I'm starting my summer vacation off by reading Lester R. Brown's Plan B 3.0: Mobilization to Save Civilization. [This book is available free on-line in its entirety, with the bonus of Excel data tables at http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/ I've read the earlier edition (Plan B 2.0). I think this is a must read for anyone who wants to think seriously about how societies must change to deal with the scourges of over-population, hunger, poverty and environmental degradation world wide.
As we have often discussed here at Blue Island Almanack, the world's environmental problems range far beyond "global warming." Lester R. Brown blends his educational and occupational background in both natural science (agriculture) and social science (agricultural economics), into a balanced view about environmental problems and society. This particular book (out of the more than 100 he's written over the past 35 years) stands out because of it's focus on solutions.
The solutions in Plan B 3.0 are all based on existing technology and economic systems, they are all designed to work within the framework of capitalistic economies with democratic political institutions. Almost all are solutions that have been proven to work somewhere, they just haven't had as wide an application as necessary.
I'll be posting my thoughts on this book here and at Sociological Stew over the next month.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Good summer reading!
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2 comments:
enjoy your summer break sue. and make sure you don't hurt the enviroment with any wasteful vacation destinations... he he!!!
Travel??? What's that? ha,ha.
With 10 cats and one very large, rambunctuous dog, we never manage to go anywhere overnight (except individually for business). We just do day excursions locally -- but since we live amidst some of the most beautiful mountains in the country (if you avoid looking at the strip mines) that's no hardship.
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