Lester Brown
President of Earth Policy Institute
Speaking about his new book, Plan B 4.0
November 19, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Colorado State University
Lory Student Center, Main Ballroom
Free and open to the public
Lester Brown
Lester Brown, hailed as “one of the world’s most influential thinkers,” by the
Washington Post, has authored or co-authored over 50 books and, in 2001,
founded the Earth Policy Institute, an organization dedicated to developing and
implementing a plan for a sustainable future.
Brown is the recipient of several
prizes and awards, including 23 honorary degrees, a MacArthur Fellowship,
the 1987 United Nations’ Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund
for Nature Gold Medal, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his “exceptional
contributions to solving global environmental problems.”
Brown has degrees
in agricultural science, agricultural economics, and public adminsitration. He
was an advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture on forign policy and ran the
department’s International Agricultural Development Service.
Plan B 4.0
“Plan B 4.0”, published in 2009 and called “a great book which should wake
up humankind,” addresses pressing issues of rising food prices, growing
numbers of hungry people, and an emerging politics of food scarcity facing our
global civilization.
Brown argues that food may be the issue that convinces
the world of the need to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020.
The book’s
recommendations aim to protect climate, stabilize population, eradicate
poverty, and restore the economy’s natural support systems. “Will we follow
in the footsteps of the Sumerians and the Mayans or can we change course—
and do it before time runs out?” asks Brown. “Can we move onto an economic
path that is environmentally sustainable? We think we can. That is what Plan B
4.0 is about.”
Copies of Plan B will be available for sale at the event.
Open Forum Discussion
Immediately following the lecture, please join us for an open forum discussion about issues raised during the lecture. A panel of ILE faculty members will be on hand to listen to concerns address questions from the audience.
The discussion session will run until 9:00 p.m.