A Contract with the Earth

Infobox Book
name = A Contract with the Earth
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = 2007 Hardcover edition
author = Newt Gingrich and Terry L. Maple
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = USA
language = English
series =
subject =
genre =
publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press
pub_date = 2007
english_pub_date =
media_type =
pages = 256 pages
isbn = 0-8018-8780-2
oclc =
preceded_by = Rediscovering God in America
followed_by = Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works

"A Contract with the Earth" is a book by Newt Gingrich and Terry L. Maple, with a foreword by E. O. Wilson.cite news | last = Revkin | first =Andrew C. | title = Challenges to Both Left and Right on Global Warming | work = The New York Times | publisher = The New York Times Company | date = 2007-11-13 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/science/earth/13book.html?_r=1&ex=1195621200&en=0bb19d4a3cefb848&ei=5123&partner=BREITBART&oref=slogin | accessdate = 2008-04-04] Its title is derived from from a 10 point "contract" the authors put forward in the book.cite news | last = McEvoy | first = Dermot | title = Gingrich Tackles Environment | work = PW Daily | publisher = Reed Business Information | date = 2007-03-30 | url = http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6429438.html | accessdate = 2008-04-04]

Synopsis

"A Contract with the Earth's" is, broadly, a manifesto that challenges those on the right to provide a strategy for repairing the planet and calls on government to embrace the concept that a healthy environment is required for a healthy democracy and economy . This approach, alternately branded mainstream and entrepreneurial environmentalism by the authors cite news | title = Nonfiction Reviews: Week of 9/17/2007 | work = Publishers Weekly | publisher = Reed Business Information | date = 2007-09-17 | url = http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6478174.html | accessdate = 2008-04-04] , requires that companies should lead the way in environmental issues while governments provide them with incentives to reduce their carbon footprint.

With its 10 "commandments", "A Contract with the Earth" calls for politicians to abandon adversarial politics and for business and conservationists to form compatible partnerships. In one of the books themes, Gingrich and Maple argue that environmental efforts shouldn't be exclusive to one political philosophy and reject the idea that free enterprise and a cleaner world are opposing forces.

The book, who's title is similar to Gingrich's co-authored hard-right book "Contract with America" , at times reveals Gingrich disdain for what he calls liberals’ failed reliance on legislation and litigation in environmental protection.

Authors

Gingrich, who has been described as a green conservative cite news | last = Mieszkowski | first =Katharine | title = Give Newt a chance | work = Salon.com | publisher = Salon Media Group | url = http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2007/11/10/gingrich/index.html | accessdate = 2008-04-04] , is the former Speaker of House of Representatives while Maple is president and CEO of the Palm Beach Zoo and professor of conservation and behavior at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Wilson is a prize-winning conservation biologist and author.

References

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External links

* [http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/9353.html A Contract with the Earth on the Johns Hopkins University Press website]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/11/04/DI2007110401181.html Washington Post interview about "'A Contract with the Earth", with Newt Gingrich ]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21520061/ Excerpts from "A Contract with the Earth" on TodayShow.com at MSNBC]