From: wheeler@super.org (Ferrell S. Wheeler)
Subject: Gore's Book - Review
Organization: Supercomputing Research Center (Bowie, MD)
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 16:47:05 GMT

ECOLOGY; BOOK REVIEW; AL GORE
 
 
 The Earth, As If It Really Mattered
 Earth In The Balance - Ecology and the Human Spirit 
 By Senator Al Gore; Houghton Mifflin Company; hardcover, $27.95
 
 
One of the most amazing things about Earth in the Balance is that it's
written by a politician.  These days, most Americans think of politicians
as uniformed, out of touch, unfeeling and even unintelligent, but Senator
Al Gore, through his book, Earth in the Balance, Ecology and the Human
Spirit, proves he simply doesn't run with that pack.  Gore is clearly an
expert on environmental matters great and small and, probably most
important in an election year that has thrust him almost inadvertently
into the spotlight, a true visionary with the courage to ask the tough
questions. 
 
Gore is well known for his advocacy for the environment and his
outspokenness on the climate change issue.  He has travelled the world
extensively, witnessing first hand environmental disasters as far ranging
as desertification from Central Asia to Iowa, rainforest destruction in
the Amazon, dolphin kills in Texas, bleached coral reefs in the Caribbean.
 
His style is free-flowing and even at times lyrical.  Some of his
descriptions of nature are so beautiful that his deep love and respect for
all things natural is without question.  However, as is typical of a
politician, he can ramble on at times.  Several chapters in section 11
could have edited to a few paragraphs each and still clearly conveyed the
message.  Gore is at his best when writing specifically about the
environment and when he strays from this topic, his message becomes
blurred and he sounds nothing if not preachy.
 
But Gore does write adeptly about complicated scientific issues, making
them easy to understand.  He provides a detailed explanation of ozone
depletion for the non-scientist and uses clear, simples analogies like,
"the sky is only a cross-country run away" from the earth.  He traverses
through the history of civilization to substantiate his theory that
throughout time, climate change has been the force that moves civilization
but that "where civilization once feared nature's whim, the earth must now
suffer ours."
 
It's interesting to note how Gore chose the title, Earth in the Balance. 
It is derived from an economic presentation given by the Bush
Administration in which an illustration showed the earth balancing on a
scale, it's weight equalling six gold bars.  Incredible that our
government not only believes we can actually calculate the monetary value
of our planet, but that value is equivalent to a mere six gold bars.
 
It's ironic that the Bush Administration berates Gore for being an
environmental "extremist."  Some have even gone as far as to accuse the
Senator of communist leanings, saying he is like a watermelon - green on
the outside but "pink" on the inside.  These folks have obviously not read
the book, as Gore states emphatically, "Free market capitalist economics
is arguably the most powerful tool ever used by civilization."  Again and
again throughout the book, he chastises the communism system for causing
some of the most severe environmental degradation on the planet and
repeatedly sounds his own steadfast belief in the American, democratic
system.
 
Al Gore is an extremist if being a patriot and a Christian is extreme.  In
addition to his fierce loyalty to the American system he tells the reader
of his own religious faith - indeed, it is his deep religious faith that
compels him to speak out on behalf of the planet.  He preaches the
doctrines of the stewardship of the land - that we are a part of the
earth, inextricably linked to it, dependent on it for our health and
happiness.  I hope he is not preaching only to the converted, that those
who still question the seriousness of the environmental crisis we face
will read his book and heed the message, for I've no doubt that this book
can enlighten those who need environmental religion, as well as strengthen
the resolve of those who already have it.
 
Gore's  primary  message  is  this: the global environmental  crisis  is 
a manifestation of mankind's inner, spiritual crisis.  Collectively, we
view nature as a limitless resource, and see ourselves as separate from
it.
 
Gore notes that our generation's wanton destruction of nature will most
severely effect those with the least power to object: the people of the
future.  Of: course, there is another powerless group our actions effect:
our friends in the animal kingdom.  Gore is a strong advocate for
biodiversity and points out that half of the species of living things on
the earth have been destroyed in our lifetime.  He warns of the disastrous
effects of overpopulation, from increasing C02 levels to habitat loss.  He
even relays a touching story of an encounter he has in his own
neighborhood with a pheasant, wandering lost in the road as his home in
the woods is bulldozed to make way for more development.                   
                    
Gore has written a thought-provoking, inspiring, and hopeful book.
 
Reviewed by Diana Kay Widener for Animals Agenda 10/92:

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