State of the World

Earth education is traditionally confined to specific topics: ecoliteracy, outdoor education, environmental science. But in the coming century, on track to be the warmest in human history, every aspect of human life will be affected by our changing planet. Emerging diseases, food shortages, drought, and waterlogged cities are just some of the unprecedented challenges that today's students will face. How do we prepare 9.5 billion people for life in the Anthropocene, to thrive in this uncharted and more chaotic future? Answers are being developed in universities, preschools, professional schools, and even prisons around the world. In the latest volume of State of the World, a diverse group of education experts share innovative approaches to teaching and learning in a new era. Topics include systems thinking for kids; the importance of play in early education; social emotional learning; comprehensive sexuality education; indigenous knowledge; sustainable business; medical training to treat the whole person; teaching law in the Anthropocene; and more. EarthEd addresses schooling at all levels of development, from preschool to professional. Its lessons can inform teachers, policy makers, school administrators, community leaders, parents, and students alike. And its vision will inspire anyone who wants to prepare students not only for the storms ahead but to become the next generation of sustainability leaders. "Without doubt, Earth Ed is a wonderfully tight compilation of ideas." "In our shared time on Earth, we must create a new Earth Education. We must help future generations learn the skills necessary to survive the rapid changes ahead-including moral leadership and conflict resolution-and engender a deep connection with other species, as well as our own. This book, and the Earth Education it defines and illuminates, points us toward that new path."---Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods", "The Nature Principle", and "Vitamin N" "Perilous times call for smart, hopeful, and vital education, grounded in deep understanding of how the world works and our place in it. EarthEd is a reason to take heart, reminding us that we can learn from educators around the world who are drawing from traditional wisdom, new discoveries about learning, and innovative strategies to prepare and inspire students to become effective actors in our changing world."---Zenobia Barlow, Cofounder and Executive Director of the Center for Ecoliteracy "The authors in this volume are among the leaders at the forefront of environmental education. The stories, research, and insight that follow will inspire by the examples, models, and sheer dedication and perseverance."---David W. Orr, Paul Sears Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Counselor to the President, Oberlin College

A compelling look at the global food crisis, with particular emphasis on global innovations that can help solve a worldwide problem. State of the World 2011 not only introduces us to the latest agro-ecological innovations and their global applicability but also gives broader insights into issues including poverty, international politics, and even gender equity.

In the 2012 edition of its flagship report, Worldwatch celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit with a far-reaching analysis of progress toward building sustainable economies. Written in clear language with easy-to-read charts, State of the World 2012 offers a new perspective on what changes and policies will be necessary to make sustainability a permanent feature of the world's economies. The Worldwatch Institute has been named one of the top three environmental think tanks in the world by the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program. "The most comprehensive, up-to-date, and accessible summaries . . . on the global environment."---E.O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winner "Top-ranked annual books on sustainable development." "A wise read for the world's future, Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity is a solid and much recommended read for environmental and science collections." "Together with 35 pages of referenced notes and a 15-page index, the...chapters constitute a worthy, excellent-value compendium of environmental information." "...it has provided compelling and increasingly sophisticated analyses of those challenges; and it has helped to bring coherence and direction to the study of global environmental governance. In doing so, the series has increased the capacity of the policy and scientific community to meet the challenges of the next century."

It's New Year's Day, 2101. Somehow, humanity survived the worst of global warming-the higher temperatures and sea levels and the more intense droughts and storms-and succeeded in stabilizing the Earth's climate. Greenhouse gas concentrations are peaking and are expected to drift downward in the 22nd century. The rise in global temperatures is slowing and the natural world is gradually healing. The social contract largely held. And humanity as a whole is better fed, healthier, and more prosperous today than it was a century ago. This scenario of an imagined future raises a key question: What must we do in the 21st century to make such a future possible, and to head off the kind of climate catastrophe that many scientists now see as likely? This question inspires the theme of the Worldwatch Institute's State of the World 2009 report: how climate change will play out over the coming century, and what steps we most urgently need to take now.

In 2008, half of the Earth's population will live in urban areas, marking the first time in history that humans are an urban species. State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future examines changes in the ways cities are managed, built, and lived in that could tip the balance towards a healthier and more peaceful urban future.

State of the World 2002 includes chapters on climate change, farming, toxic chemicals, sustainable tourism, population, resource conflicts and global governance.

