Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A couple weeks ago, we talked about our research program at the Institute. Now I’d like to talk a bit about our outreach work. Because it will take an enormous dissemination effort to guide the global transition to a Plan B economy, we promote our work through a combination of a worldwide network of media contacts, publishers, and the Internet.

Publishing and Book Releases
Our books are the foundation for reaching a global constituency. Thus far, our books have been published in 28 languages. 

Key to these translations is helping to launch them. Thus, this year Lester Brown spent the month of May and part of June launching the German, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese editions of Plan B 4.0. During this trip, he also gave presentations in The Netherlands and Romania, where he also received an honorary degree and was elected an honorary member of the Romanian Academy of Sciences, and in Denver where he received the Hero Award from the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado. The trip was planned around an invitation to speak in Rotterdam at a conference designed around promoting investment in a Plan B economy. The sponsor is a convert to Plan B. Working with pension fund managers, he has subsequently set up three Plan B investment funds and is working on others.

Lester also launched the Spanish edition in Bogotá, Colombia, a trip that included a stop in Mexico City where he gave a standing-room-only presentation to 1,200 plus.

Media Outreach
Working closely with the world's major news organizations, we have generated over 25,000 news clips since we began in 2001. Our researchers have given nearly 500 interviews for radio and television, including national and international networks such as ABC, the BBC World Service, Voice of America, CNN International, and Al Jazeera, CCTV, NHK TV.

Our policy of free access to our research also means that it is being posted on more and more websites and blogs.

On our EPI in the News page, you can find a number of articles, podcasts, and videos featuring our work and researchers weighing in on the issues. The following are just a few selections.
 * a discussion between Lester Brown and Richard Heinberg of the Post Carbon Institute
 * Lester’s July talk at the Citizens Climate Lobby National Conference
 * an interview with Lester on peak water consumption
 * an interview with Lester on Japan’s Green TV
 * Janet Larsen’s National Journal blog on Plan B
 * an interview with Lester by Christina Larson in Foreign Policy
 * Lester talking with Tom Weiss (Ride for Renewables) on the importance of political action

Documentary Films
The most exciting film this year was the completion of Plan B, the documentary by Marilyn and Hal Weiner, Emmy award-winning producers. An educational edition of this 83-minute film is available. It will also be aired in the United States on PBS on March 30, 2011. Here’s a clip from the film.

Other outstanding documentary films in which Lester was a leading participant included Climate Refugees, produced by Michael Nash, which received a lot of attention at the Sundance Festival, and Dirty Oil, a Babelgum production about the tar sands in Alberta, Canada.

Website
As any of you who have spent time in our website can testify, we have a huge amount of meticulously researched material available for free. With every new book, we post the data that backs up every fact. We are in the process of doing this now for World on the Edge. You can expect to see the data uploaded and ready for searching on January 5 when the book is released. We will also have the book posted for downloading. 

Interested in an electronic version for your e-reader? That’s available, too. Our publisher W.W. Norton has made it available through iBookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Sony. 

People in Action
The Institute’s goal is to generate public awareness and support for Plan B. That goal is being picked up by people around the world and implemented in a number of ways. We invite you to read about them on our People in Action page.

You can help us keep this flow of important research moving with a tax-deductible donation. 

Meanwhile, stay tuned ... there's a lot to look forward to in 2011!

Sincerely,

Reah Janise Kauffman
Vice President