Complex sentence: The course and the book itself, had a considerable influence on the field of resource management and the environment; in fact, "The Earth in Balance", written by a student of the course, Al Gore, pays extensive homage to this course.
Split into simpler sentences: The course and the book itself, had a considerable influence on the field of resource management and the environment. In fact, "The Earth in Balance," written by a student of the course, Al Gore, pays extensive homage to this course.