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Title: Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (Plume)
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Author: Al Gore
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Review of Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (Plume)

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Comments for Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (Plume)

• Posted on 2009-03-12
  Gore's Earth
  
  While in college, Senator Al Gore awakened to the reality of the environmental crisis when, in a science class, he had to deal with data documenting the steady increase of carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere. Later as a fledgling congressman from Tennessee, he held hearings and sought to alert the public to less-than-popular issues such as impending global warming.
  In 1987, deciding to run for president, he made the environment a central component in his campaign--a move which, as George Will noted, apparently addressed issues which were, "in the eyes of the electorate, not even peripheral." Yet Gore persevered, seeking to stay informed, trying to make known his concerns. He recently researched and wrote (by himself, so far as I can gather, which is no small task for a politician) Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, c. 1992). He says he wrote the book mainly because he thinks "that [the environmental crisis] is an outer manifestation of an inner crisis that is, for lack of a better word, spiritual" (p. 12).
  First, Gore illustrates the extent of the problem--the hole in the ozone over Antarctica; global warming; soil erosion; falling forests; disappearing species. But this treatise does not endeavor to set forth "new" data or to break new ground. What he clearly called for is action, not research. We're too often told we need more data, more research, before trying to do anything. But "a choice to 'do nothing' in response to the mounting evidence is actually a choice to continue and even accelerate the reckless environmental destruction that is creating the catastrophe at hand" (p. 37).
  Yet Gore clearly appreciates scientific research and uses it to describe the many areas where ecosystems suffer and decay. His great strength here is his clarity of explanation and striking illus¬trations. He shows, for example, how the world's climate has been dramatically altered by volcanic explosions in the past. A Japanese volcano's massive eruption caused unusually cold weather in Europe which contributed to the social unrest which launched the French Revolution in 1789! Volcanic dust, however, only remains aloft for a few years at most. What might happen if a more permanent form of pollution, such as the gradual build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, permanently blankets the earth?
  After 150 pages to documenting various dimensions of the dilemma, Gore proposes, in Part Two, ways to deal with it. He urges us to "search for balance," to find out how to live wisely with creation, to be caretakers rather than exploiters. To do so demands we develop economic criteria which weigh the worth of the environment as well as the value of human ingenuity and labor. Since "For all practical purposes, the GNP measurement treasured by economists treats the rapid and reckless destruction of the environment as a good thing!" (p. 185), some new standards must be invoked. The hidden, but very real, environmental costs of economic activity must be identified and considered.
  "Consumer" economics, consumption judged sacrosanct and admirable, must be rejected. (When you think about it, a consumer consumes things, takes and devours and discards things; it's strange that we proudly wear the label as a merit badge!) Indeed, as Herman Daly says: "'There is something fundamentally wrong in treating the earth as if it were a business in liquidation'" (p. 191). Along with economics, technology must be evaluated and re-evaluated. Unfortunately, "our fascination with technology displaces what used to be a fascination with the wonder of nature. Like the young child who thinks bread originates on a store shelf, we begin to forget that technology acts upon nature to meet our needs" (p. 207).
  Amazingly, Gore suggests we now live in a "dysfunctional civilization"! What he means is that we have improperly ordered our priorities as a people. We have lost a healthy relationship with our Creator as well as His creation. There should be a religious, not an economic, focus to civilization.
  Too many of us are consumer addicts. Jokes about shopping in the mall to bring meaning to life are all too true! Gore believes "that our civilization is, in effect, addicted to the consumption of the earth itself" (p. 220). Thus we "easily lose ourselves in the forms of culture, society, technology, the media, and the rituals of production and consumption, but the price we pay is the loss of our spiritual lives" (p. 221). We really need an "environmentalism of the spirit." Surely spiritual as well as economic goods deserve reverence. A Baptist, Gore says his "own religious experience and training" (p. 244) encourage him to care for creation. In fact: "my own faith is rooted in the unshakable belief in God as creator and sustainer, a deeply personal inter¬pretation of and relationship with Christ, and an awareness of a constant and holy spiritual presence in all people, all life, and all things" (p. 368). Thus "The old story of God's covenant with both the earth and humankind, and its assignment to human beings of the role of good stewards and faithful servants was "a powerful, noble, and just explanation of who we are in relation to God's earth. What we need today is a fresh telling of our story with the distortions removed" (p. 218).
  In the final section, Part Three, the senator urges us to "strike the balance" through political action. It's imperative that we "make the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle for civilization" (p. 269). Grass-roots organizers in communities around the world have shouldered the task. Scientists and housewives have joined hands to clean up their neighborhoods. Such folks, largely unknown outside their neighborhoods, flourish throughout the world. They are "ordinary people with a deeply embedded sense of right and wrong--usually imparted by a strong and caring parent during their upbringing--and a stubborn refusal to bend their principles even when the opposing force appears invincible and even deadly" (p. 283). Gore tells some of their stories and applauds such independent, localized efforts. Much good comes from their endeavors.
  But national and international strategies are needed to avoid global catastrophes. So Gore sug¬gests we adopt an environmental Marshall Plan with a five-fold objective: stabilizing world population; devising appropriate technologies; refining economic standards and objectives; negotiating international agreements; and establishing educational means whereby earth's peoples are environmentally educated. "No goal is more crucial to healing the global environment than stabilizing human population" (p. 307). Through education, by eliminating the poverty which encourages large families, Gore thinks we can slow the soaring population rate.
  Through research and innovation, through creative taxation strategies, we need to encourage the use of appropriate agricultural, forestry, energy, and building technologies. When a hoe will do, why bring in a tractor? When we can convert sunshine into electricity, why burn coal? E.F. Schumacher devoted his energies to such strategies, and Gore underlines their importance. A new, global economics must be established. Environmental costs and benefits must be con¬sidered. The GNP has to be discarded as a measuring rod for economic policy. Instead, we need to find something like the Iroquois principle, evident in their council decisions, of considering the impact of what we do on the seventh generation--trying to do what's best for the folks who will live on earth 150 years from now! Taxation policies, banking policies, all need amendment. Such steps demand new international treaties and agreements. Such are, we know, often ineffective. But they are better than nothing; at times they secure positive dividends. Consequently, Gore hopes, a new global environmental consen¬sus will emerge which will better protect planet earth.
  Though Gore's objectives stagger the imagination, he at least has the political experience to suggest possible ways to attain them.
  