With chapters on food, water, energy, the politics of consumption and redefining the good life, Worldwatch's award-winning research team asks whether a less-consumptive society is possible-and then argues that it is essential.

Environmental issues were once regarded as irrelevant to economic activity, but today they are dramatically rewriting the rules for business, investors, and consumers. Around the world, innovative responses to climate change and other environmental problems are affecting more than $100 billion in annual capital flows as pioneering entrepreneurs, organizations, and governments take steps to create the Earth's first "sustainable" global economy.

In this fifteenth edition of State of the World, Lester R. Brown and the Worldwatch research team look at the environmental effects of continuing economic growth as the economy outgrows the earth's ecosystem. As the global economy has expanded from $5 trillion of output in 1950 to $29 trillion in 1997, its demands have crossed many of the earth's sustainable yield thresholds.

Citizens expect their governments to lead on sustainability. But from largely disappointing international conferences like Rio II to the U.S.'s failure to pass meaningful climate legislation, governments' progress has been lackluster. That's not to say leadership is absent; it just often comes from the bottom up rather than the top down. Action-on climate, species loss, inequity, and other sustainability crises-is being driven by local, people's, women's, and grassroots movements around the world, often in opposition to the agendas pursued by governments and big corporations. These diverse efforts are the subject of the latest volume in the Worldwatch Institute's highly regarded State of the World series. The 2014 edition, marking the Institute's 40th anniversary, examines both barriers to responsible political and economic governance as well as gridlock-shattering new ideas. The authors analyze a variety of trends and proposals, including regional and local climate initiatives, the rise of benefit corporations and worker-owned firms, the need for energy democracy, the Internet's impact on sustainability, and the importance of eco-literacy. A consistent thread throughout the book is that informed and engaged citizens are key to better governance. The book is a clear-eyed yet ultimately optimistic assessment of citizens' ability to govern for sustainability. By highlighting both obstacles and opportunities, State of the World 2014 shows how to effect change within and beyond the halls of government. This volume will be especially useful for policymakers, environmental nonprofits, students of environmental studies, sustainability, or economics-and citizens looking to jumpstart significant change around the world. "Although optimistic, [State of the World 2014] is framed by a sentiment of crisis, with humanity at an unprecedented crossroads requiring a sharp departure from politics and business as usual... examin[ing] both obstacles to, and opportunities for, responsible political and economic governance." "This year's report, published by Worldwatch Institute, marks the organization's 40th anniversary. The study looks at what governing for sustainability really means. Authors highlight the responsibility of political and economic actors to achieve sustainability measures. They also noted that to be effective, governance systems must be inclusive and participatory, allowing members to have a voice in the decision making process." "For thirty years, the State of the World report has helped to map the gathering and then accelerating storm of environmental, climate, and resource crises. Identifying itself firmly with the collective interest of humanity as a whole living in harmony with nature, the annual report has sought to balance authoritative reporting of the increasingly bleak health of the environment with sustainable pathways out of the accumulating crises. In a world of competing sources of authority and power, the pursuit of atomized individual and national self-interests will court planetary disaster. This year's State of the World report has its focus on governance: how, in a world without world government, we can and must make enforceable rules for using finite resources democratically, equitably and, above all, sustainably, with fallible governments and imperfect markets working together for the common good."---Ramesh Thakur, The Australian National University, Editor-in-Chief, Global Governance "State of the World 2014 can be read as a 'State of the Wealth' report. Never before has wealth commanded so much power or been so concentrated-even to the point of threatening civilized life. Wealth becomes unable to offer, not just a better future, but any future. Therein lies its weakness and the hope that the major governance shift that sustainability requires can be brought about."---Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch "The scientists have told us what we need to know about clim

From the thinning of the Arctic sea ice to the invasion of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, State of the World 2001 shows how the economic boom of the last decade has damaged natural systems. The increasingly visible evidence of environmental deterioration is only the tip of a much more dangerous problem: the growing inequities in wealth and income between countries and within countries, inequities that will generate enormous social unrest and pressure for change.

State of the World 2000 shines a sharp light on the great challenge our civilization faces: how to use our political systems to manage the difficult and complex relationships between the global economy and the Earth's ecosystems. If we cannot build an environmentally sustainable global economy, then we have no future that anyone would desire.

