What do you think?
Rate this book
Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization
“[Brown’s] ability to make a complicated subject accessible to the general reader is remarkable.”―Katherine Salant, Washington Post 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 investing in energy sources that can last forever. Plan B 4.0 explores both the nature of this transition to a new energy economy and how it will affect our daily lives.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2008
51 people are currently reading
758 people want to read
About the author
Lester R. Brown
118 books79 followersLester 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 started with farming. As early as 1978, in his book The Twenty-Ninth Day, he was already warning of "the various dangers arising out of our manhandling of nature...by overfishing the oceans, stripping the forests, turning land into desert." In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his personal papers noting that his writings “have already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources.”
He has been the recipient of many prizes and awards, including, the 1987 United Nations Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund for Nature Gold Medal, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his "contributions to solving global environmental problems."
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
In the mid-1970s, Brown helped pioneer the concept of sustainable development, during a career that started with farming. As early as 1978, in his book The Twenty-Ninth Day, he was already warning of "the various dangers arising out of our manhandling of nature...by overfishing the oceans, stripping the forests, turning land into desert." In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his personal papers noting that his writings “have already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources.”
He has been the recipient of many prizes and awards, including, the 1987 United Nations Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund for Nature Gold Medal, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his "contributions to solving global environmental problems."
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
May 12, 2017
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 commentator Peter Day calls him "one of the great pioneer environmentalists."
Brown is the author or co-author of over 50 books on global environmental issues and his works have been translated into more than forty languages. His most recent book is Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity, which was released in September 2012.
Brown emphasizes the geopolitical effects of fast-rising grain prices, noting that "the biggest threat to global stability is the potential for food crises in poor countries," and one that could "bring down civilization." In Foreign Policy magazine, he describes how the "new geopolitics of food" has, in 2011, already begun to contribute to revolutions and upheaval in various countries.
The recipient of 26 honorary degrees and a MacArthur Fellowship, Brown has been described by the Washington Post as "one of the world's most influential thinkers." As early as 1978, in his book The Twenty-Ninth Day, he was already warning of "the various dangers arising out of our manhandling of nature...by overfishing the oceans, stripping the forests, turning land into desert." In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his personal papers noting that his writings “have already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources,” while president Bill Clinton has suggested that "we should all heed his advice." In 2003 he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In the mid-1970s, Brown helped pioneer the concept of sustainable development, during a career that started with farming (!!). Since then, he has been the recipient of many prizes and awards, including, the 1987 United Nations Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund for Nature Gold Medal, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his "contributions to solving global environmental problems." In 1995, Marquis Who's Who selected Brown as one of its "50 Great Americans." He was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Italy and was appointed an honorary professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.”
Plan B 4.0
This is the most recent update of a book originally published in 2003. The full series is
Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (2003)
Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (2006)
Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (2008)
Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (2009)
I haven’t seen the original Plan B, but the other three are very similar in general outline, with updated information. In the preface to 3.0 Brown writes “The new subtitle better reflects both the scale of the challenge we face and the wartime speed of the response it calls for.”
= = = = =
Outline of the book, with a few quotes and comments
(Most of the latter will be about the first part of the book, which is the most important)
There’s a Preface, in which Brown states
We are in a race between political tipping points and natural tipping points. Can we cut carbon emissions fast enough to save the Greenland ice sheet and avoid the resulting rise in sea level? Can we close coal-fired power plants fast enough to save the glaciers in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau, the ice melt which sustains the major rivers and irrigation systems of Asia during the dry season? Can we stabilize population by reducing fertility before nature takes over and stabilizes our numbers by raising mortality? …
We need a new mindset. Let me paraphrase a comment by environmentalist Paul Hawkins in a 2009 college commencement address. In recognizing the enormity of the challenge facing us, he said: First we need to decide what needs to be done. Then we do it. And then we ask if it is possible.
