Plan B: 2.0 by Lester Brown - Available Free Online
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 04.26.06
Maybe we should call this week the "Lester Brown Week"? On Monday we asked you for suggestions of interview questions, on Tuesday the TreeHuggerTV team interviewed Mr. Brown (stay tuned for the episode featuring the interview) and today we'd like to let you know that his book Plan B: 2.0 (which we've covered before) is available online for free (legally, of course): Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. You can read it in a browser, or download chapters in .pdf format, but of course you can also buy it to support Mr. Brown (and when you're done reading, why not donate your copy to the local library or start a library at work?). ::Lester Brown - Plan B: 2.0, ::Plan B: 2.0 at Amazon Update: You can watch our interview with Lester Brown here.
Does anyone listen to this guy? He's made so many stupid claims over the years that I'd take everything he says with a truckload of salt. People like him just give ammo to those who want to ignore environmentalists . Half of the Skeptical Environmentalist is spent debunking every other word the guy says.
People who scout the future are destined to take arrows in the back. The good ones know that no one can predict the future with precision, including themselves. But they also know that many highly plausible future directions can be described. Lester is pretty good at describing forces that will shape the future. Most of his visions are fairly optimistic.
the skeptical environmentalist is bunk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeptical_environmentalist#Reaction
I like the 'scout the future' comment and agree.
On a more ridiculous note... I have always thought he looks a bit like a Doctor Who-ish time lord. :)
Thanks for the link to the book online!
I've just finished reading half of his online book. So far all the information he has presented seems to fit with the general impression I have from the information sources I am tuned to. His connect-the-dots link ups seem logical. Of course, the end conclusions seem a little radical. But don't they always? In 1925 would anyone have taken someone seriously that claimed that in 50 years there would be a worldwide infrastructure for passenger air travel and for vehicles? Or in 1950 that in 50 years most of the worlds information/knowledge could be found on something so strange as the Internet? I think you get the idea.