Etiqueta: lester brown

POPULATION AND RESOURCE CONFLICTS – From Chapter 6. Early Signs of Decline Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.110 As land and water become scarce, we can expect competition for these vital resources to intensify within societies, particularly between the wealthy and those who are…

THROWAWAY ECONOMY IN TROUBLE – From Chapter 6. Early Signs of Decline Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.109 More and better waste management at public expense is giving unlimited license to proliferate discards. Today these systems collect 3.4 pounds of product waste a day…

HEALTH CHALLENGE GROWING – From Chapter 6. Early Signs of Decline Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.105 The HIV epidemic in Africa is now a development problem, a matter of whether a society can continue to function as needed to support its people. It…

DISAPPEARING PLANTS AND ANIMALS – From Chapter 5. Natural Systems Under Stress Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.95 Species of all kinds are threatened by habitat destruction, principally through the loss of tropical rainforests. As we burn off the Amazon rainforest, we are in…

COLLAPSING FISHERIES – From Chapter 5. Natural Systems Under Stress Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.91 After World War II, accelerating population growth and steadily rising incomes drove the demand for seafood upward at a record pace. At the same time, advances in fishing…

ADVANCING DESERTS – From Chapter 5. Natural Systems Under Stress Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.90 On April 18, 2001, the western United States—from the Arizona border north to Canada—was blanketed with dust. It came from a huge dust storm that originated in northwestern…

MORE DESTRUCTIVE STORMS – From Chapter 4. Rising Temperatures and Rising Seas Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.75 …insurance companies and reinsurance companies find it difficult to calculate a safe level of premiums, since the historical record traditionally used to calculate insurance fees is…

RESERVOIRS IN THE SKY – From Chapter 4. Rising Temperatures and Rising Seas Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.67 Reduced snow pack to feed the Yellow River flow will shrink China’s wheat harvest, the largest in the world. Alterations in the flow of the…

RISING TEMPERATURE AND ITS EFFECTS – From Chapter 4. Rising Temperatures and Rising Seas Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.62 At a practical level, the IPCC projected rise in temperature is a global average. In reality, the rise will be very uneven. It will…

From Chapter 4. Rising Temperatures and Rising Seas Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble Pag.59 When the Industrial Revolution began, the atmospheric CO 2 level was roughly 270 ppm. The 377 ppm registered for 2004 is not only far above any level over the last…