World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse

by Lester R. Brown

Overview

In this urgent time, World on the Edge calls out the pivotal environmental issues and how to solve them now.

We are in a race between political and natural tipping points. Can we close coal-fired power plants fast enough to save the Greenland ice sheet and avoid catastrophic sea level rise? Can we raise water productivity fast enough to halt the depletion of aquifers and avoid water-driven food shortages? Can we cope with peak water and peak oil at the same time? These are some of the issues Lester R. Brown skillfully distills in World on the Edge. Bringing decades of research and analysis into play, he provides the responses needed to reclaim our future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393339499
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	01/06/2011
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	973,519
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Lester R. Brown is the founder of the Earth Policy and Worldwatch Institutes. He has been honored with numerous prizes, including a MacArthur Fellowship, the United Nations Environment Prize, and twenty-five honorary degrees. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 On the Edge 3

I A Deteriorating Foundation

2 Falling Water Tables and Shrinking Harvests 21

3 Eroding Soils and Expanding Deserts 34

4 Rising Temperatures, Melting Ice, and Food Security 45

II The Consequences

5 The Emerging Politics of Food Scarcity 59

6 Environmental Refugees: The Rising Tide 72

7 Mounting Stresses, Failing States 84

III The Response: Plan B

8 Building an Energy-Efficient Global Economy 99

9 Harnessing Wind, Solar, and Geothermal Energy 116

10 Restoring the Economy's Natural Support Systems 136

11 Eradicating Poverty, Stabilizing Population, and Rescuing Failing States 151

12 Feeding Eight Billion 165

IV Watching The Clock

13 Saving Civilization 183

Additional Resources 203

Index 211

Acknowledgments 233

About the Author 239

What People are Saying About This

E. O. Wilson

Lester Brown is one of the pioneers and heroes of global environmentalism. If the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize had been extended to a third recipient, the logical candidate would have been Lester Brown.

Editorial Reviews

Lester Brown is one of the pioneers and heroes of global environmentalism. If the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize had been extended to a third recipient, the logical candidate would have been Lester Brown.

E. O. Wilson