After the preface there’s an introductory chapter
1. Selling Our Future
- Food: The Weak Link
Until recently “I resisted the idea that food shortages could … bring down our early twenty-first century global civilization. But our continuing failure to reverse the environmental trends that are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that if we continue with business as usual such a collapse is not only possible but likely.” This from one of the world’s foremost experts on the global food system.” (p. 3)
On the next page he talks about the many grain price surges over the past half century pointing out that earlier these were event driven (monsoon failure, severe drought) and thus temporary. But “The 2006-08 surge in grain prices is different. It is trend-driven.” To get out of this tightening food situation depends on reversing the trends that are causing it. “More and more, food is looking like the weak link in our civilization, much as it was for the earlier ones whose archeological sites we now study.”
Three consumption-boosting trends on the demand side of the food equation: population growth, the growing consumption of grain-based animal protein, and, most recently, the massive use of grain to fuel cars.
On the supply side, several environmental and resource trends making it difficult to expand food production: ongoing trends include soil erosion, aquifer depletion, crop-shrinking heat waves, melting ice sheets and rising sea level, and the melting of the mountain glaciers that feed major rivers and irrigation systems. In addition, there are three resource trends: the loss of cropland to non-farm uses, the diversion of irrigation water to cities, and the coming reduction in oil supplies.
Brown goes on in the first chapter to discuss each of these trends in more detail, with references, though the discussions here are mostly summaries of the trends, not in depth data combined with deep analysis. (pp. 4-9)
- The Emerging Politics of Food Scarcity
- Our Global Ponzi Economy
In this section Brown notes that a 2002 study concluded that “humanity’s collective demands first surpassed the earth’s regenerative capacity around 1980. As of 2009 global demands on natural systems exceed their sustainable yield by nearly 30 percent. This means we are meeting current demands in part by consuming the earth’s natural assets, setting the stage for an eventual Ponzi-style collapse when these assets are depleted.” (The depletion of assets he’s talking about is caused by activities such as overpumping of aquifers, overgrazing of lands (leading to desertification), overplowing (soil loss), overfishing (fishery collapse), and overloading the atmosphere with greenhouse gases.)
And he again quotes Paul Hawken: “At present we are stealing from the future, selling it in the present, and calling it gross domestic product … We can either create assets for the future or take the assets of the future. One is called restoration and the other exploitation.” (pp. 14, 15)
- Mounting Stresses, Failing States
The term “failing state” has entered our working vocabulary only during the last decade or so … Foreign Policy observes “Failed states have made a remarkable odyssey from the periphery to the very center of global politics … World leaders once worried about who was amassing power; now they worry about he absence of it.”
States fail when national governments lose control of part or all of their territory and can no longer ensure the personal security of their people … When they can no longer provide basic services such as education, health care, and food security, they lose their legitimacy … Societies can become so fragmented that they lack the cohesion to make decisions. (p. 18)
And of course failing states often descend into civil war, and provide training grounds for international terrorist groups.
- Plan B – A Plan to Save Civilization
Plan B is the alternative to business as usual. Its goal is to move the world from the current decline and collapse path onto a new path where food security can be restored and civilization can be sustained … 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 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 political feasibility but by scientific reality. (pp. 23,24)
Ambitious indeed. Especially since we are now almost to 2020, and since these words were written, little if any progress having been made toward these goals.
NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THERE IS NOW A SO-CALLED PRESIDENT OF THE MOST POWERFUL NATION ON EARTH THAT HAS NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER IN ATTEMPTING TO AVERT COMING DISASTERS.
The next two chapters make up I The Challenges
In these chapters Brown explains in more detail just what were are up against in the various trends introduced briefly in the section Food – The Weak Link above.
2. Population Pressure: Land and Water
- Civilization’s Foundation Eroding
- Water Tables Falling
- Farmers Losing Water to Cities
- Cars and People Compete for Grain
- The Rising Tide of Environmental Refuges
3. Climate Change and the Energy Transition
- Rising Temperature and Its Effects
- Melting Ice, Rising Seas
- Melting Glaciers, Shrinking Harvests
- Rising Temperatures, Falling Yields
- The Decline of Oil and Coal
- A Challenge Without Precedent
Then comes the six chapters of II The Response, in which Brown defines a host of explicit actions that could be implemented, and that, he argues, would give us the best chance of achieving the goals outlined in the Plan B section of the first chapter. All of these actions and can be done with current technology, if mankind can find the political will, and the money, to do them.
