Transition: The Worldwide Effort to Create a Sustainable Society

Lester Brown − founder of the Worldwatch Institute, the first research institute devoted to the analysis of global environmental issues − discusses the worldwide effort to create a sustainable society. While president of the Worldwatch institute, Brown established the Worldwatch Papers, the annual State of the World reports, World Watch magazine, a second annual entitled Vital Signs: The Trends That are Shaping Our Future, and the Environmental Alert book series.

Brown addressed the City Club forum on the three most dangerous aspects of modern society: excessive soil erosion that undermines global crop productivity, natural ecosystems such as fisheries and forests under excessive pressure, and a society deeply dependent on petroleum. If we do not address these issues, society as we know it simply will run out of time.