos."
—Philadelphia Inquirer
   
"Besides being informative, Our Choice is a truly beautiful book page after page, and I highly recommend it, particularly for those who want a broad overview of the key strategies for preserving a livable climate. This [is] a must-read book for those who want a primer on all the key solutions countries will be considering at Copenhagen."
 —Dr. Joseph Romm, Climateprogress.com
 
"It’s the grand compendium of all that we know about how to undertake this most difficult of transitions. Gore’s new volume is the indispensable one-stop shop for the cutting edge thinking about how we’re going to solve this problem."
 —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

 

“No one is more qualified than Gore to lead the collective movement beyond fossil fuels, given his command of the science and politics involved, his invaluable global connections and resources, and his sensitivity to our reluctance to face the ‘magnitude and gravity of the climate crisis.’ As he did in An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Gore matches clear and ringing explanations and commentary with superb supporting diagrams and illustrations and striking photographs from around the world, documenting the dramatic impacts of human industry and climate change… Our Choice is an inviting and momentous compendium of environmental discovery (with 100 percent of its earnings going to the Alliance for Climate Protection) that addresses one of the greatest threats our species has encountered with intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, and faith in human empowerment. This is a book that should be displayed and talked about everywhere.”
—Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; First Edition edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594867348
• ISBN-13: 978-1594867347
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Climatology
  • #54 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy > Environmental Policy

More About the Author

Former Vice President Al Gore is co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management. He is also a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and a member of Apple, Inc.'s board of directors.

Gore spends the majority of his time as chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a non-profit devoted to solving the Climate Crisis.

Gore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982 and the U.S. Senate in 1984 and 1990. He was inaugurated as the forty-fifth Vice President of the United States on January 20, 1993, and served eight years. During the Administration, Gore was a central member of President Clinton's economic team. He served as President of the Senate, a Cabinet member, a member of the National Security Council and as the leader of a wide range of Administration initiatives.

He is the author of the bestsellers Earth in the Balance, An Inconvenient Truth, The Assault on Reason, and Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. He is the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary and is the co-recipient, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for "informing the world of the dangers posed by climate change."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars On the actual book December 28, 2009

By cm

Format:Paperback

Most of the "reviews" on this site are simply political arguments (with varying degrees of relevance to the book's subject matter) by people who either agree or disagree with Al Gore from a political standpoint. I would like to present a review of this book on its own merits.

1) The author has a lot to say in this book, and some of it takes time to read and comprehend. A book club might be helpful for many readers.
2) My favorite aspect of this book (from a literary standpoint) is the format. It is an interesting blend between textbook-style presentation of data, coffee-table-style presentation of main ideas, and textual exposition of a complex thesis. I think this format, while unconventional, fits the author's writing style. The downside of the format is that it could be too accessible, possibly enabling skimming or cherry-picking in lieu of reading.
3) There are minor grammatical errors that do not appear to obscure the meaning. Grammatical errors are common in scientific texts, because the majority of proofreading is done by technical experts. Also, artistic license is taken in some of the artistic renderings and poetry (and has been criticized in some reviews on this site). Both of these could be blown out of proportion by political opponents, but are legitimate in the context of the genre.
4) One of the reviews on this site claims that there is an "error" on the nuclear bar in the graph on p. 165. A range of 1-255 is given in the graph. The reviewer claims that the "actual" value in the reference is 66, but the reference itself gives the range from 1-255 *and* states that 66 is the mean value obtained upon a weighted average.... Ironically, the value of 66 is not an "actual" value; it comes from a mathematical analysis, and does not refer to any particular study of an actual power plant. The book correctly presents the actual values from scientific studies, which range from 1-255. This full explanation is given on p. 2941 of the technical review that was referenced, which is free online: [...] Read more ›

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Detailed Look At Climate Solutions April 2, 2010

By Skip08

Format:Paperback

This is a great book for a detailed look at the climate issues and climate solutions that are in front of us today. It can be at times, a bit tedious as it is a very analytical fact driven piece. However if you want a detailed look at the issues facing energy (solar, wind, nuclear, etc.) and our environment (soil, oceans, forests, etc.) then this is really what you need. Although a smaller touch, I really enjoyed the quotes and and insight offered periodically throughout the book. I definitely encourage anyone who is concerend about global warming and climate issues to read this book. In the end the book is an optimistic look at what is possible, and at the same time a sober reminder of what could be if we fail to act.

169 of 244 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Choice: the Solutions Sequel November 3, 2009

By L. John Doerr

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Our Choice is wonderfully accessible and pragmatic. Its eighteen chapters are a lavishly illustrated menu of choices which is at once expansive and credible. Our Choice clearly conveys the scope of solutions to the climate crisis, solutions which are promising, practical and potent. The solutions taken together meet the challenge, with speed and at scale.