4. Stabilizing Climate: An Energy Efficiency Revolution
In this chapter, Brown lists many ways in which energy is currently wasted around the world, and advocates programs which would cut this waste. But Brown also skates on thin ice. He advocates such things as “discouraging” whole industries that are energy-intensive but “nonessential” – industries such as the gold jewelry, bottled water, and plastic bag industries. He provides the data that make steps like these seem entirely logical. (pp. 101-03) But, he is now talking about basically forcing these industries out of business. It’s hard to see steps like these ever being taken in a world that is increasingly being controlled by multi-national corporations.
5. Stabilizing Climate: Shifting to Renewable Energy
In chapter 5 Brown advocates a massive program to shift the world’s energy systems to solar-, wind-, and geothermal-based systems, on a scale and with an urgency similar to the U.S. industrial response in World War II.
6. Designing Cities for People
7. Eradicating Poverty and Stabilizing Population
8. Restoring the Earth
9. Feeding Eight Billion People Well
Finally, in III The Great Mobilization Brown concludes the book with its final chapter.
10. Can We Mobilize Fast Enough?
- Shifting Taxes and Subsidies
“The need for tax-shifting – lowering taxes on income while raising those on environmentally destructive activities – has been widely endorsed by economists.” Brown also cites several examples of tax-shifting programs that have already been adopted in several European countries.
Moreover, “Each year the world’s taxpayers provide an estimated $700 billion of subsidies for environmentally destructive activities, such as fossil fuel burning, overpumping aquifers, and overfishing”. He quotes a study Subsidizing Unsustainable Development: “there is something unbelievable about the world spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually to subsidize its own destruction.” Brown concludes “these proposed tax and subsidy shifts can help balance the books, create additional jobs, and save the economy’s eco-supports”. (pp. 247-9)
- Coal: The Beginning of the End
- Stabilizing Climate
- Three Models of Social Change
- A Wartime Mobilization
- Mobilizing to Save Civilization
- What You and I Can Do
The book has Notes collected for all chapters in the back – about 70 pages worth, There’s also a useful index,, 20 pages long.
And here I’ll segue into the original short review I first did.
Original review. January 2013
The book left me with a feeling of sadness, and somewhat resigned. I am afraid that years in the future it will be said by some (like myself) who read this book in the first decade of the 21st century “We had a chance, we had a window, and we had a plan given to us by a visionary man. We blew the chance, the window closed, we ignored everything, we continued with business as usual – and now the earth, and everything and everyone on it, is paying the price.”
For a list of many books on different aspects of the environment, please see here
May 20, 2015
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 health of our planet - and in many instances these are inspiring. Various governments are making efforts to introduce schemes, policies and taxes that will promote better practices. But not enough is being done, and it is not being done fast enough. There are still many gross aberrations that undermine the well-being of this planet, and threaten disaster for mankind.
I can't begin to cover the scope of this book in a review. Suffice it to say it covers clearly and thoroughly all the different areas that need addressing. It is a real eye-opener, and it leaves one in no doubt about steps one can take - each and every one of us as individuals - to try and save the world. (That phrase is ridiculously dramatic and clichéd, but at this time in our history it is also very true.) What the author calls for more than anything else is political involvement. It is time for us to join and support those organisations which are fighting to promote our survival. Not sure where to start? Read this book and find out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The organisation behind this book is The Earth Policy Institute. You can go to their website and get put on their mailing list, to be kept up to date with ecological issues. I found their 'data centre' particularly helpful. It is easy to use and comprehensive.
http://www.earth-policy.org/
The book can also be downloaded from here for free. On this page the chapters and their contents are also listed - giving a comprehensive guide to the issues covered in the book.
http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4...
(I would however recommend buying your own paper copy, so you can cover it with notes and underlinings. My copy is now utterly vandalized, but in a good way.)
On the upside, it cites lots of marvellous initiatives that are being undertaken all round the world in an effort to improve the health of our planet - and in many instances these are inspiring. Various governments are making efforts to introduce schemes, policies and taxes that will promote better practices. But not enough is being done, and it is not being done fast enough. There are still many gross aberrations that undermine the well-being of this planet, and threaten disaster for mankind.
