EPIBuilding a Sustainable Future
Plan B Updates

Plan B Updates are released as new developments and initiatives occur. They focus on trends affecting progress toward a sustainable future. Updates are also offered in Bengali, Chinese, Danish, Farsi, French1, French2, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portugese, Spanish, Spanish 2, and Swedish.

 

September 17, 2014
Fossil Fuel Development in the Arctic is a Bad Investment
June 25, 2014
The Swinging Pendulum of Population Policy in Iran
May 01, 2014
The Downfall of the Plastic Bag: A Global Picture
April 22, 2014
Plastic Bag Bans Spreading in the United States
February 25, 2014
Can the World Feed China?
December 11, 2013
Less Than 3 Percent of Oceans in Marine Parks Despite Recent Growth
December 04, 2013
India's Dangerous 'Food Bubble'
November 18, 2013
Climate Change Driving Weather off the Charts
October 30, 2013
2013 to be Record Year for Offshore Wind
September 10, 2013
U.S. Nuclear Power in Decline
July 09, 2013
Peak Water: What Happens When the Wells Go Dry?
June 12, 2013
Farmed Fish Production Overtakes Beef
May 14, 2013
Dozens of U.S. Cities Board the Bike-Sharing Bandwagon
April 25, 2013
Bike-Sharing Programs Hit the Streets in Over 500 Cities Worldwide
January 30, 2013
Overfishing Threatens Critical Link in the Food Chain
December 20, 2012
Expanding Dust Bowls Worsening Food Prospects in China and Africa
November 16, 2012
Dust Bowl Revisited
October 31, 2012
The Great Transition, Part II: Building a Wind-Centered Economy
October 25, 2012
The Great Transition, Part I: From Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy
August 16, 2012
Offshore Wind Development Picking Up Pace
August 08, 2012
Rising Temperature Raising Food Prices
July 24, 2012
World in Serious Trouble on Food Front
May 22, 2012
Fukushima Meltdown Hastens Decline of Nuclear Power
April 24, 2012
Meat Consumption in China Now Double That in the United States
November 02, 2011
U.S. Carbon Emissions Down 7 Percent in Four Years: Even Bigger Drops Coming
October 06, 2011
U.S. Gasoline Use Declining: Keystone XL Pipeline Not Needed
August 10, 2011
A Fifty Million Dollar Tipping Point?
June 16, 2011
Geothermal Power Heating Up Worldwide
June 07, 2011
When the Nile Runs Dry*
May 25, 2011
Cancer Now Leading Cause of Death in China
May 03, 2011
Water Shortages Threaten Food Future in the Arab Middle East*
April 07, 2011
Time to Rethink Japan's Energy Future
March 23, 2011
Can the United States Feed China?*
March 09, 2011
Why World Food Prices May Keep Climbing
February 15, 2011
World One Poor Harvest Away From Chaos
January 14, 2011
The Great Food Crisis of 2011*
August 10, 2010
Rising Temperatures Raise Food Prices – Heat, Drought, and a Failed Harvest in Russia
March 25, 2010
Earth Out of Sync – Rising Temperatures Throwing off Seasonal Timing
January 06, 2010
U.S. Car Fleet Shrank by Four Million in 2009 - After a Century of Growth, U.S. Fleet Entering Era of Decline
December 30, 2009
Growing Demand for Soybeans Threatens Amazon Rainforest
November 19, 2009
Inferno on Earth: Wildfires Spreading as Temperatures Rise
November 10, 2009
The Copenhagen Conference on Food Security
October 14, 2009
U.S. Headed for Massive Decline in Carbon Emissions*
September 21, 2009
On Energy, We're Finally Walking the Walk*
March 31, 2009
The End of an Era: Closing the Door on Building New Coal-fired Power Plants in America
December 11, 2008
Creating New Jobs, Cutting Carbon Emissions, and Reducing Oil Imports by Investing in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
November 19, 2008
Run Cars on Green Electricity, Not Natural Gas
October 28, 2008
The Flawed Economics of Nuclear Power
October 15, 2008
New Energy Economy Emerging in the United States
October 09, 2008
Rising Seas and Powerful Storms Threaten Global Security
September 02, 2008
Want a Better Way to Power Your Car? It's a Breeze.*
August 14, 2008
World Geothermal Power Generation Nearing Eruption
July 22, 2008
Solar Thermal Power Coming to a Boil
April 16, 2008
World Facing Huge New Challenge on Food Front: Business-as-Usual Not a Viable Option
April 02, 2008
The Beginning of the End for Coal: A Long Year in the Life of the U.S. Coal Industry
March 20, 2008
Melting Mountain Glaciers Will Shrink Grain Harvests in China and India
February 14, 2008
U.S. Moving Toward Ban on New Coal-Fired Power Plants
January 24, 2008
Why Ethanol Production Will Drive World Food Prices Even Higher in 2008
December 07, 2007
Bottled Water Boycotts: Back-to-the-Tap Movement Gains Momentum
November 15, 2007
Is World Oil Production Peaking?
