Economists had anticipated a slowdown, but this was even less growth than expected, thanks to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, unrest in oil-producing countries, the debt crisis in Europe, and a stagnating recovery in the United States. The 2011 growth in developing Asian economies was dampened somewhat by the disaster in Japan, which disrupted global supply chains in automotives, electronics, and other sectors. The global economy grew 3.8 percent in 2011, a drop from 5.2 MORE

Next to Japan, the most dramatic shift in nuclear energy policy following Fukushima occurred in Germany. The growth in nuclear generating capacity had slowed to a crawl well before the Fukushima disaster. But since then the annual growth rate has been just 0.7 Energy Earth Policy Institute Fukushima Germany IAEA Japan nuclear industry nuclear power MORE

"If we cannot reverse these trends, economic decline is inevitable," notes Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based As the earth's temperature rises, the likelihood of more numerous, more intense heat waves increases. The principal threats to our future are no longer armed aggression but instead climate change, population growth, water shortages, spreading hunger, and failing states. MORE

Sustainable energy future My presentation for the ERM Alumni Conference on Energy and Natural Resources Policy, Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus, Germany, 6-10.10.2008 Abstract: The world of fossil fuel – based economy is eventually coming into crisis as these fuels go exhausted. Introduction Every living-thing needs energy to maintain their lives on Earth. In addition, a thoughtful vision is needed for energy policy. Earth Policy Institute. MORE

Brown Published for the Earth Policy Institute by W.W. Norton & Company This book is available free to download from the Earth Policy Institute website or can be bought as a bound paperback from booksellers but both the paperback version, and also a hardback version, can be bought from the Earth Policy Institute website as well. The annual growth in solar generating capacity will also soon overtake that of coal. MORE

Another significant detriment caused by urbanization is that native species which are lost as a result of urban growth are frequently replaced with nonnative species. The outer part of the building is protected by a membrane between the structure and the growth, so it would not corrode the building in any way. The reason is that chemical fertilizers and pesticides have a “scorched-earth” policy when it comes to killing off bugs. MORE

The Earth’s renewable energy resources are vast and available to be tapped through visionary initiatives. A revamped clean energy economy will harness more energy from the wind and sun, and from within the Earth itself. The growth in the use of solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity can only be described as explosive, expanding by 74 percent in 2011. Brown, in the October/November 2012 issue of Mother Earth News. MORE

Full Planet, Empty Plates Slideshow Presentation from Earth Policy Institute With food scarcity driven by falling water tables, eroding soils, and rising temperatures, control of arable land and water resources is moving to center stage in the global struggle for food security. “In When governments wanted to accelerate growth in the grain harvest, they simply raised the support price paid to farmers. Today, the growth in world grain consumption is concentrated in China. MORE

Over the past decade, world wind electric generating capacity grew at nearly 30 percent per year, its increase driven by its many attractive features and by public policies supporting its expansion. We know that rapid growth in wind generation is possible. For the first time since the Industrial Revolution began, we have an opportunity to invest in alternative sources of energy that can last as long as the Earth itself. MORE

Energy policies and technologies that can get us on the path toward a sustainable future (plus a few that won’t). Click on each Policy or Technology to learn more about our energy options. For starters, it will have to be both highly efficient and powered by renewable energy—the sun, wind, earth, or ocean. A combination of the right policies and the right technologies can get us there. MORE

Relying heavily on economic data to measure progress, they see the near 10-fold growth in the world economy since 1950 and the associated gains in living standards as the crowning achievement of our modern civilization. A century ago, annual growth in the world economy was measured in the billions of dollars. Projections of economic growth, whether by the World Bank, Goldman Sachs, or Deutsche Bank, typically show the global economy expanding by roughly 3 percent a year. MORE

With the global fish catch no longer expanding , aquaculture will continue to satisfy the growth in worldwide demand for fish-based protein. Matthew Roney from the Earth Policy Institute. The fish near the bottom of the aquatic food chain are often overlooked, but they are vital to healthy oceans and estuaries. MORE

Unless governments start routinely granting operating permits for reactors more than 40 years old, a half-century of growth in world nuclear generating capacity is about to be replaced by a long-term decline. Brown is president of Earth Policy Institute and author of Plan B 3.0: [link] Lester R. Brown Over the last few years the nuclear industry has used concerns about climate change to argue for a nuclear revival. MORE

Stripped of its living carpet, freed from the intricate matrix of perennial prairie grass roots, the earth took flight. With government subsidies and direction from the newly created Soil Conservation Service, practices were introduced to help hold down the earth. By Janet Larsen, director of Research for the Earth Policy Institute. MORE