Baier offers a compelling reflection on the evolution of environmental conservation in the United States, contrasting the era of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), passed into law in 1973, with today's fragmented political landscape, when “congressional neglect, growing political polarization, and shortsighted special interest groups have weakened the once very effective act.” The act’s history and efficacy is laid out with rousing passion and insight in Baier’s exhaustive two-volume The Codex of Endangered Species Act, while the brisk and compact Earth’s Emergency Room examines how and why the moral clarity and bipartisan spirit that once propelled environmental legislation—and helped save, via the ESA, breeds of “falcons, parakeets, sparrows, deer, kangaroo, whales, sea lions, daisies, and sunflowers”—has waned, posing a significant threat to the preservation of endangered species.

Baier vividly describes the early days of the ESA, when instead of “brinkmanship, polarization, and partisanship” congress made a unified, morally driven decision to protect the Earth's species. He notes that this era was marked by a strong national consensus on the importance of environmental stewardship, reflecting a collective commitment to safeguarding the planet's biodiversity. The author nostalgically recalls how the enactment of the ESA, deep into the Nixon administration and three years after the first Earth Day, symbolized a profound commitment by the American people, emphasizing the intrinsic value of all living creatures and the urgency of their protection.

Of course, Baier highlights a starkly different scenario as he transitions to contemporary times. He demonstrates that the national unity and clarity of purpose that once underpinned environmental policy has eroded. He digs deep into the challenges and politics of protecting predators, the business-vs.-conservation fights exemplified by the spotted owl controversy of the George H.W. Bush era, and other flashpoints, before laying out persuasive and heartening steps to honoring that now half-century-old commitment, through conservation partnerships, acting pre-emptively to conserve species before they’re listed as “endangered,” and more. There’s real hope, here.

Takeaway: Essential read on the state of the Endangered Species Act, with a hopeful roadmap forward.

Comparable Titles: Allen Crawford’s A Wild Promise, Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction.

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