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Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization
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As fossil fuel prices rise, oil insecurity deepens, and concerns about climate change cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new energy economy is emerging. Wind, solar, and geothermal energy are replacing oil, coal, and natural gas, at a pace and on a scale we could not have imagined even a year ago. For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, we have begun inve
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Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
October 5th 2009
by W. W. Norton Company
(first published October 15th 2008)
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Start your review of Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization
Lester R. Brown
(What follows is the first section from his Wiki article, with a bit of editing. Emphases are mine. The following sections of this article contain details about a man who has evolved from a New Jersey tomato farmer to become one of the world’s acknowledged agricultural and environmental experts.)
“(born March 28, 1934) Lester R. Brown is a United States environmental analyst, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, and founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute … BBC Radio c ...more
Re the future of humankind - we can either change our policies now, and change them fast...or we can wait until we experience a massive ecological disaster, and by then it may be too late to reverse our wrongdoings. That is the basic message of this book. It's a giant of a book - not in size but in stature - and it's largely recognised as the standard work in its field.
On the upside, it cites lots of marvellous initiatives that are being undertaken all round the world in an effort to improve the ...more
On the upside, it cites lots of marvellous initiatives that are being undertaken all round the world in an effort to improve the ...more
By far the best book on the environment that I've read so far. Well written and researched, Brown reviews all aspects of the environmental challenges we face today and proposes solutions (with budgets) to our problems.
The book is revised every few years and available for free (audio or text) at http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4...
Chapter headings are listed below.
1. Selling Our Future
2. Population Pressure: Land and Water
3. Climate Change and the Energy Transition
4. Stabilizing Climate: An E ...more
The book is revised every few years and available for free (audio or text) at http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4...
Chapter headings are listed below.
1. Selling Our Future
2. Population Pressure: Land and Water
3. Climate Change and the Energy Transition
4. Stabilizing Climate: An E ...more
A good and thought-provoking read. I definitely recommend everyone to read this book. The future is worth saving ;-)
The thing I like about this book is the huge amount of facts and data it gives to support all the arguments made. The book also describes all the environmental and social problems humans are facing right now in a systematic way, which makes it easier for readers to see the big picture and understand the current situation from a wider point of view. For those who are concerned about saving the Earth, this book is a good start, though the opening offers an outlook which is too bleak.
There are als ...more
There are als ...more
"Plan B is far more ambitious than anything the world has ever undertaken, an initiative that has no precedent in either scale or urgency. It has four components: cutting
net carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2020, stabilizing population at 8 billion or lower, eradicating poverty, and restoring the earth’s natural systems, including its soils, aquifers, forests, grasslands, and fisheries. The ambitiousness of this plan
is not driven by perceived political feasibility but by scientific reality ...more
net carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2020, stabilizing population at 8 billion or lower, eradicating poverty, and restoring the earth’s natural systems, including its soils, aquifers, forests, grasslands, and fisheries. The ambitiousness of this plan
is not driven by perceived political feasibility but by scientific reality ...more
This book is awesome. For anyone interested in saving the world, it is probably the first book that they should read. The references section is like fifty pages long; this book is extremely well researched. Lester Brown looks in extreme, scientific detail at why and how our planet is warming, and how that will affect natural systems and human systems, and what, specifically, we can do to stop it. For environmentalists who are tired of weak solutions like, "get energy efficient light bulbs", and
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The book in its entirety is offered here FREE:
www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4/pb4_ta...
Stay and peruse the useful info offered on the Earth Policy Institute's website (see Data Center) ...more
www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4/pb4_ta...
Stay and peruse the useful info offered on the Earth Policy Institute's website (see Data Center) ...more
This book begins with a lot of preaching. If you believe humankind is destroying the Earth, with a capital "E", then you'll probably get a kick out of this. The 2nd part gets more interesting which is about how capitalism might be able to solve some of the problems rather than empowering government to regulate us all into obedience. I fought that particular bend very thought-provoking and intellectually persuasive. After all, if you can persuade someone to make money solving problems... aren't y
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Brown effectively communicates the scope of the natural resource / climate crisis currently facing us, but then gives clear concrete solutions of how we can tackle the problem. The first step is education, and this book is a great place to start.
