Worldwatch Institute

"Worldwatch" redirects here. For the WorldWatch comic book, see Chuck Austen.

The Worldwatch Institute is a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan Survey of Sustainability Experts.

Mission

The Worldwatch Institute helps to inform policymakers and the public about the complex links between the world economy and its environmental support systems. Research conducted by the Institute is integrative or interdisciplinary in nature and global in scope.

Through research and outreach that inspire action, the Worldwatch Institute works to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world that meets human needs. The Institute’s top mission objectives are universal access to renewable energy and nutritious food, expansion of environmentally sound jobs and development, transformation of cultures from consumerism to sustainability, and an early end to population growth through healthy and intentional childbearing.

Worldwatch’s priority programs include:

• Building a Low-Carbon Energy System that dramatically reduces the use of fossil fuels and lowers greenhouse gas emissions.
• Nourishing the Planet, founded by Danielle Nierenberg worked to create a sustainable food production system that provides a healthy, nutritious diet for all while sustaining the land, water, and biological resources on which life depends. Danielle has since founded FoodTank: The Food Think Tank, an organization focused on food and agriculture policy.
• Transforming Economies, Cultures, and Societies that meets human needs, promotes prosperity, and is in harmony with nature.

Worldwatch also monitors human health, population, water resources, biodiversity, governance, and environmental security.

Worldwatch's work relies on the generosity of its donors.

History

• 1974—The institute was founded by Lester Brown.
• 1975—The first Worldwatch Paper was published.
• 1984—First State of the World published.
• 1988—World Watch Magazine was launched.
• 1992—Vital Signs, Worldwatch's third annual series, was premiered.
• 2000—Christopher Flavin became President of Worldwatch in October.
• 2008—Worldwatch hosted the 20th Anniversary of the James E. Hansen hearings.
• 2011—Robert Engelman became President of Worldwatch in October.
• 2012—Danielle Nierenberg starts Food Tank: The Food Think Tank, alongside Ellen Gustafson

Publications

Worldwatch Institute publications have been published in more than three dozen languages by its global partners in 40 countries. Worldwatch publications include:

• The State of the World report is an annual assessment of urgent global environmental problems and the innovative ideas proposed and applied across the globe to address them.

• State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity
• State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet
• State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability
• State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World ISBN 978-0-393-33418-0
• State of the World 2008: Innovations for a Sustainable Economy
• State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future
• State of the World 2006: China and India
• State of the World 2005: Redefining Global Security
• State of the World 2004: The Consumer Society

• Vital Signs tracks social, environmental and economic trends and publishes data and analysis.
• Vital Signs 2012
• Vital Signs 2011

• World Watch Magazine

• Worldwatch Reports
• Sustainable Energy Roadmaps: Guiding the Global Shift to Domestic Renewables
• Creating Sustainable Prosperity in the United States: The Need for Innovation and Leadership
• Green Economy and Green Jobs in China: Current Status and Potentials for 2020
• The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2010-2011: Nuclear Power in a Post-Fukushima World
• Powering the Low-Carbon Economy: The Once and Future Roles of Renewable Energy and Natural Gas
• Natural Gas and Sustainable Energy Initiative Briefing Papers
• Population, Climate Change, and Women’s Lives
• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in China: Current Status and Prospects for 2020
• Global Competitiveness in the Rail and Transit Industry
• Global Environmental Change: The Threat to Human Health
• Red, White, and Green: Transforming U.S. Biofuels
• Renewable Revolution: Low-Carbon Energy by 2030
• Mitigating Climate Change Through Food and Land Use
• Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap
• Green Jobs: Working for People and the Environment
• Farming Fish for the Future
• American Energy Report
• Global Progress on Sustainable Biofuels
• Powering China’s Development: The Role of Renewable Energy
• Oceans in Peril: Protecting Marine Biodiversity
• Winged Messengers: The Decline of Birds
• Financing the Earth
• Beyond Disasters: Creating Opportunities for Peace
• Venture Capitalism for a Tropical Forest: Cocoa in the Mata Atlantica
• Sustainable Aquaculture
• Catch of the Day: Choosing Seafood for Healthier Oceans
• Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry
• Liquid Assets: The Critical Need to Safeguard Freshwater Ecosystems
• Biofuels for Transport

• Worldwatch Books
• More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want
• Eat Here: Defending Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket
• Inspiring Progress: Religion’s Contributions to Sustainable Development
• Good Stuff? A Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Things We Buy
• Vanishing Borders: Protecting the Planet in the Age of Globalization
• Pillar of Sand: Can The Irrigation Miracle Last?
• Beyond Malthus: Nineteen Dimensions of the Population Challenge
• Life Out of Bounds: Bioinvasion in a Borderless World
• The Natural Wealth of Nations: Harnessing the Market for the Environment
• Fighting for Survival: Environmental Decline, Social Conflict, and the New Age of Insecurity
• Tough Choices: Facing the Challenge of Food Scarcity
• Who Will Feed China? Wake-Up Call for a Small Planet
• Power Surge: Guide to the Coming Energy Revolution
• Full House: Reassessing the Earth's Population Carrying Capacity
• Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity
• How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth
• Saving the Planet: How to Shape an Environmentally Sustainable Global Economy

Current Researchers and Fellows

Erik Assadourian, Adam Dolezal, Robert Engelman, Gary Gardner, Mark Konold, Matt Lucky, Haibing Ma, Shakuntala Makhijani, Lisa Mastny, Evan Musolino, Danielle Nierenberg, Alexander Ochs, Sandra Postel, and Michael Renner. Nierenberg has recently announced a new organization called Food Tank: The Food Think Tank.

See also

• Lester R. Brown, founder of Worldwatch Institute
• Ed Ayres, former editor of Worldwatch
• Sustainable Development
• Environmental Movement
• List of environmental organizations
• World Nuclear Industry Status Report

External links

• Worldwatch Institute
• Worldwatch Europe
• Worldwatch Brazil
• Worldwatch Japan
• Work on biofuels
• Renewables 2010 Global Status Report
• Renewables 2011: Global Status Report
• [1] endorsements for "State of the World 2009" by Bill McKibben and Alex Steffen
• The End of Nuclear, Worldwatch Institute, 2011.