Canadian Technology Could Help Save Civilization!

PEOPLE IN ACTION  Reah Janise Kauffman and Julianne Simpson www.earth-policy.org/action_center/C27	Earth Policy Release August 13, 2013
We love hearing about how our publications inspire others to take action and share their stories  on our website. From the classroom to the political arena, people are spreading the word about  Plan B and EPI’s work to create a roadmap to sustainability.  In 2007, Dr. Bonnie Winslow-Garvin, a school psychologist and  long-time fan of Lester’s work, gave her husband Michael Garvin a  copy of Plan B 2.0. Garvin was so inspired by Lester’s call to action  that he left his national security consulting work to focus on moving  the world to a carbon-free energy economy. In 2009 they founded  RENAIS, a renewable energy technology and financing consultancy  specializing in wind power, in their home state of Iowa. Garvin also wanted to act internationally. He decided to begin with  the Caribbean, a region heavily dependent upon fossil fuel imports,  where highly-polluting diesel generators dominate the electricity  sector. With contacts in Curacao’s utilities and government,  including former Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte, Garvin is encouraging  retrofits of the country’s diesel-fueled vehicles and power stations to  boost efficiency and cut pollution, using “hydrogen hybrid” technology  from Canadian firm dynaCERT. Garvin, focusing his longer-term  efforts on alternative energy production combined with battery  storage, envisions Curacao becoming the first zero-carbon energy  economy. More broadly, he plans to play a consulting role as the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) implements its recently-agreed Regional Energy Policy, which emphasizes conservation,  efficiency, and renewables as key for long-term energy security.  Impressed with the film version of Plan B, the Guemes Island Environmental Trust in Anacortes, Washington created an essay contest for high school aged youth. The essay challenge topic was, “What is the biggest threat to humans from climate change and how will you engage your friends to turn it around?” Contestants were also required to respond to the documentary, “Plan B, Mobilizing to Save Civilization.” Local schools and other organizations were contacted to promote responses from youths 15 to 20 years of age. They raised funds to provide awards which were presented for the top four essays at the Anacortes Library on May 25, 2012. Andy Kunz, President and CEO of the US High Speed Rail Association (USHSR), posted the Plan B film on the association's home page, sent out notifications about it, and mentioned it in major news releases. He said, "Congratulations on making such an important film. We will do everything we can to spread the word far and wide!" George A. Macpherson has written a novel based around Lester Brown’s Plan B. The Glebe Field is a romance centered around a young couple starting a Plan B for Action foundation and a legal fight between them and developers. Read more.  Makis Fountoulis, who publishes our books in Greece, has also been promoting them through lectures about World on the Edge and Plan B. Last year, he helped get 350 copies of World on the Edge delivered as Christmas gifts. He has given a number of lectures including one recently to a large gathering at the Athens Municipality Cultural Center. He has also been in contact with the Ministry of Education and plans to start giving lectures to high school students. In honor of their father who unexpectedly passed away, the Sloan brothers distributed copies of Full Planet, Empty Plates to members of Congress. In their letter accompanying the book they wrote, “The enclosed book, Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity by Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, contains the best analysis of what Chuck Sloan inherently knew. The 21st century will not mirror the 20th century. While the latter was witness to resource abundance and consumption, the former will be defined by resource scarcity.” Doris and Lars Almstrom have just published Full Planet, Empty Plates in Sweden. At the same time they are spreading the Plan B movement through newsletters, organizing gatherings, giving lectures, and doing whatever else to promote action for change. (For some examples, click here). Meanwhile, the EPI books they’ve already published are being used as textbooks in several universities in Sweden. And throughout the country people are organizing study circles to read the Plan B books. Check out more of these inspiring stories on our People in Action page.  We are grateful to these and many others who regularly repost, reprint, excerpt, and otherwise distribute our publications. Change requires information and we work to provide carefully documented research in ways that will inspire global change. If you have a story to share with us, we’d love to hear from you! # # #  Data and additional resources available at www.earth-policy.org.  Feel free to pass this information along to friends, family members, and colleagues! Media Contact: Reah Janise Kauffman (202) 496-9290 ext. 12 | rjk@earthpolicy.org Research Contact: Janet Larsen (202) 496-9290 ext. 14 | jlarsen@earthpolicy.org
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