B mode: Save the Earth, Continue Civilization

Author: Lester R. Brown (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: Modern civilization is in crisis. We have created a bubble economy that relies on excessive depletion of natural capital, causing artificial expansion of output. In this bubble economy, the food sector is particularly evident. The global grain harvest depends on the rapid exploitation of underground water reserves, and once these aquifers are depleted, future production will inevitably decline, driving up global food prices. Political instability in many food-importing countries will prove that the current economic model—Model A—is no longer viable. In its place is Model B—global mobilization to stabilize population and climate, preventing the problems of Model A from spiraling out of control. Our goal is to stabilize the population at a level close to the United Nations' low-end projection of 7.4 billion, reduce carbon emissions by half by 2015, and increase aquaculture production by half. Lester R. Brown has proposed a blueprint that can be implemented immediately. The B Model: Plan B to Save a Planet and Secure Our Future outlines a practical path for sustainable global economic development, avoiding further environmental deterioration that could lead to economic decline.