Lester R. Brown is, quite possibly, the most depressing person on the planet (second only to myself, but, then again, he is actually an expert - and therefore subject to rules of good taste and breeding that far outstrip my paygrade as tirading drunk).
A frequent guest on NPR's Science Friday, Brown is (in my humble opinion) simply THE man when it comes to issues related to global warming, climate change, and all the other assorted nightmares that we're all about to be plunged into like french fries into a grease pit. His latest book is the 3rd total re-envisioning and updating of the Earth Policy Institute's perscription for saving the world, "Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization" (I know: told you that he was fucking depressing). Anyway... this is mandatory reading for anyone who cares about any of the following:
A. The end of life as we know it and how it's going to happen...
B. What you can do to help... what you NEED to do to help...
C. How absolutely bleak the prognosis is (see the excerpts below)
AND YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE FUCKING BOOK IN PDF FOR FREE! SO DO IT!
<a href="www.earthpolicy.org">www.earthpolicy.org</a>
from the preface:
Perhaps the most revealing difference between Plan B 2.0 and
Plan B 3.0 is the change of the subtitle from “Rescuing a Planet
Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble” to simply “Mobilizing
to Save Civilization.”
And from the first chapter:
We are crossing natural thresholds that we cannot see and
violating deadlines that we do not recognize. Nature is the time
keeper, but we cannot see the clock. Among the other environmental
trends undermining our future are shrinking forests,
expanding deserts, falling water tables, collapsing fisheries, disappearing
species, and rising temperatures.
Ok... I'll admit it: this guy makes me look like a pussy. Get the book, buy the book, donate. Although I am resolute in the sheer hopelessness of any endeavor to save us at this point (after all, I wouldn't really have a blog if I wasn't), but I support anyone who is strong enough to fight a battle where the odds are (literally) you against the world.
