LIVE from NYPL: NEWT GINGRICH in conversation with JEFFREY SACHS: A Contract with the Earth

Event Details

Most people regardless of how they categorize themselves politically are weary of the legal and political conflicts that prevent individuals and communities from realizing the benefits of environmental conservation. In his new book, A Contract with the Earth, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and conservationist Terry L. Maple focus the environmental debate on the principle of common commitment. They declare a need for bipartisan environmentalism a new era of environmental stewardship. While acknowledging that liberals and conservatives do not see eye to eye on many issues, they argue that environmental stewardship is a mainstream value that transcends partisan politics.

Their approaches to our environmental challenges are based on three main premises: environmental leadership is integral to America's role in the world, technologically savvy environmental entrepreneurs can and should be the cornerstone of environmental solutions, and cooperation and incentives must be dramatically increased to achieve workable and broadly supported environmental solutions. The foundation of the book a ten-point Contract with the Earth promotes ingenuity over rhetoric as the way forward.

About Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1994 to 1998 and is well-known as the chief architect of the Republican Contract with America. Gingrich has published eleven books. His non-fiction books include: Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America, Lessons Learned the Hard Way, and Saving Lives & Saving Money. He is also the co-author of five fiction books including Never Call Retreat: Lee & Grant, the Final Victory, and his latest book, Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8. Since his days as an environmental studies professor, he has been involved in a variety of environmental initiatives. His new book, A Contract with the Earth, is co-authored by Terry L. Maple.

 

About Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015. Sachs is one of the leading voices for combining economic development with environmental sustainability. He is author of hundreds of scholarly articles and many books, including The End of Poverty.