This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future

by John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry

Book Overview

The environment, and the movement that grew up to protect it, is under attack -- concerted and purposeful. Yet the need for solutions to pressing environmental problems grows more urgent each day.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586484311
• ISBN13: 9781586484316
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Inspirational Book with Hope for Life and the Environment

As a nurse with a doctorate in public health I have worked with public health and environmental health issues for most of my 55-year career. The last few years have been the most depressing for me and many of my colleagues because of the abuse of the environment (food, air, water) to the point of endangering life as we know it and a feeling that no one was paying attention or caring about or for the environment. Those who did speak out spoke with a defeatist attitude that nothing could be done or that no problem existed when the scientific data differed. Thus, I was ready for some encouraging news. And this book did not let me down. Not only was it encouraging it was inspiring by showing how individuals and groups are doing their part to make this a better world for ours and future generations. Numerous examples cited in the book of what individuals and organizations are doing to heal the environment reminded me of a book by another Congressman, former Congressman John Kasick, who wrote a book about people who" bring life and hope to the aged, the homeless, the helpless, sick and dying...They do God's work on this earth." In a similar vein, Theresa and John's inspirational book gives examples of people who are doing God's work to preserve our environment for this and future generations. From the Riverkeeper to Don Imus and his wife, to companies like Texas Instrument and Dupont to the city of Portland, Oregon--at all levels from individual to organizations to cities individuals and groups are doing their part to improve the environment. The examples presented show it can be done and there is no excuse for The United States not moving forward to reduce global warming and heal the environment. Although there has been local leadership the missing ingredient is national leadership. I thank Theresa and John for a book that advocates for the environment and motivates us to do our part with the knowledge that others also care about and are doing their part to heal the environment. Written in a style that motivates and inspires the book will appeal to all who care about others and the environment we all share. Carl O. Helvie, R.N., Dr.P.H., Author "Healthy Holistic Aging"

Remarkable Work by Truly Caring People

This wonderful book is further proof of the thoughtful and valuable ideas of two people who are continually giving of themselves in an effort to make the world a better place. When on the campaign trail in 2004, John and Teresa showed themelves to be genuine, warm, and amazingly intelligent persons, each in their own right - yet, together, a formidable team. This book of theirs has so many brilliant points in it. It ranks right up there with Al Gore's fantastic Earth in the Balance. Well-written, and yet accessible for people of varying degrees of education, This Moment on Earth gives us all a chance to do someting helpful for this poor, battered earth and the environment that Mankind has damaged so shamefully. It goes without saying that John and Teresa would have been an infinitely more positive influence on the world than the terrible "leaders" we have today. It is a scandal and great sorrow that the election of 2004 was meddled with in such a criminal way. However, they did not let the tragedy and rottenness of that miscarriage of justice stop them from trying to exert their positive influences, anyway. This book is but one of the fruits of their beautiful collaborative marriage. I am hoping for the #1 bestseller position by next week! Thank you, John and Teresa, for an enthralling and invaluable book. Eileen Fay (freelance writer, specializing in environmental and animal issues)

Not Your Usual Doom & Gloom Book on the Environment

This is an enjoyable read and a book that will get you thinking. The people that are written about in this book are real and they are inspiring. I've read many books that outline how grave our situation is and how we are screwing up our environment. This book is different because it concentrates on the positive things that some folks are doing to clean up the places where they live. The overall message of citizen responsibilty strikes a chord of optimism. This is very much a "glass half-full" kind of book. After reading, I was inspired, and more to the point, energized. Many very good books on the environment detail the problem we are facing but leave the reader with a sense of frustration and helplessness. Senator Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry have written a book that lifts the reader up with a message of possibility. "We can do this," comes through loud and clear throughout the book. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to be inspired by ordinary people doing no more and no less than what they feel they have to. These people don't consider themselves heroes, although in a very real way they are. They are just rolling up their sleeves and doing what they know they have to. Earth is our home and the people the senator and his wife talk about in "This Moment on Earth" know the importance of keeping it clean and safe for ourselves and our children. In short: "Today's New Environmentalists" are us and the vision we have for our future is up to us.

Great book

Well put together, bipartisan book. It covers far more than just global warming, and stresses the importance of fixing the problem ASAP. It includes solutions everyone can use. Everyone should read this book.

Was disappointed briefly, then greatly inspired

I was surprisingly inspired by John and Teresa Heinz Kerry's new book, This Moment on Earth. This inspiration snuck up on me around the third chapter. Prior to that, I found the book good, well worth reading, but a little bit like just one more book outlining what humans are doing wrong. Starting around the third chapter I realized I was referring to the book in several conversations and several blog diaries and that several of the people and organizations featured in the book I mentally filed away as worth looking into for future political connections, diaries and general research. In short, almost without my realizing it, John Kerry's book was getting into my brain and inspiring me. The book starts a bit dull but by the end is excellent. The book was billed as the next step in the evolution of the environmental debate. I was ready for a book that took as given the problems and focused primarily on solutions. And, on exactly the same day I started This Moment on Earth I was reading the February 9th issue of Science, America's most respected scientific journal. And in that issue, the scientific community was doing exactly what John Kerry seemed to be proposing...The overwhelming consensus of scientists, as reported in Science, is that anthropogenic (human-caused) warming is happening and the most optimistic scenarios are not the most likely scenarios. We are in for a rough ride and the time is now to accept the problem and move on to solutions. Shift the debate, people. Let's talk what to DO ABOUT IT. I was ready for John Kerry's book to carry the same theme...it is time to take as given the problem and move on to solutions. That isn't quite what I got. And at first I was disappointed. As I read the first two chapters I felt I was reading yet another book that outlined the problem with perhaps a little more emphasis placed on solutions and how individuals and small groups are empowering themselves to fight back. But by the third chapter I found I was taking the most notice of exactly what the Kerrys WANTED me to notice the most: the people who are fighting back. I think it was the case of Majora Carter and Sustainable South Bronx that finally made me realize that this book was inspiring me because I immediately decided she'd be perfect as an invited speaker for a political group I am involved with. The example of Riverkeeper, where ex-marines decided to patrol our nation's waterways to protect them from polluters, was another "wow" moment. Even radio personality Don Imus and his wife, Deidre, come off inspiring in This Moment on Earth, something I never imagined I'd say. And Chapter 7, discussing energy policy, is the best chapter, showing how right here and now, using existing technology, the city of Portland, OR, as well as companies like Texas Instruments and DuPont are doing EXACTLY what needs to be done to reduce carbon emissions...and doing it while creating jobs and saving money. Chapter 7 shows us that there remain NO EXCUSES for Ame