Earth in the Balance

I reviewed this book when it first came out in 1992, since when Al Gore has been vice president of the United States and has become a leading crusader in the campaign against global warming. No doubt most readers of this publication will have seen his film. Subtitled 'forging a common purpose', and revised in 2000, this new edition contains an updated foreword entitled 'the coming environmental decade.' Gore remarks that new scientific research has greatly strengthened our grasp of the basics: 'global warming is real, it is getting worse rapidly, it is mainly caused by human beings, we need to act now to avoid the worst of its consequences - and it is not too late.' We know that we have radically transformed the relationship between humankind and the earth, but our focus on short-term thinking and instant gratification 'has led to a systematic exclusion of long-term consequences in our decisions and policies.' This puts us on a collision course with the earth. However, as we know, the necessary political will has not yet been mobilised. This book is a brilliant analysis of the larger context of our situation, and is as relevant now as when it was first published.