State of the World 2012 Launch and Symposium -- Worldwatch Institute

State of the World 2012 Launch and Symposium -- Worldwatch Institute

One week from today, the Worldwatch Institute celebrates the release of State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity. This special edition of Worldwatch's flagship publication aims to facilitate dialogue around the issue of sustainable and equitable development by showcasing the creative policies and fresh approaches that will take center stage at this year's Rio+20 U.N. Conference.


To celebrate, we are inviting all of our D.C., Maryland, and Virginia friends to join us at the Woman's National Democratic Club for the State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity launch and symposium on April 11. The event is free of charge, but space is limited.

If you live outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, we invite you to participate in the event via webstream on the Worldwatch website on the day of the symposium.

The event will feature some of the book's key contributors, who will share their expertise and ideas on how we can achieve sustainable development.

Speakers will include:

Worldwatch President Robert Engelman and Project Co-directors Michael Renner and Erik Assadourian

Report co-authors Joe Foti of the World Resources Institute, Mia MacDonald of Brighter Green, Michael Replogle and Colin Hughes of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, Diana Lind of Next American City, and Bo Normander of Worldwatch Europe

(Via satellite) Severn Suzuki, who shook the global community as a young girl making a strong declaration at the first Rio Summit and has been an environmental champion ever since.

The symposium will take place from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on April 11 at The Whittemore House, 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., 20036 (map). A reception with food and refreshments will follow the event. Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP now.
We hope you can join us - either in person or online - to discuss this critical sustainability topic.

Questions? Please email Grant Potter at gpotter@worldwatch.org.

Low Carbon Energy: A Roadmap

This Worldwatch Report (WORLDWATCH REPORT 178) by Christopher Flavin finds that: "Concern about climate change and rising energy prices have sparked a nascent transformation of the energy business, with engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors who would have been focused on the Internet and biotechnology a decade ago now focused on energy. Their skills, energy, and commitment to solving one of the world’s greatest problems is likely to prove as revolutionary as their great-grandparents’ work to build a carbon-based economy a century ago.

Rebuilding the global energy system will be expensive, but it can also be transformative. And its sheer scale would create thousands of new businesses and millions of jobs for decades to come. At a time of serious economic troubles, volatile oil prices, and instability in many fossil fuel producing regions, building an efficient, low-carbon energy system can become an engine of economic recovery,
job creation, and international cooperation. Climate change, energy security, and economic development should be viewed, in the words of Common Cause founder John
Gardner, as 'breathtaking opportunities disguised as insoluble problems.'"