Product Description

Lester Brown notes that if the environmental trends of recent decades continue, the global economy will soon begin to unravel. The food sector, he believes, is the most vulnerable. Record-high temperatures and falling water tables are already taking the edge off grain harvests in some countries, including China, the world's largest grain producer. The wake-up call will come, Brown believes, when 1.3 billion Chinese consumers with an $80 billion trade surplus start competing with Americans for US grain, driving up food prices. Rising food prices could create political instability in low-income countries, disrupting global economic progress. At that point, it will be clear that business as usual - Plan A - is not working. In Plan B, Brown outlines a World War II type mobilization to stabilize climate by restructuring the global economy and to stabilize population by investing heavily in health care, family planning and the education of girls in developing countries.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38201 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-15
• Released on: 2003-09-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute, believes that "we can build an economy that does not destroy its natural support systems, a global community where the basic needs of all the earth's people are satisfied, and a world that will allow us to think of ourselves as civilized." Brown (Eco-Economy) backs up his argument with clear and well-reasoned text that outlines how to solve the world's severe environmental problems. According to Brown, the earth's populations are currently living in a bubble economy based on reckless consumption of natural resources. Because of water shortages, soil erosion and rising temperatures, grain production has seriously fallen off. If this situation continues, especially in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent, hunger and disease will prevail and lead to disastrous consequences for the entire world. Drawing on careful research, Brown outlines the details of Plan B, a committed global cooperative effort to raise water and land productivity, cut carbon emissions and stabilize population growth before time runs out. He provides many individual success stories, such as the Netherlands' embrace of the bicycle for transportation instead of the environmentally poisonous automobile. Since 1989, Iran has cut its spiraling population growth through education and access to contraception. In this measured plea, Brown points out that for Plan B to be adopted worldwide, it desperately needs the leadership of the U.S., as the wealthiest nation on earth, to change its focus and resources from a military presence to one that fosters a global economy that will sustain generations to come.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
For the past three decades, Brown has expressed his viewpoints on environmentalism through his advocacy organization, gaining publicity for his proposals through books such as this. His current two-part program to save the planet as outlined here would have developed countries increase their aid to less developed countries by $62 billion annually to support educational and health programs (to reduce population growth), and would impose punitive taxes on petroleum (to halve carbon dioxide emissions). Knowing the political improbability of even sympathetic Democrats realizing the latter idea (the Clinton administration proposed, but Congress disposed of, a BTU tax), Brown suggests that a concomitant reduction in income taxes will turn the trick. His prescriptions aside, Brown's text serves as an information resource, essentially reviewing recent literature about deleterious environmental conditions (e.g., melting ice caps), and the green technologies he favors (e.g., wind farms). Libraries may expect some interest in this call to action. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Good science is not discredited by bad science
An important contribution to the environmental debate. I was suprised by the critical review below that gives 1 star to Plan B and cites "The Skeptical Environmentalist" by Bjorn Lomborg as a refutation of Brown's work. Readers of that review may not be aware that "Skeptical" has been discredited, refuted and rejected by the scientific community. Critical reviews of Lomborg's book can be found in leading science journals, including Nature, Scientific American and Science. The Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty issued a decision that declared Lomborg's research "to fall within the concept of scientific dishonesty," and to be "clearly contrary to the standards of good scientific practice." (Lomborg is Danish). Readers will not be persuaded by references to junk science coming from an anti-environmentalist.

Rescuing a planet from nonsense
Lester R. Brown is a well known and totally discredited doomsayer and environmental crackpot. His analyses and prophecies (consistently proven wrong) are based on crude number doctoring and misunderstanding of basic biology, economics and statistics. And while one might argue that debating his views is a waste of time, he and his likes have a loud and fairly influential following. For a more balanced and sane description of the state of the world, read for example the books by Julian Simon, and Bjorn Lomborg's "The Skeptical Environmentalist".

I agree with that person, buy 10 and pass them out.
Wow, after reading this book, I am left speechless. I read this book in conjunction with a Native American Studies class that I took, and I have never learned more terrifying facts in my entire life. Lester Brown, although he admits that the task is too great for one book, describes bluntly the thin line our species is walking between self preservation and self destruction. He does not pull any punches in describing how the human race is pushing Earth dangerously close to its breaking point. Brown outlines the clear reality that if trends continue the demand put on the environment by humanity will overtake its carrying capacity. He makes many interesting points but he also stays true to the title of the book, not only spreading blame, of which there is plenty to spread, but also offering possible solutions to the most important of problems. I thought I was environmentally conscious before I read this book, boy was I surprised. This book brought my environmental consciousness to a whole new level. It also unfortunately made me realize that unless the rest of the world gets on the same page as Brown in a hurry, the environmental damage will be irreparable. I'll agree once again with what that other reviewer said. Read this book and buy 10 copies to hand out.