Critical Summary of Earth in the Balance
Al Gore in the book, Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit argue that nature is crumbling as a result of the numerous actions that human civilization has done. Gore supports his argument by describing how humans have affected the planet and what effect this has had on society, the human population and more importantly the effect that this has had on planet Earth. The author's purpose is to inform the general populous about the dangers of pollution, global warming and other planetary issues so that people will learn about the problems with the global environment as well as being able to see a vivid overview of the dangers that our planet is facing. The author writes in a concerned and serious tone for a more adult audience because although it will be these generations' kids that can actually change the planet, it is the adults/ parents jobs to enlighten their children about the problems that our planet is facing.
Since this is mainly a scientific book one could only assume that at times it will be a challenge to understand. This assumption would be correct because at times it can get drawn out and wordy but, Gore will relate what is happening to the world to a simple metaphor. On example of this is how he relates the current global crisis to a car accident. He states how the world is crumbling like the crumple zones of a car and how some of those pieces can harm humans like the dashboard hitting them in the face. Along with these types of similes and technical writing the overarching themes of the book are easy to understand and well thought out.
Gore doesn't just write about problems in the environment, he also comments on how the political system is handling the developing problems in the global environment. One such event is how the then current President George H. W. Bush handled the 1990 White House conference on the global environment. There is also a chapter that is dedicated to how our reliance on technology creates a barrier to our experience on nature. Since technology is a large part of our everyday lives and has only increased since the time when this book was published this "barrier" has grown significantly. His observation about technology was correct because since the 90's our use of technology has grown and people have paid less attention to the environment and the problems of pollution and global warming.
The book is divided into three sections each describing different aspects of his main argument about the global environment. The first part named Balance at Risk is separated into eight separate chapters discussing the various threats to the environment. Such threats as global warming, the history of the effects of climate on civilization, the state and implications of air and water pollution, deforestation, the food and water crises, and waste issues. The next section aptly named Search for Balance talks about the problems with governments not taking a stand about the previously stated issues, as well as the effect that politics have on the state of the global environment. He also goes into our relationship with technology and religion and other problems that have plagued mankind for centuries like diseases and inequality. In the final section Striking the Balance Gore reveals a proposal that if enacted correctly and enforced could help decrease the amount of pollution and other negative things that affect the environment and nature. He calls this the Global Marshall plan and it is based on the post-World War II Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe's economy. He includes five major steps; 1) Stabilize the population, 2) Developing and sharing technologies, 3) A new global "eco-nomics", 4) A new generation of treaties and agreements, and 5) A new global environmental consensus. Using this type of organization is very effective because it breaks up his main ideas into three separate parts which helps to emphasize these main points. This emphasis on different main themes helps to centralize his argument that the environment needs help and people need to start to put forth a genuine effort to bring about change.
Al Gore in the book, Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit argue that nature is crumbling as a result of the numerous actions that human civilization has done. Gore supports his argument by describing how humans have affected the planet and what effect this has had on society, the human population and more importantly the effect that this has had on planet Earth. The author's purpose is to inform the general populous about the dangers of pollution, global warming and other planetary issues so that people will learn about the problems with the global environment as well as being able to see a vivid overview of the dangers that our planet is facing. The author writes in a concerned and serious tone for a more adult audience because although it will be these generations' kids that can actually change the planet, it is the adults/ parents jobs to enlighten their children about the problems that our planet is facing.
Since this is mainly a scientific book one could only assume that at times it will be a challenge to understand. This assumption would be correct because at times it can get drawn out and wordy but, Gore will relate what is happening to the world to a simple metaphor. On example of this is how he relates the current global crisis to a car accident. He states how the world is crumbling like the crumple zones of a car and how some of those pieces can harm humans like the dashboard hitting them in the face. Along with these types of similes and technical writing the overarching themes of the book are easy to understand and well thought out.
Gore doesn't just write about problems in the environment, he also comments on how the political system is handling the developing problems in the global environment. One such event is how the then current President George H. W. Bush handled the 1990 White House conference on the global environment. There is also a chapter that is dedicated to how our reliance on technology creates a barrier to our experience on nature. Since technology is a large part of our everyday lives and has only increased since the time when this book was published this "barrier" has grown significantly. His observation about technology was correct because since the 90's our use of technology has grown and people have paid less attention to the environment and the problems of pollution and global warming.
The book is divided into three sections each describing different aspects of his main argument about the global environment. The first part named Balance at Risk is separated into eight separate chapters discussing the various threats to the environment. Such threats as global warming, the history of the effects of climate on civilization, the state and implications of air and water pollution, deforestation, the food and water crises, and waste issues. The next section aptly named Search for Balance talks about the problems with governments not taking a stand about the previously stated issues, as well as the effect that politics have on the state of the global environment. He also goes into our relationship with technology and religion and other problems that have plagued mankind for centuries like diseases and inequality. In the final section Striking the Balance Gore reveals a proposal that if enacted correctly and enforced could help decrease the amount of pollution and other negative things that affect the environment and nature. He calls this the Global Marshall plan and it is based on the post-World War II Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe's economy. He includes five major steps; 1) Stabilize the population, 2) Developing and sharing technologies, 3) A new global "eco-nomics", 4) A new generation of treaties and agreements, and 5) A new global environmental consensus. Using this type of organization is very effective because it breaks up his main ideas into three separate parts which helps to emphasize these main points. This emphasis on different main themes helps to centralize his argument that the environment needs help and people need to start to put forth a genuine effort to bring about change.