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Thanks for your vote! 6 Years In A Row Bombay Bistro Restaurant 910.487.0020 5945 CLIFFDALE ROAD CAPE FEAR HARLEY-DAVIDSON Thanks to our customers for their continued support! THANK Y THANK YOU FAYETTEVILLE FOR VOTING US THE BEST MOTORCYCLE DEALERSHIP KY F Y FAYETTEVILLE FO Plan B From the Editors of Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: Some friends of mine were talking about a book called "Plan B" that proposes a plan for rescuing the environment and ending poverty around the world. Is it a realistic plan or just some utopian pipe dream? — Robin Jackson, Richmond, VA What started as a book has grown into a movement known as "Plan B" which presents a road- map for achieving world- wide goals of stabilizing both population and cli- mate. According to Lester Brown, author of the 2003 book, Plan B (and three subsequent updates) and founder of the non-profit environmental think tank, Earth Policy Institute, the plan is based on replac- ing the fossil-fuel-based, automobile-centered, throwaway economy with a new economic model pow- ered by abundant sources of renewable energy. Brown argues for Credit: Earth Policy Institute Lester R. Brown's "Plan B" is an integrated program with four interdependent goals: drastically cutting carbon dioxide emissions, stabilizing population, eradicating poverty, and restoring the Earth's natural systems. Pictured: Mr. Brown and the first Plan B book, published in 2003. There have been three subsequent editions. transportation systems that are diverse and aim to maximize mobility, widely employing light rail, buses and bicycles. "A Plan B economy comprehensively reuses and recycles materials," he says. "Consumer products from cars to com- puters are designed to be disassembled into their component parts and com- pletely recycled." Brown even proposes a budget for eradicating poverty, educating the world's youth and delivering better health care for everyone. "It also presents ways to restore our natural world by planting trees, conserving topsoil, stabiliz- ing water tables and protecting biological diversity," says Brown. "With each new wind farm, rooftop solar water heater, paper recycling facility, bicycle path, marine park, rural school, public health facility and reforestation program, we move closer to a Plan B economy." Plan B is an integrated program with four interdependent goals: cutting net carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2020, stabilizing population at eight billion or lower, eradicating poverty and restoring the Earth's natural systems. Where Plan B really hits home is in the numbers: Brown puts realistic dollar values on the various aspects of his plan, and compares these costs with cur- rent military spending. Needless to say, restoring the environment and economy looks like a bargain when viewed against what the developed nations of the world spend on being ready for battle. The beauty of Plan B is that it is feasible with current technologies and could well be achieved by 2020 with a concerted international effort. Brown reportedly wrote the latest incarnation of Plan B as a warning call for leaders of the world to begin "mobilizing to save civilization" given that time is more than ever of the essence. Luminaries from Bill Clinton to E.O. Wilson to Ted Turner have spoken highly of Plan B, and at least one university (Cal State at Chico) has made the latest version of the book (Plan B 4.0) required reading for all in- coming freshmen. Those looking for more up-to-date information on the evolution of the Plan B model and progress toward its goals should tune into the website of the Earth Policy Institute, the think tank started by Brown in 2001 and currently used as a central node in the growing network of thousands of entities and individu- als around the globe supportive of making Plan B into reality. Prior to found- ing Earth Policy Institute, Brown was well known in environmental and policy circles for his work with the Worldwatch Institute, a pioneering environmental think tank he launched back in 1974. CONTACT: Earth Policy Institute, www.earth-policy.org. EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine. com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emaga- zine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial. 24 UCW SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 4, 2011 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Now Open Sundays! e www.bombaybistronc.com