An
independent research organization devoted to global environmental
concerns, the
Worldwatch Institute (WI) was founded
in 1974 by economist
and farmer Lester
Brown, who holds
a degree in agricultural science and has authored or co-authored
more than 50 books on the environment. Working
to “accelerate the
transition to a sustainable world that meets human needs,” WI seeks
to promote “universal access to renewable energy and nutritious
food, expansion of environmentally sound jobs and development,
transformation of cultures from consumerism to sustainability, and an
early end to population growth through healthy and intentional
childbearing.” According
to WI's current president, Robert
Engelman, human population growth contributes heavily to global
warming and the decline of worldwide “sustainability.” As a
possible remedy, Engelman suggests
that “increasing
women’s reproductive rights should be at the heart of the climate
discussion, in the same basket as strategies like increasing energy
efficiency and researching new technologies.”
WI
currently administers 3 major program areas:
(1) The Climate
& Energy program, proceeding from the premise
that greenhouse gases emitted by human industrial activity are
the chief causes of global warming,
exhorts businesses
and public officials alike to “de-carbonize
the global economy ... and reduce local environmental pollution.”
(2) The
Food &
Agriculture program
highlights the benefits that farmers, consumers, and ecosystems can
uniformly derive from “food systems that are flexible enough to deal with
shifting weather patterns, productive enough to meet the needs of
expanding populations, and accessible enough to support rural
communities.”
(3) The
Environment &
Society program explores “how we can ... shift today's economies, cultures, and societies
toward sustainability.” Key to this effort will be the curtailment of industry and free-market consumerism.
In September 2011, WI released a special report
titled Creating
Sustainable Prosperity in the United States: The Need for Innovation
and Leadership. This
publication maintains that “U.S.
output continues to be characterized by linear flows of materials,
heavy dependence on fossil fuels, disregard for renewable resources,
and resource use that is strongly connected to economic growth.” Adding that
“environmental
degradation and resource depletion threaten the capacity of the U.S.
economy to generate wealth for the indefinite future,” the report warns that the
country will “declin[e] into sustained impoverishment” if it
fails to “steward its assets” in a responsible manner.
Such
stewardship, says WI, will require
a “thoughtful and strategic” set of national, state, and local
policies that “essentially remake the economic playing field”
under the following principles:
“Renewable
resources cannot be consumed faster than they are regenerated.”
“Non-renewable
resources must be reused or recycled to the greatest extent possible,
creating a circular economy.”
“Ongoing
development should focus less on ever-higher levels of consumption
and more on increased quality of life.”
“A
sense of fairness, especially around wealth distribution, is needed
to generate social and economic stability across society.”
“Deceleration
of population growth will make the creation of a sustainable economy
far easier.”
Another
key WI booklet,
titled Green
Jobs: Working for People and the Environment,
contends that “green
jobs”—i.e., employment which “contributes to protecting the
environment and reducing humanity's carbon footprint”—will be a major economic driver of the 21st century. Such jobs, the publication says, will
depend heavily on “massive and sustained investments in the public
and private sectors” and will be ubiquitous in such industries as wind,
solar, and biofuels. In addition, says
WI:
Retrofitting
existing buildings to make them more energy-efficient offers “huge job
potential” for construction workers, architects, energy auditors,
engineers, and others.
Substantial green employment
opportunities exist in the development of bus rapid transit systems, and in
retrofitting old diesel buses to reduce air pollutants.
Many green
jobs will be available on small organic farms, which are “more labor- and
knowledge-intensive” than agro-industrial farms.
Afforestation
and reforestation projects will create a demand for large
numbers of tree-planters.
"Efforts to adapt to, and cope with,
climate change"—e.g., building flood barriers, terracing land, and
rehabilitating wetlands—will also open up a host of job opportunities.
Many trainers will be needed to help workers get the education and qualifications that a new energy economy will require.
Green
jobs, WI emphasizes, need to be “decent jobs” that offer “good wages,” “income security,” “dignity at work,” and “adequate
workers' rights.”
WI
is best known for its annual State
of the World
reports, which target political decision-makers and advisors with information
on how environmental factors are shaping a “rapidly changing
world.”
WI
also disseminates its pro-sustainability message via its in-house
publication, Vital
Signs,
which was launched in 1992
as a semi-annual report. Now
available in an online format, Vital Signs today is an interactive, subscription-based
tool that provides data on “sustainability trends”
in various places around the world.
WI's
global influence as an opinion-shaper is magnified by its network of more than 150
partners
in 40 countries who translate the Institute's published work and
present its findings to overseas government agencies and academic
institutions.