May 09, 2007
Ban the Bulb: Worldwide Shift from Incandescents to Compact Fluorescents Could Close 270 Coal-Fired Power Plants
March 21, 2007
Massive Diversion of U.S. Grain to Fuel Cars is Raising World Food Prices
March 07, 2007
Water Prices Rising Worldwide
January 04, 2007
Distillery Demand for Grain to Fuel Cars Vastly Understated: World May Be Facing Highest Grain Prices in History
December 14, 2006
Santa Claus is Chinese - Or - Why China is Rising and the United States is Declining
November 15, 2006
The Earth Is Shrinking: Advancing Deserts and Rising Seas Squeezing Civilization
November 03, 2006
Exploding U.S. Grain Demand for Automotive Fuel Threatens World Food Security and Political Stability
October 04, 2006
U.S. Population Reaches 300 Million, Heading for 400 Million: No Cause for Celebration
August 29, 2006
Hurricane Damages Soar to New Levels: Insurance Companies Abandoning Homeowners in High-Risk Coastal Areas
August 16, 2006
Global Warming Forcing U.S. Coastal Population to Move Inland: An Estimated 250,000 Katrina Evacuees are Now Climate Refugees
July 28, 2006
Setting the Record Straight: More than 52,000 Europeans Died from Heat in Summer 2003
July 13, 2006
Supermarkets and Service Stations Now Competing for Grain
May 11, 2006
Let's Raise Gas Taxes and Lower Income Taxes
May 03, 2006
U.S. Mayors Respond to Washington Leadership Vacuum on Climate Change
March 22, 2006
Wind Energy Demand Booming: Cost Dropping Below Conventional Sources Marks Key Milestone in U.S. Shift to Renewable Energy
February 02, 2006
Bottled Water: Pouring Resources Down the Drain
December 07, 2005
Empty Skies: World's Birds at Risk
June 29, 2005
Ethanol's Potential: Looking Beyond Corn
May 09, 2005
Oil and Food: A Rising Security Challenge
April 07, 2005
Disappearing Lakes, Shrinking Seas
March 09, 2005
Learning from China: Why the Western Economic Model Will Not Work for the World
February 16, 2005
China Replacing the United States as World's Leading Consumer
October 27, 2004
Foreign Policy Damaging U.S. Economy
October 13, 2004
The Short Path to Oil Independence: Gas-Electric Hybrids and Wind Power Offer Winning Combination
August 24, 2004
Coal Takes Heavy Human Toll: Some 25,100 U.S. Deaths from Coal Use Largely Preventable
June 16, 2004
Dead Zones Increasing in the World's Coastal Waters
May 05, 2004
World Food Security Deteriorating: Food Crunch in 2005 Now Likely
April 28, 2004
World Food Prices Rising: Environmental Neglect Shrinking Harvests in Key Countries
April 14, 2004
Saudis Have U.S. Over A Barrel: The Shifting Terms of Trade Between Grain and Oil
April 08, 2004
Europe Leading World Into Age of Wind Energy
March 10, 2004
China's Shrinking Grain Harvest: How Its Growing Grain Imports Will Affect World Food Prices
March 02, 2004
The Sixth Great Extinction: A Status Report
February 18, 2004
U.S. Leading World Away from Cigarettes
January 28, 2004
Troubling New Flows of Environmental Refugees
January 22, 2004
Glaciers and Sea Ice Endangered by Rising Temperatures
December 16, 2003
Wakeup Call on the Food Front
December 03, 2003
Coal: U.S. Promotes While Canada and Europe Move Beyond
October 09, 2003
Record Heat Wave in Europe Takes 35,000 Lives: Far Greater Losses May Lie Ahead
September 17, 2003
World Facing Fourth Consecutive Grain Harvest Shortfall: Wheat and Rice Prices Moving Up
August 27, 2003
Record Temperatures Shrinking World Grain Harvest: Monthly Drop Equal to One Half of U.S. Wheat Harvest
August 05, 2003
China Losing War With Advancing Deserts
July 16, 2003
Other Fish in the Sea, But For How Long?