It is the perfect sequel to An Inconvenient Truth.

I'm particularly struck by Gore's tone in Our Choice: he is sober and thoughtful and opinionated but not pedantic. This is not a superficial, how-to "101 Ways to Go Green," or an encyclopedic compendium of mind-numbing minutiae.

Rather, Our Choice is a survey at just the right level of detail. It covers our sources of energy, how we use it, and the obstacles we must overcome. An important highlight is the discussion of living systems, our forests, soil, and population, which is missing in most writing about climate crisis.

Gore's work comes at a crucial moment in time. The U.S. is vigorously debating climate legislation. Policy makers and parents, students and teachers, entrepreneurs and scientists are all energized. For example, fully one-third of the faculty at MIT wants to work on clean energy technologies. Our Choice will tempt and magnify those passions. It is a manual and manifesto for change, a good guide with a clear view of both the forest and the trees. It comes on the road to Copenhagen, but its best use is the path beyond.

OK, I'll admit (with pride) I'm a huge fan of Al Gore's. But not withstanding our friendship, this remarkable work IS the real thing. It is the product of countless hours of research and interviews, reading and listening, writing and rewriting, debate and critical thinking....

My daughter said "Dad, your generation created this problem. You'd better fix it." Our Choice is the Field Guide to fixing the climate crisis, a set of solutions worthy of your consideration.

Read this book. If you must, burn (and sequester) the others. And recycle the rest!

When mankind confronts and conquers the climate crisis it will be because one man made Our Choice clear. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My choice...to write reviews of books I've actually read. April 30, 2012

By Watch the Dot

Format:Paperback

Al Gore has never been known for being a dynamic speaker who excites and energizes his audiences. His writing style, at least in Our Choice, is not much different in that regard. With that being said, if you're expecting or looking for a partisan, rage-filled polemic, then you'll have to look elsewhere.

Our Choice is instead a solid, mild-mannered and reasoned work that explores issues in depth and could easily be used as a textbook for an introductory environmental science or other related course. The entire book is filled with full-color pictures, graphs, maps, and diagrams that illustrate the concepts at hand. These include everything from pictures of farmland to maps of the Ring of Fire to engineering diagrams showing how a turbine works. If you wanted to know what Mexico City's suburbs look like, there's a picture of that right at the beginning of the book. There's a graph of how much biofuel is generated per acre from different crops. There are fMRI images of the human brain. It's a multidisciplinary approach that brings together a wide variety of fields and sources.

Whereas An Inconvenient Truth was largely graphics-heavy, Our Choice balances all these graphics with a significant amount of text. Rather than text supplementing the graphics, here the graphics supplement the text. The overwhelming bulk of the book has a textbook-style quality to it. Gore describes the different types of solar panels. He describes how nuclear power plants work. He talks about how the human brain processes information, and how a cap and trade system functions.... Parts of the text are borderline technical documents, a style that doesn't really break until the final chapter - an imaginative, albeit somewhat cheesy, conversation with someone from the future about our choice to combat the climate crisis. And again, Our Choice is nowhere near a political rant. Even Chapter 16, which directly deals with political obstacles to action on climate change, is remarkably apolitical and even-handed. The Republican Party and FOX News are never singled out as targets, and Gore is quick to praise those on both sides of the aisle - as well as criticize both sides - if it pertains to the subject matter being discussed.

The reviews here on Amazon are a different story. Ordinarily I would have given Our Choice 4, rather than 5, stars. Sources are cited - online at the book's website. There's no bibliography in the book itself, a strange omission given the subject matter. Each chapter's text is presented in full with no breaks or subsections. The text is certainly well organized, but 30-40 page chapters would benefit from visual breaks that help the reader categorize things or jump to sections of interest. And of course, the writing style is often too dry for my taste.

Despite that I chose to give the book 5 stars to help balance out the 1 star reviews. It's obvious the negative reviews here were written by people who never read the book nor did so much as pick it up and flip through it. I'd be willing to bet the majority of them have never even seen it in person. Most merely parrot talking points and debunked denier propaganda, taking issue not with the book itself (because really, a diagram of how geothermal systems work or a map of a proposed European power grid are hardly part of a vast, worldwide liberal conspiracy), but rather with what they THINK (or what someone else told them) the book is about.

Are there things Gore can be criticized on? Definitely. But these are reviews about the book, and the science here - with everything from details about soils, agriculture, forestry, smog, engineering, hydrology, and more - is grounded in reality and easily found in better-reviewed books, scientific articles, and official studies by other authors and institutions. It is a shame Gore's history in Congress and the executive branch ends up undercutting his work and causing an entire audience to attack or ignore it; had someone else written Our Choice, its reception would indubitably be better. Read more ›