By S.D. Blackmore
For The Salisbury Post
“How do we save civilization?”
This was the question Lester Brown presented his audience Monday at Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on the Catawba College campus.
An environmentalist and founder of the World Watch Institute, Brown is the author of more than 50 books in more than 40 languages. He’s also the recipient of 23 honorary degrees and numerous environmental awards, including the 1987 United Nations Environmental Prize and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize. He also has master’s degrees in agricultural economics and public administration from the University of Maryland and Harvard.
In addition to all of this, Brown posesses an uncommon understanding of the connections between population, pollution, politics, economics, unemployment, global warming, world food security, world water supply and a host of other issues facing today’s world.
Rather than simply pointing out problems and how they’re intertwined, though, Brown concentrates on the solutions we all need to implement.
The evening began with original music written and performed by Catawba students Derek Daisy and Melissa Alesi, followed by introductions by executive director of the Center for the Environment Dr. John Wear, and an opening by Catawba College President Dr. Craig Turner. Before turning the floor over to Brown, the Catawba College Children’s Choir performed two songs with themes reflecting simple living.
Brown’s presentation was about his latest book, “Plan B 3.0,” the third edition of the book that takes a look at why what we’re doing isn’t working and why we need to switch to “Plan B.”
He began with several startling facts about the rapidly increased melting rate of glaciers and ice sheets, and listed the ways everything from food security to the economy to coastal displacement to oil will be affected by these changes.
He then switched his focus to the solution, the “Plan B.” Wind power, solar power and geothermal heating ó energy resources that truly cannot be depleted ó are becoming not only economically viable, but financially preferable. Brown went on to list the countries ó and U.S. states ó investing in exporting renewable energy.
Texas, he said, is a perfect example. The state that was once a leading producer of oil is now the nation’s leading producer of wind energy. “I could go on with countless examples,” he said.
While the overall tone of the presentation was hopeful and exciting, Brown reminded his audience of the importance of continuing these innovations now.
“If we don’t get our act together, we might have to answer questions we don’t want to answer,” he warned.
He went on to say that many who have children and grandchildren may need to explain to them why they didn’t stop deforestation while it was still possible or why they didn’t reduce carbon emissions before they reached a point from which the world could not recover.
Brown was clearly moved by the weight of such possibilities.
“How will (the knowledge that we did not act) affect our sense of self? Our sense of who we are?”
Moving to a hopeful example, Brown recalled the economic changes of World War II, when automobile assembly lines were converted to construct war planes and almost no new cars were constructed.
“It did not take decades to restructure,” he said. “We did it in a matter of months. We did it then; we can do it now.”
“Saving the world is not a spectator sport.”
In the question and answer session following the presentation, it was clear that both Brown and many audience members were hopeful the new administration will heed the warning and make the changes that can help save the planet and civilization.
The evening ended with a book-signing in Catawba’s Center for the Environment. Attendees formed a line that wrapped around the hallways and nearly out the door, eager to meet the author described by Turner as “a true visionary.”