Lester R. Brown, described as "one of the world's most influential thinkers" by the Washington Post, is President of Earth Policy Institute, a non-profit environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C., which he founded in May 2001. Some 30 years ago, he pioneered the concept of environmentally sustainable development. He is widely known as the Founder and former President of the Worldwatch Institute.

During a career that started with tomato farming, Brown has been awarded more than 20 honorary degrees. Brown has authored or coauthored 50 books. One of the world's most widely published authors, his books have appeared in some 40 languages. His most recent book is entitled Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. He is a MacArthur Fellow and the recipient of many prizes and awards. In 1985 the Library of Congress requested his personal papers noting that his writings and work had "already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources."

Blog Entries by Lester Brown

Davos Day 3: Sustainable Development in Asia -- The Answer's in the Water

Posted January 26, 2007 | 01:55 PM (EST)


Last night I was privileged to attend a dinner at the World Economic Forum that was sponsored by the Japan Water Forum. The dinner had an important focus: Sustainable Growth in Asia.

While sustainable growth in our world's most populous continent carries many environmental implications there is one area...

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Davos Day 2: The Future Depends on Increasing Our Energy Efficiency

Posted January 25, 2007 | 11:36 AM (EST)


Two panels that I will participate in today focus on the future of energy.

One of the primary motivations for writing my most recent book Plan B 2.0 - which can be downloaded for free at the Earth Policy Institute's web site -- was confronting the dangers of...

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Considering the Real Costs of Our Energy Economy

Posted January 24, 2007 | 10:04 AM (EST)


Davos 2007 has officially begun. For me, the highlight of the first day consisted of a series of debates, part of CNBC's Make Green Pay panel.

As is true with most events at the World Economic Forum, the topics of each of the event's three panels were controversial, and...

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Ethanol From Corn Is Not the Solution

Posted January 16, 2007 | 07:38 PM (EST)


In the announcement of their "100 Hour" agenda, Democrats targeted expanding research and investment in alternative energy as a key priority. This development is long overdue, and should be celebrated as a major step towards embracing a diversified 21st century energy economy.

The plan, however, has a major pitfall:...

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Earth Day 2006: Saving the Future By Looking to the Past

Posted April 21, 2006 | 02:09 PM (EST)


Today is the 36th anniversary of Earth Day. While some celebrate this day planting trees or collecting trash, our world leaders must rapidly confront a dangerous reality: our early twenty-first century civilization is on an economic path that is destroying and disrupting the natural systems on which it depends, consuming...

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