I can't begin to cover the scope of this book in a review. Suffice it to say it covers clearly and thoroughly all the different areas that need addressing. It is a real eye-opener, and it leaves one in no doubt about steps one can take - each and every one of us as individuals - to try and save the world. (That phrase is ridiculously dramatic and clichéd, but at this time in our history it is also very true.) What the author calls for more than anything else is political involvement. It is time for us to join and support those organisations which are fighting to promote our survival. Not sure where to start? Read this book and find out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The organisation behind this book is The Earth Policy Institute. You can go to their website and get put on their mailing list, to be kept up to date with ecological issues. I found their 'data centre' particularly helpful. It is easy to use and comprehensive.
http://www.earth-policy.org/
The book can also be downloaded from here for free. On this page the chapters and their contents are also listed - giving a comprehensive guide to the issues covered in the book.
http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4...
(I would however recommend buying your own paper copy, so you can cover it with notes and underlinings. My copy is now utterly vandalized, but in a good way.)
August 22, 2011
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 Energy Efficiency Revolution
5. Stabilizing Climate: Shifting to Renewable Energy
6. Designing Cities for People
7. Eradicating Poverty and Stabilizing Population
8. Restoring the Earth
9. Feeding Eight Billion People Well
10. Can We Mobilize Fast Enough?
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 Energy Efficiency Revolution
5. Stabilizing Climate: Shifting to Renewable Energy
6. Designing Cities for People
7. Eradicating Poverty and Stabilizing Population
8. Restoring the Earth
9. Feeding Eight Billion People Well
10. Can We Mobilize Fast Enough?
May 12, 2018
A good and thought-provoking read. I definitely recommend everyone to read this book. The future is worth saving ;-)
February 5, 2015
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 also things I don't like about this book. The Plan B 4.0 outlined here sketches four main goals for the world and associated actions that help to reach for these goals. While there are examples to back all suggested actions, these examples only show successful cases from some specific countries with their own uniques characteristics, and thus definitely cannot be generalized to cases in other countries as well. For example, the plan to offer free school lunches for the poorest 44 countries in the world is argued to boost education greatly in these countries, yet not all poor children drop out of school because they are hungry. There are other factors a swell, such as lack of infrastructure (roads that lead from the rural village to their school for example)or wartime that also contribute to the huge issue of education, but that the author tries to address in a simplified way as in this book. In addition, while the costs of adopting these actions are neatly outlined in the book, I think social costs (social consequences resulted from adopting an action suggested here, for example, closing mining factories will result in job losses for thousands of people worldwide, etc.) should also be estimated.
There are also things I don't like about this book. The Plan B 4.0 outlined here sketches four main goals for the world and associated actions that help to reach for these goals. While there are examples to back all suggested actions, these examples only show successful cases from some specific countries with their own uniques characteristics, and thus definitely cannot be generalized to cases in other countries as well. For example, the plan to offer free school lunches for the poorest 44 countries in the world is argued to boost education greatly in these countries, yet not all poor children drop out of school because they are hungry. There are other factors a swell, such as lack of infrastructure (roads that lead from the rural village to their school for example)or wartime that also contribute to the huge issue of education, but that the author tries to address in a simplified way as in this book. In addition, while the costs of adopting these actions are neatly outlined in the book, I think social costs (social consequences resulted from adopting an action suggested here, for example, closing mining factories will result in job losses for thousands of people worldwide, etc.) should also be estimated.
August 21, 2015
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 "ride your bike more" and want to learn what we can do that will actually make a difference, this is the book for you.
August 27, 2017
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)
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)
August 9, 2017
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 you tacitly acknowledging that there is a problem?
January 23, 2018
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.
February 6, 2019
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.
December 17, 2022
Read for HONR 301 (preface, 1, 2, 3, 6)
July 16, 2016
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).
>>
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 going dry, if rangelands are turning to desert and livestock are dying, if fisheries are collapsing, if forests are shrinking, and if rising temperatures are scorching crops, a poverty-eradication program--no matter how carefully crafted and well implemented--will not succeed.....
