The Human Element: A Time Capsule from the Anthropocene

A magnum opus on the human impact on our planet—from the threat of animal extinction to catastrophic wildfires, global warming as visualized through glacier melt, and increased ferocity of historic floods and storms—James Balog presents four decades of his research and photography in this environmental call to arms.
 

For four decades, world-renowned environmental photographer James Balog has traveled well over a million miles from the Arctic to the Antarctic and the Alps, Andes, and Himalayas. With his images heightening awareness of climate change and endangered species, he is one of the most relevant photographers in the world today.
 
Balog’s photography of and essays on “human tectonics”—humanity’s reshaping of the natural environment—reveal the intersection of people and nature, and that when we sustain nature, we sustain ourselves. This monumental book is an unprecedented combination of art informed by scientific knowledge. Featuring Balog’s 350 most iconic photographs, The Human Element offers a truly unmatched view of the world—and a world we may never see again.
 

James Balog is an avid mountaineer and the author of eight books. His 2018 award-winning film The Human Element was screened worldwide. Balog’s Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) is the most extensive photographic study of glaciers ever conducted, and his documentary Chasing Ice won an Emmy and an Oscar nomination. His photographs are in dozens of public and private art collections and extensively published. Anne Wilkes Tucker is the curator emerita of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. James Fallows is a national correspondent for The Atlantic. His work has also appeared in Slate, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and The American Prospect.