The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) is a nonprofit educational organization that provides large amounts of information about global population size, demographics, trends, and other statistics. There PRB provides data sheets, charts, maps, and tools for educators.
Discussion of global population growth and its problems is a very important issue that also happens to be unpopular and often somewhat poisonous to politicians. Thus, we don’t hear about it as much as other issues that threaten the health of the planet. According to the PRB’s website:
“The Population Reference Bureau informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment, and empowers them to use that information to advance the well-being of current and future generations.
Inform: PRB analyzes complex demographic data and research to provide the most objective, accurate, and up-to-date population information in a format that is easily understood by advocates, journalists, and decisionmakers alike.
Empower: Our commitment to putting information into action sets us apart. PRB builds coalitions and conducts workshops around the world to give our key audiences the tools they need to understand and communicate effectively about population issues.
Advance: PRB works to ensure that policymakers in developing countries and in the United States rely on sound evidence, rather than anecdotal or outdated information, when creating population, health, and environmental policies.”
Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization
(entire book available for free online viewing)
This book, published in 2009 by the Earth Policy Institute (information distribution organization that promotes a sustainable future for the planet), is an updated version of a text I read in fall 2008 for my International Environmental Issues and Globalization class at college. I read the 3.0 edition from 2008. The link above is to the latest edition. Written by internationally honored and well-known scientist, Lester R. Brown, Plan B 4.0 outlines how we could actually save the planet from the many harmful things humanity is doing to the environment.
Reading the book could curb your skepticism about how dismal things might end up being. Sustainable solutions exist for many problems (e.g. increasing urban gardening to combat food shortages, planting forests in deserts to sequester carbon, etc.). If you want to save the world, reading some of Plan B 4.0 could help you get off to solid start. Individual actions can make a difference and widespread cooperation is vital. Whether you agree with Brown’s ideas or not, checking out Plan B 4.0 might be useful.
Plan B 4.0 (which is available for free online via both web pages and PDF documents) first outlines various global problems the planet faces in regards to demographics and the environment. Then the text systematically addresses how we could solve a lot of those problems. Some of the key solutions involve restructuring government incentives and tax structures, turning more toward renewable energy, and empowering women and girls world-wide.
Brown urges us to reshape the global economy at a record pace that would rival the mobilization the U.S. undertook during World War II. The book is an effective presentation of technical data and ideas. It has an easy-to-read style that could readily be grasped by the general public. But, those with a more technical nature might be pleased to know that Plan B 4.0 backs up its data with hundreds of information source references listed in the back of the book. Excel files of chapter data are also available online.
Below are links to all of Plan B 4.0. You can view the entire book or view content by chapter. All these links were directly copied from the Earth Policy Institute’s website (http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/books/pb4/pb4_table_of_contents).
Entire book (pdf)
Data sets
Preface (pdf) (Listen to Audio)
1. Selling Our Future (pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
Food: The Weak Link
The Emerging Politics of Food Scarcity
Our Global Ponzi Economy
Mounting Stresses, Failing States
Plan B—A Plan to Save Civilization
Chapter 1 Data (xls) (pdf)
PART I. THE CHALLENGES
2. Population Pressure: Land and Water (pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
Civilization’s Foundation Eroding
Water Tables Falling
Farmers Losing Water to Cities
Land and Water Conflicts
Cars and People Compete for Grain
The Rising Tide of Environmental Refugees
Chapter 2 Data (xls) (pdf)
3. Climate Change and the Energy Transition (pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
Rising Temperature and Its Effects
Melting Ice, Rising Seas
Melting Glaciers, Shrinking Harvests
Rising Temperatures, Falling Yields
The Decline of Oil and Coal
A Challenge Without Precedent
Chapter 3 Data (xls) (pdf)
PART II. THE RESPONSE
4. Stabilizing Climate: An Energy Efficiency Revolution (pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
A Revolution in Lighting Technology
Energy-Efficient Appliances
Zero-Carbon Buildings
Electrifying the Transport System
A New Materials Economy
Smarter Grids, Appliances, and Consumers
The Energy Savings Potential
Chapters 4 and 5 Data (xls) (pdf)
5. Stabilizing Climate: Shifting to Renewable Energy(pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
Turning to the Wind
Solar Cells and Thermal Collectors
Energy from the Earth
Plant-Based Sources of Energy
Hydropower: Rivers, Tides, and Waves
The World Energy Economy of 2020
Chapters 4 and 5 Data (xls) (pdf)
6. Designing Cities for People(pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
The Ecology of Cities
Redesigning Urban Transport
The Return of Bicycles
Reducing Urban Water Use
Farming in the City
Upgrading Squatter Settlements
Cities for People
Chapter 6 Data (xls) (pdf)
7. Eradicating Poverty and Stabilizing Population (pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
Educating Everyone
Toward a Healthy Future
Stabilizing Population
Rescuing Failing States
A Poverty Eradication Agenda and Budget
Chapter 7 Data (xls) (pdf)
8. Restoring the Earth (pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
Protecting and Restoring Forests
Planting Trees to Sequester Carbon
Conserving and Rebuilding Soils
Regenerating Fisheries
Protecting Plant and Animal Diversity
The Earth Restoration Budget
Chapter 8 Data (xls) (pdf)
9. Feeding 8 Billion People Well (pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
Raising Land Productivity
Raising Water Productivity
Producing Protein More Efficiently
The Localization of Agriculture
Strategic Reductions in Demand
Action on Many Fronts
Chapter 9 Data (xls) (pdf)
PART III: THE GREAT MOBILIZATION
10. Can We Mobilize Fast Enough? (pdf)
Introduction (Listen to Audio)
Shifting Taxes and Subsidies
Coal: The Beginning of the End
Climate Stabilization Steps
Three Models of Social Change
A Wartime Mobilization
Mobilizing to Save Civilization
What You and I Can Do
Chapter 10 Data (xls) (pdf)
Endnotes (pdf)
Index (pdf)
Acknowledgements & About the Author(pdf)
Plan B 4.0 Data