We think we understand environmental damage: pollution, water scarcity, a warming world. But these problems are just the tip of the iceberg. Food insecurity, financial assets drained of value by environmental damage, and a rapid rise in diseases of animal origin are among the underreported consequences of an unsustainable global system. In State of the World 2015, the flagship publication of The Worldwatch Institute, experts explore hidden threats to sustainability and how to address them. How will nations deal with migration as climate change refugees cross borders in order to escape flooding, drought, or other extreme weather events? What will happen to the price and availability of fossil energy-the foundation of industrial civilization--as these resources oscillate between surplus and scarcity? If perpetual economic growth on a finite planet is impossible, what are the alternatives? Can national governments manage the transition? Eight key issues are addressed in depth, along with the central question of how we can develop resilience to these and other shocks. For decades, The Worldwatch Institute has been a leader in identifying and analyzing emerging environmental threats. With the latest edition of State of The World, the authorities at Worldwatch bring to light challenges we can no longer afford to ignore. "As the world has evolved over the past three decades, so has the annual State of the World report. This edition offers an even more systemic analysis than past ones, integrating finance into its snapshot of ecological and societal trends on Planet Earth. Everyone who cares about the overarching issues shaping our future should pay attention, as the warning lights on our dashboard are glowing."---Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute "This well-written book makes a strong case for an urgent reduction in demands on resources such that Earth can remain a sustainable home for humanity...important observations are not accompanied by a 'wringing of hands' approach that is sometimes evident in environmental volumes, but instead a rational analysis of each sustainability threat is presented and a solution offered." "The State of the World report has always been at the forefront of bringing new issues and new perspectives to wide public attention in the U.S. and abroad. Devastating findings about our world have been matched with exciting opportunities for action. For 30 years, there has been nothing quite like it, and now comes another major contribution in the series. The 2015 volume once again explores new territory, including, I am happy to see, an examination of whether GDP growth, as we now experience it in places like the United States, brings more costs than benefits. Overall, an extremely important contribution."---James Gustave Speth, Author, America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy "Each year, we can count on State of the World for up-to-date research revealing critical issues of sustainability for our planet and its people. Get it if you want to understand emerging threats and new possibilities. Probably the best investment you will make in 2015!"---Mathis Wackernagel, President, Global Footprint Network "State of the World lays out the essential knowledge of what is happening to the planet and the solutions we need to sustain civilization. A cutting-edge compass for a sustainable future: no leader should be without it."---Thomas E. Lovejoy, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University

Every day, we are presented with a range of "sustainable" products and activities-from "green" cleaning supplies to carbon offsets-but with so much labeled as "sustainable," the term has become essentially sustainababble, at best indicating a practice or product slightly less damaging than the conventional alternative. Is it time to abandon the concept altogether, or can we find an accurate way to measure sustainability? If so, how can we achieve it? And if not, how can we best prepare for the coming ecological decline? In the latest edition of Worldwatch Institute's State of the World series, scientists, policy experts, and thought leaders tackle these questions, attempting to restore meaning to sustainability as more than just a marketing tool. In State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible?, experts define clear sustainability metrics and examine various policies and perspectives, including geoengineering, corporate transformation, and changes in agricultural policy, that could put us on the path to prosperity without diminishing the well-being of future generations. If these approaches fall short, the final chapters explore ways to prepare for drastic environmental change and resource depletion, such as strengthening democracy and societal resilience, protecting cultural heritage, and dealing with increased conflict and migration flows. State of the World 2013 cuts through the rhetoric surrounding sustainability, offering a broad and realistic look at how close we are to fulfilling it today and which practices and policies will steer us in the right direction. This book will be especially useful for policymakers, environmental nonprofits, and students of environmental studies, sustainability, or economics. "State of the World 2013 assembles the wisdom and clarity of some of the Earth's finest thinkers, visionaries, and activists into a dazzling array of topics that merge to offer a compellingly lucid and accessible vision of where we are-and what is the wisest and healthiest course for the future."---Nina Simons, co-founder, Bioneers "State of the World 2013 is a powerful collection of articles, and the vision behind it is impressive. Here is a book that gets beyond 'sustainababble' and asks the tough, essential questions. It should make readers more determined than ever to do their part in avoiding planet-wide disaster-and better informed about how to do that."---Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University, and author of Animal Liberation "This edition forges a new path for the [State of the World] series, and for environmental thinking in general…. A pivotal book that marks a defining moment for our species."---Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow Post Carbon Institute; author of "The End of Growth" and "The Party's Over" "State of the World 2013 cuts through the rhetoric surrounding sustainability, providing a broad and realistic look at how close we are to achieving it and outlining practices and policies that can steer us in the right direction…. A must read for those seeking authentic sustainability."---Hunter Lovins, President of Natural Capital Solutions and author of Climate Capitalism "This is a book of hope for a world in profound crisis. It gives honest assessments of the enormous challenges we face, and points us toward institutional and cultural changes that are proportional to our dire situation. State of the World 2013 reaffirms that we are not helpless, but that we have real choices, and that transformation is both possible and desirable."---Reverend Peter S. Sawtell, Executive Director, Eco-Justice Ministries "State of the World 2013 cuts through 'sustainababble' with crisp coverage that puts the news of the year in context and provides an expert survey of today's and tomorrow's big issues. It's a perennial resource for everyone concerned about our common future."---Karen Christensen, publisher of Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability "Every

