From Publishers Weekly
In this timely book, Speth, dean of the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, sounds the alarm on the seriousness of the global environmental crisis. Although he contends that it is not too late to avert disaster, he stresses that we are running out of time and that we can't afford to let current trends continue. He acknowledges that there have been a few hopeful developments, such as the ban on ozone-depleting chemicals around the world, but overall, he argues that little has been accomplished by a plethora of international conferences, negotiations, action plans and treaties. The failure, for which he says the U.S. must take much of the blame, stems from a focus on the symptoms rather than on the underlying causes of environmental degradation, such as population size, affluence and technology. He underscores the necessity of achieving sustainability-living off nature's income rather than consuming its capital-and lists eight transitions that are necessary to redefine and redirect growth on a global level. Speth, co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, founder of the World Resources Institute and an adviser on environmental issues for presidents Carter and Clinton, is well qualified to present a wake-up call on the environment in this thorough and reasoned book. Unfortunately, his somewhat dry recital of the facts may put off some potential readers-that is, today's youth. In a final and particularly useful chapter, he lists organizations and Web-based resources. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* To be effective, call-to-action books about environmental issues must strive for balance. They must sound the alarm, Silent Spring-style, loudly enough to get readers motivated (i.e., frightened); but, on the other hand, they must remain optimistic enough to prevent feelings of futility from morphing into lethargy, no easy task when the environmental damage is immense and its scale global. It also helps to include specific suggestions for action. This book meets all of those challenges beautifully. Although the environmental movement, since the 1960s, has raised much consciousness and cleaned up much pollution, its methods fail against gigantic problems we cannot see until it is too late, like global warming. Nor, says Speth, will our current hodgepodge of treaties and international protocols even come close to preventing some truly horrible things in the near future, like the complete disappearance of maple trees from the Northeast.With concise statistics, bulleted lists, and the calm professionalism of an oncologist, the author is sympathetic to our civilization's economic needs but firm in prescribing some pretty serious lifestyle changes. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Conservation in Practice
"This book would be an excellent introductory text for politicians, foundation directors, and other policymakers."

Partha Dasgupta, Science
"Speth's proposal for a new organization appears as a logical necessity, born out of humanity's experience in dealing with nature."

Book Description
This book will change the way we understand the future of our planet. It is both alarming and hopeful. James Gustave Speth, renowned as a visionary environmentalist leader, warns that in spite of all the international negotiations and agreements of the past two decades, efforts to protect Earth's environment are not succeeding. Still, he says, the challenges are not insurmountable. He offers comprehensive, viable new strategies for dealing with environmental threats around the world. The author explains why current approaches to critical global environmental problems-climate change, biodiversity loss, deterioration of marine environments, deforestation, water shortages, and others-don't work. He offers intriguing insights into why we have been able to address domestic environmental threats with some success while largely failing at the international level. Setting forth eight specific steps to a sustainable future, Speth convincingly argues that dramatically different government and citizen action are now urgent. If ever a book could be described as "essential," this is it.

From the Publisher
Also in this volume: Citizens' Resource Guide & Recommended Readings

From the Back Cover
"Gus Speth brought global environmental concerns to the world's attention nearly a quarter of a century ago. His extraordinary new book is an impassioned plea to take these issues seriously before it is too late. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to read Red Sky at Morning and take action while we can."-Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States; "A wide-ranging, powerful argument. This book has enormous credibility-it's the firsthand report of the American who's been closest to the front lines at one negotiation after another."-Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