  
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• Posted on 2008-01-10
  What a great book
  
  Having seen the film "An Inconvenient Truth", I assumed this would make for interesting reading. This book proved to be that and more. Throughout the book's noticeably-long length, Al Gore introduces the reader to the concept of humanity affecting the earth's environment. By making personal connections to himself and his experiences traveling through remote locales (including Antarctica and the dry seas of central Asia), Gore introduces us to the very real facts of global warming and international climate change. It's clear he's done his homework, too. In chapter three, he analyzes every major catastrophic disaster in Earth's history and displays scientific evidence to how the climate directly or indirectly caused them.
  
  The factoids (I say "factoids" because that's essentially what the book consists of-there's no real plot) get a bit redundant and annoying around chapter's five and six, and all of the pessimism begins to bear down on the reader's enjoyment of the book. If one can survive until chapter seven, however, the book changes tone as Gore begins relating all of the pessimism to the humans on Earth. Here, we learn that Gore is neither blaming us nor making excuses: he is looking for answers. The book's general concept (not to give too much away) is that we as human beings are more closely related to the planet than we think, and that we all need to reconsider our actions RIGHT NOW and live more closely to our planet, so we can take a different sort of attitude and understand more thoroughly life's essential necessities for existence.
  
  If there is one thing that Gore never becomes in this book, it is unconvincing. Gore's words are extremely powerful and calculated; the reader can instantly tell Gore is speaking from his heart. There are a few poor points-he drags on around the end of the first third of the book, and the final chapter extends (in my edition) to over sixty pages. Despite the book's slight shortcomings, Gore's raw emotion combined with an intelligent punch make for a convincing, intruiging read that will open the reader's eyes regardless of one's political or religious views.
  
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• Posted on 2007-12-18
  socialist/communist scare tactics
  
  Gore would have you believe that we (humans) are nothing more than parasites devouring the world and leaving only destruction in our wake. Well, I would like for you, Mr. Gore, to stop driving your car, stop flying everywhere, stop using ink and paper (this destroys trees you know), cease using the internet (no, you delusional twit you didn't invent it) and plugging in your slide projector that you charge $100,000 dollars to show (because this causes CO2 emissions and wastes precious energy) and all the other lovely inventions we parasites have so devastated this earth with. Also, you might want to rethink the thousands of dollars electric bill you get every month for that monstrosity of a house you live in (perhaps you should sell it and live in a tent in Uganda or somewhere that doesn't emit CO2...wait! we exhale it you moron!!) This planet is under attack from extremists who have admittedly over-exaggerated the truth (that means he/they lied and said outrightly that he/they lied GRIST magazine interview!!) so that they can dupe the American people (the vast majority won't even research this folly because they're too lazy) into electing officials who will legislate our basic freedoms from us. You want to get in your car and drive wherever...oops! sorry, you can only drive so many miles today (BAD for the environment you know!). You want to have more than two children...oops! sorry, no more than two because as everyone knows children are BAD for the environment!! You say you're married to a man that abuses you...oops! sorry, divorce is BAD for the environment...you have to stay with him. The theories (ALOT of maybes and probablies and perhaps...you know conjecture) that are used to substantiate these claims are flawed and hovers in the category of junk science. Gore is using these scare tactics to establish and promote his investment management group (Generation Investment Management) directly geared toward pilfering money from those naive enough to believe in this sham. He stands to make millions if not billions of dollars while watching the world crumble into chaos because of this idiotic plan. Carbon credits indeed...what hogwash!! Gore is a socialist/communist and would have America bow to his ideology so DON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AID!!!!!
  
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• Posted on 2007-11-14
  A milestone in the environmental debate
  
  I won't summarise the arguments of Earth in the Balance here as other reviewers have done that very well already.
  This is an important book, as much for its context in the history of the environmental movement as for its content. People forget that during his Presidential Campaign some cynics thought that Al had abandoned his green ideology. Others, and I agree with them, thought that he was simply trying not to sound too radical to business interests: the real deciders of elections in the States. The strategy being, get into the White House first by not sounding too revolutionary but once in power the real revolution begins. And that is the message behind this book: only the greatest revolution in human history, a truly global revolution, will have a chance of curing the planet's problems. What's more it has to begin in America where the greatest environmental harm is being done, not just through its consumption patterns but through its philosophy. The reality check means this: the American dream and the survival of the planet are incompatible. So change the American dream. That is why, 15 years after it was published, I suggest that Al Gore should add a new epilogue entitled "what I'd have done if I'd won." And here is an interesting question: would he have achieved more for the environmental in the White House or out of it?
  
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• Posted on 2007-10-03
  An OK read...
  
  So this book was written in 1990...things have changed a lot since then - some for better some for worse. So keep that in mind while reading this book. But some good facts in the book though from extensive research. That is the selling point for this. However, I think the presentation and writing style made it a little difficult to maintain focus. I might have felt differently had I read this in 1990.
  
  
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