June 25, 2003
Wind Power Set to Become World's Leading Energy Source
March 27, 2003
Deserts Advancing, Civilization Retreating
March 13, 2003
World Creating Food Bubble Economy Based on Unsustainable Use of Water
January 23, 2003
Population Growth Leading to Land Hunger
December 11, 2002
Global Temperature Near Record for 2002: Takes Toll in Deadly Heat Waves, Withered Harvests, and Melting Ice
October 31, 2002
Fuel Cell-Powered Cars Hitting the Road Ahead of Schedule
October 15, 2002
Sterilization is World's Most Popular Contraceptive Method: One of Four Births Still Unplanned
September 17, 2002
Air Pollution Fatalities Now Exceed Traffic Fatalities by 3 to 1
August 21, 2002
Rising Temperatures & Falling Water Tables Raising Food Prices: Record World Grain Harvest Shortfall of 83 Million Tons in Prospect
August 06, 2002
Water Deficits Growing in Many Countries: Water Shortages May Cause Food Shortages
July 25, 2002
Restructuring Taxes To Protect the Environment
July 17, 2002
World Turning to Bicycle for Mobility and Exercise: Bicycle Sales Top 100 Million In 2000
June 12, 2002
Sales of Solar Cells Take Off
May 21, 2002
Illegal Logging Threatens Ecological and Economic Stability
April 17, 2002
New York: Garbage Capital of the World
April 02, 2002
Green Power Purchases Growing by Leaps and Bounds
March 12, 2002
Earth's Ice Melting Faster Than Projected
March 05, 2002
Our Closest Relatives Are Disappearing
February 05, 2002
World's Rangelands Deteriorating Under Mounting Pressure
January 08, 2002
World Wind Generating Capacity Jumps 31 Percent in 2001
December 28, 2001
Iran's Birth Rate Plummeting at Record Pace: Success Provides a Model for Other Developing Countries
December 18, 2001
This Year May be Second Warmest on Record
November 23, 2001
World Grain Harvest Falling Short by 54 Million Tons: Water Shortages Contributing to Shortfall
November 15, 2001
Rising Sea Level Forcing Evacuation of Island Country
October 04, 2001
Worsening Water Shortages Threaten China's Food Security
May 31, 2001
Wind Power: The Missing Link in the Bush Energy Plan
May 23, 2001
Dust Bowl Threatening China’s Future
February 14, 2001
Paving the Planet: Cars and Crops Competing for Land
December 19, 2000
Obesity Epidemic Threatens Health in Exercise-Deprived Societies
October 31, 2000
HIV Epidemic Restructuring Africa’s Population: A missing generation ... a population of orphans ... a shortage of women
October 03, 2000
Fish Farming May Soon Overtake Cattle Ranching As a Food Source
September 08, 2000
OPEC Has World Over a Barrel Again
August 29, 2000
Climate Change Has World Skating On Thin Ice
July 25, 2000
The Rise and Fall of the Global Climate Coalition
July 18, 2000
Africa Is Dying — It Needs Help
June 21, 2000
Population Growth Sentencing Millions to Hydrological Poverty
June 07, 2000
U.S. Farmers Double Cropping Corn and Wind Energy
May 10, 2000
World Kicking the Cigarette Habit
May 02, 2000
Falling Water Tables In China May Soon Raise Food Prices Everywhere