vironmental and ecological damage is not consid-
ered an urgent priority. A main theme of the book
is the connection between human spirituality and
the environment. Public reaction to this thesis also
ranged from mockery to reasoned acceptance of the
interconnectedness of humans and their habitat.
Gore implored all nations to refrain from the de-
struction of rain forests and wetlands and from reli-
ance on nonrenewable fossil fuels. He urged a global
shift toward ecologically friendly practices. Acknowl-
edging the financial burden such a radical change
would engender, Gore countered that replacing out-
moded technology and industries with environmen-
tally friendly alternatives would create jobs for de-
signers and engineers, builders, scientists, and
laborers—virtually all job categories and capital
markets—and would actually improve the world
economy.
The book incorporated history, science, technol-
ogy, and spirituality. By the end of the 1990’s, the en-
vironmental issues discussed in the book were vali-
dated by mainstream science and accepted by many
as a fact of modern life. Gore and the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shared the
Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 “for their efforts to build
up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-
made climate change, and to lay the foundations for
the measures that are needed to counteract such
change.”
Impact Earth in the Balanceand its famous author
turned a spotlight on environmental issues in ways
that a lesser-known personality could not have done.
“Going green” became a popular motto and con-
cept, in large part because ofEarth in the Balance,as
well asAn Inconvenient Truth(2006) and its Academy
Award-winning documentary version.
Further Reading
Gore, Al.Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human
Spirit. 1992. Reprint. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press,
2006.
___.An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetar y Emer-
gency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About
It. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press, 2006.
Kolbert, Elizabeth.Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man,
Nature, and Climate Changes. New York: Blooms-
bury, 2006.
Twyla R. Wells
See also Air pollution; Conservatism in U.S. poli-
tics; Global warming debate; Earth Day 1990; Kyoto
Protocol; Mississippi River flood of 1993; Natural
disasters; Organic food movement; Quayle, Dan;
Sport utility vehicles (SUVs); Sustainable design
movement; Water pollution; Whitman, Christine
Todd. Ecstasy
Definition An illegal psychoactive substance that
produces feelings of empathy, euphoria, and
relaxation
Often associated with dance parties called raves, Ecstasy
gained widespread popularity in the 1990’s among youth
and young adults.
Ecstasy (also known as XTC, E, methylenedioxy-
methamphetamine, or MDMA) was first synthesized
by German pharmaceutical company Merck in 1912
and was essentially ignored for fifty years. It was
resynthesized by biochemist Alexander Shulgin in
1965 and was subsequently used by psychiatrists as a
therapeutic tool. Ecstasy gained widespread popu-
larity as a recreational drug in the early 1980’s be-
fore being criminalized in 1985.
Despite its status as an illegal drug, in the early
1990’s the use of Ecstasy increased, growing in popu-The Nineties in America Ecstasy 283
Ecstasy pills.(U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)