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NEWS FROM THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 11,2001
LESTER BROWN LAUNCHES EARTH POLICY INSTITUTE Today, Lester
R. Brown, announced the formation of a new organization: the Earth Policy
Institute. Brown will continue as Chairman of the Board of Worldwatch Institute
and will become a Senior Fellow at Worldwatch. "During the year since I moved
from President to Chairman of the Board at Worldwatch, I've had more time to
think," said Brown.
"Three things have become much more apparent. First, we are
losing the war to save the planet. Many battles have been won, but the gap
between what we need to do to arrest the environmental deterioration of Earth
and what we are doing continues to widen. Somehow we have to turn the tide."
"Second, we need a vision of what an environmentally
sustainable economy-an eco-economy-would look like, a roadmap of how to get
from here to there, and a continual assessment of progress in this effort. Our
goal is to help develop a shared vision of the eco-economy. Unless we have a
common goal of where we want to go, we are not likely to get there.
"Third, to achieve these goals, we need a new kind of
research
organization-one that produces brief pieces that are designed for
use by
the media, can be read by busy policymakers, and can be easily
distributed on the Internet. These short pieces are not a substitute
for the in-depth research on environmental issues that is being done by
the Worldwatch Institute, World Resources Institute, and many other more
specialized, scientific research centers working on environmental
issues." "This is why I am establishing Earth Policy Institute," said
Brown. The Institute plans to have three primary products: a book
entitled Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, a series of
four-page Earth Policy Alerts, and similarly brief Eco-Economy Updates
that identify major milestones or setbacks in building an eco-economy.
The purpose of Eco-Economy is to describe the new economy-to
provide a
vision of what it will look like, how it will work, and how to
build it. By
definition, an eco-economy is designed to mesh with Earth's
ecosystem
instead of disrupting and destroying it. The book will contain
detailed
descriptions of the policy tools that can be used in this
effort, such as a
restructuring of the tax system that will
simultaneously reduce income
taxes and raise taxes on environmentally
destructive activities.
The
Earth Policy Alerts will be short analyses of environmental
issues. They
will be disseminated to a worldwide list of editors and
reporters. The
Alerts will be fashioned after the highly successful
Worldwatch Issue
Alerts, which Brown inaugurated in May 2000 as Chairman
of the Board at
Worldwatch.
The monthly Eco-Economy Updates will deal with new initiatives
that are affecting progress toward an eco-economy. Based on a worldwide
monitoring system, they will include initiatives that contribute to
building an eco-economy, such as a major commitment by a government to
develop its wind energy resources or to stabilize population, as well as
actions that detract from the effort, such as a governmental decision to
allow clearcutting of a forest.
Brown challenges the communications
media to assume
responsibility for helping the world make the transition to
an
eco-economy. "It will take an enormous amount of information
dissemination to guide the transition to an eco-economy," said Brown.
"Editors may not relish this assignment, but the reality is that there
is no other institution that has the capacity to disseminate quickly the
information needed to guide the transition to a sustainable economy in
the time that is available."
If the media does not step up to the
plate on this one, then
environmental deterioration will likely continue
until it eventually
leads to economic decline. The stakes in the battle to
save the planet
are high. When we talk about protecting the economy's
environmental
support systems, we are talking about protecting the economy
itself.
"When I founded Worldwatch in 1974," Brown said, "I felt there
was a need for an organization committed to an interdisciplinary
analysis of global environmental issues, one that could help raise
global awareness of these issues. Worldwatch is more than fulfilling
that mission with its cutting-edge research, its worldwide publishing
network in some 30 languages, and its well-developed working
relationship with the world's major news organizations. Now that it is
firmly established as the global leader in this effort and has a new
generation of leaders, I decided it was time for me to re-focus my
energy on the effort to build an eco-economy."
Making the transfer with
Brown from Worldwatch to the Earth
Policy Institute are Reah Janise
Kauffman and Janet Larsen, who, with
Brown, are the incorporators of the
Institute. Ms. Kauffman, who has
worked with Brown as his special assistant
for 14 years and who has
helped found the new Institute, will be the Vice
President, responsible
for its day-to-day management. At Worldwatch, she
assisted with
fundraising and directed the Institute's international
publishing
program in some 30 languages. Ms. Larsen, who has been assisting
Brown
with research since her recent graduation from Stanford University's
Earth Systems program, will help develop the research program at the new
Institute.
When fully operational, Brown envisions a staff of 10 to 12.
Charter members of the Institute's Board of Directors include Judith
Gradwohl, Curator and Web Site Director at the Smithsonian Institute;
William Mansfield, former Assistant Secretary General and Deputy
Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme; and Scott McVay,
former President of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and now the head
of the Chautauqua Institution.
Brown gratefully acknowledges the
support of Vicki and Roger
Sant of the Summit Foundation, who provided a
$500,000 startup grant.
Earth Policy Institute is located at 1350
Connecticut Avenue,
NW, Suite 403, Washington, DC 20036-right on Dupont
Circle. The Web
site address is www.earth-policy.org. Other contact
information: phone
(202) 496-9290, fax (202) 496-9325, and e-mail
epi@earth-policy.org.
Individuals who are interested in subscribing to the
Earth
Policy Institute's listserv to receive the Earth Policy Alerts and
Eco-Economy Updates may do so on the website or by sending an e-mail to
epi@earth-policy.org with a request to subscribe.
CONTACT:
Earth Policy Institute
1350 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 403
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 496-9290
Fax: (202)
496-9325
E-mail: epi@earth-policy.org
Web: www.earth-policy.org
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