>>
One of the questions I am most often asked on a speaking tour is, "How many people can the earth support?" I answer with another question: "At what level of food consumption?" At the U.S. level of 800 kilograms per person per year for food and feed, the 2-billion-ton annual world harvest of grain would support 2.5 billion people. At the Italian level of consumption of close to 400 kilograms per year, the current harvest would support 5 billion people. At the nearly 200 kilograms of grain consumed per year by the average Indian, it would support a population of 10 billion.58
>>
It is widely assumed that moving from animal protein to high-quality proteins from plant sources, such as beans or tofu made from soybeans, is more land-efficient. But this is not always the case. For example, as noted earlier, with poultry it takes just over 2 kilograms of grain to produce 1 kilogram of additional live weight. For catfish, it is less than 2 kilograms of grain per kilogram of weight gain. An acre of land in Iowa can thus produce 140 bushels of corn or 35 bushels of the much lower-yielding soybean. Feeding the corn to chickens or catfish can yield more high-quality protein than growing soybeans and consuming them directly, say as tofu.63 It takes a good deal of land to produce soy protein, largely because plants require more metabolic energy to produce high quality plant protein than to produce starch. But because poultry and catfish are so efficient at converting grain, eating them is more land- and water-efficient than eating soybeans is.64 Some countries are moving down the food chain by turning to the more grain-efficient protein sources such as aquaculture.
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 going dry, if rangelands are turning to desert and livestock are dying, if fisheries are collapsing, if forests are shrinking, and if rising temperatures are scorching crops, a poverty-eradication program--no matter how carefully crafted and well implemented--will not succeed.....
>>
One of the questions I am most often asked on a speaking tour is, "How many people can the earth support?" I answer with another question: "At what level of food consumption?" At the U.S. level of 800 kilograms per person per year for food and feed, the 2-billion-ton annual world harvest of grain would support 2.5 billion people. At the Italian level of consumption of close to 400 kilograms per year, the current harvest would support 5 billion people. At the nearly 200 kilograms of grain consumed per year by the average Indian, it would support a population of 10 billion.58
>>
It is widely assumed that moving from animal protein to high-quality proteins from plant sources, such as beans or tofu made from soybeans, is more land-efficient. But this is not always the case. For example, as noted earlier, with poultry it takes just over 2 kilograms of grain to produce 1 kilogram of additional live weight. For catfish, it is less than 2 kilograms of grain per kilogram of weight gain. An acre of land in Iowa can thus produce 140 bushels of corn or 35 bushels of the much lower-yielding soybean. Feeding the corn to chickens or catfish can yield more high-quality protein than growing soybeans and consuming them directly, say as tofu.63 It takes a good deal of land to produce soy protein, largely because plants require more metabolic energy to produce high quality plant protein than to produce starch. But because poultry and catfish are so efficient at converting grain, eating them is more land- and water-efficient than eating soybeans is.64 Some countries are moving down the food chain by turning to the more grain-efficient protein sources such as aquaculture.
August 27, 2011
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. Which will come first? With overpumping, overgrazing, overplowing, overfishing, and overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, our worldwide Ponzi economy will unravel and collapse quicker than we one can finish reading “Plan B 4.0. ” What is needed, however, is not just personal change, but total and radical systemic change, that is, the transition from oil, coal, and natural gas powered economy to wind, solar, and geothermal). A key to restructuring the energy economy is not additional appropriations, but tax shifting.
This book, while containing some interesting facts, falls far short in terms of organization. Its rambling repetitive style made it impossible for me to read. After reading the front 30%, I skipped to the last section. Still, for a free download, I’d recommend it.
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. Which will come first? With overpumping, overgrazing, overplowing, overfishing, and overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, our worldwide Ponzi economy will unravel and collapse quicker than we one can finish reading “Plan B 4.0. ” What is needed, however, is not just personal change, but total and radical systemic change, that is, the transition from oil, coal, and natural gas powered economy to wind, solar, and geothermal). A key to restructuring the energy economy is not additional appropriations, but tax shifting.
This book, while containing some interesting facts, falls far short in terms of organization. Its rambling repetitive style made it impossible for me to read. After reading the front 30%, I skipped to the last section. Still, for a free download, I’d recommend it.
October 15, 2012
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 the problems that we are handing to our children and grandchildren. There is some optimism in following chapters as interesting advances have been made that are not obvious to most of us. Some parts of the plan seem simple; as if we just threw enough money at them we could make them work. But it is seldom as simple as that when human nature is involved.
