Earth Policy Institute – Building a Sustainable Future | Home. EarthPolicyInstitute (EarthPolicy) EPI | Blog. Thursday, February 03, 2011 In today’s (February 3, 2011) Financial Times, Ed Crooks reviewed World on the Edge by Lester Brown, saying that it “manages to cover both the grand sweep of global trends and the fine detail of some of the ideas being developed in response.” He also calls it “a provocative primer on some of the key global issues that businesses will face in the coming decades.” “It provides a persuasive vision of the markets that are likely to present the greatest challenges, and the technologies and business models that have the greatest potential, in a world of escalating environmental and social problems.” With concerns about global food security, we appreciate Crooks calling attention to two of the main inputs – water and cultivable land – which are becoming scarce.
He writes, “Brown suggests that as well as nearing “peak oil” – the point at which global oil supplies can no longer be increased, and start to decline – we may also be approaching “peak water”. Sincerely, Bio of Lester Brown. Biography of Lester Brown The Washington Post calls Lester Brown "one of the world's most influential thinkers. " The Telegraph of Calcutta refers to him as “the guru of the environmental movement.” In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his personal papers noting that his writings “have already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources.” Brown started his career as a farmer, growing tomatoes in southern New Jersey with his younger brother during high school and college. Brown earned masters degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Maryland and in public administration from Harvard University.
In 1974, with support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Lester Brown founded the Worldwatch Institute, the first research institute devoted to the analysis of global environmental issues. Brown has authored or coauthored over 50 books.