Earth Policy Institute

Earth Policy Institute

Founded	2001
Founder	Lester R. Brown
Type	Environmental Research
Focus	Environmentalism
Location	Washington, D.C.
Key people	Reah Janise Kauffman, Vice President Janet Larsen, Director of Research
Slogan	Dedicated to planning a sustainable future as well as providing a roadmap of how to get from here to there.
Mission	(1)To provide a global plan (Plan B) for moving the world onto an environmentally and economically sustainable path, (2) to provide examples demonstrating how the plan would work, and (3) to keep the media, policymakers, academics, environmentalists, and other decision-makers focused on the process of building a Plan B economy.
Website	www.earth-policy.org

Earth Policy Institute is an independent non-profit environmental organization based in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It was founded by Lester R. Brown in 2001 and functions as an environmental think tank, providing research and analysis on environmental indicators and making policy and lifestyle recommendations aimed at promoting environmental and economic sustainability.

Cited by environmental advocates,^[1] as well as policymakers and journalists^[2] alike, the Institute is a nonprofit that provides articles, data resources, and select free downloads of their books on their website.

In June 2015, the Institute announced that, with Brown's retirement, it would close its doors at the end of the month.

Description

The Earth Policy Institute functions as a think-tank, providing policy research and recommendations on sustainable development and living, as well as on environmental issues.

EPI’s goals are (1) to provide a global plan for moving the world onto an environmentally and economically sustainable path, (2) to provide examples demonstrating how the plan would work, and (3) to keep the media, policymakers, academics, environmentalists, and other decision-makers focused on the process of building a Plan B economy.

Publications and releases

The Institute sends out articles called Updates, Eco-Economy Indicators, Book Bytes, Data Highlights, and Press Releases to the media and the general public on a free low-volume e-mail listserv^[3] and are posted on its website along with supporting data and sources for additional information.

Publications

Publications are released in several languages. International publishers for books can be found on the website,^[4] as well as links to other organizations who publish the translations of articles.

Books

The Institute has released the following books:

• Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth.
• The Earth Policy Reader
• Outgrowing the Earth: The Food Security Challenge in an Age of Falling Water Tables and Rising Temperatures
• Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
• Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
• Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization
• Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization
• World On The Edge^[5]
• Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity^[6]
• Breaking New Ground: A Personal History^[7]
• The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy^[8]

Releases

Updates

Earth Policy Institute states that Plan B Updates are original, four-page analyses of environmental issues ranging from worldwide advances in renewable energy to deaths from heat waves to new flows of environmental refugees.^[9]

Eco-Economy Indicators

Earth Policy Institute states that eco-Economy Indicators consist of the 12 trends EPI uses to measure progress toward building a Plan B world. The 12 trends are Population, Global Economy, Grain Harvest, Fish Catch, Forest Cover, Water Resources, Carbon Emissions, Global Temperature, Ice Melting, Wind Power, Bicycle Production,^[10] Solar Power.^[11]

Book Bytes

Book Bytes are highlights and adaptations from EPI's books and research.

EPI regularly contributes releases to other websites, including:

• Sustainablog^[12]
• Care2^[13]

Closing

The Institute's June 2015 announcement of its closing began:

All good things must come to an end, and we at the Earth Policy Institute (EPI) find ourselves sadly at the end of a road filled with many successes. With our president and founder, Lester Brown, stepping down at the age of 81, we are closing our doors on June 30, 2015. Our awesome staffers are finding new posts to continue their work, and we are certain that they will be able to further the issues EPI has pursued.^[14]

The announcement added:

We are delighted to say that our website and all of its information, data, and research publications will remain available to you. The School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University has agreed to keep our site available as a legacy website.^[14]

References

1. "Environmental, Business Leaders Support Call for 100% U.S. Green Grid by 2020." PR Newswire, September 13, 2010.
2. Mouwad, Jad. "Carbon Emissions See Big Two-Year Drop," New York Times Green Inc. Blog, October 19, 2009.
3. EPI e-mail listserv
4. Earth Policy Institute: Translations, Accessed September 21, 2010.
5. Earth Policy Institute. accessed 6 July 2015.
6. Earth Policy Institute. accessed 6 July 2015.
7. Earth Policy Institute." accessed 6 July 2015.
8. Earth Policy Institute." accessed 6 July 2015.
9. Plan B Updates, Accessed September 21, 2010.
10. Lean, Geoffrey. "Britain needs to get on its bike," Telegraph.co.uk, October 2, 2010.
11. Eco-Economy Indicators, accessed September 21, 2010.
12. Sustainablog Author: Earth Policy Institute. http://blog.sustainablog.org/author/earthpolicy/ Accessed September 21, 2010.
13. Earth Policy's Sharebook.http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/sharebook/576038753&tag=brown Accessed September 21, 2010.
14. "Au Revoir & Thank You!". Earth Policy Institute. June 29, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-29.