[Taskforce_Unity]

Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
Lester R. Brown
Earth policy institute (http://www.earth-policy.org)
ISBN 0-393-05859-x (cloth) 0-393-32523-7 (paperback)

This is the book for reading about ecological problems following from population growth and misusages of our environment. All very well backed by lots of numbers. It is well written, reads away easily and offers many world wide implementable solutions. The style is in two parts, the first part recognises and describes all our ecological problems. The second part or Plan B gives us general ideas on how to tackle and try to solve these problems.

Part 1 sums up all the ecological problems we face in the world. Mainly in the Asian world. The problems of water, erosion of topsoils, desertification, temperature rising, agricultural land decline, CO2 levels, storms etc.. This all in the context of food production. The book is split up into two parts, in the first part he describes our current problems in regards to food production, poverty and hunger, major diseased, population growth and conflicts. He calls this business as usual or continuing plan A.

Part 2 or Plan B gives us ideas on how to raise water productivity. For instance by drip water irrigation directly to the plants root. He also talks about raising land productivity and briefly goes into how to stop desertification. Then he goes into the topic of cutting carbon emmisions presenting some alternatives to fossil fuels. Widely too optimistic on this part in my opinion. He has too little criticism regarding to durable alternatives. For instance he talks about the hydrogen economy as a current possibility. The last part goes into the challenge of poverty and our economy. How to deflate the bubble, shift taxes to enviromental positive ways of govermental control and other topics.

Over all it is thus a book which is very good on the problem aspect, it has some fine solutions, is well documented and has many references. Some more criticism could be useful though on the energy systems that he proposes.

[clv101]

What a coincidence - I just started reading this book today. All I can say is that the first 40 pages are great. The water/grain issue seems pretty serious.

[Taskforce_Unity]

It's a very serious book, well written with mindblowing numbers. Like 10.000 square kilomters of erosion per year in china