Curriculum Comes to Life with Visit by Environmentalist Lester Brown

As part of the 2005-06 Presidential Events Series entitled Freedom and Responsibility in a Contemporary World, Mr. Lester Brown, founder and president of Earth Policy Institute, will give a talk based on his book Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble on Friday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m. in Fox Hall. Mr. Brown's book is part of the Quest for Meaning curriculum taught to Eckerd College senior students. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Following the lecture, the International Cinema Series will present a Tampa Bay premiere of the environmental documentary, The Great Warming (2004), at 8:00 p.m. in Miller Auditorium. Cost with ID: Students, $1; Non-students, $5. Proceeds go to Hurricane Relief.

Produced by the Discovery Channel in Canada, The Great Warming has not been aired in the United States - even by the Discovery Channel - largely because of a political movement within the U.S. to deny or spin the accepted facts about global warming. Narrated by singer/songwriter Alanis Morrissette and actor Keanu Reeves, the film examines what really is happening to the world's climate and what we can begin to do about it.
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Having helped to pioneer the concept of environmentally sustainable development, Lester Brown's principal research areas include food, population, water, climate change, and renewable energy. He has been described by The Washington Post as "one of the world's most influential thinkers" and as "the guru of the global environmental movement" by The Telegraph of Calcutta.

Mr. Brown has authored or co-authored 50 books. One of the world's most widely published authors, his books have appeared in some 40 languages. Among his earlier books are Man, Land and Food; World Without Borders; and Building a Sustainable Society. His 1995 book Who Will Feed China? challenged the official view of China's food prospect, spawning hundreds of conferences and seminars.

In 1974, Mr. Brown founded Worldwatch Institute, of which he was president for its first 26 years. As president, he launched the World Watch Papers, the Worldwatch/Norton books, the annual State of the World report, the bimonthly magazine World Watch, the annual Vital Signs, and the Institute's News Briefs.

In May 2001, Mr. Brown founded the Earth Policy Institute to provide a vision and a road map for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy. In November 2001, he published Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, which was hailed by E.O. Wilson as "an instant classic." He followed this in 2003 with another path-breaking book, Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. His most recent book is Outgrowing the Earth: The Food Security Challenge in an Age of Falling Water Tables and Rising Temperatures. The last two books will be available for purchase after the lecture.