This is an inspiring and eye opening book. Since it's older now you can see the "future" of the book since most of the out dates are 2020.
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Scary.
I rate this book a 4.05 on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being best. Of all the books on the environmental crisis, this is one of the most data driven and that's why I rate it highly.
Chap. 8: Preserving our natural resources will take $93B per year. (Does not include climate change expense).
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A strategy for eradicating poverty will not succeed if an economy's environmental support systems are collapsing. If croplands are eroding and harvests are shrinking, if water tables are falling and wells are go ...more
Chap. 8: Preserving our natural resources will take $93B per year. (Does not include climate change expense).
>>
A strategy for eradicating poverty will not succeed if an economy's environmental support systems are collapsing. If croplands are eroding and harvests are shrinking, if water tables are falling and wells are go ...more
400 million people are today being fed by overpumping aquifers. With world-wide aquifers being depleted, the water-based foot bubble is about to burst. In fact, it is the view of the author that the price of grain is now tied inseparably to the price of oil, and that future wars in the Middle East will more likely be fought over water than oil.
The point of Plan B 4.0 is that we cannot continue with business as usual. We are in a race between political tipping points and natural tipping points. W ...more
The point of Plan B 4.0 is that we cannot continue with business as usual. We are in a race between political tipping points and natural tipping points. W ...more
Well written, easy to follow, and seems to be reasonably researched. I do question whether parts of the plan would be as simple as he states, even though he does not state that they are very simple. Definitely worth reading and I would like to see an updated copy, as this is a few years old and those few years have most likely made the situations described worse, not better.
This book cannot really be judged on a Liked, Really Liked, ... basis. The first few chapters should make you scared for th ...more
This book cannot really be judged on a Liked, Really Liked, ... basis. The first few chapters should make you scared for th ...more
Required reading for both sides of the energy debate, although we are long overdue for 5.0! Would love to see an update, especially since there were many projections, good and bad, that were made for the interval between 2008 and 2013.
I docked a star because the author dismisses analyzing whether the policies he proposes can reasonably be expected to be implemented. I strongly disagree - the author is essentially telling the opposition to please desist in their complaints and just allow us to r ...more
I docked a star because the author dismisses analyzing whether the policies he proposes can reasonably be expected to be implemented. I strongly disagree - the author is essentially telling the opposition to please desist in their complaints and just allow us to r ...more
Maybe its because I've been working in a part of the environmental movement for the past 6 months, but nothing in this book was really new or groundbreaking to me. So it kind of read as an overly broad and simplistic manifesto. And I guess I appreciate the tone of "we can do it!", and to be fair it was written before the current crop of GOP crazies swept in, but politically it just aint gonna happen that we go to all renewable energy by 2020. I think we do have the technology, money, and knowhow
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Clearest, most well-researched, most holistic, and most realistic assessment and proposal on environmental disasters I have ever encountered. I consider myself very well-read on this topic, but Brown presents his case supported by 70 pages of endnotes, linking each topic together, and giving plenty of real world examples for the anecdotally inclined.
For those who still have doubts on climate change, the ongoing agricultural disaster, our population problems, and our fragile water supply, this bo ...more
For those who still have doubts on climate change, the ongoing agricultural disaster, our population problems, and our fragile water supply, this bo ...more
It's easy to be depressed by the major challenges facing the planet and the seeming lack of will or ability by our elected officials to do anything serious about it, but Plan B 4.0 gave me more optimism and specific ideas about how we might make this change than anything I've read before. Brown has been revising this book for many years, so "4.0" is the latest version. Thus its ideas are very contemporary and clearly reflect a deep base of knowledge of the political and economic realities surrou
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I really enjoyed this book. It was very informative and the amount of research involved in the production of this book was impressive. I also like that he doesn't dwell on just climate change, rather he discusses the social and environmental changes that are needed to sustain our society indefinitely. However, at times I experienced 'information overload' because there were so many numbers and statistics being given. The information flowed well, there was just a lot of stats involved in his expl
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The author covered a lot of ground in an organized and understandable manner. Readers learn about the issues facing our planet and people as well as some possible solutions. I did get bogged down in the numbers and details a few times.