Plan B is a good general plan, but it is like losing weight. Diets don't work. To be really effective takes a whole new mindset. And in this case, the mindset of our civilization would have to change. When I thought about the political, economic, and personal willpower that it would take to follow Plan B and compared it to the political and economic state of the world today, I got scared all over again.
This book is available free as a PDF file on the Earth Policy website.
http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4
This book cannot really be judged on a Liked, Really Liked, ... basis. The first few chapters should make you scared for the problems that we are handing to our children and grandchildren. There is some optimism in following chapters as interesting advances have been made that are not obvious to most of us. Some parts of the plan seem simple; as if we just threw enough money at them we could make them work. But it is seldom as simple as that when human nature is involved.
Plan B is a good general plan, but it is like losing weight. Diets don't work. To be really effective takes a whole new mindset. And in this case, the mindset of our civilization would have to change. When I thought about the political, economic, and personal willpower that it would take to follow Plan B and compared it to the political and economic state of the world today, I got scared all over again.
This book is available free as a PDF file on the Earth Policy website.
http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4
April 12, 2013
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 radically alter our infrastructure, if you please. Also, we're ending subsidies to your benefactors and making massive spending cuts to several different executive agencies, not that you have any say about it, just thought you should know. This is a surefire way to not get what you want.
With the current power structure the way it is, the only way to prevent disaster is to be able to have dialogue with the opposition. Don't get me wrong, I agree with the author in every other way, but learning about the other side and why they oppose the goals of Plan B is just as important to achieve the final objectives of sustainable energy and agriculture and preserving the planet as knowing the consequences of the status quo and what needs to happen to fix it.
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 radically alter our infrastructure, if you please. Also, we're ending subsidies to your benefactors and making massive spending cuts to several different executive agencies, not that you have any say about it, just thought you should know. This is a surefire way to not get what you want.
With the current power structure the way it is, the only way to prevent disaster is to be able to have dialogue with the opposition. Don't get me wrong, I agree with the author in every other way, but learning about the other side and why they oppose the goals of Plan B is just as important to achieve the final objectives of sustainable energy and agriculture and preserving the planet as knowing the consequences of the status quo and what needs to happen to fix it.
June 6, 2011
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, but there's no will so there's no way.
I also found it troubling how much he viewed extra taxes on cars and driving in cities as a solution. That's just going to mean less poor people have cars and drive into cities. Which I guess is the majority of the population nowadays, so it would get a lot of cars off the road, but it's a pretty classist solution.
I also found it troubling how much he viewed extra taxes on cars and driving in cities as a solution. That's just going to mean less poor people have cars and drive into cities. Which I guess is the majority of the population nowadays, so it would get a lot of cars off the road, but it's a pretty classist solution.
May 21, 2011
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 book will convince you that these problems are real, and we have a moral imperative to address them.
For those who understand these issues, this book will give you many new insights into potential solutions.
For those who still have doubts on climate change, the ongoing agricultural disaster, our population problems, and our fragile water supply, this book will convince you that these problems are real, and we have a moral imperative to address them.
For those who understand these issues, this book will give you many new insights into potential solutions.
February 16, 2010
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 surrounding alternative energy, climate change, etc. Recommended for anyone who wants to be a realistic, well-informed optimist about the future.
December 2, 2011
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 explanations. Definitely recommend this book if you are interested in our environment, social issues effecting mankind, and climate change.
November 29, 2012
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 people become educated, and eradicating poverty.
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 people become educated, and eradicating poverty.
January 21, 2021
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.
Thank you for everything Sir Lester Brown, your contributions will last forever
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.
Thank you for everything Sir Lester Brown, your contributions will last forever
April 2, 2010
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.
October 20, 2013
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.
February 17, 2015
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.
February 2, 2011
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...
June 11, 2010
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.
September 11, 2010
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.
February 16, 2013
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.
October 9, 2013
Do you think about changing things? Do you have the impression that we should probably do something to protect the environment, to feed the hungry and improve our well-being. If you do, and even if you don't, you should read this book. It'll give you the why and how of what we should change and now.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews