2007 book by Newt Gingrich
A Contract with the Earth
is a book by
Newt Gingrich
and Terry L. Maple, with a
foreword
by
E. O. Wilson
.
[1]
Its title is derived from a 10-point "contract" the authors put forward in the book.
[2]
Synopsis
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A Contract with the Earth
is, broadly, a
manifesto
that challenges those on the right to provide a strategy for repairing the planet
[3]
and calls on the government to embrace the concept that a healthy environment is required for a healthy
democracy
and
economy
.
[3]
This approach, alternately branded mainstream and
entrepreneurial
environmentalism
by the authors,
[4]
requires that companies should lead the way in environmental issues while governments provide them with incentives to reduce their
carbon footprint
.
[3]
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 book's 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.
[4]
The book generated a storm of media attention in late 2007 and early 2008 as the U.S. presidential campaign began to heat up. Gingrich in particular made numerous media appearances arguing that the
Republican Party
was losing popular support because their response to environmental policy was simply, as he put it, "NO!" Maple toured the country as Gingrich's stand-in, most notably before the
Republicans for Environmental Protection
(REP, www.repamerica.org) during their annual meeting (at which
John McCain
was endorsed as the most "
green
" of the Republican presidential candidates). In 2008 Gingrich published another book that advocated
oil drilling
,
Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less
, and many pundits called his environmental commitment into question. However, this book's fifth chapter provided an argument for environmental protection. Like many aspects of Gingrich's career, his interest in environmental issues has generated controversy.
The book, whose title is similar to Gingrich's co-authored book
Contract with America
,
[4]
criticizes the
Democratic Party
's legislation and litigation on environmental protection issues.
[4]
Authors
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Gingrich has been described by
Katharine Mieszkowski
as a "green conservative."
[3]
He is the former
Speaker of House of Representatives
, and 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
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Political and
legislative career
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Selected books
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