25 Jan 2006
Plan B revisited - now with added Peak Oil!
**Lester Brown** is one of the most influential environmental analysts around, and founded the [Earth Policy Institute](http://www.earth-policy.org/”EPI”). He has written many books, generally packed with information and detail, and rarely containing much information that would send you skipping and dancing in the street. His latest book, [Plan B - rescuing a planet under stress and a civilisation in trouble](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393325237/qid=1138174999/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/202-2636448-8929425″Plan B”), was his attempt at an emergency plan for saving the world. While it is insightful and excellent, I found it rather frustrating in that what I would regard as the single biggest challenge, i.e. peak oil, wasn’t mentioned once. It is interesting to observe that Brown has now carried out a major rewrite of Plan B, and a new edition has just be published called [Plan B 2.0](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393328317/qid=1138174999/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl/202-2636448-8929425″PlanB2″), which has now taken peak oil to heart.
You can read the chapter on peak oil [here](http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB2/pb2ch2.pdf”Brown”), it is a very good overview of the arguments and different schools of thought. He has in fact put the [whole book online](http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB2/Contents.htm”PlanB”), which is great for us but I can’t imagine does a great deal for book sales. He is to be applauded for his flexibility and openness - the end result looks like a far better book than the one I read.
Nicholas Harvey
25 Jan 6:43pm
I scanned the chapter on peak oil and like what he says about nuclear power - essentially that is it too expensive (and risky in terms of terrorism) to even be a runner as an
alternative to fossil fuels.
The end of cheap flights, the end of suburbia, more locally produced food - all the usual predictable stuff and frankly the more of this that gets published the more that people - and hopefully governments - will sit up and take notice.
‘Countries that fail to plan ahead, that lag in investing in more oil-efficient technologies and new energy sources, may experience a decline in living standards. The inability of national governments to manage the energy transition could lead to a failure of confidence in leaders and to failed states.’ An important wake up call to our leaders is well overdue. Where did I read that the irony of all this is that the country that is most prepared for all this is…Cuba!? With the US embargo, they’ve been forced to become a self-sustaining economy, cutting back on all unneccessary goods, growing their own food - even planting vegetables on any available patch of land in cities. Viva Cuba!