--- title: "Usha Vance Posted a Video and People Spotted Something Absolutely Wild on a Shelf in the Background" description: "In an Instagram video, second lady Usha Vance was spotted sitting in front of a shelf that featured a decidedly non-conservative book." date: "2025-03-27" modified: "2025-03-27" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/usha-vance-shelf-video" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "al gore" - "climate change" - "jd vance" - "trump administration" --- # Usha Vance Posted a Video and People Spotted Something Absolutely Wild on a Shelf in the Background ![In an Instagram video, second lady Usha Vance was spotted sitting in front of a shelf that featured a decidedly non-conservative book.]() *\Image: Greg Nash / Pool via Getty / Futurism\* In an Instagram video discussing an upcoming trip to Greenland, second lady Usha Vance was spotted sitting in front of a shelf that featured a decidedly non-conservative book about climate change. As the [*Daily Beast* notes](), the video published to the official "SLOTUS" — that is, second lady of the United States — account contains a hilarious and seemingly accidental easter egg: a copy of former vice president Al Gore's 1992 book "[Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit]()." As Gore's first treatise on climate change, "Earth in the Balance" accurately [predicted the catastrophic conditions]() we now find ourselves in more than 30 years later. Less popular than "[An Inconvenient Truth]()," the book released in tandem with the former VP's documentary of the same name in 2006, Gore's first environmental manifesto is more of a deep cut for the climate crowd. As such, it's wild to see it sitting there in plain view on the shelf behind a second lady whose husband — and his boss — are [gutting environmental regulations]() willy-nilly and [calling the entire concept]() of climate change a "hoax." Ironically, the topic Vance discussed in her video — her forthcoming trip to Greenland, which has been [significantly scaled back]() after officials in Denmark, the self-governing country's colonial power, said that she and her delegation [hadn't actually been invited]() — is also salient to climate change matters. The [vast majority of Greenland]() consists of ice sheets that have, as celebrity scientist [Bill Nye warned last year](), been melting at alarming speeds. As those ice sheets thaw, the liquid water they release [causes sea levels to rise](). Methane and other climate change-causing greenhouse gases trapped within the permafrost are [also released into the atmosphere]() as the ancient ice melts. In short, Greenland is the canary in the coal mine of our planet's climate. Naturally, Vance — a former law clerk for jurists John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh [before they were on the Supreme Court]() — mentioned none of that in her video, which saw her gushing about her since-dashed plans to attend the country's annual dogsled race, tour the world's largest island, and learn about its culture and traditions. Though the *Beast*'s Nell Scovell posited that the second lady may be a "secret climate change denier denier" and others online have suggested that she may be "[trying to send us a message]()," the reality is likely far more mundane. We can't be sure exactly where Vance filmed the video, but if we had to wager a guess, we'd say based on interior similarities that it was shot within the storied [VP residence at the Naval Observatory](), a stately manor near Washington's Embassy Row that's housed every vice presidential family [since Walter Mondale](). While most of its residents are said to bring their own furniture, there's a non-zero chance that memorabilia from past VPs either populates its shelves intentionally or has remained there from prior administrations. Whatever the case may be, this single glimpse into the world of our country's second lady doesn't mean that she's a closet treehugger — if anything, it just proves that nobody seriously vetted the video before it went out. **More on the VP:** [*The White House Said No Classified Material Was Shared in the Group Chat. Then the Rest of It Leaked*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()