About the Author
James Gustave Speth is dean and professor in the practice of environmental policy and sustainable development at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University. He founded and was president of the World Resources Institute, co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council, served as adviser on environmental issues for Presidents Carter and Clinton, and was chief executive officer of the United Nations Development Programme. For his role in bringing the global warming issue to wide public attention, Speth was recently awarded the presitigious Blue Planet Prize. A Conversation With Gus Speth: Q: Why did you write Red Sky at Morning? A: I'm alarmed by a quarter century of so little action-and worried about the world we are leaving our children. I don't think people are sufficiently aware of the urgency of the environmental situation we now face. The information people receive about the challenges and what we can do to meet them is episodic and incomplete. I wanted to pull it all together in a useful framework. Q: In researching and writing the book, what aspect of its development struck you the most? A: Two things. The failure of good science to reach a wide audience. And the critical role of the United States, for good or ill. Unfortunately, it has mostly been for ill to date. We've got to change that. Q: What do you hope the book will accomplish? A: I hope it will both empower and motivate readers to take action, with a deep sense of urgency. We sometimes refer to the environmental movement. Well, we need a real one.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This book will change the way we understand the future of our planet. It is both alarming and hopeful. James Gustave Speth, renowned as a visionary environmentalist leader, warns that in spite of all the international negotiations and agreements of the past two decades, efforts to protect Earth's environment are not succeeding. Still, he says, the challenges are not insurmountable. He offers comprehensive, viable new strategies for dealing with environmental threats around the world. The author explains why current approaches to critical global environmental problems -- climate change, biodiversity loss, deterioration of marine environments, deforestation, water shortages, and others -- don't work now and won't work in the future. He provides a stinging critique of the failure of U.S. leadership and offers intriguing insights into why we have been able to address domestic environmental threats with some success while largely failing at the international level. Setting forth eight specific steps to a sustainable future, Speth convincingly argues that dramatically different and far-reaching actions by citizens and governments are now urgent. If ever a book could be described as "essential," this is it.

SYNOPSIS

"Gus Speth brought global environmental concerns to the world's attention nearly a quarter of a century ago. His extraordinary new book is an impassioned plea to take these issues seriously before it is too late. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to read Red Sky at Morning and take action while we can."-Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States; "A wide-ranging, powerful argument. This book has enormous credibility-it's the firsthand report of the American who's been closest to the front lines at one negotiation after another."-Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

Author Biography: James Gustave Speth is dean and professor in the practice of environmental policy and sustainable development at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University. He founded and was president of the World Resources Institute, co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council, served as adviser on environmental issues for Presidents Carter and Clinton, and was chief executive officer of the United Nations Development Programme. For his role in bringing the global warming issue to wide public attention, Speth was recently awarded the presitigious Blue Planet Prize. A Conversation With Gus Speth: Q: Why did you write Red Sky at Morning? A: I'm alarmed by a quarter century of so little action-and worried about the world we are leaving our children. I don't think people are sufficiently aware of the urgency of the environmental situation we now face. The information people receive about the challenges and what we can do to meet them is episodic and incomplete. I wanted to pull it all together in a useful framework. Q: In researching and writing the book, what aspect of its development struck you the most? A: Two things. The failure of good science to reach a wide audience. And the critical role of the United States, for good or ill. Unfortunately, it has mostly been for ill to date. We've got to change that. Q: What do you hope the book will accomplish? A: I hope it will both empower and motivate readers to take action, with a deep sense of urgency. We sometimes refer to the environmental movement. Well, we need a real one.

Also in this volume: Citizens' Resource Guide & Recommended Readings

FROM THE CRITICS

The New Yorker

In the past two decades, the world’s population has grown by thirty-five per cent, energy use by forty per cent, and automobile production by forty-five per cent. The level of carbon dioxide in the air is the highest it has been in nearly half a million years—and CO2 emissions are projected to climb sixty per cent by 2025. Laying out the grim facts, Speth, who was an adviser to Presidents Carter and Clinton, and is the dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, sounds almost nostalgic for the days when the environmental crisis was all about aerosol sprays, factory smokestacks, and PCBs in the riverbed. Today, as he stresses, the crisis is global. But, rather than wait for grand international treaties, Speth thinks that individuals, N.G.O.s, corporations, and other groups ought to start their own initiatives to protect the environment and prevent an irreversible shift in climate. Forty years after “Silent Spring,” we may be facing a long, hot summer.

Publishers Weekly