Like a tsunami, consumerism has engulfed human cultures and Earth's ecosystems. Left unaddressed, we risk global disaster. But if we channel this wave, intentionally transforming our cultures to center on sustainability, we will not only prevent catastrophe, but may usher in an era of sustainability-one that allows all people to thrive while protecting, even restoring, Earth. In State of the World 2010, sixty renowned researchers and practitioners describe how we can harness the world's leading institutions-education, the media, business, governments, traditions, and social movements-to reorient cultures toward sustainability.

Cities are the world's future. Today, more than half of the global population-3.7 billion people-are urban dwellers, and that number is expected to double by 2050. There is no question that cities are growing; the only debate is over how they will grow. Will we invest in the physical and social infrastructure necessary for livable, equitable, and sustainable cities? In the latest edition of State of the World, the flagship publication of the Worldwatch Institute, experts from around the globe examine the core principles of sustainable urbanism and profile cities that are putting them into practice. State of the World first puts our current moment in context, tracing cities in the arc of human history. It also examines the basic structural elements of every city: materials and fuels; people and economics; and biodiversity. In part two, professionals working on some of the world's most inventive urban sustainability projects share their first-hand experience. Success stories come from places as diverse as Ahmedabad, India; Freiburg, Germany; and Shanghai, China. In many cases, local people are acting to improve their cities, even when national efforts are stalled. Parts three and four examine cross-cutting issues that affect the success of all cities. Topics range from the nitty-gritty of handling waste and developing public transportation to civic participation and navigating dysfunctional government. Throughout, readers discover the most pressing challenges facing communities and the most promising solutions currently being developed. The result is a snapshot of cities today and a vision for global urban sustainability tomorrow. "informed and informative" "What is embraced throughout the pages...is our future: not a doom and gloom snapshot of terrible things to come, but a positive look toward what we, as a species, can accomplish if we work at it. Can a City Be Sustainable? brings exciting ideas to our attention in an accessible way...[it] does exactly what it sets out to in its first sentence: give us hope." "Provides an excellent coverage of urban sustainability, establishing the necessary linkages between the urban climate challenges and the other, equally problematic, environmental excesses of urban civilization...[The book] is undoubtedly a solid contribution and bound to be a reference for some years to come."

In State of the World 2005, Worldwatch researchers explore underlying sources of global insecurity including poverty, infectious disease, environmental degradation, and rising competition over oil and other resources. Find out why terrorism is just symptomatic of a far broader set of complex problems that require more than a military response.

State of the World 2006 provides a special focus on China and India and their impact on the world as major consumers of resources and polluters of local and global ecosystems. The report explains the critical need for both countries to "leapfrog" the technologies, policies, and even the cultures that now prevail in many western countries for the sake of global sustainability-and reports on some of the strategies that China and India are starting to implement. Besides the focus on China and India, State of the World 2006 looks at actions corporations can take to be more socially responsible; examines the potential socioeconomic, health, and environmental implications of nanoscale technologies; assesses the impacts of large-scale development of biofuels on agriculture and the environment; describes mercury sources, industrial uses, and health hazards worldwide; and provides an overview of the need to safeguard freshwater ecosystems, with examples of proven approaches in cities, villages, and farming regions around the world.

Written in clear and concise language, with easy-to-read charts and tables, State of the World presents a view of our changing world that we cannot afford to ignore.

The challenges are still immense, of course, as the book also documents, but the building blocks for a historic reinvention of human civilization are now within reach.