''Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit'' (, paperback ) is a 1992 book written by

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic nom ...

, published in June 1992, shortly before he was elected

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

in the 1992 presidential election. Known by the short title ''Earth in the Balance'', the book explains the world's ecological predicament and describes a range of policies to deal with the most pressing problems. It includes a proposed "

Global Marshall Plan The Global Marshall Plan is a plan first devised by former American Vice-President Al Gore in his bestselling book '' Earth in the Balance'', which gives specific ideas on how to save the global environment. Gore states: "The model of the Marsh ...

" to address current ecological issues. Written while his son was recovering from a serious accident, ''Earth in the Balance'' became the first book written by a sitting U.S. Senator to make the ''New York Times'' bestseller list since

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

's 1956 ''

Profiles in Courage ''Profiles in Courage'' is a 1956 volume of short biographies describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States Senators. The book profiles senators who defied the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was ...

''. In 1993, ''Earth in the Balance'' was released in paperback and

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

format on audio

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...

. It received the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights 1993 Book award given annually to a book that "most faithfully and forcefully reflects Robert Kennedy's purposes - his concern for the poor and the powerless, his struggle for honest and even-handed justice, his conviction that a decent society must assure all young people a fair chance, and his faith that a free democracy can act to remedy disparities of power and opportunity." The book was followed by ''

An Inconvenient Truth ''An Inconvenient Truth'' is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. The film features a slide show that, by Gore's own e ...

'', a book that was the companion for a movie narrated by Al Gore, shown at the 2006

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

and released on 24 May 2006. In the 2002 ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

'' episode " Crimes of the Hot," Al Gore himself references the book and its "far more popular" fictional future sequel, ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Ho ...

and the Balance of Earth''.

Opposition to adaptation

In the book Gore expresses opposition to

adaptation to global warming Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...

, writing that adaption represented a “kind of laziness, an arrogant faith in our ability to react in time to save our skins”.

Editions

*Gore, Al, ''Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit'', 1992, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, hardcover, 416 pages, . *Gore, Al, ''Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit'', 2000-04-22, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, hardcover, 416 pages, . *Gore, Al, ''Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit'', New edition, 2000-07-26,

Earthscan Earthscan is an English-language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers. History The Earthscan Publications imprint was founded by th ...

Publications Ltd., paperback, 440 pages, . *Gore, Al, ''Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit'', New foreword, 2006, Rodale, Inc., paperback, 408 pages, .

Notes

External links

''Booknotes'' interview with Gore on ''Earth in the Balance'', February 16, 1992''Earth in the Balance'' - Book, Routledge/Earthscan
{{Al Gore 1992 non-fiction books 1992 in the environment Books by Al Gore Environmental non-fiction books Political books Houghton Mifflin books