One thing that set the book apart from others I’ve read is the author dealt with the topic of population which can be a touchy subject. Any solution for addressing climate change and environmental restoration needs to address stabilizing earth’s population, helping ...more
One thing that set the book apart from others I’ve read is the author dealt with the topic of population which can be a touchy subject. Any solution for addressing climate change and environmental restoration needs to address stabilizing earth’s population, helping ...more
The most important book I have ever read.
By my calculations Environmental Science will be the most important science of this century, as humanity will have to learn and unite to fight climate change, poverty, preserving the resources etc. I predit a time when Nobel Prizes will be extended to the contributions made on this regard. Also, we need this book in every country's school program, young adults need to study this and prepare themselves as they will become the main actors of this century.
T ...more
By my calculations Environmental Science will be the most important science of this century, as humanity will have to learn and unite to fight climate change, poverty, preserving the resources etc. I predit a time when Nobel Prizes will be extended to the contributions made on this regard. Also, we need this book in every country's school program, young adults need to study this and prepare themselves as they will become the main actors of this century.
T ...more
Macroeconomics is more interesting than you think. I've always enjoyed mechanisms in drugs, cars, politics, ecology. Many if/then statements played out. Its even more interesting with this subject in that the stakes are so high and the rewards are so potentially satisfying. too bad the public will probably be too lazy to keep up with us until they are motivated by even More inconvenient circumstances such as price hikes on products or lower quality living.
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Nice to read a book about the coming environmental catastrophe that isn't simply gloomy. Brown not only tells us the bad news--that business as usual isn't going to cut it--but gives a plan that seems surprisingly doable and, more importantly, points out how much money it will cost. Spoiler: it's less than the United States is currently spending on defense. Reading it two years after publication, I'm pleased to see that we're making some progress.
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A book which shakes you up to the reality of the climate change crisis and unlike other doomsday writings, provides you with an optimistic blueprint to save the earth.
I would have loved it even more if he had added notes on how challenging each step of the blueprint would be. This book was written a couple of years ago and already current events have scraped off some of the optimism.
But nevertheless, it still is a very important book for anyone who is concerned about the environment.
I would have loved it even more if he had added notes on how challenging each step of the blueprint would be. This book was written a couple of years ago and already current events have scraped off some of the optimism.
But nevertheless, it still is a very important book for anyone who is concerned about the environment.
An extremely eye-opening and readable assessment of where we are today. A must read for everyone who believes that life is good, because if you care about it, you really need to have a larger understanding of what makes a good life possible, how our current lifestyles are compromising that possibility for future generations, and what kind of changes are necessary to protect the Earth's ability to provide for human civilization.
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Critical examination of our exploitation of global resources, the consequences, and what we can do to get our civilization back on track for sustainable growth through smart energy, food, water, and poverty policies. Available for free download here http://www.earth-policy.org/images/up...
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The first couple of chapters are fairly doom and gloom. Interesting stat's about all the why's and how's we got here but chapter 4 explodes with details that are tangible and easy to comprehend. I'm easily excitable, but I'm really getting pumped - I think we just might be able to pull this thing off.
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Had to read this for class. It's not bad in terms of providing an overview of the problems we face and the possible solutions. But the proposed solutions are decidedly market based, assuming government intervention to fix market failures. It just doesn't strike me as very plausible given government reluctance to address climate change.
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Umm, so unless we cut CO2 by 80% in 7 years human civilization on the planet will likely be over! (Seriously.) We're all in for a really rough ride over the next 50 years. Why 5 starts. Well, because he's right. He has concrete steps of what we should do. Really feel like Obama should have made climate change happen instead of health care.
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Lester Russel Brown is an American environmentalist, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, and founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C. BBC Radio commentator Peter Day calls him "one of the great pioneer environmentalists."
In the mid-1970s, Brown helped pioneer the concept of sustainable development, during a career that starte ...more
In the mid-1970s, Brown helped pioneer the concept of sustainable development, during a career that starte ...more
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